Conference realignment rumors have ramped back up, specifically with the reports that North Carolina is leading a group of schools looking to leave the ACC, and the Tar Heels are eyeing a move to the SEC.

If that happened, a drafting partner would figure to follow UNC to the SEC. So, which school might that be?

ESPN/SEC personality Paul Finebaum was asked that question on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, with schools such as Clemson and Florida State rumored as potential options for SEC expansion.

Finebaum explained why he thinks Clemson is a better choice for the SEC than FSU.

“I feel far more strongly saying that it is not Florida State than anyone else,” Finebaum said.
“Just go back two years ago. We all watched that circus going on down there. Not only that, we saw the program implode last year, which doesn’t help you in any way. Which brings me to the school that I think gets the most conversation about, and that is Clemson.

“I might have said sometime back that I didn’t think Clemson was really in a good position. I think they’re probably in a better position now, only because in this world that we live in, it is about buzz, it is about sizzle, and it is about matchups. And you put Clemson against anyone on the upper level of the SEC, and it’s a far better game than it would be if you put Florida State against them. … I think Clemson has gained a little bit of traction, and just in the parlor game. That’s all we’re talking about here.”

As Finebaum alluded to, he said back in May 2024 – when asked about Clemson’s level of appeal, should conference realignment occur again – that he didn’t think Clemson was as attractive of an option for other conferences as the Tigers were several years ago.

“I think they’re already less attractive,” Finebaum said last year.

“Clemson, if you go back to 2016, 2017, 2018 — they were at the epicenter. We all joked about how boring it is that Alabama and Clemson play each other every year. Nobody’s saying that anymore. They weren’t that big of a name until then. Clemson has always been a good football school, but it’s never been a main attraction like an Alabama or Georgia or Texas or Michigan or Ohio State. Now they’ve fallen off of that.”

Finebaum also said last year that FSU had “pulled ahead” of Clemson as the more attractive school in the potential next wave of conference realignment. Obviously, Finebaum has changed his tune now.

As for how South Carolina would feel about their rival joining the SEC, Finebaum weighed in on that as well.

“The question for every one of these schools within a state that has SEC schools is, what is the position? … Would South Carolina try to stand in Clemson’s way, and if they did, would they be able to stop them?” Finebaum said. “So those are the questions, and I think after that, there are any number of possibilities. But none which would have as much gravitas as Clemson would.”