Paul Finebaum vehemently defends Miami as potential SEC expansion candidate

As things stand, the SEC sits at 16 teams with Oklahoma and Texas set to join by the 2025 season, at the latest. There have been talks of adding up to four more teams with the conference attempting to keep up with the Big Ten during college football’s latest round of realignment.

There are a few options out there where the SEC could make a splash, with the Miami Hurricanes being one of the top candidates. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum seems to be in favor of bringing another big-time school from the state of Florida into the conference, saying Mario Cristobal is going to bring the program back to prominence.

Finebaum even went on to say if Cristobal has success with Miami, he should be considered the favorite to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. He thinks that highly of the Hurricanes’ head coach, even before taking a snap in Coral Gables.

“Miami was yesterday’s news but they’re also today’s news,” Finebaum said. “Mario Cristobal, yeah he lost twice last year against Utah but he learned under Nick Saban among other things. Mario Cristobal right now, were he to win quickly at the University of Miami, he would the logical choice to replace Saban. That’s how much he’s thought of in Alabama circles and college football circles.”

More on Miami Hurricanes, potentially joining SEC

From an SEC perspective, Miami brings one of the biggest brands and fan bases in college football, let alone the southeast. Five national titles ranging over a 14-year period, with the latest in 2000, will be appealing as well.

While the Hurricanes might not have a conference championship since 2003 (in the Big East) is something Cristobal will want to be changing, whether it’s in the ACC or SEC. Expectations are already going to be high in Year One, even though there has not been a snap taken on the field.

Miami would blend in well regionally as well, already having a massive rival in Florida. Teams such as Georgia and South Carolina would feel the presence of the Hurricanes right away as well. Cristobal could be that dangerous running their program.

Until then, the head coach will continue to impress on the recruiting trail and even beat out some SEC programs for top prospects. Cristobal currently has Miami as the No. 7 2023 class per the On3 Consensus, snagging commitments from seven top 150 prospects, with five-star offensive tackle Francis Mauigoa being viewed as the crown jewel. The first chance to impress on the field will be on Sept. 3 against Bethune-Cookman.