SEC Football: 3 conference expansion candidates to poach from ACC

SEC football will have two new additions to the conference, with the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners set to join the mix starting in 2024. Texas and Oklahoma will play one more athletic calendar year in the Big 12 before officially competing in the SEC in 2024-25.

Adding the Longhorns and Sooners will bring the SEC up to 14 teams in 2024. That is tied for the most members of any power conference in the country with the Big Ten currently having 14. But the Big Ten will soon move to 16 teams with the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins set to join from the PAC-12 in 2024.

The SEC and Big Ten are currently at the forefront of the realignment conversation as the two best conferences in college sports. To stay out in front of the realignment discussion, though, conferences will need to continue to be on the lookout for opportunities to expand their reach and influence.

The most obvious way to expand the reach and influence of the top conferences in college sports will be to add more valued members to the mix.

Appealing ACC poaching options for SEC football

With the ACC having some of its most valuable members potentially looking to break from the conference in the near future (per a report from SI’s Ross Dellenger last week), that could be a poaching ground for the SEC.

Here’s a look at three ACC schools that the SEC should poach in the near future.

Florida State

The most recent take from Paul Finebaum that I wholeheartedly disagree with has to do with the fit for the Florida State Seminoles in the SEC. On an episode of “McElroy and Cubelic In the Morning” this week, Finebaum essentially stated that Florida State isn’t a great fit in the SEC.

It at least sounds like Finebaum thinks there are better options out there for the SEC to consider for the next round of hypothetical conference expansion.

"“I think Florida State is similar. I don’t think they’re nearly as attractive as they think they are. Besides, Florida already covers that part of the world and so I think Miami, to me, would be next. I think it’s an important part of the country. It’s a very populated part of the country too.”"

There are two broad reasons why I disagree with Finebaum’s take regarding Florida State’s fit in the SEC. First off, Finebaum clearly undervalues the hype that an inner-conference rivalry between Florida State and the Florida Gators would bring to the table in the SEC. Florida-Florida State is already one of the bigger rivalries in college sports. Having it in the same conference could add more stakes to an already exciting rivalry matchup.

Secondly, Finebaum tends to overlook the impact that head coach Mike Norvell and the Noles could have on an already-dominant football conference in the SEC. It’s hard to ignore that Norvell has Florida State’s football program headed in the right direction in the last few years.

Norvell and Florida State could further solidify the SEC’s dominance of college football.

A bonus reason why Florida State should be considered a viable candidate for the SEC in this hypothetical round of conference expansion is the grip that could be had with Norvell and the Noles in the mix on the recruiting trail. The SEC already controls recruiting broadly in the state of Florida.

Adding one of the biggest brands to the conference would further tighten the SEC’s grip on football and basketball recruiting in the fertile grounds of Florida.