They need to keep pushing for the ACC especially when FSU and UNC possibly leave in 5-10 years. The Big 12 is a mercenary conference put together as “P5” football INO. Besides UC and possibly UCF, there are no natural partners.

I’d be egging on the B1G and SEC to raid the ACC if I am a booster over there. Once these TV deals kick in for the B1G and SEC, FSU, Clemson, and UNC will want out and will actively flirt… when the time comes.

(02-11-2022 05:15 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  They need to keep pushing for the ACC especially when FSU and UNC possibly leave in 5-10 years. The Big 12 is a mercenary conference put together as “P5” football INO. Besides UC and possibly UCF, there are no natural partners.

I’d be egging on the B1G and SEC to raid the ACC if I am a booster over there. Once these TV deals kick in for the B1G and SEC, FSU, Clemson, and UNC will want out and will actively flirt… when the time comes.

If it gets to the point that FSU and UNC are willing to leave, they won't be alone - not by a long shot. I imagined a scenario in which the only ACC schools not absorbed by the SEC or B1G are BC, Syracuse, Louisville and Wake Forest. In that scenario, those four join an eastern division of the Big 12 with WVU, Cincinnati, UCF and USF. That would be good for the Mountaineers.

(02-11-2022 08:33 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(02-11-2022 05:15 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  They need to keep pushing for the ACC especially when FSU and UNC possibly leave in 5-10 years. The Big 12 is a mercenary conference put together as “P5” football INO. Besides UC and possibly UCF, there are no natural partners.

I’d be egging on the B1G and SEC to raid the ACC if I am a booster over there. Once these TV deals kick in for the B1G and SEC, FSU, Clemson, and UNC will want out and will actively flirt… when the time comes.

If it gets to the point that FSU and UNC are willing to leave, they won't be alone - not by a long shot. I imagined a scenario in which the only ACC schools not absorbed by the SEC or B1G are BC, Syracuse, Louisville and Wake Forest. In that scenario, those four join an eastern division of the Big 12 with WVU, Cincinnati, UCF and USF. That would be good for the Mountaineers.

I have it going the other way. UNC Duke to the B1G with UVa and another joining them. 18 teams gives you a nice 6 team pod setup which works perfectly in the B1G. Get rid of divisions and go 6 team pod with a 5+2+2 rotation (hit everyone H&A every six years).

I think the SEC holds their nose and accepts FSU Clemson when they opt out as well, but I cannot see these conferences going past 18. That means NCSU is out of luck (and WF). Once that happens, the ACC absorbs the Eastern flank of the Big 12.

I’m a Pitt fan who personally favors adding West Virginia to the ACC. I think the resumption of the Backyard Brawl would be good for that conference. However, I don’t see it happening. I just don’t think their academic profile is strong enough and the football is not good enough to overlook their poor academic profile. Also, their fan behavior has been at times absurd and completely unacceptable. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, multiple times, so I know that’s not a phony criticism.

As I said, I still favor it for competitive reasons. However, I also understand the other side as well.

(02-11-2022 09:01 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  

(02-11-2022 08:33 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(02-11-2022 05:15 PM)RUScarlets Wrote:  They need to keep pushing for the ACC especially when FSU and UNC possibly leave in 5-10 years. The Big 12 is a mercenary conference put together as “P5” football INO. Besides UC and possibly UCF, there are no natural partners.

I’d be egging on the B1G and SEC to raid the ACC if I am a booster over there. Once these TV deals kick in for the B1G and SEC, FSU, Clemson, and UNC will want out and will actively flirt… when the time comes.

If it gets to the point that FSU and UNC are willing to leave, they won't be alone - not by a long shot. I imagined a scenario in which the only ACC schools not absorbed by the SEC or B1G are BC, Syracuse, Louisville and Wake Forest. In that scenario, those four join an eastern division of the Big 12 with WVU, Cincinnati, UCF and USF. That would be good for the Mountaineers.

I have it going the other way. UNC Duke to the B1G with UVa and another joining them. 18 teams gives you a nice 6 team pod setup which works perfectly in the B1G. Get rid of divisions and go 6 team pod with a 5+2+2 rotation (hit everyone H&A every six years).

I think the SEC holds their nose and accepts FSU Clemson when they opt out as well, but I cannot see these conferences going past 18. That means NCSU is out of luck (and WF). Once that happens, the ACC absorbs the Eastern flank of the Big 12.

I used to think conferences wouldn't go past 12. Then 14, then 16. Now, I'm not sure there is a limit that money can't break.

