SB: ACC could make UCF play if SEC isn’t interested when adding 4-6 teams

Conference realignment is a summer activity, with the Big Ten’s UCLA/USC additions this past July following up last summer’s Oklahoma/Texas SEC poaches from the Big 12 a year ago, but the regular season determines which schools are in hot demand.

UCLA and USC had disappointing seasons last year but made key personnel and recruiting gains this past offseason that made them a target for the clear No. 2 conference in the country — behind the SEC and their three titles in the last three seasons and five of eight overall in the College Football Playoff era.

Texas and Oklahoma had impressive enough finishes following the 2020 seasons to want to recoup their financial losses from the pandemic, seeing the SEC as the perfect way to land top recruits (like future Longhorn Arch Manning) and propel them to peak economic prosperity once more.

As for the next round of realignment, Saturday Blitz’ John Scimeca ranked every team in the Big 12 and the likelihood they’d leave the conference. At No. 2 on his list (behind West Virginia) was the Gus Malzahn-coached UCF Knights. What’s most interesting about Scimeca’s inclusion of several interesting predictions. Those include the SEC expanding to 20-24 teams and the ACC being a fallback option for UCF if the SEC doesn’t want them:

"“The Knights are another odd geographic fit in the Big 12 as the league’s only team based in the Southeast. It’s nearly 900 miles to get from Orlando to Morgantown, West Va. and it’s even farther to reach Houston from the Bounce House.”“There’s no doubt that the Knights have the potential to be a solid, power conference football program — but will that future be in the Big 12 if they find success? If the SEC isn’t interested by the team if it potentially expands to 20 or 24 teams, the ACC could try to make a play for UCF.”"

The Big 12 may be the conference that slots in behind the SEC and Big Ten in a future ‘Power Three’ setup

Quite frankly, the Big 12 has a better shot than the ACC at becoming the third ‘Power Three’ conference should the NCAA (or the individual conferences) ever decide to condense from the current ‘Power Five’ setup.

Geographically, the Big 12 covers the most ground as a conference with schools in Orlando, Florida, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Provo, Utah as of 2023. They have the most representatives from the state of Texas of any P5 conference. And once Clemson inevitably joins the SEC, the Big 12 will feature the schools closest to contending behind the big dogs in the Southeast and the B1G.