Penn State head coach James Franklin poked the bear on Wednesday when he suggested his opponent in Thursday night's College Football Playoff semifinal matchup, Notre Dame, should join a conference. "This is no knock to Notre Dame,

ESPN's Paul Finebaum appears to have warmed up to the idea of the Big Ten being a premier football conference.

The ESPN college football personality offered his quick analysis of Notre Dame-Penn State and Ohio State-Texas.

Under the leadership of Brent Venables, the Sooners entered a new era this season as they transitioned from the Big 12 to the SEC. Venables was hired in 2022 after Lincoln Riley left for the USC Trojans, with the goal of preparing the Sooners for this move. However, for the second time in his three seasons, Oklahoma finished with a losing record.

The Big Ten and SEC have played five head-to-head games during Bowl Season. The Big Ten is 4-1 in those contests, the only loss being Iowa ‘s 27-24 Music City Bowl loss to Missouri. The conference also boasts two CFP Semifinal participants ( Ohio State, Penn State) to the SEC’s one ( Texas ).

The College Football Playoff semifinals will begin later this week. The four remaining teams are the No. 5 seed Texas Longhorns (13-2), the No. 6 seed Penn State Nittany Lions (13-2), the No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-1) and the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2).

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum dismissed Alabama completely on Wednesday’s Get Up for the defeat after advocating for the team to make the College Football Playoff this season.

Paul Finebaum compared current conversations around Georgia to another SEC powerhouse with high expectations. On Monday's McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, Finebaum addressed a perception that the SEC is no longer a dominant entity.