There’s been a lot of talk the past few days about Florida State possibly being interested in leaving the ACC for the Big 12.
Last week, Chip Brown wrote that the Seminoles should consider a move to the Big 12 for financial reasons. Saturday FSU Board of Trustees Chairman Andy Haggard openly blasted the new ACC television deal and said “…we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what is in Florida State’s best interest.”
Then on Monday, FSU President Eric Barron released a statement in response to the rumors.
Putting all the rumors and statements aside, what if the Florida State Seminoles did move to the Big 12? What would their football schedule look like?
First of all, if the Big 12 added Florida State, they would likely add a 12th member as well. The team most likely to grab that spot is Louisville.
Then the Big 12 would split back into divisions in order to stage a championship game. This is what the Big 12 divisions might look like with Florida State and Louisville:
Big 12 East
Big 12 West
For purposes of this alignment scenario, I went with an East-West designation. This pits Florida State with new rivals Louisville and West Virginia in the East. It also keeps Oklahoma and Oklahoma State together and the four Texas schools together in the West.
The placement of Florida State and West Virginia in the East also balances the divisions. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas continue to reside in the same division as they did from 1996 through 2010.
Since the Big 12 plays a nine-game conference schedule, that means Florida State would play every team in their division and four teams from the West each year.
Let’s say in 2014, Florida State draws Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas. That’s four tough games outside of their division to go along with games against Kansas State, Louisville and West Virginia.
Then there’s the non-conference slate. Florida State would surely keep in-state rival Florida on the schedule, a team they have played every year since 1958.
But FSU in the Big 12 could end or reduce the frequency of their match-up against the Miami Hurricanes. The Noles and Canes have played every season since 1969 and 56 times overall. More than likely, FSU wouldn’t play a Big 12 schedule with Florida and Miami every season.
The Citadel is already scheduled for 2014, so that leaves Florida State with one non-conference opening. That will probably be filled by a middle or lower tier FBS school.
Taking all of the above into account, here’s what a Florida State Big 12 football schedule could look like with 2014 non-conference games:
- FBS School (middle to lower tier)
- Iowa State
- The Citadel
- at Kansas State
- at Texas
- Oklahoma
- TCU
- Kansas
- at Oklahoma State
- Louisville
- at West Virginia
- Florida
- Big 12 Championship Game
That’s a very tough slate for the Seminoles. Granted, they may not face Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas all in the same season, but it could happen.
Although a move to the Big 12 would be more beneficial financially for Florida State, they will likely face a significantly tougher football schedule than what they currently see in the ACC.