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There's no escaping the hottest rumor in college football right now: Is Florida State coming to the Big 12?

The chairman of the FSU board of trustees made headlines over the weekend when he told Warchant.com, "On behalf of the board of trustees, I can say that unanimously we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what is in Florida State's best interest."

So what does our ACC blogger, Heather Dinich, say?

Before FSU decides to pursue a $20 million divorce from the ACC for a chance at better revenue in the Big 12, it should consider just how comfy ACC competition is. FSU isn’t ready for the Big 12. Heck, it wasn’t ready for Wake Forest last year (I know, I know, ‘guys were hurt’ …). Regardless of what conference the Noles play in, they still have to win to be relevant, and the ACC and its fans have grown weary of the program falling short of expectations in recent seasons. FSU hasn’t won the league title since 2005. Virginia Tech has won it three times since then, including in 2010, when the Hokies beat the Noles 44-33 in Charlotte.

Strong words.

Is Florida State ready for the Big 12? There's no doubt the Big 12 is tougher than the ACC. Only the SEC is a better league than the Big 12, and excluding the excellence at the top, a case could be made for the Big 12 as a better league from top to bottom.

Sure, Florida State's not going to run the Big 12 like it ran the ACC.

The Seminoles won 12 ACC titles from 1992 to 2005, helping stake its claim as a national power under Bobby Bowden.

Since 2005, the first year of the ACC Championship Game, Florida State's been shut out of the ACC's winner's circle.

But could Florida State compete? Absolutely. Jimbo Fisher has the 'Noles on the way up, and a move to the Big 12 wouldn't affect FSU's recruiting at all.

A national power in a talent-rich state? Florida State only has 25 players on its roster not from Florida. The talent will be there, and Fisher's brought in some of the best recruiting classes in school history in recent years.

It's been a rough run for FSU, but the 'Noles could compete. They won't dominate or win Big 12 titles by the bushelful, but they'll certainly compete, and if they do win, would only further validate the program in a much tougher conference.

Talk about Florida State and the Big 12 has mostly been an unsubstantiated rumor for months, and several sources fueled local media reports that the league hadn't even considered the Seminoles as a possible future member.

However, in wake of the ACC's new media deal with ABC/ESPN which is expected to fetch less than the Big 12's new pending deal, Florida State is making itself very hard for the Big 12 to ignore.

"On behalf of the Board of Trustees I can say that unanimously we would be in favor of seeing what the Big 12 might have to offer. We have to do what is in Florida State's best interest," Florida State Board of Trustees chairman Andy Haggard told Warchant.com.

Haggard was disappointed the conference controlled third-tier TV rights for football, but universities held them for basketball. It's more evidence, Haggard said, of the conference favoring the North Carolina-based basketball schools like North Carolina and Duke. However, an ACC spokesman said ESPN controlled the rights for both football and basketball, and that Haggard was mistaken.

As for the academic side of the debate, Haggard says leaving the ACC, a conference much stronger academically than the Big 12, wouldn't be a big factor.

"No FSU graduate puts on his résumé or interviews for a job saying they are in the same conference as Duke and Virginia," he said. "Conference affiliation really has no impact on academics."

So what's it all mean?

Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher told the Orlando Sentinel he's open to a conference move.

"There have been no official talks, but I think you always have to look out there to see what's best for Florida State," Fisher said. "If that [jumping to the Big 12] is what's best for Florida State, then that's what we need to do."

Writes the Sentinel's Mike Bianchi:

Late Saturday, though, FSU president Dr. Eric Barron issued a statement in regard to the uproar that was fueled by discussion of the ACC's new TV contract:

"Florida State University regrets that misinformation about the provisions of the ACC contract has unnecessarily renewed the controversy and speculation about University's athletic conference alignment. Florida State respects the views of the Chair of its Board of Trustees that, of course, any university would examine options that would impact university academics, athletics or finances. At the same time, Florida State is not seeking an alternative to the ACC nor are we considering alternatives. Our current commitments remain strong."

Still, if we've learned anything in recent years about institutions of higher earning switching conferences, it is this: Without fail, they all say they are steadfastly committed to their current league only until another league offers them more money.

The Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkhoff says the Big 12 should prick its ears up and pay attention to the restless comments wafting into Big 12 country from Tallahassee.

Even if Haggard’s anger is based on a false notion, Florida State to the Big 12 was being rumored before the latest public comments, largely the stuff of message board speculation.

A source close to the conference told The Star this week that no realignment conversations had taken place between the Big 12 and any other school since the introduction of Bob Bowlsby as commissioner last week.

But the Big 12’s expansion committee, made up of athletic directors and presidents, has not been disbanded.

The rumor is still in its beginning stages, and Florida State's football program has been down since playing in BCS games six times between 1998 and 2005.

Still, the Seminoles are a commanding national brand in the game, and the Big 12 would be silly if it didn't at least offer serious attention to the situation from the South.

