Paul Finebaum’s prediction for the College Football Playoff
ESPN personality Paul Finebaum appeared on SportsCenter after the first true college football Saturday and made his picks for the four teams to make the College Football Playoff this season.
Ranking his top four teams in the country, as well as one team to file away for later this season, Finebaum went with Clemson at No. 4, Ohio State at No. 3, Georgia at No. 2, Alabama at No. 1 and Oklahoma as the file team.
Ohio State defeated Notre Dame, 21-10, on Saturday in a top-five matchup in Columbus, while third-ranked Georgia thrashed No. 11 Oregon, 49-3, in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta. No. 1 Alabama beat down Utah State in Tuscaloosa, 55-0, and ninth-ranked Oklahoma rolled over UTEP in Norman, 45-13, in Brent Venables’ debut.
No. 4 Clemson, of course, opens its season against Georgia Tech tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (8 p.m., ESPN).
Here’s what Finebaum had to say regarding his top four teams and Oklahoma:
“Fourth is Clemson. They’ll play on Monday night against Georgia Tech. They will handle that pretty easily. Clemson, though, has a pretty tough schedule. I say that because they play in the ACC, where we saw carnage all weekend long or near carnage. But they’ll see Notre Dame later on, and I think that will help establish Clemson for yet another run at the playoffs.”
“No. 3 is Ohio State. … They underwhelmed, but they’re still in pretty good shape. They were No. 2 in all the polls.”
“No. 2 is Georgia. You can make an argument that Georgia should be No. 1. They beat Oregon, but I discount any win against a Pac-12 wannabe. We’ve seen enough of them. But Stetson Bennett showed he’s ready for primetime.”
“No. 1, of course, is Alabama. Bryce Young, well on his way to being back in the front row in New York. So, the Tide will get a good opponent this coming week when they go to Texas.”
“And my file team, you could pick anybody, but I really like what Brent Venables did at Oklahoma. You have a new coach, you have a new quarterback, you have a new system and a new attitude, and they don’t want to hear Lincoln Riley’s name in Norman anymore and they’re determined to show that Brent Venables is the right choice.”
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.
Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!
