Fact or Fiction: ACC Stalwarts Thinking Big 12

What if the rumors of Clemson and FSU moving from the ACC to the Big 12 were just rumors?

What if Mountaineer fans, still smarting over WVU’s  umpteenth rejection by the ACC, want so badly to believe that the conference that considers itself too sophisticated for West Virginia is about to be abandoned by two ACC football stalwarts?

Could it be that our desire to see the ACC receive its karmic comeuppance has  blinded our judgment?

What if all the rumors are just a salve for our collective Mountaineer souls?

What if the rumors were being used by the WVU (and the Big 12) to dissuade Notre Dame from joining the ACC?

It’s hard for the rational mind to conceive of FSU and Clemson leaving the blue-blooded ACC for a conference that was on life support less than a year ago, it’s hard for those of us who have been hammered with the supposed superiority of the ACC and their vast TV viewing audience to accept that the Seminoles and Tigers would jump.

Such a move doesn’t seem possible to a rational mind – at least on the surface.

Florida State is in financial difficulty and worries about keeping pace with Florida. Clemson spies South Carolina and Georgia and worries how to hold their own in the recruiting war against the SEC.

Yet if the ACC is the Titanic then the iceberg that will sink Captain Swofford’s ship is the new BCS deal.

The ACC will technically be included in the plan but it will be effectively related to the football second class. The ACC champion will most likely need to progress through the regular season undefeated, win the championship game, and hope their strength of schedule is strong enough to merit a spot. Otherwise members of more respected conferences will have a better shot at one of the four open spots.

At least to my rational mind the new BCS formula is the primary reason why Clemson and FSU will leave the ACC.

Others, including the many ACC apologists, believe the ACC is better than the Big 12 in every aspect but football and that’s why FSU and Clemson will stay.

I believe that soon after the new BCS plan is ratified that both ACC schools will jump, but until then we can have some fun and look closely at the rumors, the reasons why they might make the move, and the reasons why they would not jump.

In the next few days I’ll do just that. I’ll divulge everything I know from all my contacts (except those I have promised not to share) and examine each issue  in as much depth as I can.

And along the way I’ll ask my good friend at WVU his opinion and share with you all that he says.

Right now the situation is that both FSU and Clemson have reached a tentative agreement to leave the ACC for the Big 12.

I say tentative because the Big 12 expects the ACC to make one last ditch effort to retain their conference mates.  Rumors have centered around Notre Dame joining the ACC and possible revenue sharing changes that would allow members to keep 50% of their bowl revenues with 50% being distributed into the conference pot for revenue sharing.

On Wednesday I’ll look more closely at these rumors and we’ll take our first look at the ACC’s TV deal and their plea to ESPN to reopen the contract.