Paul Finebaum names national championship favorite
Paul Finebaum names national championship favorite
SEC college football analyst Paul Finebaum has a clear favorite for the national championship. In an interview with Mike Greenberg on ESPN's show "Get Up", Finebaum agreed that the Texas Longhorns should be the favorites to win the 2025-26 national championship.
The first reason Finebaum laid out was the Longhorns' burgeoning junior quarterback.
"They have Arch Manning," said Finebaum. "He's expected to be better than Quinn Ewers, and if he'd come in in the Cotton Bowl vs. Ohio State, they may have won that game."
Georgia was close to landing Arch Manning, but unfortunately, they lost out to Texas at the very end. Now, Georgia will potentially have to face Arch Manning twice in 2025. The Bulldogs host Texas in Athens, Georgia, this November. The teams could meet again in the SEC championship.
Finebaum also cited the transfer portal acquisitions and the easy schedule.
"They reloaded in the portal to the tune of many millions of dollars, and I think Texas, other than having to go to Ohio State Week 1, Texas is in good shape," Finebaum continued.
Texas had the nation's No. 1 recruiting class and No. 25 transfer class. The Longhorns rebuilt their defensive line through the transfer portal, landing Maraad Watson, Travis Shaw, and Cole Brevard.
However, the Longhorns have yet to beat Georgia while in the SEC. Georgia handed Texas two of its three losses in the 2024-25 season, including the SEC championship. The two teams will square off in Week 12 for what could be a de facto SEC championship.
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