Paul Finebaum has never been shy about backing the SEC. For years, he’s been the unofficial voice of the conference-loud, loyal, and rarely wrong when it comes to predicting who dominates college football.
But this week? He didn’t just change his tune.
He practically sang Indiana’s fight song.
After months of dismissing Indiana’s rise, questioning their schedule, and casting doubt on head coach Curt Cignetti, Finebaum went on air and laid it all out. “Almost everything I said throughout the season about him and about Indiana was wrong,” he said on his show.
“It was an epic failure on my part.” That’s not just a walk-back.
That’s a full-on mea culpa, and it came after Indiana capped off a perfect 16-0 season by winning the national championship Monday night in Miami.
Finebaum didn’t stop there. He called Indiana “the greatest story in the history of the game” and, perhaps most shockingly for SEC diehards, declared: “There was no question Indiana was the best team.” He even went further: “The Big Ten is the best conference in the country.”
That’s the kind of statement that echoes beyond one analyst’s opinion. Finebaum has long been the SEC’s most passionate public advocate.
For him to crown the Big Ten? That’s not just analysis-it’s a seismic shift.
And the numbers back it up. Indiana’s championship marks the third straight national title for a Big Ten program.
Michigan and Ohio State claimed the previous two, giving the conference four total championships. The SEC still leads with six, but the margin is shrinking-and fast.
Indiana’s rise under Curt Cignetti is nothing short of remarkable. Two years ago, this was a program known more for basketball than football.
They hadn’t posted a double-digit win season. Enter Cignetti, who went 27-2 in two seasons and just delivered the school’s first-ever national title.
“We took some chances, found a way,” Cignetti told reporters after the win. “Let me tell you: We won the national championship at Indiana University. It can be done.”
It’s the kind of story that reshapes the college football landscape. Indiana became the first team to win its first national title since Florida did it in 1996.
That 29-year gap underscores just how rare this kind of breakthrough is. And it’s not just about Indiana-it’s about what their success signals to the rest of the Big Ten and beyond.
Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti wasn’t celebrating this as a final destination. He sees it as the start of something bigger.
“I feel like we’re just getting started,” he said after Indiana’s 27-21 win over Miami. And why not?
Indiana’s blueprint-smart risks, steady leadership, and belief-could inspire other programs to believe they’re not far off.
For now, though, this moment belongs to Indiana. To a team that proved everyone wrong.
To a coach who turned a basketball school into a football powerhouse. And yes, to Paul Finebaum, who had the humility to admit he missed it all.
The SEC may still be college football royalty, but the Big Ten just claimed the throne. And the loudest voice in the South? He’s finally giving credit where it’s due.