I think the B1G would still like to snag the biggest whale still swimming free, now that UT and OU are off the table. IMO, to get Notre Dame, two things have to happen for them. We have to get to a point where the only path to a national championship is by being in a conference. And, the B1G would have to invite enough eastern schools so the Irish aren't placed in a midwestern pod/division.

We could get to a P4 if the B1G were to add UNC, UVA, Duke, Georgia Tech, Pitt and Miami. And you would probably need to add most of those in order to get UNC, UVA and Duke to give up their ties to the ACC. They should do this before the SEC makes another move.

That leaves schools more culturally compatible with the SEC - FSU, Clemson, Virginia Tech and NC State. They could come in with Kansas, giving the SEC three divisions/pods of 7 teams each just like the B1G. Together, those two totally dominate college football, and are head and shoulders above everyone else in basketball as well.

As you get passed 16 or 18, the division model becomes obsolete. The geography is still so dispersed intra-division that it starts playing like a separate conference in of itself. So I do believe the pod model will prevail.

Once the ACC is absorbed, the Alliance is pretty much dead and the PAC 12 becomes a vassal of the B1G. Perhaps the Big 12 old guard becomes a vassal of the SEC. But I’m not sure it forces NDs hand to join a conference. Plus they’d be locked into games with Indiana and Purdue every year in a pod setup (along with the old B1G rivals) and that doesn’t seem appealing.

Miami, I cannot see in either the B1G or SEC before FSU. Pitt has the PSU problem. The other schools you mention are the most likely adds. Kansas does not fit the profile enough as an all-around blue blood (they are well behind Duke when paired with UNC). UNC and UVa are basically the new Texas and OU for the B1G in terms of culture, academics, and footprint. Athletically not so much, but BBall is definitively GOAT.

I do think the SEC can stomach Clemson and FSU by default because you may as well monopolize those states and they’ve already solidified the western flank.

With the playoff at 12, it’s pretty easy to justify the SEC as a two bid league. This may be the compromise that Sanky is looking for. ACC/PAC/Big 12/G5 one bid. SEC two bids. B1G 1 bid, B1G runner-up/ND (higher ranked) guaranteed. 7+5 is a darn good format.

West Virginia is literally back in the Big East once Texas and Oklahoma leave. Still a good conference from top to bottom and it’ll prove its worth in OOC and bowl games but without a blue blood in football to gain the respect it deserves.

They have a TX, FL and OH recruiting presence so to me WVU is all about who’s coaching them rather of where they recruit.

(02-11-2022 03:16 PM)Gamenole Wrote:  

(02-11-2022 02:45 PM)oliveandblue Wrote:  West Virginia have a true football culture. That trumps so many of these other weaknesses.

Honestly, they've been underachieving for what they are truly capable of. This is a program that should almost never be unranked.

I agree with you about the football culture, WVU would fit just fine in the SEC and a nice rivalry with Kentucky could blossom. I don't see that happening though since WVU wouldn't add $ value, unless the SEC ends up one school short in some future expansion.

(02-11-2022 02:58 PM)OdinFrigg Wrote:  WVU would fit best in the ACC from an athletic and geographic standpoint. The ACC took Louisville; they need to accept WVU.

Comparatively, they are not great regarding academic reputation. They are a doctoral granting institution with professional schools and degrees in medicine, dentistry, law, etc.

It is not Central Appalachia Community College.

You're right about the ACC, but I don't think UNC, Duke & UVA would ever accept WVU unless the end was imminent and WV was the only way to keep their prison camp fiefdom intact. And although it would add another respectable football school to the conference, I think it would be far too little too late to save the ACC at this point. It still sticks in their craw that they had to swallow Louisville, which I think has made their opposition to WVU even stronger.

WVU certainly made the right choice to bolt for the Big XII when they got the chance and ensure they had a seat at the big boy table. Who knows what would have happened if they had not made that move and the ACC then could have chosen between WVU and Louisville? When they had to take a school they looked down on in any event, WVU would have made a lot more sense in terms of rivalries with WVU-VA Tech & the Backyard Brawl.

(02-12-2022 10:49 AM)UTEPDallas Wrote:  West Virginia is literally back in the Big East once Texas and Oklahoma leave. Still a good conference from top to bottom and it’ll prove its worth in OOC and bowl games but without a blue blood in football to gain the respect it deserves.

They have a TX, FL and OH recruiting presence so to me WVU is all about who’s coaching them rather of where they recruit.

With OUT leaving , the B12 becomes the proving grounds we’re the next dominant football program(s) emerge from. Could be WVU, Baylor OSU or a newbie. It will be fun to watch.