David Marsh

Oh yeah football... I was starting to think the event was watching conference realignment.

Ohhhh do I have a doozy of an article coming up for this point. The whole thing hit me last night. I'm working on getting around to write it now.

You bring up a good point about Jonathan Smith. If Oregon State is in a power conference I think he is untouchable and happy to stay at OSU for a very long time. But I don't think he wants to play in the G5. Well we really have 3 tiers now... Power 3 - B1G, SEC and for maybe another year or two the ACC. The intermediate - the Big-12, and the PAC (until they fold) Then the G5 The big-12 has a whole lot of G5 schools and some P5 schools but still lacking those premier brands..

I think Uncle Phil is the reason why taking this jump was even considered worth it. Oregon has some great donors, not just Phil Knight, and in sure they played a role. I think Washington may have a tougher go of it... But we used them to get in the door so they are right back on hate list. By the way... Washington is just the worst and I think their fans are only a step above USC fans at this point.

And I think that probably played a significant role in Oregon's choice to jump right now. My gut says that the powers at be for Oregon could have opted for the pay cut, remember Oregon's financials are different from mosts, to have an easier road to the playoff and if the moneu didnt materialize they make the jump to the B1G fir 2030. But that may not be an option if USC has a vote against them. So now was the time. USC wants to play dirty. Time to put them in the Aurzen terf come November!

More likely Stanford gets rid of sports. Only one school can generate enough media revenue to be independent at a high level these days and that Notre Dame and they aren't even fully independent anymore. They are partial football members of the ACC and full members for other sports. Independence is really dead at this point.

I'm going to go with no ... It does give some insight into the travel costs if the B1G and unless those issues are addressed the programs can't function.

Lol!!! Stanford can't go independent and make that work. There is a reason why independents are dying out..BYU gave up it's independence. Notes Dame isnt even fully independent anymore. If the PAC has enough schools surviving... They take any media deal they can that is around 20 mil and grab some G5 schools and make that work. It would be a step up over the G5 payouts but certainly not p5... Well P2.5.

Probably just a decade in truth... though maybe not quite 10 years. 2013 to 2022 ish... I said it in another post. Oregon State is really a typical college product. Or at least the traditional college product. Ups and downs with some very good years sprinkled in there but not a power. I'd say they look a lot like Iowa or Maryland or Virginia in their respective conferences. Important to the conference as a member and has times when they can upset the balance but otherwise not a huge player outside of the occasional year. But lots of patience of coaches to get it right for the future. Granted that model of college football is dying fast. I don't think Duck fans would tolerate the Bellotti era anymore. We love it because it's in the past and not the present. Jonathan Smith strikes me as someone in the Bellotti style for Oregon State now. He's going to deliver some great seasons but also some good seasons and the occasional stinker. I think Oregon State's biggest downfall right now is that they have had some bad seasons and are pulling out of that era but it's too late for them. That and they share the same region as the Ducks that are a whole lot flashier and better on the whole. If only one team from Oregon is getting picked for a big payday it isn't going to be the Beavers that's for sure. In short I think the Beavers really represent the traditional way college football used to operate and the Ducks represent how college football opporates right NOW. I feel bad for the beavers because I value that rivalry and relationship and that relationship with my work colleagues who are beaver fans. Media companies just don't value that. Even in an OOC game played in Thanksgiving weekend wouldn't hold the same value. So much of the value of that rivalry game is because it's at the end of confrence play.

I do think the Oregon brand is threatening to a whole lot of blue bloods. Oregon is really the only brand in the last twenty years to really shake up the status quo. I mean think of it this way ... Oregon since 2010 has appeared in 2 national championship games won 3 Rose Bowls, and a Fiesta Bowl. Go back to the earlier 2000s and add another fiesta bowl winning there. Then add in wins over Ohio State and some wins over Texas and making USC seem irrelevant for the last ten plus years.... And yeah the Oregon brand is scary.

I'm trying not to put on my tin foil hat here ... I mean I'd have to make one first ... But it does feel very much like a mixture of a conspiracy, collusion and just some chance bad timing. I might write that post or article soon ... But right now I think I'll just wait a bit longe. But I'm with you... There is something not right with all of this.

I think many Oregon state fans would blame Oregon no matter what to be honest. There is a section of their fan base that hates all things Ducks at an insane level. In some cases it makes our hatred for the Huskies look quaint.

And if SDSU and other MW Conference teams are in the same conference as Oregon State then there might be some flexibility in their schedule.

His thesis did bring one thing up that I think we can all agree on.... At this point it's all about making Oregon happy. If Oregon is happy the conference can survive ... Covered in bandaids and held together with tape but survive. If Oregon wants to leave the flood gates open and it's over. We are the final dam that is holding the pac-12 collapse back. Take that beavers, I just declared the Ducks are the dam! I still want actual details on this media deal proposal over all the bits and pieces and rumors we've gotten so far.

