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Paul Finebaum suggests he will leave the country if SEC does not win the national championship

ns_headshot_2024-clearby: Nick Schultz08/09/25NickSchultz_7
Paul Finebaum
Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

After the Big Ten won back-to-back national championships, Paul Finebaum heard about it on his show. The SEC Network host has dealt with callers trolling him over the Big Ten’s success as Michigan and Ohio State won titles.

This year, however, Finebaum joked he’s preparing to take drastic steps if the conference wins another. He said if the SEC doesn’t win this year’s championship, he’d leave the country.

Finebaum pointed out the difference between the amount of Big Ten titles vs. the SEC. Prior to Michigan’s 2023 championship, the Big Ten had not had a champion since Ohio State in 2014. Before that, the Buckeyes won the 2002 title and Michigan shared it with Nebraska in 1997.

“It is,” Finebaum said when asked if it’ll be an SEC team that wins the title this year. “And by the way, if it’s not, I’m leaving the country because I am so sick and tired of being harassed by Big Ten fans on our show. The Big Ten has literally done nothing. They won two national championships. Michigan won one two years ago. They won 1.5 national championships, I think, before that in 70 years and they act like they invented football. Alabama has won about 15 national championships in my lifetime. I realize that’s not a good comparison to a realistic life span.”

Paul Finebaum: Texas will win 2025 national championship

Paul Finebaum eventually picked Texas to bring home the 2025 title. The Longhorns are generating plenty of buzz as a contender as Arch Manning gets ready to take over as the full-time starting quarterback. Texas also has a talented running back room and is set up for success on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.

“I believe Texas is going to win,” Finebaum said. “I didn’t mean to avoid your question. It’s going to end all this, and on Jan. 20, I’ll be the happiest man in America because I won’t have to listen to the Big Ten’ers or, as my callers call them, the ‘Little Ten’ers.'”

Texas will kick the 2025 season off on the big stage in a thrilling SEC-Big Ten showdown. The Longhorns will travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State in what will be Manning’s first game as the full-time starting quarterback. It’s also a rematch of last year’s Cotton Bowl in the College Football Playoff, which saw the Buckeyes come away with the victory as they eventually won the title.