Top ACC program ‘already feels like’ SEC football institution already: Analyst

ClutchPoints’ Shane Shoemaker believes that Clemson would make a lot of sense in the SEC with all of the rumors of the ACC’s impending demise — going as far as to say that Clemson “already feels like” an SEC football institution already.

“(Clemson’s) potential move seems like one of the clearest ones in the entire group,” Shoemaker wrote. “Already having an in-state rival they play yearly in the South Carolina Gamecocks, the easy move is for the Tigers to move right into the SEC. Let’s be honest, they kind of already feel like an SEC team anyways.”

Sure, Clemson’s introduction to the SEC football world would add a second “Death Valley” given LSU’s Tiger Stadium nickname, but given the presence of the Auburn Tigers, LSU Tigers, and Missouri Tigers — not to mention both the Mississippi State Bulldogs and Georgia Bulldogs sharing a mascot –, adding a fourth Tigers seems like far from a deal-breaker.

SEC football could do well with both gaining and losing teams

There have been multiple SEC imports that have added plenty to the conference, there have also been additions that have not seemed to move the needle forward. Missouri in particular springs to mind, having had just two standout seasons since joining the conference along with Texas A&M.

The Aggies have been a perennial SEC West contender, but at this point, Missouri has won more than seven games just once since 2015, and given the proximity to most of the Big Ten, may make more sense in that conference or in the rebuilt Big 12.

That way, the likes of Clemson, Florida State, and Miami could join the SEC and increase the competition level. If the SEC wanted to become a top basketball conference, Arkansas could go the way of Missouri to open up room for Duke and North Carolina.