Paul Finebaum lists teams on upset watch in conference championships

In an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show on Thursday, ESPN radio host Paul Finebaum named he believes could be upset in their conference championships. In his eyes, nobody is safe.

“I do think Cincinnati is vulnerable against Houston,” Finebaum said. “That’s a team that we haven’t talked much about, but they’re one quite a hot streak. I’d rather not say this out loud, but what if Michigan lost? I’m not getting out of bed Sunday morning if Michigan loses, because I don’t even want to think about that possbility. I’m now the biggest Jim Harbaugh fan in America. I hope he wins everything and never loses another game. …Oklahoma State can lose. All of these are possibilities. They’re not that far-fetched.”

For most teams involved, there is a lot more riding on Saturday’s games than simply a conference championship. Cincinnati, Michigan and Oklahoma State all need a victory to get into the College Football Playoff.

The Bearcats got through the regular season unscathed, but that is perhaps because they avoided Houston in conference play. The Cougars are 8-0 in the AAC, and their only loss came in Week 1 against Texas Tech.

Cincinnati would be the first Group of 5 school to make the Playoff should it handle business Saturday. However, the Bearcats have already had several close calls this year. Navy, which finished the year 3-8, nearly took them out in Week 8.

Cougars coach Dana Holgerson has plenty of experience on his side as well. Before taking over Houston in 2019, he spent eight years with West Virginia, amassing a 61-41 record. The Cougars’ 11 wins this season are the most since 2015, when Tom Herman led them to the Peach Bowl.

Michigan enters its contest against Iowa as an 11-point favorite. The Wolverines earned a monumental victory against Ohio State this past week, the first for coach Jim Harbaugh in six tries. Should the Wolverines do what is expected and take out the Hawkeyes, they are all but guaranteed the first Playoff appearance in program history.

Oklahoma State is the only team of the three that faced its conference championship opponent during the regular season. The Cowboys defeated Baylor by score of 24-14 earlier this year, and must do so again Saturday to earn a spot in the final four.

Led by the third overall defense in the country, the Cowboys are giving up an average of just 16.4 points per game. In a 37-33 victory against rival Oklahoma in Week 13, OSU held the Sooners offense scoreless in the second half.

As Paul Finebaum said, it really wouldn’t be a surprise to see any one of these teams get upset in their conference championships. At this point in the season, the competition is going to be the best of the best, which should make for plenty of entertainment this weekend.