Realignment rumors continue and the Big Ten remains at the center of it all.
The realignment carousel continues to spin as Florida State and Clemson’s lawsuits against their own conference move forward. The ACC has looked the most vulnerable after the collapse of the Pac-12, and a legal victory by these schools would surely knock the conference down another peg in the college football landscape.
Florida State and Clemson are not dumb — they would not be engaging in these legal battles without a plan in place. The obvious choices are the Big Ten and SEC, but there is a possibility of a pitstop with the Big XII or even independence first. These two will not be the last to move, but they are among the best remaining brands outside of the Power Two, which makes this an interesting situation for the Big Ten.
Are you in favor of the Big Ten continuing to expand?
Look, I know the answer for a lot of people is contracting back to 12 (or 11), but that ship has sailed years ago. Rutgers and Maryland always felt like an awkward fit, and while adding USC and UCLA really challenged the identity of the conference, at least it got to an easily divisible number in 16 and seemed to accomplish the goal of truly owning the whole country…
And then Washington and Oregon happened. It seemed like that was mostly motivated by the opportunity to grab big brands at a discount rather than a desperation for expansion, and I think that is exactly what is happening here. Does the Big Ten need Florida State? No, I think it is ok without it. But an opportunity to add Florida State and Clemson — or maybe Florida State and Notre Dame?? — is too good to pass up. Plus, 20 just fits better than 18, so sign me up; we already lost all sense of regionality a long time ago anyway.
What do you think? Should the Big Ten jump on the opportunity here? Let us know in the comments below!