Steve Spurrier thinks Florida State moving to SEC would be good

Florida State has made its desire to get out of the ACC clear, with the SEC and Big Ten its top two choices due to the money it would receive from those conferences. Legendary Florida head coach Steve Spurrier was asked about FSU potentially joining the SEC on Open Mike with Mike Bianchi.

Spurrier, who also coached at South Carolina, said he would be in favor of the move.

“Yea, if they come into the SEC, heck, that would be good, I think,” Spurrier said. “And maybe bring Miami or Clemson, I guess would be the other one that would be a possibility.”

Steve Spurrier had a great run leading the Gators, winning six SEC championships, as well as the 1996 national title. The rivalry with Florida State was arguably the best rivalry in the country during that time.

Spurrier also told Bianchi that at one point FSU was considering joining the SEC, but it went with the ACC instead.

“You know, I think they had a chance back right before they joined the ACC to maybe come into the SEC. And I remember Bobby Bowden said, ‘I don’t wanna play that schedule – Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia.’ Of course their schedule was tough enough since they played us and Miami.”

Spurrier thought then that Florida State being in the SEC would make some sense, and he still feels that way. With that said, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey has said that he is in no rush to expand.

“I used to sit back and say, ‘How come Alabama and Tennessee are not playing FSU like we have to every year?’ Because in the ‘90s Nebraska was actually the winningest program in the country and FSU was second,” Spurrier recalled. “I mean those guys, they had ballplayers all over the place. And I think we were third and Tennessee and Miami were after that back in the ‘90s.”

Oklahoma and Texas are already set to join the SEC, and while there is no sign that the SEC will take Florida State soon, the Seminoles would clearly like to make the move. Spurrier believes it makes sense for all parties involved as Florida and Florida State would be playing similar schedules every year.

It previously might not have made since for FSU to join the SEC, but with the money SEC schools are receiving now and the playoff expanding, it does for several reasons now.

“That way we’d all play the same schools and so forth. With 12 teams making the playoff, you can have a difficult schedule,” Spurrier said.