With the Big Ten and Big 12 expanding, the Pac-12 disintegrating and the SEC lurking, there are lots of questions about where the ACC goes from here.
Clemson’s future has been discussed extensively of late, with multiple reports stating the Tigers are quietly working behind the scenes to explore their options for the future.
Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney downplayed all the realignment talk though when he was asked about it this weekend.
“Lot happening out there, my job is to get the team ready to play, that’s my job,” Swinney told reporters during a lengthy response on Friday. “I don’t get caught up in all that stuff. Honestly, it’s just the next domino to where it’s all going … it is what it is. I don’t know if it’s going to be this year, or midseason, or next year or three years for now. Eventually, we’re going to have … I don’t know what the number is … 40 or 50 teams, something like that, and it’s going to be a 14 or 16-team playoff type of deal.
“That’s where it’s going to be. I don’t know what the league is going to be called, or the divisions, or whatever. That’s where it’s going to go eventually.”
“We spend a lot of time focusing on what we don’t have, but I focus on what we do have.”
A small section of Dabo Swinney’s 7 minute response to a question regarding FSU’s situation:@wachfox @ClemsonFB pic.twitter.com/SOVZH7c7zm
— amanda (@amanda_1815) August 4, 2023
Like Florida State, Clemson is said to be frustrated with the ACC’s equal revenue sharing plan, leading to speculation that the Tigers are looking for a way out.
Clemson and Florida State are the two biggest football draws in the ACC, potentially making them attractive to the SEC, which already houses South Carolina and Florida, the Tigers and Seminoles’ two main rivals.