CLEMSON — The ACC Network is hosting a game on Saturday night it probably never thought it would get to host – Florida State at Clemson.

The two biggest powers in the history of Atlantic Coast Conference Football are playing one another at 7 p.m., in a game that means absolutely nothing in the conference race. And this is why the game is on the ACCN.

This is not what the ACC, Clemson or Florida State wants. This is an embarrassment for all involved, especially Clemson and Florida State.

Let me set things up for you.

In the 82-year history of the ACC, no two teams have won more of the league’s championships in football. The Tigers have 22, while the Seminoles have won 16.

The next closest team in third place – Maryland with 9. That’s right, a team that has been out of the ACC since 2014 owns the third most league championships.

Since 2009, Clemson or Florida State have played for an ACC Championship every year with the exception of 2021, when Pittsburgh beat Wake Forest in the championship game. Since 2011, either Clemson or Florida State has won the ACC Championship, except for Pittsburgh’s title in 2021.

However, coming into Saturday night’s game at Memorial Stadium, Clemson is 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the ACC, while the Seminoles are 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the league.

The Tigers are off to the program’s worst start to a season since 1998, while the Seminoles just ended a nine-game losing streak against ACC competition. Last year, FSU produced its worse season since 1974 when it went 2-10 overall and 1-7 in ACC play.

This is not what the ACC signed up for when it decided to settle its two disputes with the ACC powers last spring. The conference ultimately gave in because it wanted to retain its two major football schools, in hopes it would set the league up for strong success for years to come.

Instead, Clemson and Florida State are playing on the ACCN, while Virginia is the frontrunner in the ACC Standings, with five other teams—Georgia Tech, Pitt, Louisville, SMU and Duke—are vying for second place and potentially playing for the ACC Championship.

Though Virginia and Georgia Tech have been good storylines for the league, they are not going to help the league hold any weight on the national scene, which could ultimately affect the league’s payout from ESPN in the future.

Speaking of that payout, the reason Clemson sued the ACC was the hope it would get a new brand initiative policy, an affordable exit fee and full access to its media rights.  The brand initiative policy was supposed to give Clemson an opportunity to earn more money than its other ACC competitors, while separating even further from the pack and competing at a high level on the national stage.

The extra income was supposed to give Clemson an opportunity to at least come close to competing with the SEC schools monetarily, especially Georgia and South Carolina.

Basically, Florida State wanted the same thing. Well, that plan has backfired for both schools.

This week they are playing on the ACCN, a network nobody watches, which is a fitting place for what should be called the Egg on Your Face Bowl.