Paul Finebaum says Clemson 'doesn't bring that much,' Florida State 'not nearly as attractive as they think' in SEC expansion talks

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum is not a fan of Clemson and Florida State being potential options in another SEC expansion move.

During the ACC’s spring meetings, it was reported seven schools wanted to examine the Grant of Rights, possibly to exit the conference. Clemson and Florida State, along with Miami, were some of the schools mentioned in the report.

Finebaum joined McElroy and Cubelic and detailed why Clemson and Florida State weren’t exactly fit for the SEC. But he propped up Miami as a potential target.

“Clemson to me, quite frankly doesn’t bring that much,” Finebaum said. “I know it brings a national championship program from a couple of years ago. Clemson won twice, but from a geographical standpoint, I don’t think they had anything. I think South Carolina already covers the area in that part of the world very well. 

“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, it would be next. I think it’s an important part of the country. It’s a very populated part of the country too.”

One of the largest topics of this year’s meetings was revenue distribution, as schools like Clemson, Florida State, and Miami were expected to push for revenue distribution models that will put more money in their pockets and less in other members of the conference.

There are SEC expansion rumors since the conference already added Oklahoma and Texas. Those two schools are set to come in for the 2024 season.

Amid realignment in college football, the next wave could come soon with a vengeance. Action Network’s Brett McMurphy revealed “The Magnificent Seven” schools that could look to break off from the conference.

The Big Ten recently added USC and UCLA while the SEC is set to bring in Oklahoma and Texas. Now, the ACC’s future could be murky.

“Clemson, FSU, Miami, UNC, NC State, Virginia & Virginia Tech are ‘The Magnificent 7’ ACC schools, sources told Action Network HQ,” McMurphy wrote on Twitter. “These schools, Ross Dellenger reported, have met in past several months, w/lawyers examining grant-of-rights to determine just how unbreakable it is. ACC deal runs thru 2036.”

Dellenger, as McMurphy said, reported the original story. He confirmed McMurphy’s report on what’s next with college football realignment.