Paul Finebaum explains why he’s picking Texas to win 2025 national title
Published:
Paul Finebaum did not believe Texas had a real shot to overcome Ohio State in last year’s College Football Playoff semifinals.
He was right, of course, with the Buckeyes outlasting the Longhorns and ultimately winning the national title. Seven months later, as fall camps open for the 2025 season and Arch Manning gets ready to take over at quarterback for Texas, the ESPN college football analyst has a much different view of the Longhorns.
This time, Finebaum believes Texas is good enough to get over the hump and win that elusive first national title in 2 decades. In fact, he’s picking the Longhorns to win it all in 2025, explaining on SportsCenter on Saturday morning exactly why he’s going with the Horns to conquer all this time around.
As a setup question, Finebaum was asked if the SEC will go a third straight season without winning a national title, after Michigan and Ohio State captured the last 2 crowns, respectively. Finebaum didn’t take the bait, instead countering that Texas will answer the bell for the SEC in 2025.
“I think the SEC will make it back to the championship game, and I think it’s going to be Texas,” Finebaum said. “We’ve had plenty to say about Arch Manning, but (Texas head coach) Steve Sarkisian has the best team in the country. I think they might lose 1 game along the way, but they’re going to be the national champion when it’s all over.”
Texas will begin that quest for a national title in about the toughest atmosphere possible, opening the season at defending national champion Ohio State on Aug. 30.
Finebaum has been a longtime (and outspoken) supporter of Manning, believing the new starting quarterback can help the Longhorns navigate what is one of the toughest schedules in the country. He has already called Manning the best quarterback to enter college football since Tim Tebow and guaranteed that Manning will lead Texas to a win over the Buckeyes at the start of the season.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
