SEC Unfiltered: Two schools I believe belong in the SEC. They aren't from the ACC.

Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK’S newsletter on SEC sports. Today, Knoxville News Sentinel columnist John Adams takes over.

On a recent "SEC Football Unfiltered" podcast, colleague Blake Toppmeyer and I discussed what four schools we would pick if the SEC expanded from 16 to 20 schools by adding four ACC programs.

We agreed on Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina. Virginia, Virginia Tech, N.C. State and Miami were mentioned as a fourth possibility.

But if I could pick four new SEC schools, I would include only two programs from the ACC: Clemson and Florida State. That’s because I’m not as concerned about the size of a school’s brand or how the SEC could best increase its marketing range. I’m more interested in how a school fits the SEC culture.

If you set a mattress on fire after a defeat, you’re an SEC fan. If you enjoy seeing your biggest rival lose more than you enjoy your own program’s triumph, you’re an SEC fan. If you call "The Paul Finebaum Show" even when you have nothing to say, you’re an SEC fan. Those are just a few examples.

Florida State and Clemson would fit nicely into the SEC culture. Based on what I have observed from afar, so would West Virginia and Oklahoma State from the Big 12.

Oklahoma State hasn’t had a losing record in football since 2005. It has won 10 or more games eight times during that span.

Something else about the Cowboys: Bedlam.

Any rivalry that is identified as “Bedlam” belongs in the SEC. Rivalries have long been a prominent feature in SEC football. The conference has added Texas and Oklahoma, two schools with intense rivalries: Texas vs. Texas A&M and Texas vs. Oklahoma. The Oklahoma-Oklahoma State Bedlam rivalry would fit right in.

West Virginia hasn’t been as good recently as Oklahoma State in football. But it has had only four losing seasons since 2001. And it has won nine or more games 10 times during that span.

Never mind if the Mountaineers don’t have a built-in rival. Their mascot is a buckskin-clad, rifle-toting man.

Any school with a buckskin-clad, rifle-toting mascot belongs in the SEC.

And take my word for it: The rifle works. I heard it once while covering a West Virginia basketball game when I wrote for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. I almost came out of my seat when the mascot fired his rifle in pregame.

If your program can terrify a sportswriter on press row, it belongs in the SEC.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: SEC Unfiltered: Two schools I believe belong in the SEC. They aren't from the ACC.