Even Paul Finebaum Has Admitted Defeat On SEC's Performance: 'It's Been Terrible'

Well, the SEC's postseason performance in the 2025-2026 bowl and College Football Playoff season has apparently cost the conference its most ardent supporter. 

It's no secret that ESPN is in the business of promoting the SEC. As the conference's media partner and the broadcaster of the vast majority of College Football Playoff games, it behooves ESPN to get as many SEC teams into the field as possible. Bigger brand names, bigger ratings, and more prestige for its associated conference. 

That obvious incentive structure has led to obvious outcomes. The network's most prominent college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit roasted the selection committee in 2024 as Notre Dame beat Indiana by 10, saying more three-loss SEC teams should get in because of the supposed strength of their schedules. Greg Sankey joined the ESPN-run SEC Network in December to say that his conference is better than all others, deserves more respect, and should have gotten seven teams into this year's field. 

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Then there's the litany of SEC-promoting personalities that are featured throughout the ESPN family of networks. Rece Davis, Nick Saban, and of course, Paul Finebaum. Perhaps no analyst has worked harder to create the aura of superiority around the SEC than Finebaum. And yet even he has apparently thrown in the towel after the conference's abysmal performances over the past few weeks.

Paul Finebaum of ESPN and the SEC Network. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Paul Finebaum: SEC Has Been ‘Terrible’

The list of poor SEC performances this offseason is jaw-dropping. Tennessee lost to Illinois. Missouri lost to Virginia. Texas A&M scored three points at home in the College Football Playoff against Miami. LSU lost to Houston. Mississippi State lost to Wake Forest. 10-2 Vanderbilt, who'd been heavily lobbying for a playoff bid, lost to 8-4 Big Ten team Iowa. 

Then, after beating another SEC team, Finebaum's Alabama Crimson Tide were obliterated by the Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl Game. The final score 38-3, doesn't do justice to the gap between the two teams. And that seems to have been the final straw for Finebaum's willingness to defend the SEC.

Appearing on ESPN's First Take Tuesday morning, Finebaum was asked "Is the SEC's run of dominance over as we know it," and quipped "I'm under contract to disagree with you." 

Jokes aside, Finebaum continued, "Yeah…There's no way to defend the SEC. It's been terrible. Now, I'm sure somebody at the SEC office is whispering, ‘hey don’t forget, Ole Miss could win it all,' and that would solve some of the wounds, but this has been a long year for the SEC. And I think in the end, because I kept wrapping my arms around Alabama, saying ‘Stephen A, remember what they did, they went through that gauntlet in the middle of the year,' well a lot of those teams they beat weren't very good after all. They've lost in bowl games and looked terrible, so it's a rough year for the SEC."

"If Ole Miss loses Thursday night, and I'm sitting around having to defend this league to you, Stephen A, saying ‘Oh, no big deal that it's three straight years without an SEC team in the National Championship game,' I mean, there's no defense, it's been rough."

Well, well, well!

Again, none of this criticism of the SEC's performance means that Ole Miss won't win the title. Or that Georgia won't win it next year. But when one conference elevates its hypothetical records above all others. When one conference says "it just means more." When one conference launders the word "gauntlet" to describe playing 8-5 teams that don't beat a single team with a winning record. When one conference is able to influence the selection committee to make its conference championship game a de facto exhibition where the result doesn't matter. When one conference has the most powerful media network in its back pocket to influence perception. When one conference consistently benefits from preseason polls creating inaccurate assumptions and "ranked wins" throughout the season. When one conference says other teams shouldn't be allowed in the playoff if they have the same record as an SEC team. Among just a few examples, the bar for success is higher. And deservedly so. 

The SEC will continue to have plenty of depth and talent, it will continue to benefit from the ability to recruit its backyard. But it's clear that the gap between conferences has vanished. Even Paul Finebaum admits it.