Brett McMurphy, college football insider with The Action Network, tells McElroy & Cubelic why FSU & Clemson are unwanted by other conferences & what fans need to re-learn about their favorite teams moving forward
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Welcome back in. McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Appreciate you guys tuning in. Jocks 94.5, SEC Media Days, Radio Row, Day 4. Brett McMurphy going to hop on here in just a second. First, going to tell you about Royal Bedding. You guys know that I sleep on a mattress from Royal Bedding each and every night. Now, not only do I, my four-year-old and my father sleep on mattresses from Royal Bedding. They're made right there in Pelham, California.

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the Kubelik family. Brett McMurphy joining us now live from Radio Row. Brett, first, I apologize for some of the scheduling conflicts we've had. I've been a little discombobulated with you, but you've made it happen, and I appreciate that. Cole, no need to apologize. Discombobulated is my middle name, not yours. I always love coming on with you guys. Good to see you in person. I feel like media days almost forces discombobulation. Yeah. You can't avoid it.

That and no sleep, but I agree totally. That's kind of our own fault, too, to an extent, when it comes to the no sleep stuff. Like, every night I'm like, this is the night I'm going to go to bed early.

And then I see you walking to the elevator at 2 a.m. I understand. Quite that late. That would be a tough lift today if it was 2 a.m. But, yeah, I mean, it's always later than it should be. That's for sure. All right, Brett, I want to go outside the SEC for just a moment because we've heard a lot of different people this week with quasi-rumors or conversation or definitive things that have or have not happened behind the scenes. Where are we right now with Florida State and Clemson and the ACC? Yeah.

There's rumors out there about Florida State? Come on, man. Everything's out there 100% verified. Come on, there's no rumors out there. Yeah, so I reported a couple of days ago that basically Florida State and Clemson, they don't have a home pretty much. The SEC doesn't want them. That's not a surprise to you guys. You guys know the league as well as anyone. The Big Ten doesn't want them.

I think the perception, Cole, you're talking about the rumors, is that they were locked to the Big Ten. I talked to over a dozen folks at the commissioner level, university presidents, conference personnel, ADs, et cetera. Nothing against coaches. I didn't talk to any coaches. And guys, it wouldn't...

85 or 90 percent it was 100 of the people i talked to said the big 10 doesn't want them and there's a number of reasons they don't bring value i know that seems weird because they're such a big brand but they're already at 18 schools so you bring them in you bring in maybe clemson is a 20th the pie doesn't get that much bigger but the slices the pie gets smaller and they mentioned how they brought in oregon and washington for 50 50 cents on the dollar um

There also is no appetite for expansion with everything going on with NIL, with the house settlement, with revenue sharing with players. The last thing the SEC or the Big Ten wants to do is expand.

unless Notre Dame suddenly says, hey guys, we'll come. They're the only ones left. And the last thing, which actually surprised me some, is the university presidents really have a bad taste in their mouth about Florida State for the way they've handled getting out of the ACC. They feel like they were, quote, their disruptive partner. They would be a bad partner. They don't feel like they can trust Florida State. If they're going to do all this stuff that they're doing with the ACC, how do they know they wouldn't do that when they got into their conference? So

I wanted, you know...

put the asterisk with everything I said is, if the ACC implodes and there's no ACC, a judge rules, the grant of rights is invalid, you can walk out the door for free, then there's a conga line out the door. Then the SEC adds North Carolina and Virginia. Then the Big Ten goes and maybe gets Florida State or Clemson. If the SEC gets up to 20, the Big Ten gets to 20, the Big 12 gets to 20. That's the only way Florida State and Clemson end up in a Power 2 conference. If they're the only two to get out,

The SEC doesn't want him. The Big Ten doesn't want him. And, guys, I'm an Oklahoma State guy. You know that. Florida State's not spending hundreds of millions of dollars to go to the Big 12. So I don't know what in the world is going to happen. All right, so because you brought up Notre Dame there, Brad McMurphy with us on Radio Row, I have sort of just thrown this out in the last couple of weeks just to kind of see what people even think about it. And I know it's going to sound a little bit crazy at first, and I know it might just be ludicrous.

