Paul Finebaum drops top 4 teams after Week 1, lists another SEC team as 1 to watch
Now that the main College Football Playoff contenders have all played a game, everyone has a better idea of the top four teams in the country.
SEC Network radio host and analyst Paul Finebaum joined SportsCenter Sunday morning to recap a wild Week 1, and in a new segment, Finebaum shared his top four teams.
The analyst included both Alabama and Georgia in his top four, along with non-SEC teams Clemson and Michigan.
Clemson hammered Georgia Tech Thursday night 52-14, while Alabama throttled Duke Saturday 42-3. Georgia hammered Vanderbilt 30-6, and Michigan beat Middle Tennessee 40-21.
Below is what Finebaum said about the four teams:
1. Clemson Tigers: “They looked good against Georgia Tech, but they better be ready Saturday. They have Texas A&M.”
2. Alabama Crimson Tide: “I’m used to Alabama being No. 1, but they didn’t look impressive. They won and they covered.”
3. Georgia Bulldogs: “Georgia is very obvious. They are close to knocking that door down against Alabama. Will they do it this year? I think they have a reasonable shot. They have Notre Dame in three weeks.”
4. Michigan Wolverines: “I like Michigan. Even though they were sketchy last night, I think they’re going to be around awhile. Me liking Jim Harbaugh is breaking news on a Sunday morning.”
Although LSU wasn’t in Finebaum’s top four, the analyst listed the Tigers as the team to watch. LSU destroyed Georgia Southern 55-3 behind Joe Burrow’s five first-half touchdown passes.
“My team from the back is not really that far back,” Finebaum said. “They’re going to be on display in primetime. They’re at No. 6 right now, but this LSU team goes to Alabama, and should they get past Texas, they could go into Alabama in November undefeated.”
Alabama didn’t look impressive? Man, I know the standard is high for us, but it’s hard to do much better than 42-3.
for the first game of the season you cannot do much better than 42-3. i remember spurrier at florida getting booed for only being up 28-7 on auburn and fans wanting to run the score up. a Win is a Win by an inch or a mile.
…and 15 true freshmen from the 2019 recruiting cycle played against Duke.
That’s a ridiculous stat.
It’s just the way the 1st qt. played out. Made folks wonder.
I assumed that the slow start was a result of multiple starters being benched in the first half for discipline reasons.
Hadn’t realized so many true freshmen were carrying the weight. Wow.
Standards are high for the team maybe? You don’t play on the team, so it’s not us lol
Fans are the only reason there are teams DA, so it is “us”..
You are being compared to Clemson, and Dabo gave his entire roster playing time. That’s a blow-out. Your run game wasn’t as good as expected.
55-3
Power 5 team vs Sun Belt team?
LSU looked good but it was Georgia Southern! So relax
It was Georgia last year. LSU fans have every right to be excited.
So you’re hoping that Texas can do what your team can’t. Comical. Most SEC fans will be pulling for LSU. I am happy you aren’t. It will be another disappointing night for you.
I can’t remember the last time I hoped for a LSU win, but I sure hope they go into Austin and put a good old fashion butt whoopin’ on those jerks.
There you go again assuming you know it all.
Slow the roll..you beat down a garbage team. Auburn’s the only team in the nation with a quality win, and everyone’s dismissing it..
Sure Auburn won but with that Auburn luck they got beat everywhere but the scoreboard on the luckiest throw of that young man’s career but y’all are use to winning on lucky throws
Bama looked as good as it’s ever been? I mean a slow start from new freshman and new coaches, still scary good. I love to hate them but cant deny the level they are.
No doubt. Seemingly endless pool of 5-star talent. Crazy.
It was the Duke football team man. Zion wasn’t on the field. And Bama didn’t really look good in the first half considering the competition.
Finebaum has never studied the mechanics of what he’s looking at. His analysis is often just plain silly.
LSU has had their tune up and it looked like all systems are go. If they can stay physical on defense and run the ball when they have to, they will be the better team come Saturday. SEC, SEC, SEC!!!
It’s the first game of the season, believe me I know I’m a Volunteer fan. We got embarrassed by losing to GA ST. One game does not define the whole season, especially in week 1. I will root for any SEC team in a non-conference game except for Florida, who us always overrated, and is well, just Florida.
Alabama, Auburn and LSU are all talented, capable teams…AND they MUST PLAY EACH OTHER.
The SEC Championship Game in December is wide open for the West. It will be fun to watch.
You can call me a homer, but A&M should be in this conversation. They play all those teams as well and have 2 of the 3 at home. We’ll have a better idea this weekend as to how good their chances are though.
I’d replace Auburn with aTm. I think Auburn didn’t look as good as expected. the west will be fun as usual
Interesting how Auburn’s victory over Oregon never occurred in Finebaum’s world. That was a quality win against a very good team. No other ranked team had a quality opponent in week one.
This was about his top 4. Auburn, despite the big win, is still not in anyone’s top 4. Offense looked ugly most of the night despite getting the win. They have a ways to go.
True, offense struggled for several stretches.However, when the game was on the line, the TRUE freshman really performed!