David Marsh

If they want to... Mentioned on another thread today is that many of the higher ups in the B1G don't like the prospect of regularly traveling to the west coast. Ohio State cancelled their ooc with Washington to avoid the expense. Traveling to southern California once every couple years is one thing... It's nice there and is in the middle of a recruiting hot bed. But what about the perspect of traveling to the PNW in October? Sure it's warmer than the midwest ... But it's rainy and from a recruiting stand point it isn't worth their while. I could see resistance to adding more west coast schools. The current B1G members probably don't care about the LA schools' burden of travel but they'll care about their own and simply put... More west coast schools will mean more frequent trips.

Long game vs short game. I do feel there is a chance for things to work out for the PAC in some significant ways. It will require some luck but everything in life feels like it takes just a little bit of luck. What's certain right now is that we are still squarely in phase 1... Survival.

This is my 100th article with FishDuck. A quick shout out to Charles for giving me the opportunity to write and be read by you all. And then a bigger shout-out to the editors who have helped make my articles so good, Natalie Liebhaber and Andy Mueller have done the bulk of the editing for me so big thank you to both of them. Looking forward to the next 100!

I think that is likely... But I think it has a few more factors at play. One, if Oregon and Washington feel they have enough access to the CFP they may not feel the need to move to the B1G if they are feeling good in their financial situation. Two, UCLA may make more in the B1G but will it fix their financial problems? That has yet to be seen. Sure more money but also a greater cost in travel. I was thinking of trying to dive into a few of these questions in my next article.. we'll see if I have the time on that front. I may be on summer break but I still have a one year old walking around the house.

But we don't want their one commit ... He doesn't even have an Oregon offer! You could actually argue that UW is probably his BEST offer. Arizona I think is an up and coming program and Colorado has hype with Prime. And well Michigan State... But those were all the power 5 offers. Maybe Central Florida counts as they are joining the Big-12 but I think we're in the midst of redefining power conferences. But I do know that Portland State is certainly NOT in a power conference or even a power school.

And sure.. Bama is off to a slow start this cycle... But they have more than 1 recruit and Bamas current class will probably out rank the UW class this year.

It works with recruits from the deep south where religion is a larger part of the culture. Might not resonate in the PNW where in the whole we are less religiously minded and the same could be true in the North East. But I am also absolutely sure that Lanning tailors his pitches to each recruit which is the hallmark of a great recruiter it's about finding what resonates with each individual. It's about recruiting the person more than just the player. You're obviously shouldn't recruit a quarterback and a defensive lineman the same way and the same applies to people. As a public employee Lanning can't lead the team in prayer but the athletes absolutely can organize prayer themselves and Lanning and any of the coaches are allowed to join student led prayer. Hopefully I walked the FishDuck rules line fine enough there.

Especially if they need to enter the conference at a reduced rate. I think the uneven post season payouts can keep the conference together for the next 5 years (which is how long until the B1Gs media rights are being renegotiated).

I'd rather that be the Beavers instead...

G5 teams don't work in the current 4 team play off. A 12 team playoff will probably only see 1 G5 team get a token invite. Cincinnati basically had a two year campaign with a covid season in order to earn themselves an invite to the playoff. They needed their players for an extra year and two years of publicity to get there. SMU might not have national championship ambitions but they will be earning more money and their program will be elevated. Especially if they are playing some good teams that are nationally relevant..

Precieved value. I don't entirely get how they assign all this value besides location = geographic viewership... Which isn't wrong but it's lacking in neuance. I mean part of the reason why Oregon isn't seen as valuable a program is because the state of Oregon isn't that big. But we all know Oregon's fan base outstipps it's geographic confines. Also... UCLA can't fill the rose bowl... That stadium is empty on a weekly basis. But UCLA is located in LA so they represent the whole market. Nevermind the fact that southern California has two NFL teams that grab the football fans. And sure USC has a decent fan base and makes more sense. SDSU also feels like a bit of a stretch to claim the San Diego market because of the previously mentioned NFL teams. I do feel that SDSU will grow their fan base pretty rapidly when they join the PAC.

and some Duck fans annoying angry that this is happening because some see the death of the Pac-12 as something to celebrate because they think we get an automatic invite to the B1G. We would probably go to the B1G at some point if the Pac dies but some fans on other boards are driving me crazy with this "anything to kill the Pac faster" routine.

It is lined up right now so that SDSU would join the Pac for 2024. 2024 the Pac will lose the LA schools and we should ideally fill that void with SDSU and SMU at that time.

Seattle and UW have the same problem as the bay area and to a larger extent California college sports teams have... They have a very strong pro scene. Granted Seattle doesn't have am NBA team STILL considering it's been well over a decade since they lost the sonics. However, they do have the Seahawks which attracts a very strong fan base around football season. As a Portland resident I don't have an NFL team... I mean geographically I am nearest the Seahawks (blech!) And the 49ers (not feeling a connection) or Vegas (I wasn't a raiders fan to begin with).... I guess if I had to pick an NFL team I'm a chargers fan ONLY because of Herbert but I really couldn't be called a fan by a long shot. I'm an Oregon duck fan and a college football fan. Not all that interested in pro sports in larfe part because I don't have a team based close to me. The Huskies have to compete against the Seahawks and they are losing that fight.

