Paul Finebaum predicts winner for Oregon-Penn State game in Week 5

As part of a guest spot on ESPN's morning show, Get Up, hosted by Mike Greenberg, SEC Network star Paul Finebaum joined the crew to provide his picks on the biggest showdowns in college football this weekend.

Of course, the biggest matchup of the weekend has to be Oregon visiting Penn State in a blockbuster early-Big Ten showdown pitting two of the top six teams in the country. Neither side has fest a legitimate playoff-caliber test, but that's exactly what Saturday in State College will be. While issuing his prediction, of course, Finebaum just had to toss a jab or two at Penn State coach James Franklin.

“ Have you heard, Greenie, that James Franklin isn’t very good in big games?" Finebaum joked to Greenberg. "That might be breaking news up there where you live, but that is the reality."

Finebaum continued to note the follies of Franklin, quarterback Drew Allar and the entire Penn State program in these spotlight contests.

"Drew Allar has not played that well in these big games. Remember last year in the Orange Bowl, they had a 10-point lead against Notre Dame and they let it slip away. James Franklin has been pointing toward this game. Their slate has been so weak we haven’t paid much attention to them, but even with a loss, they still have a path, although not a great one, because Ohio State looms large ahead, especially with a loss here.”

However, it's not a loss that Paul is picking this time around: "I like Penn State, and that is a switch," he told Greenberg before explaining exactly why he likes the Nittany Lions to get over a hump vs. an Oregon squad which bested them in the Big Teh championship last December.

“I think this is his best team," Finebaum iterated. "We’ve heard that all preseason, and I think tomorrow night, we’re going to see it. I have great respect for Oregon and Dan Lanning, but I think Drew Allar is the best quarterback in this game, I think the white-out does make a difference even though they’ve lost a few of these. To me, this seems like the moment made for James Franklin to finally quiet all the critics, including me. But I’m with him on this one.”

Well, well, there goes Paul Finebaum, infamous Penn State "hater" and James Franklin doubter, who is coming around to support the Nittany Lions with a pick in their favor in such a massive September showdown.

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