Louisville's been assumed as the school at the top of the Big 12's expansion list if it moved beyond a 10-team league. If Florida State's rumblings become serious, that would have to change.

Oklahoma and Florida State are a fascinating crossroads.

A win for Florida State may signify an official entrance (once again) into perennial national relevance under Jimbo Fisher, with a young team and top-ranked recruiting classes in tow.

But for Oklahoma, ranked No. 1 entering this weekend's matchup, it was its win over Florida State that propelled it to national relevance.

Jake Trotter at SoonerNation explores the juxtaposition:

With Stoops, the plucky Sooners knocked off Florida State, the "it" program in college football at the time, to claim their first national championship in 15 years.

The game signified a turning point for both programs: OU's abrupt return to prominence and the start of FSU's steady decline.

"It was the beginning of what this place has become," said OU offensive coordinator Josh Heupel, who was the quarterback for that Oklahoma team. "A springboard to the success we had the rest of the decade."

And here we are, with a mammoth matchup waiting on Saturday. I can't wait.

Check out SoonerNation for more.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Will Muschamp wanted to get out of his house for a few hours while visiting relatives in Atlanta on Christmas Day 2000, figuring that meeting a few old coaching friends would provide a calming respite.

He called some old friends on the LSU staff that morning with hopes of watching the Tigers practice for their Peach Bowl game a few days later.

While there, Muschamp met first-year LSU coach Nick Saban. Both of their lives changed from that moment.

The then-Valdosta State defensive coordinator was hired to join Saban's staff three weeks later as a linebackers coach after a vacancy appeared on the staff.

"He wanted somebody young, from the South and who had ties with people on the staff," Muschamp said. "They brought me in for an interview and we talked that day. That night, he offered me the job."

LSU won a BCS championship barely four years later. Muschamp then followed Saban to the Miami Dolphins, where at 34, he was one of the youngest defensive coordinators in recent NFL history.

Later, Saban returned to Alabama and Muschamp became the defensive coordinator at Auburn. Muschamp eventually was hired at Texas, where his strong work has earned him the designation of Mack Brown's successor when he leaves coaching.

Back in the LSU days, Saban had a reputation as a taskmaster who was difficult for many assistants to work for.

But in Muschamp, he found a kindred spirit who enjoyed grinding away at the job as much as he did.

"Nick never asked me to do anything he wasn't doing himself," Muschamp said. "From a work standpoint, a recruiting standpoint or a coaching standpoint, if you didn't want to work it wasn't a good place to be. But I enjoyed work and I like coaching football.

"I like evaluation and I like recruiting and that's why we got along philosophically and schematically. We believe the same way in coaching and motivating. I think that's why we got along."

Today, Muschamp's players say the apple hasn't fallen too far from the tree in terms of Muschamp's dedication for work.

"I always want to try to beat him into the office," Texas defensive tackle Kheeston Randall said. "But it's hard to do. He's the first one there a lot and the last one to leave. You look out and see (Muschamp's) that white truck out there all the time."

Saban is proud of Muschamp's ascension in coaching like the development of former assistants like Michigan State head coach Mark D'Antonio, incoming Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher or Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley.

"To put it into perspective, (it's like) when one of your children does something that makes you proud," Saban said. "That's how you feel when coaches on your staff go on and do bigger and better things and have success in what they do. I'm really proud and want to see them all do extremely well."

Because of their dedication to coaching, Muschamp estimates that he and Saban talk less than once a month. They haven't exchanged pleasantries since the Texas-Alabama matchup was set when Texas beat Nebraska in the Big 12 championship game and Alabama defeated Florida in the Southeastern Conference title game earlier that day.

"It's tough during the season," Muschamp said. "He knows they are playing us and I know we're playing them. He's busy and I am, too."

Both coaching staffs have a lot of connections other than the Saban-Muschamp association. Current Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart was Muschamp's secondary coach at Valdosta State when Muschamp was hired at LSU. Alabama associate head coach/linebackers coach James Willis worked as Muschamp's linebackers coach at Auburn. And Texas running backs coach Major Applewhite worked on Saban's staff as his offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2007.

Saban faced a similar challenge at Miami when he faced his old mentor, Bill Belichick, when he was coaching the New England Patriots.

"I'm really proud and want to see them all do extremely well," Saban said. "We're good friends and you compete and play against each other, but you don't dislike each other and it's not you don't have the same amount of respect and admiration for them.

"You want to be helpful to those guys if you can. And even if you compete against somebody in that moment in time, you're trying to do the best you can for your team."

Muschamp learned a lot during his time with Saban. While he jokes there will be a lot of "wasted ink" written bout their relationship over the next few weeks, he remains grateful for the opportunity to join Saban's staff nine years ago.

"When you get there and get exposed to a lot schematically, that appealed to me," Muschamp said. "And that's obviously where I formed my ideas about how you play and the things you needed to do to be successful."