CLEMSON — Now that we all know what’s inside Clemson’s settlement with the ACC, the opportunity for the Tigers and other ACC schools to leave the conference is a possibility.
I am not saying it is going to happen, but there is a possibility that it is more real than ever before.
If it were to happen, where might the Tigers land? The SEC? The Big Ten? How aggressive would the Big Ten and FOX Sports be in trying to land Clemson?
Would Clemson be the only ACC target? FOX has wanted to get its hand on the Southeast viewing market in the United States for a long time. This could be its chance.
If the Big Ten was to invite Clemson and, say, Florida State, it would be right where it wants to be. North Carolina is attractive too, because the SEC does not have a school in the Tar Heel state, plus UNC’s brand is one of the biggest in the country.
Miami is another school that would be attractive to the Big Ten, especially with academics and football.
Right now, the Big Ten has 18 members, who all play football. By adding two more teams the league would grow to 20 and can subsequently break its conference into four five-team divisions. It can do it if the league adds all four ACC teams, I mentioned, as well.
Let’s play along shall we.
Let’s say the Big Ten comes and invades the ACC and invites Clemson, FSU, Miami and North Carolina. First off, what happens to the ACC?
I can’t imagine the ACC surviving such a scenario. It would lose three of its four biggest football brands, plus its biggest overall brand in North Carolina.
I would imagine a move like this might push Cal and Stanford back to the newly formed Pac-12. It’s obvious Cal and Stanford are not pushing for football success, and going back to the Pac-12 would cut down on travel costs tremendously, especially for the non-revenue sports.
If Cal and Stanford leave, the chain reaction could push Notre Dame out the door and force its hands to join the Big Ten as a full-time member, though not likely. However, considering Notre Dame pushed for Cal and Stanford to join the ACC, I can’t imagine they will want to keep their Olympic sports team in it with so many big names out the door.
Do the math. That is seven ACC teams that potentially could leave, and I am sure others might follow and leave the ACC with potentially Wake Forest, Virginia, NC State, Georgia Tech and you get the picture. It would not be good.
As for the Big Ten, it might have a tough decision to make, especially if Notre Dame is in the mix. The Big Ten has always wanted Notre Dame, but in every sport. The Irish’s decision to stay independent in football has been costly in that regard.
Anyway, let’s say the Big Ten offers Clemson, Florida State, Miami and North Carolina a spot in their league. Here is how it might play out.
That will give the Big Ten 22 teams. The league would still play a nine-game schedule, but will have four pods – two with five teams and two with six teams.
This is what I imagine the league looking like in this scenario:
Midwest Division
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Illinois
- Northwestern
- Indiana
Northern Division
- Penn State
- Iowa
- Wisconsin
- Rutgers
- Minnesota
- Purdue
Western Division
- Nebraska
- UCLA
- USC
- Oregon
- Washington
Southern Division
- Clemson
- Florida State
- Miami
- North Carolina
- Maryland
There are all kinds of things they can do with this kind of conference. You can add a playoff within the conference, especially if Week 1 is moved up a week. They could have the four winners play in a playoff at the end of the season, allowing the league to get a true champion, as well as who might represent the league in the College Football Playoff.
As for their schedule, they still play nine games. They play everyone in their individual divisions and then alternate each year with the other divisions, much like the NFL does with its schedules.
To ensure no one has an advantage over the other, when scheduling the following season, the teams who won their divisions will play the best of each division each year, while the worst teams play each other. Like the NFL this creates fair balance in the league.
Again, none of this is real. I am not saying I know something that I am not telling you. I am just throwing out what the possibilities could be if the Big Ten did come steal the heart of ACC Football away from the league.