The Ohio State Buckeyes capped off a remarkable playoff run on Monday night by throttling Notre Dame. Their national title comes on the heels of one last year by their hated neighbors to the north, the Michigan Wolverines. It's the first time the conference has captured back-to-back championships since the iconic 1940-42 run in which the Minnesota Golden Gophers and OSU combined to bring honors back to the Midwest three consecutive years.
All of this must be a bit jarring to everyone who has thumped their chests about the relative superiority of the SEC over the years. Which, to be completely fair, has been the only stance to have because it has been better than the other conferences by leaps and bounds for a few decades.
So credit to Paul Finebaum, who serves as as a bit of an avatar for the SEC, for being honest when put on the spot by Mike Greenberg on Tuesday's Get Up about the new state of play.
"The Big Ten at the moment owns college football," Finebaum. "There's no way that you can say it doesn't when you go back to back, that's generational."
Paul Finebaum: "The Big Ten, at the moment, owns college football. And there's no way you can say it doesn't... it's an uncomfortable feeling for the SEC, which has owned the sport. But it's a reality this morning." pic.twitter.com/B1KR8efVDS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 21, 2025
Ohio State beat two SEC teams on its way to the crown. It took late Notre Dame heroics to prevent an all-Big Ten final between the Buckeyes and Penn State.
The way Greenberg phrased his question here would have drawn a swift objection from any lucid lawyer in a court of law but he got the answer he wanted.
No word when the parade at Big Ten headquarters will be.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paul Finebaum Admits That the Big Ten Owns College Football.
