ESPN made surprising Paul Finebaum decision after national championship game

The college football national championship game pitted the Big Ten's Indiana against the ACC's Miami.

It's something that has been discussed plenty by ESPN's college football czar, Paul Finebaum, himself an SEC guy.

And that representation may have shown itself most in the days following the natty.

Awful Announcing analyst Matt Yoder wondered if ESPN was partaking in "a changing of the guard."

Why?

After Indiana won the title, Finebaum didn't appear on First Take the next day.

Instead, it was E.J. Manuel, who played at the ACC's Florida State, and Desmond Howard, who played at the Big Ten's Michigan.

"Of course, given the title game represented both conferences, it made all the sense in the world to showcase two analysts who know them well," Yoder wrote. "But given that First Take has highlighted SEC loyalist Paul Finebaum all year, it was also quite the statement for where ESPN might go from here."

ESPN's decision to use Manuel might suggest they have a bigger role for him in the future.

But it'd be surprising to see Finebaum go too far away.

"Finebaum has been a ubiquitous presence on ESPN’s college football coverage over the last few years and for good reason," Yoder wrote. "Love him or love to hate him, he is a dynamic personality who has been around the sport for decades. But while he and the SEC have had to eat a lot of crow this postseason, the end of their dominance over the sport might represent an opportunity for others to make their voices heard."

Howard isn't as much of a surprise, as he's already on College Gameday.

We'll see if this translates to the offseason and the season ahead.

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