Also... Did I miss something? Has Oregon announce we're leaving yet? Until something is announced this feels premature. I do fully anticipate Oregon having to pay OSU some money in an arangment like UCLA and Cal, granted if Cal is sucked into the B1G then that would go away. But still I can see that happening for Oregon and Oregon State. I'd also say that the majority of Oregon fans are probably unhappy at the prospect of the pac-12 demise.

There would be a delay in the rivalry probably. OOC are pretty set for next ten-ish years. Granted... There could be some openings with realignment but it would take awhile to reestablish the rivalry game on a yearly basis.

I am in the same boat on this one... yes we are sitting in a green and yellow boat watching a train crash. It's exhausting and at this point I know Oregon is going to be fine... I will continue to watch the Ducks but I know college football is going to change dramatically and I don't feel this change is for the better. Sure we will get some interesting match-ups and some new rivalries will develop but to do so we have to get rid of the older rivalries and the distinct regionalism of the game. I wrote this article last year when it felt like what we are seeing right now was more imminent but it took a year to develop but I still believe the outcome is going to be the same. The Great College Football Schism is Coming FISHDUCK.COM The great college football schism is coming, and it will fracture college football in a way that will shake the very sport and...

I wrote an article about a month ago that I wasn't so sure that the B1G was a good option for Oregon. Should Oregon Move to the B1G? I'm Not Convinced FISHDUCK.COM There are a lot of people talking about how getting into the B1G is a must for the Ducks to not be left behind. When the news first... Getting to 5+ regular season games on the west coast does change how that math works. As it stands something that low probably doesn't pencil if there are only 1-2 games on the west coast (away games that is). But making it over half the season then the travel and travel costs really become manageable.

I'll keep saying it... It's pathetic when these trojan fans believe the best way to beat your rivals is to backstab their conference and hope they die because their not in the right conference. You beat your rivals on the field.

They'll also carry basketball supposedly... And the calculus there is that people will continue to just hold onto it for the basketball. Also... A ton of people forget to cancel subscriptions. So there is always that population that get it and forget it and pay for the whole year even if they are only barely using it. They are also trying to use it as a hook for other apple tv stuff. You might like something else apple tv has and keep the sun for a few more months just because you want to keep watching. But many will be only for 4 months out of a year.

I disagree... Oregon would be in the same position if not for Phil Knight. OSU and WSU I would say are typical college brands. We tend to look at the blue bloods and other major brands as the norm but they are more of the exception. Is there anything special or remarkable about Maryland or Rutgers or Iowa's athletic programs over Oregon State and WSU'S? Not really besides geographic location and precieved media market. What about Vanderbilt from the SEC? Over the last decade WSU has been better on the football field and this coming season Oregon State should be better. There are a ton of these regional division one programs that are significant to the landscape of college football but aren't major powers. But they are what makes the sport interesting because not every team is going to be great every year but the way college sports has traditionally cycled, and actually still kinda does but is diminshing, there could always be that one great year for these programs. Oregon used to be firmly in that boat even a decade ago. Our expectations have shifted as a program. But remember the 2009 war of the roses game? That was special because it was between non-blue bloods and it was for a shot at something supremely meaningful. It's also kind of funny how that game acts as a distinct fork in the road for the two programs. OSU and WSU would definitely be considered for the big-12 id they were closer geographically. But they aren't that close so they are left at the whims of everyone else. Maybe they really aren't power five quality anymore... But I'd say most of the big-12 isn't. I'd also say a good chunk of the B1G and even the SEC isn't power five quality at this point. Outside of their media markets and precieved value. If Oregon didn't have their national brand which was built in large part from the aid of Phil Knight and really a forward thinking hire from Mike Bellotti in bring in a non-OC from Connecticut by the name of Chip Kelly, we'd not be considered for anything. I am absolutely thankful for Oregon's brand and I know we'll be just fine. But you should never beat your rivals because they're left out of a media deal by a bunch of TV executives who are looking to carve up the college sports world for themselves.

Beavers and Cougs are in big trouble here. Again... I like beating them on the field but I don't want to see the programs get demolished by major media companies sending them to the Mountain West. Because the PAC actually fully dies if Oregon, Washington, Cal and Stanford are gone... Especially if Utah and the Arizona schools leave too.

Could also be a pwo but it feels a bit early in the 2024 cycle for walk ons to be announcing. But what do I know.

ESPN is not fully for sale... Disney is looking for another entity to basically become a partner so it sounds like looking for significant investment as they are looking to go to a stronger streaming platform. Apple is rumored to be one of those companies interested. If Apple does become part of the ESPN ownership I'm sure they'd want to leverage their content and ESPN'S as much as they can.

Latekick live with Josh Pate has its ups and downs. I'll say what I have always said about Pate.... He knows his stuff when it comes to anything east of Texas but really doesn't seem to know much about the PAC. Granted he likes our ducks so he usually says good things about them. The PAC doesn't get mentioned too much outside of USC (though they won't count soon) and occasionally the Ducks. But when it comes to bigger issues like his thoughts on the playoff and what not he is interesting. I have used him a few times as a jumping off point in an article as I find I agree with him sometimes but not all the time.