Paul Finebaum reveals the SEC team that received his highest grade of the week

Not that it comes as much of a shock, but the SEC was the best conference in the opening week of college football. LSU is the only SEC team with a loss on their schedule to this point. The rest of the conference currently sits at a combined 14-0. With 15 games on the books, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum says one team separated themselves from the rest based on their opener.

Finebaum joined ‘McElroy & Cubelic In The Morning’ and they asked him which SEC team would have earned his highest grade. After their shocking 49-3 trouncing of No. 11 Oregon, Finebaum said he had to go with the defending champions in the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs.

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“It would have gone to Georgia just because we expected them to be really good. But I didn’t expect them to be as good as they looked,” Finebaum said. “I know the conversation sometimes turns into what about the opponent? Well, that’s the oldest line in college football after one week. Coaches are always saying I just don’t know how good the other team is. Well, we know now that the other team, in this case, was not very good, but Georgia just exceeded expectations.”

The Bulldogs put on an outstanding performance in their debut in Atlanta. Offensively, Stetson Bennett outclassed Bo Nix with a 25/31 day for 368 yards and three total touchdowns. The team finished with 571 total yards and seven total touchdowns. Defensively, they didn’t skip a beat after losing tons of production from their historic 2021 defense. They held the Ducks to single digits, snatched two interceptions and finished with 56 total tackles along with three tackles for loss.

Overall, Georgia’s performance was the one that stole the show. Although they’re the reigning champions and there were some other great SEC wins, Paul Finebaum couldn’t ignore what Georgia did.

“I know it seems like I’m giving a good grade to (a team) who’s always sitting at the front of the class and the No. 1 valedictorian, but I have to do it in this case,” said Finebaum.

Georgia was the best amongst the best conference to open the college football season. After plenty expected a drop-off, the Bulldogs silenced that crowd quickly. They made the biggest statement to start and Paul Finebaum gave them the credit for it. Regardless of what you thought about the Bulldogs entering the season, they proved they’re still amongst the best in the nation and well within the playoff hunt to start the 2022 season.