Who wins the next national championship? Paul Finebaum makes his prediction
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Since Nick Saban’s hailed arrival in Tuscaloosa back in 2007, Alabama fans have not had to wait longer than three seasons to win a national championship.
Incredibly, that streak lives on as we are set to enter the 2020 college football season.
Considering Saban has not led Alabama to a national championship victory in the previous two seasons, that streak is on the line entering the season but it will live on if Paul Finebaum’s preseason prediction turns out to be true.
During a recent appearance on ESPN morning show “Get Up,” the SEC Network host was asked to make his prediction for the next national champion in college football.
“I don’t want to shock you here Greenie, but I’m going with Alabama and I’m going with Alabama for a specific reason,” Finebaum answered on the show. “It has been two years, two long years since they won a championship. Nick Saban probably will find his team ranked number three in the preseason behind Ohio State and Clemson.
“They’ve got an ax to grind and that can be very dangerous, and one more thing, I think Saban has taken advantage of the offseason while other coaches have been wondering, ‘What am I supposed to be doing right now?'”
Who will be Alabama’s main competition in the Southeastern Conference? Finebaum pointed toward Kirby Smart’s program when asked to share his take on the show.
“Georgia, and [Alabama] could face Georgia twice, I know Laura [Rutledge] picked Florida [to win the SEC East] but sorry, she’s going to have to be wrong about this one,” Finebaum continued. “Georgia plays Alabama September 19 on the schedule in Tuscaloosa. So that’s an advantage Alabama.
“Alabama has Southern Cal in the first game, whether that game comes off we don’t know. They have to go to LSU, but I think you’re right, LSU has missed too many pieces. I think you’ll have a really good season, they could win 10 or 11 games, I don’t think they’ll win the championship. And then they have Auburn and home, and we’ll probably have to face Georgia again Georgia is the nemesis.”
Finebaum is playing it conservative and going chalk, picking Alabama and Georgia as the best two teams in the SEC heading into the 2020 season.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
