I’ve said before in this space I hated agreeing with Paul Finebaum and I find myself agreeing with him again this week on his take on Clemson football and the ACC.
At the risk of beating a dead horse, Finebaum believes the ACC could be in trouble and that further realignment depends on what Notre Dame ends up doing.
"“The ACC has no chance of competing with the Big Ten or SEC without Notre Dame,” Finebaum said, via 247Sports. “I think Clemson wants out of the ACC badly and so does Florida State … this is all predicated on Notre Dame, by the way. I think things are going to happen. There’s way too much activity going on. I think the chips are going to fall all over the place here.”"
I don’t know how badly Clemson wants out of the ACC, but it would make sense that behind the scenes the Tigers are worried about the future. By future I don’t mean next season or two years from now, but say five years out when the revenue disparities between the SEC, Big 10 and ACC teams begin to divide the haves and have nots of college football even more than it does today.
Many believe that Notre Dame holds the key to what happens next in college football realignment
Finebaum believes what happens with Notre Dame will cause the next ripple and that makes sense, because with Texas and Oklahoma headed to the SEC and USC and UCLA to the Big 10 there’s really nothing left for the ACC that will move the needle.
"“If Notre Dame makes a move, it is going to tip this ant hill over,” Finebaum said Tuesday on Mac Attack via WFNZ radio in Charlotte, North Carolina. “And right now, Notre Dame is trying to figure it out. They’re in Vegas with pots of money on three or four different tables. The pot of money to stay an independent is obvious — it’s not great, by the way. They can make a lot of money with NBC and have their ridiculous and cozy relationship with the ACC. They can join the ACC, or they have two other choices. And this is when you go into the private rooms at the Bellagio, and not out there with scum like us. This is the SEC or the Big Ten — should they choose either one of them, they’re hitting the lottery. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime, it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity. It’s my opinion the Big Ten and the SEC wants Notre Dame badly. When Notre Dame makes a decision, everything else happens.”"
For those that believe Clemson is fine in the ACC and no move is necessary, this is another sign it may be time to rethink your position and consider other options.