"Elite programs are dying": Ole Miss analyst differs from Paul Finebaum on SEC or Big 10 ruling over CFB

College football analyst Stephen Willis challenged ESPN's Paul Finebaum's perspective on the current state of college football, particularly the SEC's dominance, on the "Locked on Ole Miss" podcast on Monday.

Finebaum, a long-time Southeastern Conference advocate, acknowledged the rise of the Big 10. Willis offered a contrasting opinion, expressing disbelief when even the SEC's biggest supporters conceded the conference's downfall.

"I think he (Finebaum) does whatever he needs to say to get clicks," Willis said (Timestamp: 1:20). "It doesn't matter if he's paid by the SEC because at the end of the day, he's paid by ESPN, so those clicks actually do matter.

"I don't think that the Big 10 runs college football. I don't think that the SEC runs college football. What I do think is going on is the era of elite programs are dying.

"I don't know if the Big 10 runs college football because they ... they have – What? – three really decent teams that are very top-heavy and about 16 teams that's very mid. The SEC has about two or three teams that were good and a bunch of mid to bad teams. A lot of the same thing in college football, and isn't that the point of why we started doing this to begin with?"

With the SEC failing to land a team in the national championship game for the past two years, Finebaum's comments might have some merit, but Willis said it's too early to establish an opinion as a fact.

What did Paul Finebaum say on SEC vs. Big 10?

The SEC’s reign at the top of college football appears to be over, according to ESPN's Paul Finebaum. On "Get Up," Finebaum acknowledged Big 10’s supremacy in the college football landscape after Ohio State clinched the national championship.

“You have to say the Big Ten owns the sport right now,” Finebaum said. “There’s no scraping that away when the SEC isn’t in the national championship for two straight years.”

The SEC still has a strong presence, with the Texas Longhorns, Tennessee Volunteers and Georgia Bulldogs making the College Football Playoff, but their performance fell flat when it mattered the most.