Paul Finebaum torched the ACC as a ‘diminished conference’

Paul Finebaum held nothing back when discussing the ACC while appearing on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on WJOX 94.5 FM in Birmingham.

There are critics of the ACC, and there is Paul Finebaum.

The SEC college football analyst may live and work in ACC territory in Charlotte, North Carolina, but that did not stop him from ripping that Power Five conference to shreds during his most recent radio hit on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on WJOX 94.5 FM down in Birmingham.

Finebaum may have SEC biases, but his takedown of the ACC only adds to his living legend.

"“I put very little weight into any of it because the ACC has become such a diminished conference,” said Finebaum. “I say that because it wasn’t that long ago when they were nipping, pretty far back, but they were still nipping at the heels of the SEC and the Big Ten, especially because of Clemson.”"

Although there may have been a fleeting moment in time where the ACC was pushing the SEC on the football field, Finebaum believes the league has been marginalized by bad leadership and a horrendous television contract.

"“Now it’s been marginalized,” continued Finebaum. “It’s been marginalized for a lot of reasons, but the biggest is their television contract, which has a long way to go, I think it has another 10 years before it opens back up again, is about to put them significantly behind everyone that matters.”"

For as successful as the SEC Network has been since partnering with ESPN, the same things cannot be said about the fledging ACC Network, who also shares the same parent company, Disney.

Paul Finebaum goes on an all-time rant criticizing the ACC and its commissioner

No, Finebaum was not done ripping the ACC to shreds. He questioned the leadership of relatively new commissioner Jim Phillips. He thinks the so-called “alliance” with the Big Ten and the Pac-12 could have disastrous consequences as well.

"“But he has led the ACC down a very dark and dangerous road by getting in bed with the Big Ten and the Pac-12 on this Alliance,” said Finebaum about the ACC commissioner."

The ACC is coming off its first season without sending a single team into the College Football Playoff since this current postseason format came to light in 2014. Simply put, either the ACC will have to make some necessary adjustments or it will continue to get lapped by the likes of the Big Ten and the SEC. Clemson is still a strong program, but Florida State and Miami need to step up.

For the ACC to be all that it can be as a football conference, Florida State and Miami have to be infinitely better. Clemson is operating at its apex, but can now be seen as the third program that can carry the conference. It would also serve the ACC to have other programs like Boston College, Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech get their stuff together and play up to their lofty standards as well.

Ultimately, the best thing the ACC is get rid of divisional play. If they do indeed adopt the 3-5-5 model, it will afford the conference more opportunities to have better games played at greater regularity, as opposed to being confined by the divisions of great arbitrary known as the Atlantic and Coastal. Of course, the ACC can only be as strong as Florida State and Miami will allow it to be.

Miami adding Mario Cristobal is big, but it remains to be seen about Mike Norvell at Florida State.

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