Paul Finebaum updates his top four College Football Playoff teams, picks one to file away

With Week 1 now mostly behind us, Paul Finebaum is already looking toward the College Football Playoff. The ESPN analyst joined a SportsCenter segment Sunday, where he listed four early Playoff picks as well as one to watch.

Most of the top teams took care of business this weekend, and Finebaum’s top four still contains many of the preseason favorites. He picked Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama as his Playoff teams.

Alabama and Georgia both secured blowout wins Saturday, though the Bulldogs faced a better opponent in Oregon compared to Utah State. Ohio State did not look like the explosive offense it was last season but ultimately earned a victory over a top 5 opponent in Notre Dame. Clemson did not play this weekend and will kick off its season Monday.

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As for his team to file away, Finebaum chose Oklahoma. The Sooners started off the Brent Venables era with a 45-13 victory against UTEP on Saturday. Finebaum believes new quarterback Dillon Gabriel is in for a big season in Jeff Lebby’s offense after throwing for 233 yards and scoring three total touchdowns in the win.

Below you can find Finebaum’s list ranked in order, along with his comments on each team.

Paul Finebaum’s College Football Playoff teams

4. Clemson Tigers

“I’m gonna start with a team we haven’t even seen yet. Fourth is Clemson. They’ll play on Monday night against Georgia Tech, and they will handle that pretty easily. Clemson, though, has a pretty tough schedule. I say that because they play in the ACC where we saw carnage all weekend long. They’ll play Notre Dame later on, and I think that will help establish Clemson for another run at the Playoff.”

3. Ohio State Buckeyes

“No. 3 is Ohio State. I think we’ve had a little bit to say about them already. They underwhelmed, but they’re still in pretty good shape. They’re No. 2 in all the polls.”

2. Georgia Bulldogs

“No. 2 is Georgia. You can make an argument that Georgia should be No. 1. They beat Oregon, but I discount any win against a Pac-12 wannabe — we’ve seen enough of them. But Stetson Bennett showed he’s ready for primetime.”

1. Alabama Crimson Tide

“No. 1 of course is Alabama. Bryce Young is well on his way to being back in the front row in New York. The Tide will get a good opponent this coming week when they go to Texas.”

Team to file away: Oklahoma Sooners

“I really like what Brent Venables did at Oklahoma. You have a new coach, a new quarterback, a new system and a new attitude. They don’t want to hear Lincoln Riley’s name in Norman anymore, and they’re determined to show that Brent Venables is the right choice.”