ESPN college football expert Paul Finebaum does not think that the SEC will go a third consecutive season without winning a national championship. Finebaum predicts that the Texas Longhorns will win the national title.
“I think the SEC will make it back to the (national) championship game,” said Finebaum on an ESPN segment. “And I think it is going to be Texas.
“Yes, we have had plenty to say about Arch Manning, but that’s not the only thing that Steve Sarkisian has,” added Finebaum. “He has the best team in the country top to bottom. It is his best roster. He (Sarkisian) says that, not me. And for that reason, they may lose one game along the way, they’re going to be the national champion when it is over.”
The Longhorns are drawing a significant amount of preseason hype after falling the in the College Football Playoff semifinals last season. Texas returns a stacked team and is the preseason No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.
However, Texas will face many challenges in 2025 and it starts on the road in Week 1 as the Longhorns play the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes on the road. Texas will play another preseason top-five game on the road against the Georgia Bulldogs, who beat Texas twice last season. In 2024, Texas went 13-0 against opponents outside of Ohio State and Georgia.
Arch Manning and company also face two other ranked opponents in No. 17 Florida (road) and No. 21 Texas A&M (home).
Just how accurate is Finebaum? Last preseason, he incorrectly picked Georgia to win the national championship, but he was not completely confident and named Ohio State, who went on to win the national title, as the reason why.
