Paul Finebaum predicts winner of Miami-Indiana CFP National Championship game

ESPN personality Paul Finebaum could be forgiven for pleading ignorance of Monday's upcoming CFP title game. Finebaum is always associated with the SEC and the league which brought him to prominence is finished after Ole Miss's last-minute CFP semifinal loss to Miami.

But Finebaum still shared his title pick on The Matt Barrie Show. He also explained his take with typical bluntness.

Finebaum's Pick

"You have to pick Indiana," said Finebaum. "I understand you can make a very narrow argument for Miami. Their path has been sensational. We talked about 35 and 34-point wins for Indiana, but equally impressive is what Miami has done, winning at A&M, beating Ohio State... and then the showdown with Ole Miss."

Despite his praise for the Hurricanes, Finebaum didn't waver on his ultimate prediction. "I don't think it's that close," he said to Barrie in regard to the title matchup. "I don't think it's a 35-point game. But I also think if you want to turn the game off late in the fourth quarter, you'll be okay."

Finebaum's about-face on the Hoosiers has been interesting, as the major proponent of all things SEC took a substantial dose of humble pie from Indiana's 38-3 blasting of Alabama in the CFP quarterfinals.

As Indiana has climbed to prominence, the SEC has struggled throughout the postseason, prompting Finebaum to previously admit that the league's performance "has been terrible."

The SEC's Woes

The SEC's 4-10 record in post-season play actually sounds better than it is. In two of the conference's four wins, SEC teams played other SEC teams, meaning there was no way for the league NOT to win. Those games were Ole Miss's victory over Georgia in a quarterfinal and Alabama's first-round win over Oklahoma.

Otherwise, the only wins that the SEC can claim are Ole Miss's steam-rolling of overmatched Tulane in the CFP first round and Texas's Citrus Bowl victory over Michigan.

Included in the downsides are Alabama's 38-3 loss to Indiana, Texas A&M's 10-3 home loss to Miami in a CFP first round game, and a host of one-score losses (Tennessee, Vandy, LSU, and Missouri). This will also be the third consecutive season that the SEC has failed to win a CFP championship, which is the league's longest such drought since the turn of the century. Meanwhile, Indiana gives the Big Ten an excellent chance to claim its third consecutive national title after Michigan and Ohio State in the previous two seasons.

Finebaum's pick is certainly another sign of the respect that the Big Ten is continuing to obtain. That will probably only increase if the Hoosiers take care of business on Monday.