Paul Finebaum Makes His Preseason No. 1 Ranking Very Clear

As the 2024 college football season quickly approaches, analysts around the league are weighing in with their preseason top-25 rankings.

There's been some discourse about which program should be preseason No. 1 heading into the 2024 season — but ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum has been consistent in his top pick.

Since the 2023 season came to a close, Finebaum has been all over the Ohio State Buckeyes as his team to beat this coming college football campaign.

“I don’t think it takes any imagination to say that Ohio State should be the preseason No. 1,” Finebaum said earlier this year. “I know everybody looks for someone. That’s mine.”

The Buckeyes have a wealth of talent arriving in Columbus before the 2024 season. In addition to their No. 5 ranked recruiting class, Ryan Day's squad is also bringing in some serious talent through the transfer portal — headlined by No. 1 overall transfer Caleb Downs from Alabama.

“Here’s the hard part of that – I’m still not sure who’s playing for Alabama. I can’t put Alabama in the top-five,” Finebaum continued when discussing his early rankings. “I’d like Georgia, Ohio State. You’ll have to help me on Michigan. Will I ever believe in Penn State? No. So I’ll probably throw Texas in there.”

“I might struggle to come up with with a top-five right now."