A Jersey Guy: ACC must follow crowd

The college commissioners are meeting in Dallas this week and the immediate future of college football will be decided.

First, up will be a move to reduce the guaranteed spots for next year's 12 team playoff system from five to four--ACC, Big 12, SEC and Big 10.

RIP Pac-12.

The Group of 5 will still get a spot, but there will be possibly of as many as 7 at-large spots.

Leading the charge for reduction will be the SEC, with Commissioner Greg Sankey very vocal about the merits of such a change.

Sankey, with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma next season, can easily project 3 and perhaps 4 SEC teams in the 12 team playoff system every year.

So can the Big 10.

The other bit of business which could be settled is the ACC's flirtation to the West coast with the addition of Stanford and Cal, 2 of the Pac-12 teams looking for new homes. Adding a Texas entry such as SMU, is also on the agenda.

This move has been opposed by an ACC group of four schools--Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina State and North Carolina.

But it might be a Quixotic battle.

The trend is going towards super conferences.

The Big Ten and SEC will be at 18, flirting with 20 teams. The Big 12 is at 16 and could easily jump to 18

The ACC is at 14 in football and 15 ((Notre Dame) in basketball. Staying put will leave the ACC in last place by many millions of dollars.

That's not going to fly.

Adding Stanford and Cal gives the ACC a West Coast implant. Going to SMU, puts them at 17 with the always open invitation to Notre Dame to make it a very competitive conference.

Tough decisions, but another CFB season is upon us and beyond this year is a vast unknown in so many areas.

It's time to make some hard choices, but for the ACC, which is swimming against the tide, the decision seems clear cut.

***

They played Week Zero in college football on Saturday and USC , Notre Dame and UMass are 1-0.

Think about that for a moment.

UMass, and its present and past coach Don Brown went out to Las Cruces, New Mexico and its 1-11 record beat New Mexico State, which won 7 games last year, including its bowl game.

Good win for Brown, who knows how to coach at any level.

Of course, it gets easier for the Minutemen, who travel to Auburn next week.