Of course I'd rather see Tech play non-conference programs in the region like Tennessee, West Virginia, South Carolina, Penn State or Maryland. From an attendance standpoint, those games in isolation would obviously do better than a game against most west coast programs (though I remember a pretty good turnout at FedEx Field for the USC game years ago).

But Tech needs to either join the SEC or Big Ten, or take its closest friends and run as far away from them as it can. There is never going to be an affiliation between the ACC and SEC because the SEC doesn't need it and the ACC schools know most would take a beating that they don't want. The Big Ten schools know better than to align themselves with the ACC; they don't need the relationship and probably fear they'd lose more games than they'd like. An affiliation between ACC and Big 12 schools could work, but the travel issues are no different than with the Pac 12 and the upside for both the ACC and Pac 12 would be better than for either to affiliate with the Big 12.

As for Tennessee, the distance from Knoxville to Blacksburg has been the same for quite a while, but there's a reason we have not seen a caravan of creamsicle orange driving up I-81 in the fall during our lifetime. Tennessee has no desire and no need to play Tech in a home-and-home series, simple as that.

I'd happily live with 9 ACC games, two games against Pac 12 opponents and one open slot to be filled on a rotating basis by programs like WVU, Maryland, other similar P5 opponents and the occasional Little Sisters of the Poor. Especially if it got us out of the same television network with the SEC.

[Post edited by Tailgate Guru at 01/15/2021 2:12PM]