Paul Finebaum denies Florida-Georgia as best neutral site game in college football

Annual neutral site games are not too common in college football and the debate for the sport’s best has raged on. Florida–Georgia certainly has a case, being played in Jacksonville every single year, with Saturday’s upcoming matchup being the latest. Texas–Oklahoma and Army–Navy are the other candidates.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the matter, including ESPN’s Paul Finebaum. He was recently asked if Florida-Georgia was the top neutral site game but did not agree. Instead, he took the SEC’s newest rivalry that takes place in Dallas every October.

“No. And I say that because I went to the Oklahoma-Texas game recently,” Finebaum said. “There’s something about that game that is more unique. It’s more of a poor man’s game. The State Fair, the cotton candy. It’s not the $5,000 a night condo and the $350 greens fee. So, I’m more of a common man. The Florida-Georgia game is great but I would rank Oklahoma-Texas maybe one notch ahead of it.”

Finebaum had not experienced the Red River Shootout until this season. And likely with good reason considering Texas and Oklahoma were members of the Big 12. The SEC’s leading voice did not have much reason to pay attention to the game.

But after getting to experience the State Fair of Texas, Finebaum bumped it up to his No. 1 spot. He did not discuss where Army-Navy would potentially rank but his overall answer does not change.

Finebaum will be in Jacksonville over the weekend, taking in the Florida-Georgia game. His radio show will be live on site Friday afternoon as will SEC Nation, scheduled for Saturday morning. ABC will then broadcast the matchup with kickoff scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.

Maybe something will change Finebaum’s mind over the weekend, placing the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party back on top.