For years, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has insisted that the SEC is the premier college football conference. However, following Ohio State’s National Championship win, which marked a second consecutive year of supremacy for the Big Ten, he had to reconsider his stance—something that Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule greatly appreciated. Since arriving in Nebraska in 2023, Rhule has consistently maintained that the Big Ten is the best league in college football, even calling it the NFL of college football.
When Rhule first made this claim, Finebaum mocked him on ESPN’s Get Up, advising him to “stay in his lane” and not to “worry about the big boys” in the SEC. However, in a recent episode of Get Up, Finebaum conceded to Rhule’s assessment that college football is now dominated by the Big Ten. Mike Greenberg posed the question, “Does the Big Ten own college football?” to which Finebaum responded, “The answer Greeny is yes. The Big Ten at the moment owns college football. And there is no way you can say it doesn’t. When you go back-to-back, that’s generational. In Ohio State’s case, they beat two SEC schools along the way. There is an old saying from 1828 when Andrew Jackson was elected president: ‘To the victor belong the spoils’. That’s exactly where the Big Ten is this morning. It’s an uncomfortable feeling for the SEC which has owned the sport, but it’s a reality this morning.”
“The Big Ten at the moment owns college football.”
—@finebaum has high praise for the Big Ten 🤩 pic.twitter.com/a7LlhOwi73
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 21, 2025
Upon hearing Finebaum’s reassessment, Matt Rhule decided to have some fun at his “friend’s” expense on social media. In a post on X, he highlighted Finebaum’s statements made before and after Ohio State’s championship victory, saying, “What an amazing 2024 college football season. Congratulations to @OhioStateFB and @ryandaytime . Looking forward to another exciting year of football in 2025 with everyone who makes this game so special like my friend @finebaum pic.twitter.com/SQEDQ3rW7F
— Matt Rhule (@CoachMattRhule) January 21, 2025
It’s worth noting that Finebaum is not the only college football personality who has championed the SEC as the top conference; however, he is the most recognized face of SEC support at ESPN, a network that has faced a significant amount of scrutiny due to a perceived SEC bias.
