Paul Finebaum reveals which conference is on top of college football after September

On Tuesday morning's edition of the ESPN morning show Get Up, college football analysts Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum joined to answer some of host Mike Greenberg's pressing questions following a massive Saturday slate of action.

As part of the segment, Greenberg referenced a list of the top betting favorites to win the college football national championship as September comes to a close, and a graphic flashed up showing the teams and their odds (according to ESPN Bet):

Ohio State: +500
Oregon: +600
Penn State: +750
Alabama: +800
Texas: +800

Greenberg pointed out that the top three are all new-era Big Ten teams while the list doesn't even include an Indiana team that went to the College Football Playoff in 2024 and looks even stronger so far this fall. With the SEC's top contenders falling in behind the Big Ten triumvirate in the championship betting odds, Greenberg asked Finebaum if the Big Ten is now in charge in the sport.

"I think if you’re honest about college football, and I’ll try to be very honest here, even if it hurts, the Big Ten is in the driver’s seat right now," Paul Finebaum answered. "There’s no getting around it."

For more than a decade, the SEC boasted pretty infallible arguments that their league was the best at the top, winning the most national titles with the most different programs, but also at the middle and bottom among power conferences. Now, the SEC no longer dominates the top, and its middle teams, while strong, are in a free race for the league title.

"The SEC is a mix and a mess," Finebaum explained. "You’re trying to decide whether Ole Miss or Alabama are the best teams right now and they both have their flaws. Texas, we’ll find out more about, but as of this moment, those numbers are indicative of where we are now."

The SEC's top betting favorites already lost games against contenders in the ACC and Big Ten. Sure, those contests were laudably on the road for Texas and Alabama, who lost to Ohio State and Florida State, respectively, but still, the Big Ten has three undefeated teams all who went to the 2024 Playoff (OSU, Oregon, Indiana) and another top contender in Penn State. The SEC will surely produce dangerous title contenders, but the picture up top is muddier than their northern rivals for now.

"The good news for the SEC... it’s late September," Finebaum added. "So they have time to work their way back into it."

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