ACC Football: Notre Dame Is Best Possible Replacement Should Florida State Leave

Last week we talked about Notre Dame and the ACC from the perspective of the Fighting Irish. The conference was a better fit from every standpoint, except the geography of the Big Ten schools. Now, with Florida State toying with the idea of leaving for the Big 12, it is time for the ACC to get serious about making a run for Notre Dame. 

Overtures and discussion have occurred in the past. Most recently the discussion came up but was tabled as John Swofford and the ACC athletic directors made it clear that equal revenue was a major part of the conference's outlook.

Since that time (October 2011), the Fighting Irish's conference has underdone a massive reconstruction, the cash on the table for the major conferences has increased, the four-team playoff issue has come to the forefront and the ACC still needs to close the financial gap.

Those four happenings have created a new dynamic that puts both parties, the ACC and Notre Dame, into a position to listen to what the other has to offer.

Notre Dame is still one of college football's most valuable products, and their net income puts them in the Top Ten as a program. That net income level is three times higher than the closest ACC school, Virginia. From a financial standpoint, the ball is in Notre Dame's court with respect to what they bring to the table in this discussion.

However, what the ACC does have to offer is a quality all-sports conference, a track back into the eastern seaboard that Notre Dame wants to keep open and a group of like-minded universities from the community standpoint.

With the Big East adding schools in Texas, possibly Idaho and California, Notre Dame is being pulled out of their East Coast tract to head across the country for every sport. That will not be the ultimate deciding factor, but the ACC does offer relief from that new variable, should the Fighting Irish move into the conference. 

Notre Dame's fight to remain independent is going to be an interesting one.

NBC is still loading the Fighting Irish up with cash. The structure of the four-team playoff payouts could drastically alter the way Notre Dame draws money from the power teat of college football. As schools around the country level up and push to pass the Fighting Irish in dollars, it will be interesting to watch how the call of independence copes with reality.

As with everything in today's college football climate, it will have to boil down to money. Independence aside—and most certainly, if the Irish can remain profitable at a high level, they should remain independent—the cash will help tell the story of what happens next.

On the television side of things, this is where it will get interesting as the ACC just inked a new, exclusive rights deal with ESPN; while Notre Dame has their football games aired by NBC.

NBC has been searching for an avenue into major college football. The Fighting Irish are their only big time property, and with the new NBC Sports network on cable, there is a true need for inventory.

ESPN and Fox have been paying big numbers to keep CBS and NBC out of the spotlight. Fox is going so far as to air big time college football games on their broadcast network this season, not just the cable and regional channels.

Therefore, Notre Dame and the ACC could be an avenue of entrance for NBC, as the league would again be renegotiating their deal with ESPN.

NBC wants those home Fighting Irish games. ESPN needs the ACC's inventory as a means to flush out their ACC Network, ESPN2, ESPNU and Watch ESPN outlets. How ESPN and NBC work to maximize the revenue of not just Notre Dame, but also the league as a whole, will be the true determinant of how these parties move forward.

The potential is there, and the ACC must certainly explore the option of Notre Dame. If Florida State leaves, possibly taking another league school with them, there really is no "great replacement" outside of the Fighting Irish.

UConn and Rutgers are next on the list, but neither moves the meter or boosts the ACC's shot at a payday—especially entering as a replacement to the conference's most marketable football product, Florida State.

Notre Dame may be the ACC's best option if both parties can iron out the financial issues.