Paul Finebaum may have angered a fanbase or two after he released his midseason CFB rankings on-air on Wednesday.
On an episode of 'Get Up', the notable ESPN college football analyst was asked by Mike Greenberg for his Top 4 college football playoff projections this far into the 2023 season. Finebaum started with a nationwide favorite -- Georgia -- before listing three other verifiable powerhouses.
He said Georgia is still "number one in my book" even though everybody wants to "beat up on them." For the rest, he listed Ohio State as No. 2 after their win against Notre Dame, Florida State as No. 3 after wins against Clemson and LSU, and Texas after that shocking upset against Alabama.
Finebaum included one Big Ten power, but what about the other one? The Michigan Wolverines were nowhere to be found.
Paul Finebaum chooses Ohio State over Michigan in Top 4 CFB rankings
The Wolverines easily bulldozed their opponents in their first five games and own a 5-0 record to start the season.
Their November matchup against Ohio State is one of the most highly anticipated games of the year and may reveal whether Finebaum made the correct choice in going with the Buckeyes over the Wolverines. Michigan has beaten Ohio State in their last two meetings in 2021 and 2022 and hold the edge in the overall series.
It's worth noting that the Wolverines head into 2023 with one of the softest schedules in the Big Ten, and barring any major injuries or a fluke result, they should go into The Game with at most one loss. Maybe it's the fluff in their schedule that makes Finebaum wary of picking them as a Top 4 team; Ohio State just took down the No. 10 ranked Fighting Irish proving that they're a force to be reckoned with.
On the other hand, Michigan could be primed for a third consecutive monster campaign led by arguably the best Big Ten quarterback in J.J. McCarthy.
Will Finebaum end up eating his words?
