Greg Sankey says the SEC is at 16 points today and will remain at 16 points tomorrow.
Sankey has less to say about what happens next week, or next month, or next year.
Meanwhile, fissures persist in the ACC. Florida State wants out of the conference it has competed in since 1992. The Seminoles and Clemson are suing the ACC. This is not the sign of a league in harmony.
If FSU, Clemson and others defected, where would they go? The main options would be some order of the Big Ten and SEC, with the Big 12 as the only alternative option.
In this edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” a USA TODAY Network podcast, features Blake Toppmeyer It is John Adams discuss the possibility of further SEC expansion and whether the SEC’s standing would be harmed if FSU and Clemson ended up in the Big Ten.
The SEC appears content at 16, but the risk of being on the sidelines in the midst of further realignment would be that the Big Ten would strengthen and close the competitive gap.
Adding FSU and Clemson would bring the B1G closer to the SEC. And, for the first time, the Big Ten would penetrate the South.
Should the SEC keep an open mind about adding Florida State and Clemson?
Toppmeyer: The SEC should definitely consider FSU and Clemson if they slip out of the ACC. It should also open its doors to North Carolina and a potential fourth school (Virginia?). As far as FSU and Clemson are concerned, these schools are tailor-made fits for the SEC’s geography, brand, culture and football pedigree. Plus, they would solidify the SEC as the best football conference in the country and create more breathing room with the Big Ten. In contrast, if these schools end up calling the B1G home, the SEC would continue to be the football leader, but by a narrower margin.
Adams: The SEC may need to return to its defensive roots by adding FSU and Clemson. The SEC doesn’t seem to want the Seminoles and Tigers enough to go on the offensive, but if they become available, adding these two ACC powers would be the ultimate defense against the Big Ten.
If FSU and Clemson joined the Big Ten, would that surpass the SEC?
The SEC would likely maintain an advantage. The SEC has produced 13 of the last 18 national champions, and that doesn’t change regardless of what FSU and Clemson do. But, the Big Ten would be well-positioned to match the SEC in playoff bids if they had FSU and Clemson in tow.
Consider these nine top SEC programs: Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Texas A&M, Tennessee and Auburn.
Now compare that to nine B1G programs if that conference captures FSU and Clemson: Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, FSU, Southern Cal, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Who enjoys the advantage? Slight edge advantage for the SEC?
Now consider some of the programs that are more traditionally aimed at the lower end of the conference: Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
Compare that to these five from B1G: Maryland, Illinois, Rutgers, Indiana and Northwestern.
Who enjoys the advantage? Here again, the SEC has an advantage. From top to bottom, the SEC would continue to be the strongest conference, but the separation gets narrower at the top if the Big Ten adds FSU and Clemson. If these two schools joined the SEC, it would be game, set, match. The SEC’s supremacy would be inflexible.
Later in the episode
∎ Toppmeyer and Adams react to some of the Nick Saban’s Spiciest Quotes of SEC media days.
Where to listen to SEC Football Unfiltered
Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC columnist for the USA TODAY Network. John Adams is a senior sports columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel. ssign up for Unfiltered SEC Football podcast and check out the Unfiltered SEC newsletter delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: Why the SEC should keep the door open for FSU, Clemson (don’t trust the Big Ten).
