Paul Finebaum Reveals Week 7's 'Most Significant Win'

Week 7 of the college football season has concluded. It featured three highly anticipated ranked matchups and other significant games that played big roles in several conference races.

In one of the games, the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions traveled to play the USC Trojans. The Trojans started strong and took a 20-6 lead at halftime. However, the Nittany Lions dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Trojans 14-3 and narrowing the lead to 23-20. In the fourth quarter, both teams exchanged blows before Penn State tied the game 30-30 with 2:53 left, thanks to a 14-yard pass from Drew Allar to Nicholas Singleton.

During the game, USC missed a 45-yard field goal in overtime, while Penn State made a 36-yard field goal to win 33-30. This victory prompted ESPN's Paul Finebaum to declare on "The Matt Barrie Show" that Penn State had the most significant win of the weekend.

"If I had any takeaway from yesterday (Saturday), that was maybe the most significant win," Finebaum said . "Penn State did something they don't normally do: win a big game.

Finebaum pointed out that Penn State has faced challenges in significant games under head coach James Franklin. During his 11 seasons, the Nittany Lions have a 4-16 record against the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines. They also have a 13-26 record against top-25 opponents during that time.

Franklin has not defeated Michigan since the COVID-shortened 2020 season, and he hasn't beaten Ohio State since 2016. However, the win against USC was significant as it marked just the fourth time Penn State has started 6-0 under Franklin. The other three times, Penn State finished 10-3 in 2023, 11-2 in 2019 and 11-2 in 2017.

If Penn State can replicate this success, it may secure its first spot in the College Football Playoff.

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