Paul Finebaum addresses Oregon, Washington's place in future realignment, how the ACC plays a big role

Oregon and Washington have interesting places in the future of college football realignment, but Paul Finebaum doesn’t see those schools going to the Big Ten.

The Big Ten already acquired USC and UCLA and Colorado is leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 12. So could the Big 12 acquire a nice West Coast footprint?

Don’t count on it, as Finebaum alluded to on McElroy and Cubelic.

“It seems like a stretch Greg and let me go back to the bigger kind of question for a second,” Finebaum in regards to Big 12 interest for Washington and Oregon. “I do not believe the Big Ten will look toward Oregon and Washington. And I don’t believe they’ll do it for this reason: I think the Big Ten sees better opportunities elsewhere.

“Now I’m sure people are going ‘what in the world are you talking about here?’ Here’s what I’m talking about. Watching the ACC media days up close last week and talking to some people who were embedded in the middle of it, that league is in deep trouble.” 

The ACC is the next Power Five conference that could have issues. So that could leave some schools in limbo. Right now, the Pac-12 has just nine teams for the 2024 season after the previously mentioned three leave for a new era.

“And I’m not saying in deep trouble like going out of business like the Pac-12,” Finebaum said. “But I think that league is in deep trouble of holding itself together. There are several schools that are close to being done with chatter among the coaches last week and I know you guys have heard some of this, was that we no longer can really compete with the SEC. We’re in a different classification.

“And if that is the case, and I believe it is, and I’m not saying across the board because yeah, Clemson gets great players and we all know about what North Carolina and Miami and all these other schools have done, but overall they can’t compete.” 

The ACC might be the biggest player in the next wave of realignment. The SEC isn’t budging off its 16 teams for 2024 and beyond with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. At least for now.

And if the Big Ten isn’t sold on Oregon and Washington as Finebaum suggested, what is the ACC to do with the Big 12 remodeling itself?

“I think you’re going to see more back channeling and more moves from at least two to four schools, it’s probably four, to figure out a way to get out of there,” Finebaum said. “And you’re opening up Pandora’s box with this conversation. Everyone knows the legal problems. Everyone knows the grant of rights.

“Everyone knows how expensive but at some point, I wonder if Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina, Miami can afford not to get out of the (ACC). Right now they do not have a great future ahead with where they are.”

Finebaum accidentally said “Big Ten” when referencing the four ACC schools. But based upon what’s shaping up across the sport, the Big Ten already goes coast to coast, so why not go further south to start seeping into SEC territory?

Oregon and Washington don’t exactly fit that description.