Between the upsets, close finishes and absolute beatdowns Week 2 of the 2024 college football season had a lot of memorable moments. But lost in the shuffle was a “rare” instance of ESPN’s Paul Finebaum getting a guaranteed prediction absolutely wrong.
During an episode of The Paul Finebaum Show last week, an Alabama fan called in and asked if there was any possibility that the Cal Golden Bears would be able to spring an upset on the SEC’s Auburn Tigers. Finebaum firmly declared that there was “no chance” that Auburn would lose to Cal.
“There is no chance Auburn loses to Cal. NONE. Book it,” Finebaum said.
“There is no chance Auburn loses to Cal. NONE. Book it.”
-Paul Finebaum pic.twitter.com/xJET1TldiO— Fil Snow (@bearswithfangs) September 9, 2024
When the caller pressed Finebaum to make a wager to that effect, Finebaum turned down the offer but said that he was being “emphatic” with his assertion.
Womp womp.
It just means more. #GoBears | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/rqa06aPFXJ
— Cal Football (@CalFootball) September 7, 2024
Auburn led Cal for less than five minutes during the game as Tigers quarterback Paython Thorne threw four interceptions in a 21-14 loss. They had been 12-point favorites at home against a Cal team without a winning season since 2019.
Finebaum is probably going to just push the game out of his memory entirely while Alabama fans are probably ready to give the Golden Bears free room & board for the rest of the year.
Auburn are now 1-1 and unranked on the season while half of the SEC is currently ranked in the top 25. They play their third of five straight home games against New Mexico this weekend in a game that they’ll probably dominate before taking on a desperate Arkansas team in Week 4.
Related: Paul Finebaum Asked If Lane Kiffin Would Leave Ole Miss For Auburn