Conference expansion in college football is like a shark attack. It comes as a complete shock, there’s fear and awe before a realization that things have changed permanently, hopefully, for the better.

The unexpected happened last year when the SEC snagged Texas and Oklahoma during SEC Media Days. No one knew the SEC was lurking below the surface ready to change the face of one of the most popular sports in the world. Yet, the SEC did just that.

That seemed like a Great White move. However, the Big Ten was the ultimate predator when it nabbed Southern California and UCLA from the Pac-12 last week. More schools are reportedly planning to join the conference before all the positioning is complete.

With conference realignment a major topic again, it’s up to the SEC to remain at the top of the college football world, which they’ve clearly done since the last round of expansion in 2019. The Big Ten has gone after bigger television markets while the SEC has gone after better schedules. The latter has won out. Since 1992, South Carolina, Arkansas and Texas A&M have all boosted the conference. Missouri? Well, the jury is still out. No one is perfect.

So who should the SEC be after now? Here are five (actually six) schools that the conference could pursue and how their inclusion in the SEC will affect the Vols in order of preference. Well, my preference:

Oklahoma State

This would reignite the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State rivalry. Wheee. No one outside of the Sooner State (shot intended) cares about this rivalry. Adding the Cowboys does nothing for the SEC’s product or is appealing to Tennessee at all. John Adams of the Knoxville News Sentinel disagrees. He’s a proponent of adding the Sooners:

Florida State

I was a huge proponent of adding the Seminoles to the SEC in the early 1990’s. Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden saw things differently. He didn’t wnat to play in the SEC because that would have made things much more difficult for his football program. Now, the Seminoles, without Bowden, just don’t have the same appeal. 

As for Tennessee, adding Florida State to the SEC would strengthen the Vols’ recruiting foot print in the Florida panhandle, southern Georgia and southern Alabama. There might be some prospects from Louisiana that might also pay attention.

Clemson

Like Florida State, the Tigers appeal has waned slightly. It looked like Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had surpassed Alabama’s Nick Saban as the top head coach in football. That certainly has not proven to be the case. 

Clemson would give Tennessee another recruiting foothold in South Carolina. However, the Vols would have to beat two football programs, Clemson and the Gamecocks, to land a prospect from The Palmetto State. Clemson would make the SEC a bit better, but it wouldn’t do much for Tennessee.

North Carolina/Duke

I realize that I’m on an island here. However, if the SEC took both North Carolina and Duke, the SEC would be the unquestionable top conference in college basketball and, as things currently stand, the tops in college football. North Carolina is a wanted program. The Big Ten and SEC would both like to land the Tar Heels. UNC will land somewhere comfortably.

The Blue Devils, who have mostly struggled at football, are more more difficult to predict when it comes to conference alignment. It would be best  for them to attach their program to UNC’s.

Landing both programs would not be about football. Imagine having the Duke-UNC matchups being SEC events. The two teams always play each other twice during the regular season and often end up playing one another in the ACC (soon to be SEC?) tournament. Amanda LaFratta agreed on Off The Hook Sports:

Notre Dame 

Let me be the first to say that I find Notre Dame’s stance over the past three decades incredibly off-putting when it comes to conference expansion. The Fighting Irish have declined multiple conference overtures that would have made them a better program. Yet, they declined based on good, old-fashioned snobbery.

All that being said, Notre Dame has the name and panache to make any conference better. Also, a road trip to South Bend, Ind. is something to look forward to for any fanbase, including Tennessee’s.

If the Big Ten or SEC come calling, Notre Dame had better listen this time round: