I'm surprised no one has recalled the infamous incident that really started the hatred between Oregon and Washington. Back in 1948, Oregon finished 7-0 in the 9 member PCC, and Cal finished 6-0. (In the days of the PCC, there was no such thing as schedule consistency). Further, because Oregon and Cal did not meet that year, the conference's representative to the Rose Bowl was decided by a vote of the University Presidents/Chancellors. The higher win total wasn't a factor.
It was assumed that the Northern schools would vote as a block for Oregon, one of their own, and since there were 5 Northern schools at the time (Idaho was in the conference), that would send the Ducks to the Rose Bowl. But Washington voted with the California block, for California, sending the Bears to the Rose Bowl instead.
Oregon did ok, in that they went to the Cotton Bowl (to play, ironically, a candidate for addition to the Pac, SMU). But then as now, the Rose Bowl is the Rose Bowl. Washington voting with the Cal block incensed Oregon, and frankly didn't win them any friends with any of the other 3 NW schools either.
Regarding schools leaving the Pac-12, and other conferences for that matter, the announcement of the coming expansion of the CFP playoffs from 4 teams to 12, which opened doors for a lot of teams that would have had to go through a door in the SEC or B1G otherwise changed every calculus for every sport everywhere in the FBS. A lot of things that were serious and legitimate necessities immediately ceased to be necessary, and a lot of other options (including holding the remnants of the Pac together) instantly went from untenable to the best option.
Curious, I sat in a diner in Memphis yesterday , reading John's blog .
They were talking about playoffs and who will take the place in the Ohio state /Michigan slot since they both play later this season.
This group was easily 13 people grouped together and all excited to talk about cfb.
Here's the rub not one time was oregon, or any pac 12 mentioned in the conversation. Clemson , 2 loss Alabama, Tennessee, Lsu ,Ole Miss were hotly debated . I couldn't help but to casually join the conversation as they were sitting next to me.
When I mentioned pac 12 and the reinvigorated Bo Nix at oregon. They casually just dismissed it this way.. ANY SCC QUATERBACK WOULD DOMINATE PAC 12 TEAMS!
I BROUGHT UP THAT A FEW QBS CAME UP FROM PAC 12 AND DID WELL
In your article distribution of media rights I have learned a lot. As a fan and season ticket holder I want to be informed so I can have good conversations with others. Bob Thompson gave all of us insights into how a deal gets done. How great was that! If you are taking donations I can give up a bottle of scotch for him as well.
Every time I hear about the Saban coaching tree I am reminded that Saban's success all began playing and then coaching for Don James. Ditto Gary Pinkel.
Agree that the additional payouts should not be thrown into the media mix of numbers but had the Pac-12 picked off the 'leftover' B12 schools it would have been one heck of a CBB conference making big CBB tourney bucks.
I got the $70 million versus $30 million nummbers for USC and UCLA going to Big 10 versus the alleged pac-10 revenue in two years from you. It has been changed as today you claim is has moved to a difference of 31 million (61 to 32) I understand these numbers are all apprx figures, but please do not change your claims facts or lack of in mid-stream lacking a fact-check. One day you agree with me, and now you have claimed the ole roshambo more or less. You boast about sticking to the facts, or blame other people if you are caught in a changing story. Fact check me John. I asked you to stop the regular charges to my credit card for the 10 monthly subscriptions of 6.99 per for your column I had bought for family and friends There never any mentions of regular recurring charges of 6.99 each per subscriptions. . I like reading you daily, but I remember you were arrogant in your early days here in my native city. I had hoped it could change. I contacted you and nicely asked you to stop the many 6.99 charges. Here is your exact reply "you could just go to an annual deal" If i had 10 "deals" and sought to get out of them to save money, how could you try and move me to go to an annual deal? I had to re-read your comment., and I did not like your response at all. I did buy one more deal for a month for myself, at 6.99. I imagine you will be in Eugene on Saturday. The game Rich Brooks told the story about that happened in 1988, is a game I was at. It is probably the first time I saw Don James lose in Autzen. He owned the ducks; only 21 of 24. victories. Later the Ducks had a string of 13 in a row over the MONSTERS OF MONTLAKE. ( a term I just heard of from some Husky fan) and nobody could believe it happened. I was a happy guy for 13 years! Now that my black-mini jaguar kitty, a rescue male, , named Shadow , has survived his second critical ordeal of a total internal blockage, at a combined vet bill of only 8,000 dollars,, I thinkI I'll just hang here in Pdx, keep being his butler, 24/7 at our home in sw, and see the purple rein get beat in Autzen again. Husky free nw, , no dogs allowed, and I thought a montlake monster was a jv girls volleyball team from Mercer, Island, Nobody I know had no idea either of what it was. pray that i will see the puppies eat dog food ith a rusty spoon on Saturday! No rain, cold temps, and a real dog fight for sure. Huskies claim they are favored, ( I do not go by spread for this one) am sure both teams will be fired up to say the least. Any day the Huskies lose to the Ducks is a SUPER DAY. Heard it is only 5.5 hours on I-5 from Eugene going north back home as a loser puppy. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER, and I sure hope the freeway traffic for the mighty OSU game same day in Corvallis does not affect any purple cars limping home! GO DUCKS HUSKY FREE Nw NO DAWGS ALLOWWED unless they have four legs in our native state. I am confident, in my Ducks, even if the ghost of Don James hovers above in cyberspace trying to figure out what happened to his Huskies! GO DUCKS, and please do not have your season ruined by any purple alien invading Eugene,. I predict Ducks win in a massive dogfight, with many quirks and poor officiating , by only 24-21. DUCKS OWN PAC-12 in 2022!
