Paul Finebaum Picks Texas Longhorns as National Champs, Bashes Big Ten Favorite

Paul Finebaum continues his support for the Longhorns, while simultaneously ruling out any chance of another Big Ten national champion.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; SEC Nation analyst Paul Finebaum looks on prior to the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Texas is heading into the 2025 season with national championship hopes after losing in the college football playoff semifinal in back-to-back seasons. With a talented roster and a new starting quarterback in Arch Manning, one ESPN analyst believes the Longhorns are clear favorites to win the title.

Longtime SEC football analyst Paul Finebaum has been vocal in his belief in Texas football, repeatedly boasting Texas as the best team in the nation this upcoming season. He continues to support that belief, reaffirming his opinion while simultaneuosly dismissing another power four conference.

Finebaum Calls Out Penn State and the Big Ten

"Texas is the best team in the country. They are going to win the national championship," Finebaum said on ESPN's Get Up, according to On3.

At the same time of his commitment to Texas and the SEC's success in this season's college football playoff, Finebaum also made it clear that he believes there is no chance the Big Ten takes the national title for the third year in a row, calling out the Penn State Nittany Lions specifically.

"There is no way the Big Ten does it three years in a row," Finebaum said. "And certainly if I had to bet on somebody, I would never bet on James Franklin doing it. He’s a very good coach. He’s not a great coach. Penn State will not win the national championship."

Both Penn State and Texas were contenders in last season's college football playoffs, and both programs found themselves falling short in the semifinals. Penn State fell to Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, and Texas lost to eventual national champions Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Finebaum believes that this is the season the SEC breaks the Big Ten's national championship streak, and that Texas will be the SEC team to come out on top. Michigan won the CFP in 2023, and Ohio State won in 2024. Usually, the powerhouse conference of college football, an SEC team, hasn't won since 2022 when Georgia claimed its second straight title.

Since the CFP began in 2014, an SEC team has won six of the eleven national championship games played. In the past two seasons, though, an SEC team has failed to make it to the national championship game.

Manning now hopes to break the Longhorns' semifinal losing streak this season, taking full-time starting duties for the first time in his collegiate career. College football fans will see an early matchup of the Big Ten vs the SEC when Texas takes on Ohio State in week one of the 2025 season.