Paul Finebaum Hints At Two Obvious Locks For College Football Playoff

On Friday's episode of The Paul Finebaum Show , Paul Finebaum invited 247Sports' college football analyst Carl Reed Jr. to discuss his takeaways from the SEC media days in Dallas, Texas, and his take on the potential of teams within the conference.

During the interview, Finebaum hinted at the Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes as teams he believes are automatic locks for the 2025 College Football Playoff before questioning Reed for his take. When asking Reed about who he thinks will make the CFP, Finebaum stated that the Bulldogs and Buckeyes were the obvious choice; not exactly a shocking statement.

"You hear all the talk about the playoffs and I realize there's some pretty obvious choices, but as you look around the country... I mean, we know Georgia. We know Ohio State. What are the other schools that roll off the tip of your tongue that you would bet to make the playoffs?" Finebaum asked Reed.

Reed responded by naming the Miami Hurricanes as a team that he believes could be a playoff team this fall, particularly with quarterback Cam Ward under center.

"I will tell you this, I woud look at Coral Gables [and] the University of Miami. I think Mario Cristobal finds a way to get it done this year because he's finally got a quarterback that I don't think anybody can mess up," Reed said.

As for Georgia, the Dawgs open their 2024 campaign on Aug. 31 from Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Aflac Kickoff game against the Clemson Tigers at noon (ET) on ABC. As for Ohio State, it will host the Akron Zips from Ohio Stadium on the same day with a 3:30 pm (ET) kickoff on CBS.

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