Another fantastic article, in addition to the happy ending story last Thursday, great work! However, because I’ve been reading your work for the past couple years, as a subscriber by the way and I believe in your research, diligence, honesty and transparency, I’m still convinced Oregon and Washington go to the Big 10, while San Diego State, UNLV SMU and Houston join the PAC 12. Which from an entertainment perspective alone, is far more exciting to watch than the ultra boring Big 10 anyway. Love your writing!
"I lean toward picking the Bruins to beat USC (Nov. 19) at this point."
John, as a Trojan fan this pains me to say that I fully "lean" your way, also. Bruins will win that game in a whose-defense-is-worse affair. More importantly that outcome will give the Pac12 its best chance at the CFP: an Oregon-UCLA matchup on a neutral field. Advantage UCLA.
Your "heartbeat of college football" column brought tears to my eyes🤧. I am blessed to have had more than one of what I call "Grace of God" experiences in my life that were quite similar.
Regarding PAC-12 media rights negotiations, I think Amazon’s newly-announced deal with Overtime Elite is telling. Is Amazon working to own the streaming space for sports in a pre-emptive strike against the Worldwide Leader? Will a deal with the PAC be part of that effort? Won’t surprise me a bit.
I'm surprised no one has recalled the infamous incident that really started the hatred between Oregon and Washington. Back in 1948, Oregon finished 7-0 in the 9 member PCC, and Cal finished 6-0. (In the days of the PCC, there was no such thing as schedule consistency). Further, because Oregon and Cal did not meet that year, the conference's representative to the Rose Bowl was decided by a vote of the University Presidents/Chancellors. The higher win total wasn't a factor.
It was assumed that the Northern schools would vote as a block for Oregon, one of their own, and since there were 5 Northern schools at the time (Idaho was in the conference), that would send the Ducks to the Rose Bowl. But Washington voted with the California block, for California, sending the Bears to the Rose Bowl instead.
Oregon did ok, in that they went to the Cotton Bowl (to play, ironically, a candidate for addition to the Pac, SMU). But then as now, the Rose Bowl is the Rose Bowl. Washington voting with the Cal block incensed Oregon, and frankly didn't win them any friends with any of the other 3 NW schools either.
Regarding schools leaving the Pac-12, and other conferences for that matter, the announcement of the coming expansion of the CFP playoffs from 4 teams to 12, which opened doors for a lot of teams that would have had to go through a door in the SEC or B1G otherwise changed every calculus for every sport everywhere in the FBS. A lot of things that were serious and legitimate necessities immediately ceased to be necessary, and a lot of other options (including holding the remnants of the Pac together) instantly went from untenable to the best option.
Love the rivalry tales. I’ve got more than a few myself.
Re: MISSING PERSONS. - I am not surprised by this in any way, shape, or form. How ‘bout you?
Looking forward to this weekend’s “Attack in Autzen” - hope it’s a battle!
GO DAWGS
Curious, I sat in a diner in Memphis yesterday , reading John's blog .
They were talking about playoffs and who will take the place in the Ohio state /Michigan slot since they both play later this season.
This group was easily 13 people grouped together and all excited to talk about cfb.
Here's the rub not one time was oregon, or any pac 12 mentioned in the conversation. Clemson , 2 loss Alabama, Tennessee, Lsu ,Ole Miss were hotly debated . I couldn't help but to casually join the conversation as they were sitting next to me.
When I mentioned pac 12 and the reinvigorated Bo Nix at oregon. They casually just dismissed it this way.. ANY SCC QUATERBACK WOULD DOMINATE PAC 12 TEAMS!
I BROUGHT UP THAT A FEW QBS CAME UP FROM PAC 12 AND DID WELL
Oh boy! My UTES could really screw everything up in the PAC by beating The Ducks and winning out. The PAC Championship will be UCLA vs Oregon or Utah
Here’s an idea. CFP should ding Michigan for backing out of a game vs. UCLA. It would’ve been a hot matchup.
Instead, the Bruins get dinged for low strength of schedule. Their body of work in P12 games is better than USC, IMO.
In your article distribution of media rights I have learned a lot. As a fan and season ticket holder I want to be informed so I can have good conversations with others. Bob Thompson gave all of us insights into how a deal gets done. How great was that! If you are taking donations I can give up a bottle of scotch for him as well.