Is independence at all a possibility down the road for a team like Florida State? Yeah, it is, Cole, because the challenge for that is, though, no ACC team's going to play them. Yeah, who's going to play them? So who are you going to schedule? It's similar to like BYU scheduling. BYU would play three or four Group 5 teams, but they could actually get teams to come to Provo.

There aren't any SEC teams other than Florida that are going to come to Tallahassee. Right. So all of your Power 5 games are going to have to be on the road. How are you going to get 12 games? And let's say, great, you can find 12 games. Okay. Is ESPN or Fox going to pay Florida?

Florida State, more money for their TV schedule as an independent. They have no leverage. Than they got in the ACC? Yeah. No, because ESPN and Fox don't have any more money to spend on college football. Now, you know, ESPN can find a billion dollars to pay Stephen A. Smith, more power to him. But for college football rights, guys, they're tapped out. And by the way, the networks don't want to expand anymore. There's enough chaos. They're like, we need to settle this down. So...

That's an option. It could be an option, but it's not a great option. The only way I see it possible is if that's the avenue that one of the streaming services wanted to get in on and they say, you're our team.

We'll help you find games. And if we need to pony up a little extra money to get those games, then you can watch Florida State football on Netflix or Florida State football on Hulu, whatever that... But the thing about Florida State, and they're a big brand, I'm not denying that, but they're not like... They're not that brand. I totally agree. They're not Texas. They're not Notre Dame. They just don't have the sheer size of a... They don't have a million living alumni like Ohio State does, like Texas has. All I'm saying is that could be an entryway in for...

Amazon to get into college football. You know you have X amount of games every year now because you've got Florida State football. Right. Like Greg said, but what leverage do they have? I mean, everyone thought, well, the Pac-12 is going to do a deal with Amazon or Apple because they're going to do it. And then ultimately, those guys, they didn't want those teams. So, again, never say never. What does the ACC think of Florida State right now?

Do they want them? Is this a family program? We would prefer the expletives to try and not be present. Yeah, it is family. I can't answer that. Yeah, they're not happy. I mean, guys, they're basically suing the conference. What does North Carolina think? I know what Jim Phillips thinks. North Carolina is off to the side playing it cool. But believe me, if there's a way to get out of the league...

That's not hundreds of millions of dollars. North Carolina will be at SEC media days in the next three years. Why would North Carolina not consider the Big Ten? Don't get me wrong. The SEC to me is the premier conference college. I want to stress this. This has nothing to do with the results on the field. It's about the university. It's about the footprint. It's about the academic status. North Carolina and Virginia...

with the exception of Notre Dame, are the top two picks. The Big Ten and the SEC will fight over them. And that's what happens if the ACC splinters and they can get out. But right now, they're fine with the ACC. They can sit there. They can make it work. They can do what they need to do. And basically, everybody in the ACC is waiting to see what happens with Florida State. Florida State's the first one over the wall. They're taking all the bullets.

Can Florida State get out for $400 million, or is it going to be $40 million? If it's $40 million, you're going to see everyone, you know, third base coach waving everybody home to get the hell out of there. But if it's $400 million, nobody else is going to pay that. But to me, I think North Carolina is a – it feels like a Big Ten fit, but it doesn't sound like that's the case. Like North Carolina and Virginia feel very Big Ten-y to me.

You don't think they feel SEC-wise? I think they do to it. Yeah. I mean, I think the SEC, if I could join any league, I personally would like to join the SEC if I were North Carolina. Right. No doubt. It's continuous. You're a part of the footprint. You're already in the Southeast. Going to Champaign, Illinois is going to do nothing for my fan base. Going to Eugene, Oregon. Exactly. So, like, I think going and playing against Georgia –

four hours away in the car makes a lot more sense. I agree. So I would definitely join the SEC. And I think with where the SEC's gone in basketball, I think it's a great fit. I know these decisions are made based on football. I get that. But I just think North Carolina fits. But they would be...

