Paul Finebaum Updates Expectations for College Football Powerhouse Following Spring Meetings

Paul Finebaum believes this SEC football program is poised to take a step forward in the 2026 season.

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

Each college football season opens the door for programs that posted disappointing records the previous year to surge forward.

In the SEC, six teams that finished 2025 with five or fewer wins will work to improve this season. However, the restructuring of the SEC's conference schedule to nine games will present an unprecedented challenge for each of those teams.

College football media personality Paul Finebaum has a clear idea of which of the six programs he thinks will take the largest leap forward in 2026. On a recent edition of "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning," Finebaum said that the Florida Gators impressed him the most at the 2026 SEC spring meetings.

"I believe it was Florida. I felt okay about them because I like (Jon) Sumrall, and I like some of the components that he has brought to the table. There seemed to be some real momentum," Finebaum said.

"In seeing Sumrall, and especially talking to Scott Stricklin, it was just how quickly and how different that infrastructure feels and seems as opposed to what it was under four years of Billy Napier."

Florida's offseason momentum

Florida head coach Jon Sumrall enjoys a laugh before the Orange and Blue game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 11, 2026. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun] | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Florida's accomplishments on the recruiting trail are one of the biggest offseason storylines in the SEC. The Gators hold 23 commits in their 2027 signing class, the largest in the SEC and the third-highest ranked in the SEC behind Texas A&M and Oklahoma.

Unlike the Aggies and Sooners, the Gators' coaching change prevented them from attacking the recruiting trail before the start of 2026.

Additionally, Jon Sumrall made two of the best possible choices with his coordinator hires. He hired former Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who brought several of his former players and retained a handful from the 2025 Florida team. Brad White, who spent seven years coordinating defenses at Kentucky, will serve in the same role with the Gators.

How Florida compares to other SEC teams that finished 2025 with losing records

Auburn Tigers quarterback Ashton Daniels (12) throws the ball to wide receiver Cam Coleman (8) as Auburn Tigers take on Kentucky Wildcats at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. Auburn Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats are tied 3-3 at halftime. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

While the nine-game conference schedule is a new challenge for the SEC, Florida's slate might expedite its rebuild. A trip to Texas and a bout with Georgia in Atlanta to end October appear as the toughest games on the schedule. Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and Vanderbilt all won 10 or more games in 2025, but all three venture to Gainesville to face Florida.

Florida faces three SEC teams that finished 2025 with losing records this season: Auburn, South Carolina and Kentucky.

The meetings with the Tigers and Wildcats are on the road, but the Gators may catch the two at the right times; much of Byrum Brown's surroundings and Auburn's defense is unproven, and despite assembling a solid roster, early tests against Alabama, Texas A&M and LSU could break Kentucky early.

The game against South Carolina is at home on Oct. 10. While Shane Beamer's teams have fielded respectable defenses and terrific special teams units, the offensive line play has stood in the way of a potential breakthrough. Regardless of what schemes Kendal Briles brings to the offense, a bad offensive line could spell the end of the Beamer era.

Mississippi State and Arkansas are the only SEC programs that finished 2025 with losing records to not appear on the Gators' schedule. The Bulldogs' schedule is a gradual incline, but failing to win against Minnesota, South Carolina, or Missouri makes the climb exponentially more difficult.

As for Arkansas, the combination of a trip to Utah and opening SEC play with Georgia in the second and third weeks could be a negative tone setter.