Florida State would make sense in the SEC. But is that door open?

DALLAS — Florida State would have fit in well at SEC media days.

Norvell grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, not far from the Omni Dallas Hotel that hosted the SEC’s four-day extravaganza. FSU’s Sept. 28 trip to SMU is highly anticipated.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey often highlights the fact that his conference is made up of contiguous states. FSU checks that box.

The Seminoles play Florida every year, won their third national title by beating Auburn, topped LSU at neutral sites each of the past two seasons, and they have upcoming series scheduled with Alabama and Georgia.

The Seminoles even considered the SEC three decades ago before choosing the ACC. Back then, LSU’s chancellor wrote FSU’s president about the “natural rivalries” the ’Noles could have forged. They still would be intriguing.

But they’re almost certainly not going to form.

The SEC is fine at 16 teams with the recent, officially official additions of Texas and Oklahoma. Sankey said that at least five different times during his news conference Monday, and “now 16 strong” signs dotted the event. You could try to twist Sankey’s comments into a desire to keep from being sued for interfering with the contractual ties between FSU and the ACC.

It’s harder to spin what Sankey said Thursday to The Next Round, a college sports-centric YouTube show.

“We’re not going to take our pie and slice it into more pieces,” Sankey said. “We have to grow the pie.”

The implication: FSU does not grow the pie.

That meshes with a recent report by The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy. He checked the national temperature as the Seminoles continue their dueling lawsuits with the ACC over a potential exit. A landing spot in the SEC or Big Ten, McMurphy reported, is unlikely.

We’ll pause here for the standard conference realignment caveats. Nothing is final until it’s final. The situation is fluid because of real or theoretical litigation. It’s possible one or both Power Two leagues pursue FSU after all if/when the ’Noles become conference free agents.

But the current picture is worrisome for FSU.

Media days buzzed all week about newcomers Texas and Oklahoma. The Longhorns have the brand power (and budget) that’s as strong as any in the country. The Sooners have seven national titles and are almost recession-proof.

“I think it’s a partnership of elite with elite,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “And, again, two programs that in the history of college football take a back seat to nobody. The SEC doesn’t take a back seat to anybody.”

Does Florida State?

Maybe the question is worthless, even by the low standards of all conference realignment speculation. The Big Ten, not the SEC, has been the preferred landing spot for a large portion of FSU’s fan base, if not powerbrokers.

There’s an argument that the Seminoles would grow the Big Ten’s pie. The conference runs from the Northeast to the West Coast but doesn’t have a presence in Florida. The league could benefit financially from the TV households in the country’s third most-populous state and on the field from being in one of the nation’s four biggest recruiting states.

FSU isn’t a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, but it’s a tier-1 research university and one of U.S. News & World Report’s top 25 public schools. Would its academics really weigh down the reputations of Northwestern, Michigan or the rest of the Big Ten?

But there’s a reason reports have started swirling about FSU and the Big 12, not the Big Ten. And certainly not the SEC.

Which, in some ways, is unfortunate.

Florida State fans have thumbed their nose at the SEC, but the conference deserves its reputation as a football powerhouse. Spending a Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium wouldn’t feel out of place for a fan of Tennessee or Auburn. Norvell has rebuilt the ’Noles to the point where they would, at minimum, be competitive in the league; he’s 5-1 in his last six games against SEC teams.

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops — a former FSU assistant — said Texas and Oklahoma “make us that much stronger.” Maybe the Seminoles could, too.

But don’t count on it.

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