Paul Finebaum identifies most intriguing college football matchup on Week 7 slate

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum picks under-the-radar college football matchup that he actually has the closest eye on for the Week 7 slate

SEC Nation analyst Paul Finebaum | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Ahead of a loaded weekend of action nearing the midway point of the college football season, Paul Finebaum perhaps shared an unexpected choice for his most intriguing matchup of the Saturday schedule.

After running through the various top Week 7 college football matchups during an ESPN segment with Finebaum — such as... Texas vs. Oklahoma, Indiana at Georgia, Alabama at Missouri, Ohio State at Illinois, Michigan at USC, etc. — ESPN personality Matt Barrie posed the following question: "What particularly has your attention going into Week 7?"

"Yeah, I'm really intrigued by Alabama at Missouri," Finebaum answered, explaining that he's ready to see what these under-the-radar Tigers are all about in CoMo.

"Because, you know, you talked about certain schools not getting attention, how about Missouri?" Finebaum wondered aloud. "I was out there three or four weeks ago and they've been playing off Broadway all year, Matt."

Missouri has given fans a reason to watch by racking up plenty of points plus an undefeated 5-0 record heading into a huge home showdown against an Alabama squad that's surging once again. However, the national audience just hasn't seen this Mizzou club in a top-25 brawl.

"I mean, I think they're really a good football team," Finebaum added. "And here comes Alabama. Not to doubt them... but they've had two very difficult weeks in a row."

The Crimson Tide got their mojo back with a road win over Georgia a couple weeks ago, then returned home to fight off 2024's demons with a home matchup against a top-20 Vanderbilt squad with College GameDay in attendance. Now, the Tide need to recharge the batteries and get all the way back up to face a very strong Missouri club on the road.

Alabama could be primed to fall in another trap while Missouri has quietly built to this grand stage in a matchup that has Paul Finebaum's most careful eye.

The Tigers are all the way up to No. 14 in the country and would likely catapult into the top 10 of the next AP Poll if they can waste the Tide, who are currently No. 8 after gaining back momentum thanks to their busy last couple of weeks.

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