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The morning after the College Football Playoff national championship game, it was striking to see who was on the air on First Take the morning after to break down Indiana’s historic victory over Miami.

The show is a fertile playground for stars both present and future at the network given the outsized influence and kingmaking abilities of Stephen A. Smith. So it was fascinating to see who was and who wasn’t on the air.

Longtime ESPN mainstay Paul Finebaum was nowhere to be seen. Instead it was Desmond Howard from College GameDay, a Michigan alum from the Big Ten and E.J. Manuel, a Florida State alum from the ACC.

“I think they’re back, and I’m saying this as a Florida State guy.” 😅@EJManuel3 on if ‘The U’ is back after the loss to Indiana in the CFP National Championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/fPq1jrRbxs

— First Take (@FirstTake) January 20, 2026

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. 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.

Finebaum has been a ubiquitous presence on ESPN’s college football coverage over the last few years and for good reason. 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.

That’s why it was refreshing to see Manuel, a rising ACC Network star, get a turn in the spotlight. The ACC has had to live as second-class citizens at ESPN for years. They get less television time, less revenue, less… well, everything. And don’t think that reality is lost on ACC folks. And yet, Miami’s run to the title game showed that maybe the conference is a lot closer to the SEC than we’ve all been led to believe.

For as much focus as the ESPN-SEC deal has received, ESPN also has the rights to the ACC and runs the ACC Network. In fact, that deal now looks like an incredible sweetheart deal for Bristol, given how early it was struck and how long it runs for (through 2036). In fact, the length of the deal and the grant of rights were the subject of much consternation that almost tore the conference apart before a new revenue-sharing agreement kept Clemson and Florida State in the fold.

But if this is a preview of ESPN’s 2026 college football coverage, it could be transformative for the way the sport is received and the narratives that are formed. Just imagine what a shock to the system it would be to see ESPN choosing to go to a Miami-Virginia Tech game for College GameDay instead of their SEC game of the week. If the ACC is given more respect by ESPN, it might help break the stigma that it is less than the Big Ten and SEC.

Reportedly, there’s a belief in Bristol that ESPN doesn’t quite know how to properly handle the growth and popularity of college football. Featuring some newer and more diverse voices like E.J. Manuel, Josh Pate, Bussin’ with the Boys, and more can provide a much-needed boost and refresh to their coverage. And if it takes a more national approach rather than an SEC-or-bust mentality, that can be a welcome development for the network’s reputation for calling it down the middle rather than playing favorites.