Pete Thamel: SEC, Big Ten playing 'chess game' while monitoring FSU vs. ACC battle

Florida State has made it clear that it wants out of the ACC, but as of now, FSU does not have a landing spot. The SEC and Big Ten could be in play for the Seminoles, but neither conference has expressed a desire to further expand at this point.

ESPN insider Pete Thamel joined College Football Live on Friday and shared that the SEC and Big Ten are monitoring what happens with Florida State and other schools in the ACC.

“When you look at Florida State’s future, it’s very interesting,” Thamel said. “We’re in this era of conference contraction. There’s no way a big brand like Florida State, that has had national championship success multiple times this generation, is going to be left without a landing spot in the long-term. In the short-term, where they go may depend on if the SEC wants to play defense.”

The SEC already has Florida in the Sunshine State and South Carolina in the Palmetto State. That makes FSU and Clemson less attractive to the SEC, according to Thamel.

However, if the Big Ten decides it wants to pursue Florida State or Clemson — should those two schools get out of the ACC — the SEC could move in to prevent that from happening.

“There’s not an immediate, ferocious appetite for Florida State in the SEC. It’s a redundant market,” Thamel said. “But what the SEC doesn’t want is the Big Ten flag planted directly in their back yard. … So it would be interesting to see how the chess game gets played between these two leagues. It’s like they both have binoculars in Birmingham and Chicago, and they’re looking at each other to see who makes the move.”

North Carolina and Virginia are viewed as more valuable schools, according to Thamel, because the Big Ten and SEC do not currently have schools in those states.

Still, Florida State and Clemson are at least somewhat valuable, too, due to their brands and the fact that they have won big.

“With the Big Ten, when they look for expansion, the schools that look and feel a lot more like Big Ten schools in the ACC right now are clearly North Carolina and Virginia. … And they represent new markets,” Thamel said.

In addition to Clemson and Florida State, North Carolina is another school that could look to get out of the league soon. Those were also the three schools that voted against expanding and adding SMU, Cal and Stanford. If those three are able to leave with little penalty or no penalty at all, others could follow behind.

“The Miamis, the Virginias, NC States and Virginia Techs [could look to leave],” Thamel said. “But other schools have been cautious and they will see how things play out with Florida State before anyone makes any imminent movement.”