Cole Cubelic, Andy Staples construct what teams get added to potential super league starting with Big Ten, SEC

With the College Football Playoff already weighing expansion before a 12-team playoff is even run for the first time, there remains a healthy degree of skepticism that conference realignment is actually over and done with.

For one, Florida State remains actively engaged in ways to figure out whether it can get out of the ACC’s Grant of Rights.

So if another round of realignment happens, it could well mark the dawn of the super conference. If we’re not already there anyway, that is.

On3’s Andy Staples sat down with ESPN’s Cole Cubelic to discuss the idea of super conferences forming that could essentially split the sport in two. Currently the Big Ten and the SEC have a big leg up on the other leagues, and it stands to reason they’d be best positioned to absorb other teams should super conferences form.

“There are a lot of people that will tell you when Greg Sankey floated the ‘we’ll have our own playoff’ at SEC Media Days, that this was kind of the reason why,” Cubelic said. “That if we were to go far enough down this road, well we can have our own playoff, they can have their playoff — he just didn’t say that part out loud — and then we’ll play each other for a national championship, it’s just that easy.

“And we get the rights to all our playoff games, they get the rights to all their playoff games. So if they want to all be on FOX, have fun with it, good luck. We’ll be all on ESPN and then every other year the national championship game will rotate and we’ll have a way to get a handshake agreement on the sites and where it is. We’ll split that right down the middle and everyone will be happy.”

The obvious next question: Who’s going where in a hypothetical super league era?

Andy Staples and Cole Cubelic spent some time picking individual teams out of the various remaining conferences, discussing what two super leagues could look like. They also discussed the primary driving factors.

“If I put their logo next to my good teams’ logos, does everybody want to watch this game?” Staples explained. “So like if I put that Clemson Tiger paw next to an Ohio State logo, do you want to watch that game? If I put the Tiger paw next to an Auburn logo, do you want to watch that? And absolutely, you’re watching that game.”

There are, naturally, a lot of schools that can make compelling arguments. Before diving into selections, Staples summed it up succinctly.

“It would be the freaking Hunger Games to figure out who those teams are,” he said.

Candidates for expansion from the ACC

In the event the ACC folds or dominoes start falling as a result of Florida State’s explorations, there will be some seriously quality teams to choose from.

In fact, it gets difficult to narrow down the list.

“Clemson, Florida State are in. I think Miami is 100% in,” Cole Cubelic said. “I think Virginia Tech is in. NC State was going to be next on my list. I would have (North Carolina) in. But like you said before, we don’t necessarily need teams that are just going to go win national championships every year. I would think Pitt would have to be one of those schools that you’re talking about as far as recognition, brand, value, what people want. I think that would have to be there.”

The two also kicked around the possibility of Virginia, with both noting that the Cavaliers seem to be a coveted program for both the Big Ten and the SEC, likely as a result of the program’s academic profile.

Neither analyst seemed all that interested in adding Virginia to their hypothetical super conferences, though.

Candidates for expansion from the Big 12

The Big 12 also has some interesting schools as part of the mix. In fact, two Big 12 programs were examples that Staples used in what he wants to see added to super conferences.

“I want to see Kansas State and Utah as part of major college football,” Staples said. “I want the schools that have these massive, rabid fanbases. They’re not the biggest fanbases in the world, but super rabid.”

Cubelic chimed in with his initial thoughts on the Big 12 offering.

“Man, the Big 12 gets (tough). BYU‘s got to be in,” Cole Cubelic said. “I think BYU’s got to be in. I think Utah’s in. I think if you’re smart you bring Oklahoma State back in. (And Kansas State), like you said, because of the logos we can put next to one another and drive revenue and sell those in different ways, and give the games different names, which gives us different licensing opportunities.”

Doing some quick math in their head, the two pondered how many they had added to the mix already, shooting for 48 overall teams between the two super leagues. That would represent an addition of 14 teams to the current Big Ten and SEC.

“I think we’ve got a couple left, so TCU and Baylor, you’re not out of the hunt yet,” Staples said.

Cubelic agreed, adding one other.

“I think they would be in the discussion,” he said. “I think West Virginia has to be in the discussion.”