The Penn State Nittany Lions and Texas Longhorns are two of the main national championship contenders next season. Both teams have elite coaches, quarterbacks and reached the semifinals stage of last year's College Football Playoff. Veteran analyst Paul Finebaum recently picked among the two teams on who he thinks will win the national championship. He was also surprised as fellow analyst Heather Dinich chose James Franklin's program."Give me that SEC card back again," Finebaum said on Monday, via "Get Up. "Heather (Dinich), you had me until you said number one in the country. There is no way. The Texas Longhorns are the best team in the country. They are going to win the national championship."There is no way the Big Ten does it three years in a row. And of course if I had to bet on somebody, I would never bet on James Franklin doing it. He is a very good coach. He is not a great coach. The Penn State Nittany Lions will not win the national championship."Finebaum is primarily an SEC analyst and expert, so it's not surprising that he's rooting for an SEC powerhouse to win the next national championship. The Longhorns won 11 regular-season games in 2024 and are attempting to prevent the Big Ten from winning its third consecutive title. The Michigan Wolverines' (2023) and Ohio State Buckeyes' (2024) are the last two national champions.The Nittany Lions were impressive last season, and are entering this year as one of the favorites.What's next for Penn State and Texas?The Penn State Nittany Lions have Drew Allar returning for potentially his last season of collegiate football. He was one of the nation's best players in 2024, and will look to give the program a befitting parting gift before turning pro.The Nittany Lions will start the 2025 campaign with a home game against the Nevada Wolf Pack. It's one of four straight home games to start the season, and they're looking to prove Finebaum and the rest of their doubters wrong.Meawhile, the Texas Longhorns have been one of the more dominant teams in college football over the past few years. They've reached two consecutive College Football Playoff semifinals under Steve Sarkisian.The Longhorns will have Arch Manning under center in the 2025 season. They'll start their campaign against the Ohio State Buckeyes, and will look to put up a statement performance against the defending national champions.