73 Comments
Jul 6, 2022Liked by John Canzano

Moos makes a great point regarding USC's and UCLA's ability to compete in the Big 10.

Just ask Nebraska, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Arkansas how leaving their original conferences worked out for them.

Add in the fact that UCLA has been irrelevant in the Pac 12 for 30 years, literally and other than the Pete Carroll era, USC has been perhaps the 4th best team in the Conference over the last 25 years.

I realize USC is recruiting well, but frankly they've always recruited well.

Expand full comment
Jul 6, 2022Liked by John Canzano

Great content John!

Expand full comment
Jul 6, 2022Liked by John Canzano

So will our conference be PAC-ACC? Or PAC BIG? Naming it will be fun!

Expand full comment
Jul 6, 2022·edited Jul 6, 2022

Why not pry Texas A&M from SEC??? Rumor has it that they were pissed to be left out of decision to include Texas and Oklahoma...

The Pac-12 should become the Pacific SouthWest conference PSC!!

Texas Tech,

Baylor

TCU

Texas A&M

(MORE etc...)

Expand full comment

I don't see what the possibilities are with this "loose partnership" outside of playing a 13th game between conference champions. And if someone like Clemson wins the ACC and is in great position to get in the CFP, are they really going to want to have to go all the way out to Las Vegas to play a 9-3 Pac team and potentially ruin it? This sounds like one of those crazy ideas that someone comes up with while sitting on the pot, and it somehow gets out to the media as a plan that is legitimately being explored.

Expand full comment

None of the current scenarios on the table look stable to me. And it may be that we just need to do something (apologies to Willie Taggart - it didn't work out for him either) and then let things go through another revolution a few more years down the road. Operating in a long established conference on the other side of the country is not a natural fit for a west coast team and I don't see how any of them would be accepted as an equal to the long-standing conference members. The styles of football are much more physical in the SEC and B1G than in the Pac12 as well - I'm not sure whether fans would adapt or not. The cost for the non-revenue teams to travel has been noted as a problem... there are lots of problems. But the biggest is that there are just a lot more good football teams east of Texas than to the west. That's a big disadvantage if you're struggling to be one of the good ones - and the struggle seems to have moved from the field to the wallet now. I don't know how things will look in 20 years but I find it hard to believe that it will include west coast teams in east coast conferences. Either there will become a complete realignment away from the current conferences (NFL-like divisions) or the Pac10 will become a tier below the B1G and SEC and just accept it (maybe with some competitive teams but without the really big revenue) or we'll merge (partly or completely) with the Big12 (I don't see doing anything with the current ACC long term) which is not much different than the Pac10 scenario, financially... UNLESS, somewhere down the road you can lure Texas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M back from the SEC and into a western 3rd super conference that is about the same size as whatever the B1G and SEC are by then. Otherwise, I just don't see any scenarios where Oregon or any other Pac12 team (including USC and UCLA) end up as equals with the best teams in those eastern conferences. And, personally, I think I'd rather be in a lesser Pac10 than be a lesser school in a super-conference. Soon we can ask USC and UCLA fans if they are happier now that they're making far more money, but hovering in the middle of the conference most of the time (or worse, in UCLA's case, I suspect). As a fan, I'd like to win more than make more. Just my $0.02...

Expand full comment

Thanks for the great reporting here, JC. You're a calming voice in the wilderness. Regarding the 'partnership' with the ACC: seems like a house built on sand. I'd feel better with an actual contract - and can't wrap my head around waiting until 2036 - 2036! - to put something formal together.

I want to feel better about all this but it's hard, man. I'm still really chapped at the way SC and UCLA played the Pac12. Effing disloyal turncoats.

Expand full comment

Reality can be a very difficult concept to embrace…like a B rated starlet that sees herself as something that nobody else does…surrounded by those who hope to capitalize off of her, they’ve been feeding her ego for way too long…eventually they move on to more promising opportunities…Oregon is a regional program…they’ve done a great job of forcing themselves into the spotlight with quirky offenses and an endless array of uniform alternatives… it’s occasionally entertaining, but nobody outside of Eugene takes it seriously…the weak academic standing (don’t shoot the messenger here, look it up for yourself) doesn’t help…when everything is being evaluated on facts, as opposed to perception, decisions are made without any emotion…Oregon would do well to focus on an alternative that’s not out of their reach…USC and ucla are gone…and they’re not looking in the rear view mirror…

Expand full comment

John after listening to an interview featuring Colin Cowherd, in which he was a guest on a USC supported show. Listened to his shows when he was here in Portland. Respectfully Colin is many things. One of which is candid. So when he speaks about the “divorce” between the two southern Cal schools and the PAC 12. He’s both informed and practical.

