Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia are all potential candidates to join the SEC, According to a report from Brett McMurphy of Action Network.
Earlier this week, the college football scene was shaken by the shocking move of UCLA and USC from Pac-12 to Big Ten. That decision looks like it will be the first of several rearranged dominoes to collapse, and the SEC isn’t comfortable standing by while other conferences ramp up their numbers and firepower.
“Even adding Oklahoma and Texas, the SEC is not going to sit back and watch the Big Ten and let things happen,” the McMurphy report read before listing four ACC schools as the most likely targets.
The SEC will expand to 16 teams when Oklahoma and Texas are added to the fold, likely in 2024. The Big Ten is also set to hit 16 teams after adding UCLA and USC.
In response to the Los Angeles school pair leaving, Pac-12 announced Friday that it will “explore all the expansion options.” But it’s possible the conference will take more teams before it has a chance to provide slots for new members. Oregon and Washington were said to have hoped to follow UCLA and USC into the Big Ten, but were told the conference was Waiting for Notre Dame Cathedral to make a decision about reordering. Other rumors have indicated that Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah all can be targeted by the Big 12.
The SEC has won the college football national championship 12 of the past 16 seasons. Clemson won two of the four titles a non-SEC team has won, and Florida State won another.
