Paul Finebaum slams Clemson and FSU, says neither ‘has much to offer’ for potential realignment

Paul Finebaum has been monitoring the situation in the ACC as it relates to Clemson and Florida State, but the longtime SEC host doesn’t see the recent settlement as a major bonus for those two programs.

Last week, the ACC confirmed that the two sides reached an agreement to end pending legal disputes between the parties. The settlement includes a new revenue-distribution model with a brand initiative that will pay the top-rated members more on an annual basis. Exit fees for the ACC programs will also drop significantly after 2030.

In spite of that new agreement, Finebaum doesn’t see the move as a net positive for Clemson and FSU to find a new home in the near future. In fact, he believes the new agreement is a bigger deal for programs such as Virginia and North Carolina, two schools he believes trump Clemson and FSU in terms of desirability.

“I know a lot of fans are going: I get North Carolina, but what’s the deal with (conferences wanting) Virginia? Well let me explain it,” began Finebaum during his Monday appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning.”

“If you look at what the SEC has done in recent years, they just went out and got Texas and Oklahoma — the premier state schools — and that’s important to remember. North Carolina is a standalone. It’s a pre-eminent university but it also has good athletics and it used to have good basketball,” Finebaum explained. “Virginia doesn’t have that but it is a brand, and if you’re sitting with 16 SEC presidents, they would much more likely gravitate to North Carolina and Virginia who I also believe are drafting partners, to use a NASCAR term, instead of Clemson and Florida State.”

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So, where does that leave Clemson and FSU, the two programs that have been most active in trying to get out of the conference? Finebaum doesn’t see either as a great fit for the SEC in spite of their football success, and he questions if the Big Ten would have any interest as well:

“For all their football prowess, and they are the last 2 ACC teams to win a national championship, they don’t offer very much in anything,” claimed Finebaum. “Clemson is inferior to South Carolina as an academic institution, and then you have the same situation with Florida State. They are behind the other state schools as well as private schools in Florida, so I don’t think either one of them has much to offer, and quite frankly, I’m not sure why the Big Ten would want either one of them.”

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.