Paul Finebaum is at it again. He loves to go after Clemson and Florida State, and I suspect it’s because they are the greatest threat to SEC football superiority outside of Michigan and Ohio State or whatever’s left of it.
This time via Tigernet.com, he had this to say…
“I think if you’re sitting there with 16 SEC presidents, they would much more likely gravitate to North Carolina and Virginia, who I also believe are drafting partners to use a NASCAR phrase, as opposed to Clemson and Florida State, which for all their football prowess, and they are the last two ACC schools to win national championships, they don’t offer very much in anything.”
“Clemson is inferior to South Carolina as an academic institution,” he said. “Then you have the same situation with Florida State. They are behind the other state schools, as well as private schools, in Florida. So, I don’t think either one of them have much to offer, and quite frankly I’m not really sure why the Big Ten would want either one of them.”
Clemson is ranked #80 in the latest US News Report and South Carolina is #121. Florida State is ranked #54 ahead of Big 10 schools like Penn State, Michigan State, Rutgers, and Iowa.
Clemson and Florida State have plenty to offer as expansion candidates, that’s just a dumb statement. These are high-quality academic institutions if not elite ones, with strong athletic departments, and sizeable fanbases.
Finebaum’s so far off base in his take on Clemson and FSU, that it’s likely by pure accident he makes 1 point that might not be totally wrong – that Clemson and FSU might not be 1st choices for P2 expansion. What the P2 might look for might not seem so obvious.
Are they looking for a new market, football programs, academics, and/or geography? That’s not clear-cut. With the P2 emerging as partners is there a realignment detente coming between the two? There will definitely be one for the next few years, but what about in the early 2030s? With the ACC’s new settlement agreement, more schools are brought into the realignment picture.
Remember before Texas and Oklahoma joined the SEC, the SEC took Missouri and Texas A&M. Before the Big 10 went after USC and Oregon, they took Maryland and Rutgers.
While I firmly believe FSU and Clemson will get a P2 invite at some point should those conferences expand, I think there is a possibility they may not be the first choices.
Make sure you follow the All Sports Discussion Twitter account at @AllSportsDACC and please like our Facebook Page.
Leave a Reply