I'm glad that you mentioned this... Because a couple years ago I wrote an article about how the state of Washington was a no y zone for Ducks recruiting. Oregon Has Failed to Recruit the State of Washington FISHDUCK.COM When J.T. Tuimoloau, a five-star recruit out of the state of Washington, announced Oregon as one of his... Yeah I wrote it after JTT went to Ohio State instead of Oregon so that was before the 2021 season. But a bunch of other Oregon communities started to bring up the point that Oregon couldn't seem to land recruits out of Washington after I wrote the article. Lanning has done a supurb job in breaking into the state and really making it an extension of Oregon's backyard. On another note... One of the football coaches at the school I work was recently at a camp where there were some Duck coaches and I believe Trent Furguson was there too and he looked like a monster. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get the bump at some point as well.

Washington did well with the portal last year. But I don't think a program entirely built off the portal is sustainable. Sure, get key pieces to fix areas of need. Washington fans should be nervous... Need to still build a program with some high school recruits.

Reassuring numbers for the Ducks. 2024 UCLA numbers will be VERY interesting to watch with their travel. UCLA will in many ways be the guinea pig for whether Oregon should even look at joining the B1G in the future. Yes... If Oregon were to join the B1G their expenses wouldn't be as high as 2024 UCLA'S because at that point there would be a western pod and the ducks would have one to two away games on the west coast presumably but the rest of the conference away games would be expensive in terms of travel. I'm just not seeing the advantage of oregon going to the B1G outside of some perception of prestige and earning more money I gross before expenses which would be bigger.

Absolutely!!!! I'm 34 and I don't have cable and I don't want cable or dish and I am probably going to get away with getting YouTube tv and using a VPN to access Pac-12 network international on YouTube to watch duck games. It will also work! Adding apple tv or Amazon (I have Amazon right now as is) or even Disney+ (which bundles in ESPN) for the football season I don't see as a barrier but actually more convenient. As I don't have cable I don't want to deal with Comcast to get it because I don't want it outside of football season. And if I do that's also fine but I love how hassle free it is to cancel. My generation and those younger than me look at media more and more like this. I know for those who have big cable or dish packages will see streaming as another big thing they'll have to add or that it would be more work for them but that's where things are trending and trending fast that way. I saw an article from a big SEC media personality and former player about heo the PAC going streaming is a death sentence. It might be but I doubt it and it might actually be a life line... Especially if they can negotiate something flexible. Start low but as number increase the PAC gets more.

The equipment is a BIG expense because that stuff is usually driven to the game site. I know at least Oregon usually drives that stuff to the game because it's cheaper than flying it by plane. The amount of gear that is packed up and shipped for a game is a semi truck full. So USC and UCLA equipment trucker drives must be really really angry about the conference change. They get to drive those 15k+ miles.

Next piece of info we need... What's the monitary cost of this? Because it's going to be expensive for all that travel... And then add in the other sports.

I doubt the PAC gets 50 mil... But I'd love to see it. If the PAC does get that much or even 40, I think the big-12 poops their collective pants. The PAC product is in a far better position to grow over the next several years than the big-12. The end goal for the PAC right now is to survive and have a few relevant teams. Once the B1G is back up for media rights then swoop in and secure UCLA and resecure the la market. Maybe get USC back at that point... Or let them rot in the B1G.

You seemed to have summed up my last article to a degree. If Moving to the B1G is so Great, Why is Oregon Out-Recruiting USC? FISHDUCK.COM It's hard to ignore USC fans these days, as most of them seem far too happy about joining the B1G. They... This is going to be an interesting year and I think there will be a lot of furious fans if USC doesn't take the PAC which they have already written off as weak and dead. If USC can't take the PAC then how are they supposed to take the B1G?

I think B1G members are probably fine with one game on the west coast every other year and that game being in sunny LA. Its a nice trip to some warm weather and even a chance to get in on some of that Southern California recruiting. But I would agree with your statement that they probably don't want multiple games on the west coast a year. Sunny LA is nice for a game... what about rainy Eugene or Seattle? Probably a lot less nice... especially with a long flight attached.

If these games were non-conference games I would think USC would be pretty competitive because they wouldn't be traveling a ton and they could spend more time preparing. I think USC with their big-12 style game plan could give Michigan some problems like how TCU did. However, these aren't conference games or bowl games. USC will have one week to prepare and often that would mean a significant road trip to then play against a style of football Riley isn't used to going against on a regular basis. Also not a style of foot all the recruits in their backyard are used to playing against. It will be a brutal learning curve. I mean just think... They get to play Michigan at home then turn around for a road trip to Penn State or Maryland or Purdue. Maryland and Purdue aren't big hitters and I'd say USC should be favored against them... But what about after some big road trips? Maybe not.

That travel time is going to be brutal.