Oregon and Washington weren’t invited to join the move to the BIG 10. They might gain entry later, but the truth is they weren’t valued enough initially for consideration.

Brutal reality. The truth hurts.

However

The truth also shall set you free.

The cap on thinking and limitations has been lifted. Everything is now on the table.

As things become clearer, and the shock ebbs. It’s clear the PAC 12 conference is at a cross road. A true Come to “Jesus” moment.

As a registered associate in mental health. Funny thing happens when an organism is stressed and faced with death. It gains great focus, clarity, and takes decisive action to survive.

PAC 12 / ACC has a nice ring to it. Sounds and feels different than a week ago. The combination of east coast and west coast is intriguing. Some form of a “formal” and “enforceable” alignment benefits both conferences. At a time when being eating alive and swallowed whole is a distinct possibility. Everyone is searching for safety in numbers. Make no doubt this is a numbers game $$$.

The markets held in the ACC and the intrigue of the remaining PAC schools could create some fun combinations.

I would pay to watch. That’s the point.

Expand full comment

No one's asking if excessive travel will be prohibitive for recruiting at USC and ucla.

Expand full comment

What am I missing here? Something is not adding up. Blah blah blah....LA viewership.....blah blah blah....stands are empty too..

Total 2021-22 Pac-12 Football TV Viewers including Bowl Games

39.87M—Oregon

32.80M—Utah

13.29M—UCLA

12.89M—USC

12.51M—ASU

11.84M—Washington

9.65M—WSU

9.28M—Stanford

8.89M—Colorado

6.74M—OSU

4.02M—Arizona

2.29M—Cal

Expand full comment

Dovetailing off of Moos' thinking about USC and UCLA in the B1G, the style of play there is more physical/less finesse than the Pac12 is. Cristobal was trying to take Oregon that direction - get stronger and beat up your opponent until you can run at will over them in the 2nd half. It's lower scoring, I'm-bigger & stronger-than-you football. It was boring for Oregon fans, as an aside. USC may be able to thrive in this style if it goes back to Student Body Left... football. But UCLA has never been that Big Bully kind of team. They look like basement dwellers there to me. Maybe that's satisfactory to them with a bigger payout but the B1G may not end of wanting that powder blue team over the long term. And there's no guarantee USC will be a mostly upper tier team there either. They (and B1G) seem to be putting a lot of hope in Lincoln Riley replicating Pete Carroll. Aside from Carroll, USC has a long string of mediocre seasons behind it now. And LA is not a big college football town. This seems a weird decision to me. Almost a panic decision. They must have seen financial projections for the Pac12 that were absolutely dismal and freaked out. But the Pac12 teams, by and large, have been declining. Nearly all but Oregon and Utah are less than what they used to be. So, maybe USC and UCLA just gave up hoping the conference would return to better days. I'd love to know what lead them to up and bolt someday.

Expand full comment

Great job once again ,John

Expand full comment

I' m wondering if the LA market is being overvalued by the media companies especially since I feel the interest level in college football is low. USC and UCLA Football have a history of success but have not been relevant for quite some time and attendance figures reflect that.

In speaking with Midwest fans, Existing big 10 fans may initially see USC and UCLA games as a curiosity or novelty but the long-term traditions that they have formed over the past 100 years are still very important to them and games with Nebraska for example don't mean as much anymore.

For these reasons I'm thinking the L.A. schools could end up being a drag on the Big 10 over time.

It's also natural to look at the deal through the lens of what we see today but things can change. College football conferences and programs that were dominant can decline and vice-versa. Who has the most NCAA football championships? Yale has 18. Minnesota was king in the 1930s and 1940's has 6 for example.

I'm happy to hear that the remaining pack 12 members seem to be committed to the conference and to one another so it's simply up to each program to be the best they can be and maybe one of them with the right coach and the right players can catch lightning in a bottle And improve the perception of the conference.

Expand full comment

Why not grab SDSU and UNLV?

Expand full comment

This ACC deal smacks of desperation and feels like it would be held together by duct tape and baling wire. Unfortunately the BIG12 may be the best OR and WA path.

Expand full comment