For years, the SEC was college football's undisputed king. But the crown has slipped, and Paul Finebaum knows exactly who to blame.
Big Ten's Reign
The Big Ten has won three consecutive College Football Playoff national titles — Michigan in 2023, Ohio State in 2024, and Indiana in 2025. Meanwhile, the SEC, once a talent magnet, now watches from second place. Even Georgia's Kirby Smart admits the shift: “At the top of their conference, there’s more good teams. It used to be Ohio State was good. Well, Michigan was really good, Indiana’s good. Now they’ve got Oregon. They have the ability to attract good players.”
Smart also pointed to NIL spreading talent thin, saying “the disparity was so great that it was like you couldn’t mess it up. You’d win regardless. And now it’s more even.”
Finebaum's Verdict
But Finebaum, the voice of the SEC, isn't buying that explanation. Speaking on Crain & Cone, he laid the blame squarely on Smart: “It’s at the top of the SEC where the problem has occurred, and it’s all one person’s fault — it’s Kirby Smart’s fault. Because he won two in a row, he made it look so easy — he should’ve won three in a row, but Nick Saban stunned him in the SEC championship game.”
Finebaum argues that Smart's success masked the conference's vulnerabilities, allowing complacency to creep in while the Big Ten surged ahead. He added, “I don’t think it’s a reason to go hide under a rock, nor do I think it’s a reason for SEC fans to beat their chest about anything.”
The commentator even joked about his own outdated book, “My Conference Can Beat Your Conference: Why the SEC Still Rules College Football,” now selling for 35 cents. “Let’s just be real about it,” he said, urging SEC loyalists to accept the new reality.
As the 2026 college football schedules loom, the Big Ten's grip shows no sign of loosening. And with $50 million rosters becoming the norm, the arms race is only intensifying.
Whether Smart accepts the blame or not, Finebaum's message is clear: the SEC's fall from grace started in Athens.
