One of the spasms that seems to have overcome ESPN’s morning shows in recent months is the ubiquity of gimmicky segments with cute names. One example: college football guru Paul Finebaum’s “Paul In or Paul Out” bit on “SportsCenter” that follows up the action from Saturday’s games.
This Sunday, Finebaum was offered an eye-opening question, one that seemed to have a straightforward answer: Are the undefeated Oregon Ducks, who toppled No. 2 Ohio State in the teams’ October meeting and also has wins over Boise State and Illinois, the best team in the country?
Finebaum offered a surprising answer, and offered it emphatically.
“I am Paul out with block letters,” Finebaum said. “I don’t think Oregon is the best team in the Big Ten let alone the favorite to win it all. Thanks, Ducks fans waking up on the West Coast, I am aware you beat Ohio State. But Ohio State looks to me like the best team in the country.”
Pretty harsh take for a team that is the only unbeaten bunch in the Power 5 conferences. The good news for the Ducks, though, is that they’ll have a chance to back up their status as No. 1 on Dec. 7, when they are expected to play OSU again for the conference championship.