Paul Finebaum makes his predictions for upcoming SEC schedule release
Wondering how the upcoming Southeastern Conference schedule breaks down?
You aren’t alone.
According to Paul Finebaum, neither he nor the coaches from around the league know what is coming with the release of the entire 2020 SEC schedule, which is set to be released Monday night at 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT on the SEC Network. The SEC is planning on revealing the Week 1 schedule live during “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Monday.
Here is what Finebaum had to say during his most recent appearance on Birmingham-based WJOX 94.5 FM radio show “The Roundtable” when asked if the SEC coaches know the schedule and how long before he sees it.
“I don’t think they know. And as far as – I doubt seriously, I’m not just saying this, I’ll find out very far in advance,” Finebaum said on the show. “I think the more complex issue is what happens after that. You spend a lifetime in television, I’m sure they’ll have to give the network the full schedule so they can do the graphics, but I don’t think we will know with very much time in advance. So, I say that primarily to weed off all the people calling me asking for the Week 1 matches.”
When will the Iron Bowl fall on the amended SEC schedule? Finebaum predicts that game will be played in November.
“I feel very confident, it will be in November,” Finebaum said. “I don’t guarantee it will be the same weekend it always is, but I don’t think that game will be early.”
If you missed it, the Big Ten and the Pac-12 revealed their schedules (before they canceled their seasons a few days later) and had a few rivalry games played early in the season.
Could the SEC mimic that move?
“Yeah, I mean, this is a guess here — you hear stuff and you don’t know whether it’s true or not, but I think they’ll push them a little bit,” Finebaum said of the league’s rivalry matchups. “I don’t think — I think I have the schedule in my head, the week after Thanksgiving Weekend would normally be the last (week of the regular season).
“I think they’ll give, for a game like Alabama-Auburn game, which is a critically important game, I think they’ll give the game a little room to breathe. But I think it will still be within proximity of its normal position on the calendar. I just don’t think it will be where it is.”
We’ll find out tonight how accurate these predictions are when the SEC reveals the full 2020 football schedule on the SEC Network.