Paul Finebaum names ‘most significant’ win of college football season

Following an amusing Week 7 of results across college football, and as we cross the midway point of the regular season, Paul Finebaum declared one contest he believes may be the most significant in the year so far to date.

While parity has dominated much of the national conversation around college football, we've still had some blockbuster matchups between top contenders and playoff participants from a season ago. Of course, Ohio State kicked off their year with the win over Texas, Miami has played in some showcase games, and Oregon has battled two of the best in America over the past few weekends.

However, there's a certain Week 7 result that wildly impressed Paul Finebaum, persuading him to call it out during a Monday afternoon SportsCenter hit next to Matt Barrie and Heather Dinich.

"Curt Cignetti, his win over the weekend, maybe the most significant of the year in college football," Finebaum chirped. "Indiana has been amazing. I don't think anyone really saw this. I didn't."

While terse, Finebaum's response did reflect a new level of respect for the Hoosiers. When Barrie commented that Indiana is a "legit" championship contender, Finebaum even said that was a "fine" stance evidenced by their start. On the other side of the screen, Heather Dinich was higher on the Hoosiers coming into the season but is still stunned by their epic first seven weeks.

"I thought Indiana was going to be good," she commented. "I didn't think they were going to be better than last year. Last year, they were a playoff team."

That's correct, Heather, who also noted that Indiana has a pretty straightforward path right back to the postseason fiesta, this time armed with a better seed.

"By the way, that trip to Oregon was the only game left on their schedule that ESPN analytics does not project them to win," Dinich points out. "We're not just talking about the College Football Playoff with Indiana, we're talking about the potential for a top-four seed and first-round bye."

Indiana is as well-position as any team in college football right now — undefeated with the bulk of their tough games in the rearview mirror. The Hoosiers absolutely control their own fate from here on out.

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