They would be both. I mean, it would be fascinating. Where would they end up, seriously? I don't know. Whoever offers the better deal. We've never had really a conference. A lot of things are happening that has never happened before. Florida, there's been 16 teams that have changed, moved into Power 5 conferences or changed Power 5 conferences in the last year.

12 to 15 years. Florida State's the first one to sue to get out and go through this process. The other thing is, if North Carolina and Virginia are able to get out, we've never had two teams that have been fought over by two conferences. Usually a conference knows where they're going. Texas OU to the SEC. USC, UCLA. It wasn't like SEC was trying to get USC, UCLA. There was a bidding war. North Carolina and Virginia will be the first

two schools where there really will be two conferences that really desperately want them because they both see the value of those two universities. Brett, when we talk about this league and the things that are changing, Oklahoma, Texas coming in, obviously no more divisions, and then put on top of that the 12-team playoff, what

What sort of intrigues you most about this upcoming season with the Southeastern Conference? Well, it's like I mentioned, 16 schools that have changed conferences in the last dozen or so years. Trivia question here. Of those 16 schools, how many had a winning conference record their first year in their new conference? Cole? I can tell you the three who won their conference moving to a Power 5 conference in their first year, but I can't tell you that. The last one to do it was Virginia Tech in 2004. I'll say...

Not the name of the teams, but out of 16. Out of 16. Winning record? Four. The first year. Three.

Cole, you're right. Only three. So I'm not saying Texas is going four and five and Oklahoma's going four and five, but you guys know the SEC. I'm a Big 12 guy. The difference between a Big 12 and the SEC is light years away. And I think they're going to struggle. I really do. I think both teams are going to struggle. I think the week-to-week SEC competition is going to wear on them. I think actually overall in the SEC and the Big 10, nobody's going undefeated. I don't care.

I don't care how good Georgia is. I don't care about Ohio State. Nobody's going undefeated. These bloated conferences have created monster TV matchups, which is great for us, for you guys to do the games, for fans to watch it. That's the good news. The bad news is these teams are going to have multiple losses. And I think also another factor is a lot of these schools, these Belcal schools that have been so dominant, they get into the second half, they rest their starters, wait until next week.

When you're playing these more competitive games, you're playing your starters longer. Yeah. More injuries, more fatigue. And then the next week, there's a huge letdown, and then somebody comes in and knocks you off. I think...

The winner of the SEC will have two losses. I think the winner of the Big Ten will have two losses. I think fan bases will have to adjust to their favorite teams no longer going undefeated. That's going to be awkward. Good news is hopefully the playoff doesn't screw it up and gets in all the three lost SEC teams in the playoff. You make a great point. Greg and I have talked about it multiple times on the show. The teams to the Big 12 last year, we thought UCF was going to be a lot better. We thought BYU was going to be a lot better. And look at that jump. Dude, they were all – That jump from that.

conference to this conference. Since he was 1-8, BYU 2 wins. Since he had a couple good players. I remember watching him early against Pitt. They got a couple guys. It's different. Now again, Texas and Oklahoma moving from a power 5 to another power 5 but I think there's going to be a big difference. A lot of people love Texas. I know Nick Saban is picking Texas to go to the title game. Guys, I don't see it.

Brett, thanks for hopping on with us, man. Great stuff. Really appreciate your patience with me getting on, and we love catching up with you. So thank you. You got it. Thanks, guys. All right, Brett McMurphy joining us live here from Radio Rose. Some interesting stuff on the ACC, the SEC, just all of college football's movement. We'll be back with more next on McElroy and Kubelik in the morning. Catch up with all things McElroy and Kubelik in the morning by subscribing to the podcast. Mythically, he's grown. He's almost like a little bit bigger than a footballer.

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