Well, if the SEC’s self-obsession and aggrandizement isn’t enough reason to root against them in the rapidly approaching 2025 college football season, Paul Finebaum’s latest hyperbole should be.
Finebaum, who like most ESPN personalities, is a devotee of the relentless campaign to promote SEC superiority, is fed up with having to admit that other college football teams who play in different conferences are also good. Or perhaps even better than the football teams that he’s convinced are better because of the geographic region of the country they play in.
In a new interview for the “Netflix Sports Club Podcast,” Finebaum demonstrated once again that he has a remarkable lack of perspective and inability to deal with inconvenient information.
When asked if the SEC would return to the top of the college football world after the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes won the last two titles, Finebaum didn’t hesitate.
“It is (going to be an SEC team),” he said. “And by the way, if it’s not, I’m leaving the country because I am so sick and tired of being harassed by Big Ten fans on our show.”
Sounds like the “I’m leaving the country if Trump wins” crowd! As to who he thinks will be the SEC team to win a title? The Texas Longhorns, just two years removed from the lowly Big 12. Good thing is that Texas has never come up short of extremely high preseason expectations, right?
AUSTIN, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 24: Head coach Steve Sarkisian of the Texas Longhorns walks to the stadium before the game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on November 24, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
Will Paul Finebaum Follow Through On His Threat?
What’s funny about Finebaum is how accomplishments from non-SEC conferences are “literally nothing,” but an SEC team can have the most impressive loss in college football history, if it suits his purposes. He also appears to be blissfully unaware of where college football started.
“The Big Ten has literally done nothing,” he said in the interview. “They won 2 national championships. Michigan won one 2 years ago. They won 1 and a half national championships, I think, before that in 70 years, and they act like they invented football.”
Well, unfortunately for Finebaum, Rutgers is the birthplace of college football, and they are in the Big Ten. Whoops. He wasn’t done.
“Alabama has won about 15 national championships in my lifetime. Now, I realize that’s not a good comparison to a realistic lifespan, but I believe Texas is going to win.”
Alabama is notorious for some of the most absurd claims in college football history, including the 1941 championship where they finished 9-2, and 5-2 in the SEC, good for third place in the conference. They finished ranked #20 in the AP Poll. They claim a championship in that season anyway. Bama lost the 1965 Orange Bowl to Texas, and was awarded a claimed National Championship. They lost the 1973 Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame, and awarded a claimed National Championship there too.
Regardless, Ohio State has won seven titles in his lifetime, and one in 1954, the year before he was born. USC has won seven national championships since he was born. Guess that doesn’t count.
And by the way, if he’s upset about being harassed by Big Ten fans, just imagine what it’s like to be harassed by fans of say, Mississippi State or Tennessee chanting about SEC supremacy because of what Georgia and Nick Saban accomplished.
“It’s going to end all this, and on January 20th, I’ll be the happiest man in America because I won’t have to listen to the Big Tenners, or as my callers call them, the Little Tenners,” Finebaum explained.
Or maybe he’ll move to Canada.
