For Paul Finebaum to crush the ACC, an ESPN product for the most part, that speaks volumes.
You better believe Paul Finebaum was fired up on the first season edition of The Matt Barrie Show.
With four more games left in the Week 1 slate, Finebaum has seen enough. Yes, we still have so, so many games left to be played, but he cannot look past what the ACC did to itself on Friday morning. With North Carolina State stabbing Clemson, Florida State and big brother North Carolina in the back in allowing Cal, Stanford and SMU to join its league, the ACC looks to have completely debased itself.
Finebaum essentially "congratulated" the ACC for doing everything in its power to get Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina to leave running for the Big Ten or SEC, whoever comes calling first.
"There is such a fissure right now in the ACC. I just want to congratulate the ACC for essentially voting out Clemson, North Carolina and Florida State because after what happened Friday with the admission of SMU, Cal and Stanford, they have essentially given those three a ticket out. That league, which was already teetering towards irrelevancy, has just taken on three schools that devalue an already discounted product even more, and that league is just heading towards the iceberg."
Did the people on the Titanic know they were part of history when they became part of history?
Here is the entire episode of The Matt Barrie Show where Finebaum went completely off on the ACC.
This move was both one rooted in survival for the ACC and the teams coming over, but another brick in the wall that will totally alienate Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina to the point of departure.
Until the Big 12 can prove it is too big to be small, we are well on our way towards having a Power Two.
Paul Finebaum throws dirt on the ACC after it welcomed in new members
I feel like we are watching a scene from Step Brothers. Usually when I mention the Adam McKay cinematic classic starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, I am referring to Oregon State and Washington State as the last holdovers in the dying Pac-12. But in this moment, I am talking about Finebaum going Brennan Huff on the ACC's Dale Doback and trying bury a live man in the front yard.
I would be lying to you if that didn't feel very Tobacco Road in some capacity. I mean, North Carolina and Duke hate each other, and NC State is the ultimate wild card in that Love Triangle from The Triangle. Frankly, this all is going to come down to what Clemson and North Carolina want to do, more than say what Florida State wants to do. We all know that the 'Noles are going to bolt in a minute, man.
Overall, I get what the ACC is trying to do, as well as what schools like NC State feel they need to do to survive. The initial thought was that they would be paired with big brother and follow them into a new league. Well, it feels like they are sitting in the high chair that was previously occupied by Oklahoma State, Oregon State and Washington State. Only the Pokes seem to come out of this okay.
Ultimately, for the face of ESPN's college football product to eviscerate one of its two most important leagues like this is shocking. Then again, Finebaum has never been afraid to let it rip on any platform, other than his namesake TV show, of course. Frankly, the ACC will be in halfway decent shape for as long as conference pillars like Clemson and North Carolina want to, and choose to, be involved with it.
The big question now is if North Carolina will go to the Big Ten or the SEC, as UNC holds all the cards.