dwc13

Always loved the view of the San Francisco Bay from the top row seats at Cal Memorial Stadium. One of my favorite places to watch a football game, or at least enjoy the views. It's too bad Cal hasn't been able to consistently field football teams that complement such a beautiful setting.

Thanks for the welcome and the Buckeye helmet avatar. I love watching college football even if my teams aren't playing. While living in the Bay Area in the 90s, I attended a few Cal and Stanford football games -- probably more than many of their students/alumni. Fan/viewer support (lack thereof) is a big reason why both programs are on the outside looking in at the moment. It's going to take a few years to develop new rivalries once UO joins the B1G Ten but they'll eventually happen. Penn State has only been in the B1G Ten since 1993 but it often schedules the white out game when Ohio State travels to State College. Pretty cool seeing100K fans dressed in white filling the stadium. It's great the Ducks will continue to play Washington, USC and UCLA on at least a semi-regular basis as a member of the B1G Ten. In all likelihood, UO-Washington game will become a 'grandfathered' rivalry game. Even with 18 teams and only 9 or 10 conference games, the B1G Ten won't completely do away with them; however, quite a few of them will fall by the wayside once 2024 schedule is reworked and released. Hard to say what will happen with the Civil War game against Oregon State. If the schools want to make it happen, they can probably work it out. Same with the Apple Cup for Washington & WSU. Just drop a directional/city school ('cupcake' per Duke Vitale) from the non-conference schedule. When the Big XII was formed in 1996, Nebraska and Oklahoma were placed in different divisions. OU didn't want to keep its annual rivalry game with Nebraska because going forward each season the Sooners would have to play Texas and Texas A&M, in addition to the Bedlam game against in-state rival Oklahoma State. Nebraska had Colorado (which was a Top 25 team back then) and Kansas State and that was about it. If the B1G Ten decides on a 10 conference game schedule, there might be less willingness to schedule P5 opponents out of conference. A 10 conference game schedule could be brutal. Time will tell...and money talks.

Now that I'm back home from a long road trip and have finished procrastinating (for now), I'd like to welcome UO and Duck fans to the B1G 18 Ten. Oregon's athletic programs have escaped the sinking ship that is the Pac 12 Conference. Yes, there are some traditions/rivalries/programs that will be adversely affected going forward. It's an unfortunate by-product of conference realignment. However, as a college football fan, I'm really excited about new stadiums to experience a game day atmosphere and Autzen is definitely on the short list. I'm an Ohio State alum (undergrad years ago) and also have graduate/professional degrees from other B1G Ten universities. I've spent many years living in the traditional B1G Ten footprint. As long as you don't root for The Team Up North (TTUN), Notre Dame, or bring up last year's game in Columbus too often (remember, 2015 CFP Championship Game & 1-9, right?!), we'll get along fine, lol. B1G Ten members do their best to act in unison. That doesn't mean there won't be different opinions; however, members work hard to reconcile differences until everyone is on the same page. Imagine that, right? FWIW, Ohio State and Michigan haven't demanded a bigger share of media rights revenues (w/r/t other current members), even though the 2 programs (and to a lesser extent, Penn State) have been far and away the ones driving the $$$$$ for the conference. If USC tries pulling that stunt once they're in the B1G Ten, they'll be shot down very quickly. It would be quite the road trip from Eugene to drive to many of the B1G Ten campuses for a football game, but I hope some of you will have the opportunity to make the trip someday. Driving will allow you to visit multiple campuses and see parts of the country that are quite different from the Pacific Northwest. Fortunately, it's very easy to get decent tickets to Northwestern and Illinois games. Relatively easy for Indiana and Purdue home games. Definitely worth attending a game in Lincoln, Nebraska -- home to the friendliest college football fans. I attended many games in the 90s, back when the Huskers actually had football teams that were pretty good. Good luck in 2023. May the best team that will be joining the B1G Ten -- whichever one that turns out to be -- win the Pac 12 on the field (and not because of officiating mistakes). Even if that team is US... Uh, no.