Paul Finebaum Makes Brutal Ohio State Buckeyes Statement

Never one to paint his opinions broadly or with trepidation, college football analyst Paul Finebaum has been direct this offseason in his disbelief in the Ohio State Buckeyes' chances to repeat as national champions in 2025. Instead, he believes Ohio State will lose to Texas to begin the campaign and tumble from there.

“I don’t like Ohio State," Finebaum said recently. “I think Ohio State is going to lose in the opener against Texas, and they are going to struggle to make the playoffs, let alone win it all.”

For what it’s worth, Finebaum did pick Ohio State down the stretch to win it all last year. His current remarks are at least narrowed down to this season. 

Ohio State faces the same obstacle as most of the top contenders across the nation as they break in a new quarterback. While Julian Sayin was a highly sought-after quarterback with a five-star rating in his own right, his last name isn’t Manning. Finebaum has been devout in his praise of Texas quarterback Arch Manning this offseason, even comparing his potential stature in the sport to the likes of Tim Tebow.

“I am as married to Arch Manning as an old geezer like me can be to a young, great college quarterback, but I like everything about him," Finebaum said. "The Manning name matters, but it isn’t going to matter on that field in a couple of weeks at Ohio State. The experience of being an understudy to Ewers and understanding Sark’s system is what’s going to get them over the top and probably — well, not probably — definitely beat Ohio State in the opener.”

There’s no question that Manning’s name is on the college football season’s marquee in a much bolder font than Sayin’s. Still, his 95 career collegiate passes haven’t earned him recognition more than his surname has.

Finebaum was right about one thing: the Manning name won’t matter in Columbus on August 30. It’ll be the Longhorns coming into the stadium of the reigning national champions, who field arguably the best individual offensive and defensive players in the country and a young, talented quarterback of their own.