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.

The 2024-25 college football season marked the introduction of the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. But after eight games and about a half-dozen blowouts, college football analyst Paul Finebaum is eager to see a big change to the format.

The No. 9 seed Tennessee Volunteers (10-3) made their first-ever playoff appearance. Although their first-round game did not go as planned, as they lost 42-17 to the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2), many positives remain to take away from the season.

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 ).

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.

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).