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Paul Finebaum Makes Tough Admission On State Of SEC Football

Originally posted on The Spun | By Hunter Hodies | Last updated Jan 28, 2025 10:54 AM ET

The 12-team format for the College Football Playoff was a success in its first year but not for the SEC.

Of the final four teams, two were in the Big Ten while only one (Texas) was in the SEC. The new format saw the SEC Champion, Georgia, get eliminated by Notre Dame in the quarterfinals.

It's also the second straight year that the SEC has been shutout in the National Championship Game and Paul Finebaum thinks it's been a big blow to the conference.

"When you don't win the title, when you don't go to the championship, when the champion ends up beating two of your schools, and your champion loses in the quarterfinals, it's a big blow to the ego of a league that has thrived for more than 20 years on how big and bad and brawny and successful the SEC has been," Finebaum said on "McElroy & Cubleic In the Morning," (first transcribed by On3).

The SEC hasn't been featured in the last two CFP National Championship Games while the Big Ten has featured the last two national champions. Michigan won it all last season while Ohio State won this year's national title.

It's something that the SEC wants to change heading into the 2025 season. The conference will still be great with teams like Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas, Tenessee, and Texas A&M trying to compete for an SEC title and spots in the CFP.

Meanwhile, Ohio State will try and go for a repeat after winning its first national title in a decade. Ohio State came into the CFP as the eighth seed but crushed everyone it played, including top-seeded Oregon in the Rose Bowl, 41-21

Next season is going to be a lot of fun to follow once it starts in late August.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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