What conference join Florida State join next? We asked and you answered with what amounts to a four-way tossup.

FSU is suing the ACC to exit the conference. If they succeed, where should the Seminoles play next? The Big Ten and SEC have been at the heart of rumors for the past year, but those big-money conferences have reportedly said they are not interested in FSU. The Big 12, on the other hand, grew from 10 teams in 2022 to 16 with the 2024 college football season around the corner. And Commissioner Brett Yormark said it's still "open for business" with new rumors circulating that Florida State is in its sights.

All that said, would it just be better for FSU to stick it out in the ACC? It seems crazy, but not according to the nearly 5,500 votes registered in our fan poll. Here's a look at the results:

FSU should join Big 12, our fan poll says. Our takeaways:

First off, it's incredible how tight this race was. Just over 400 votes, or about 7 percentage points, separated the top choice from the bottom. It illustrates the notion that there's no sure-fire winner for what FSU should do next. There's not even a runaway favorite: The Big 12 won by just over 5 percentage points, barely enough to be considered statistically significant, but the SEC wasn't far behind.

Now for the biggest surprise ... the ACC beat the Big Ten? Yes, it was by fewer than 60 votes, barely 1 percentage point of a difference. But still, is opinion on the Big Ten that low?

It's not that much of a shocker considering Florida State has no rivalries against anyone in the new 18-team Big Ten (well, unless you count that time Oregon knocked FSU out of the first ever College Football Playoff). The closest rival FSU would have in the Big Ten would be Clemson if they defected from the ACC, as well. Apart from that, who's nearest? Ohio State? Penn State? Maryland? By car, the closest is Indiana, a scant 760 miles up I-69. And don't even think about how much time and money a conference trip to Washington would cost.

Why FSU fans might prefer the Big 12 to the SEC

That brings us to the actual winner. Why would the Big 12 be more favorable than the SEC? FSU would fit right into the SEC's footprint. Alabama is a stone's through away from the Florida Panhandle. Georgia and LSU seem like a dream to fans of big games, to say nothing of newcomers Texas and Oklahoma. And of course, the rivalry with those Florida Gators would become a conference affair.

But the biggest gain by joining the SEC would be financial. In 2024, the conference starts a 10-year megadeal with ESPN worth $3 billion. Each team could get north of $70 million per year, compared to the expected $50 million per year the Big 12 schools are expected to get from their new TV deal, according to Brett McMurphy.

But the SEC apparently doesn't want the Seminoles, and if the Big 12 does, it does have more to offer than one might expect. It also has a new TV deal that's expected to pay schools about $50 million per year starting in 2025. No one really knows what's going on with its reported foray into venture capital money, but that is another potential influx of cash that's hard to ignore.

And the Big 12 has already been spreading its footprint into the region. UCF joined in 2023, giving FSU an in-state rival. There are four Texas teams — Baylor, Houston, TCU and Texas Tech — plus Oklahoma State that aren't too much of an ask for travel, all things considered. And let's not forget Colorado and head coach Deion Sanders. Who doesn't want to see Coach Prime face off against his alma mater?

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida State football poll results, takeaways on Big 12, Big 10, SEC