Paul Finebaum previews how many SEC teams could make College Football Playoff in 2024

The College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams in 2024. With that, it would appear that the SEC is in a good position to get multiple teams in the Playoff, with analyst Paul Finebaum sharing that he thinks three or four SEC teams could make the Playoff.

While talking about it on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, Finebaum took Georgia as an assumed Playoff team before breaking down the other SEC schools.

“Let’s move Georgia off the table,” Paul Finebaum said. “I really like Alabama, as I told you once before, depending on circumstances, but today, and I’m not trying to be a qualifier, I would like them because I think they have enough players and a difficult schedule.”

Alabama is coming off an SEC Championship and a trip to the College Football Playoff. However, Nick Saban‘s retirement has led to plenty of questions around the program.

“You don’t have to be perfect. After that, I really like Ole Miss. I think Lane Kiffin, with some of the transfers he’s brought in and some of the recruits, the team, this should be his defining season.”

As Paul Finebaum pointed out, Ole Miss has done an excellent job in the Transfer Portal this offseason. In fact, Ole Miss has the third-ranked portal class in the On3 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That includes 17 incoming players.

“And then, who is it? By the way, I’ve already forgotten Texas. They would be my second team after Georgia and before Alabama. Then you have Ole Miss and Missouri and LSU. To me, it’s really, I think three will get in and then who is between three and four? So, if you have Georgia and Texas, I think Alabama and Ole Miss. You’re splitting hairs. Who wins those games?”

Ultimately, there are going to be plenty of SEC teams deserving of a spot in the Playoff. However, there are still a limited number of slots that the SEC will only get one automatic bid, assuming that the conference has one of the five highest ranked conference champions. After that, teams will need to compete for seven at-large bids.

Paul Finebaum speculates on why SEC, Big Ten decided to partner

The SEC and Big Ten recently decided to announce a partnership between the two conferences. This was a move that Paul Finebaum, in turn, speculated about.

“I think it’s a combination of a lot of things, but I think the biggest issue is all of these court cases that scare everyone inside the arena, so to speak, and I just think it was inevitable. And I think, obviously, it’s Kevin Warren leaving the Big Ten. [SEC Commissioner Greg] Sankey reached out to Kevin Warren in the past and Kevin Warren thought he was always the smartest guy in the room and he never was,” Finebaum said.

“So I think ultimately Tony Petitti having a history with the SEC with some of his other jobs and reached [to Sankey] very quickly.”