Through the changing times in college football for the Clemson Tigers and every other school in the nation over the last several years, the way the conferences are structured has been one of the most significant.
With major conferences adding teams to the schedule and the expansion of the College Football Playoff, a popular talking point has been major conferences adding an extra game to the schedule and eliminating a non-conference slot.
Currently, the ACC plays eight league games as does the SEC, while the Big 10 and Big 12 each play nine within the conference.
According to a report from college football insider Brett McMurphy, the ACC does not have any plans currently to go to nine games, however they would be “open to it in the future.”
In all likelihood, if the conference were to eventually go to nine, it likely would take away a spot usually occupied by an FCS or lower-tier FBS opponent, which for fans would be a generally popular move.
It does add the extra layer of complication though in terms of rankings and trying to make the College Football Playoff in that schedules across the country would presumably get more difficult.
Realistically, evaluating two conference losses on a resume in the ACC versus the SEC or Big 12 is going to be looked at differently by any committee. With that being said different conferences playing different amounts of games against their foes could lead to further resume inbalance.
In the current system where the ACC is competing for playoff spots against the larger conferences, adding a conference game would likely be beneficial because it gives them a leg up over the SEC.
Until a guaranteed number of spots into the playoff and a universal strength of schedule metric is adopted, the SEC is certainly not going to add another game.
That stubbornness could work to the benefit of the ACC if they are willing to make it happen and add a game themselves.
Inevitably eventually, the TV brands who are really the decision makers in this sport will enact a system where it benefits everyone financially to add a game, but when that happens seems to still be a question.
For the ACC, it sounds like it won’t be imminently, but could happen in the near future.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