Don James bus busted, who knew? Great stuff.
Every time I hear about the Saban coaching tree I am reminded that Saban's success all began playing and then coaching for Don James. Ditto Gary Pinkel.
Agree that the additional payouts should not be thrown into the media mix of numbers but had the Pac-12 picked off the 'leftover' B12 schools it would have been one heck of a CBB conference making big CBB tourney bucks.
I got the $70 million versus $30 million nummbers for USC and UCLA going to Big 10 versus the alleged pac-10 revenue in two years from you. It has been changed as today you claim is has moved to a difference of 31 million (61 to 32) I understand these numbers are all apprx figures, but please do not change your claims facts or lack of in mid-stream lacking a fact-check. One day you agree with me, and now you have claimed the ole roshambo more or less. You boast about sticking to the facts, or blame other people if you are caught in a changing story. Fact check me John. I asked you to stop the regular charges to my credit card for the 10 monthly subscriptions of 6.99 per for your column I had bought for family and friends There never any mentions of regular recurring charges of 6.99 each per subscriptions. . I like reading you daily, but I remember you were arrogant in your early days here in my native city. I had hoped it could change. I contacted you and nicely asked you to stop the many 6.99 charges. Here is your exact reply "you could just go to an annual deal" If i had 10 "deals" and sought to get out of them to save money, how could you try and move me to go to an annual deal? I had to re-read your comment., and I did not like your response at all. I did buy one more deal for a month for myself, at 6.99. I imagine you will be in Eugene on Saturday. The game Rich Brooks told the story about that happened in 1988, is a game I was at. It is probably the first time I saw Don James lose in Autzen. He owned the ducks; only 21 of 24. victories. Later the Ducks had a string of 13 in a row over the MONSTERS OF MONTLAKE. ( a term I just heard of from some Husky fan) and nobody could believe it happened. I was a happy guy for 13 years! Now that my black-mini jaguar kitty, a rescue male, , named Shadow , has survived his second critical ordeal of a total internal blockage, at a combined vet bill of only 8,000 dollars,, I thinkI I'll just hang here in Pdx, keep being his butler, 24/7 at our home in sw, and see the purple rein get beat in Autzen again. Husky free nw, , no dogs allowed, and I thought a montlake monster was a jv girls volleyball team from Mercer, Island, Nobody I know had no idea either of what it was. pray that i will see the puppies eat dog food ith a rusty spoon on Saturday! No rain, cold temps, and a real dog fight for sure. Huskies claim they are favored, ( I do not go by spread for this one) am sure both teams will be fired up to say the least. Any day the Huskies lose to the Ducks is a SUPER DAY. Heard it is only 5.5 hours on I-5 from Eugene going north back home as a loser puppy. WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER, and I sure hope the freeway traffic for the mighty OSU game same day in Corvallis does not affect any purple cars limping home! GO DUCKS HUSKY FREE Nw NO DAWGS ALLOWWED unless they have four legs in our native state. I am confident, in my Ducks, even if the ghost of Don James hovers above in cyberspace trying to figure out what happened to his Huskies! GO DUCKS, and please do not have your season ruined by any purple alien invading Eugene,. I predict Ducks win in a massive dogfight, with many quirks and poor officiating , by only 24-21. DUCKS OWN PAC-12 in 2022!
Always great to hear from Rich and his prospective
Another fantastic article, in addition to the happy ending story last Thursday, great work! However, because I’ve been reading your work for the past couple years, as a subscriber by the way and I believe in your research, diligence, honesty and transparency, I’m still convinced Oregon and Washington go to the Big 10, while San Diego State, UNLV SMU and Houston join the PAC 12. Which from an entertainment perspective alone, is far more exciting to watch than the ultra boring Big 10 anyway. Love your writing!
"I lean toward picking the Bruins to beat USC (Nov. 19) at this point."
John, as a Trojan fan this pains me to say that I fully "lean" your way, also. Bruins will win that game in a whose-defense-is-worse affair. More importantly that outcome will give the Pac12 its best chance at the CFP: an Oregon-UCLA matchup on a neutral field. Advantage UCLA.
My parents, particularly my Mother, was incensed at Washington for that vote until she died. This is important history.
Your "heartbeat of college football" column brought tears to my eyes🤧. I am blessed to have had more than one of what I call "Grace of God" experiences in my life that were quite similar.
😇Thanks for reminding me of them.
The thing that stood out is not that they believe the SCC is the best conference and they could make a sound argument for that.
It is they did not discount the other power conferences, look at the teams they where debating.
The fact is they just do not see any conference in west as anything but a BASKETBALL conference..
IN MY OPINION, NO EXPOSURE HAS DESTROYED THE CONFERENCE.
Regarding PAC-12 media rights negotiations, I think Amazon’s newly-announced deal with Overtime Elite is telling. Is Amazon working to own the streaming space for sports in a pre-emptive strike against the Worldwide Leader? Will a deal with the PAC be part of that effort? Won’t surprise me a bit.