Mike West

Yep, I'd take any path as well. I just prefer the Dominance path. Clemson went undefeated with two close games (over 9-4 A&M and 10-3 Syracuse), and beat Bama handily. They went undefeated again and walloped everybody. Only to face Super Juggernaut LSU...and they got stomped. Goes to show it's ok to play in a mediocre league any have your chances.

Clemson is not the model. Georgia is the model. Alabama is the model. Put it on a team so hard and fast they start to blink. Like Mike Tyson. But even more, able to handle anything like Ali. That takes a mentality that wants to destroy average teams, not just beat them. Let up when that team concedes physically and mentally. No mercy. Clemson didn't have the fortune to earn it like some SEC teams, but they destroyed their conference. And that barely was enough to handle Alabama, and wasn't even close to handling LSU. The only team capable of handling Georgia the past two years and LSU with Burrow was Alabama. That is your mark. That is the standard.

That is a major stretch. Did anyone catch the ads? LOL

So C Suite Larry valued the P12 at FIVE BILLION DOLLARS? So the past ten years really came down to grossly overestimating the P12's market value. I'd forgotten about the DirecTV fast move. But then again, they offered value (and don't the schools spend millions on their telecommunications already?). To use academic language, obtuse doesn't describe the half of it when it comes to the leadership in this conference. Two shots at 38 MILLION eyeballs. That was supposed to be worth $5B despite not having one football game break the 10 million viewership mark. Ever. Isn't the SEC deal worth close to $3B. And the Big Ten deal at north of $2.5B? What does that tell you my friends? I don't know about anyone else, but that more than concerns me.

Im loyal. But I'm not taking a 33% paycut loyal. Not saying that is the offer, but I'm not sacrificing my dignity to be loyal. Why is this deal taking so long? Money absolutely has to be the sticking point in this. There is a ton of risk involved in this deal. The conference cannot afford ' maybe you'll get $31M". The conference really can't afford nonlinear coverage in my opinion. I wouldn't take that risk personally. That's an all or nothing proposition. The Presidents have practically ruined the conference's reputation. I hope they're not stupid enough to tie themselves into something that resembles the ACC deal. As to Arizona signing by Tuesday: I'd be surprised at that. But it would indicate they've been on the fence for far longer than they've declared. When the dust settles, there are going to be lots of people with egg on their faces ( I'll quickly admit I'm wrong- that would mean the conference stays together a while longer).

I think another SNL attendee committed last night also.

Ok guys, I am going to rain on this, but not on purpose. And I actually hope some negative emojis come of it. It's nothing personal, and this group does not intend to be disrespectful by any means. My concern is with Cal, Stanford (when they have a horrible record), WSU and Oregon State. That group gets no love nationally until they are thick in the hunt for a conference title (again Stanford is an exception in that case). I'd like an opinion from our Georgia friends on that because SEC fans are FOOTBALL fans. Football is almost akin to life in the South. Who roots for little brother Beaver in the South? OBD are certainly going to be fine. But what TV exec is looking out for Oregon State? We're talking about a decent football team here. How many fans in Kentucky care about the Beavers? How many are going to switch channels ( stream on their phone) when the Beavers play Utah next year? My thinking is along those lines because it's not Oregon, UW and Utah that are driving the bus when it comes to evaluating our conference. Pretty good Oregon State is though. I truly believe the reason we've had issues for nearly ten years getting a reasonable deal is because we don't draw enough MARGINAL interest from our "vanilla" teams. Whereas, Rutgers is going to get decent numbers simply because Midwest folks watch football and we (West Coast viewers) don't. It's a cruel numbers game. Why do you think it's taking so long to get an "acceptable" deal? I believe it's the combo of too much to do on an average Saturday out West, horrible attendance and viewership on the West Coast, EAST COAST BIAS, and too few brands like Oregon that the South, Midwest and Atlantic Coast follow. Unfortunately, it's the perfect storm going against us. I believe that is always the discussion when it comes to our conference. Again, I'm not trying to be too negative here. I'm just looking at it objectively given this has been going on since 2014.

I really doubt the SEC and Big Ten are going to watch this conference disintegrate and give it an automatic bid in the playoffs for very long. When MWC teams defeat us on a regular basis, that means its curtains. That is coming my friend. USC leaving put us on thin ice. Who will watch any of us outside of Oregon-UW, Oregon-Utah, Utah-UW? The Ohio State-Michigan game draws three Oregon-UW games on TV. Three of our best matchup. Kids change schools on a dime. They want to play now. Elite kids want as large a TV audience they can attract. From a business standpoint, Oregon is education and NIL deal strong. That Georgia loss last year didn't scare off this class, but if the TV exposure diminishes, and every if playoff is a repeat of last September, do you really think five star kids are going to consider the fine education, excellent NIL deals and a family atmosphere attractive? I am quite certain we missed out on three five star studs this year because of this debacle. Close isn't good enough. USC is going to draw more eyeballs next year than they would staying in our conference. They already surpassed us this year in recruiting, and its only summer. We are 3 time zones from the hotbed of talent in this country. Lanning is good, but my brother, a soiled conference, diminishing eyeballs, and no Nattys speak louder than "we'll make it to the playoffs". We have one shot. An undefeated, butt whupping, eye opening undefeated season this year. At least one win in the playoffs, and hopefully a Natty. That will keep them interested. Because I totally believe the PAC12 is done as an elite conference. Nobody wants to say it, but it is as clear as day the rest of the country no longer respects the PAC12. That is a huge obstacle to overcome. I don't like being negative, but I've felt this way since I found out USC and the Presidents turned ESPN down.

Seems to me the fans in the PAC12 chose this path long ago. USC bolstered themselves leaving this conference in my opinion. If PAC12 fans filled stadiums and watched games every season, would DirectTV have ignored us? Avid fans don't like the moves made recently, but they clearly aren't enough. It's a simple fact that the West Coast prefers the NFL, not college football (and even that is sketchy). I'm also curious why OU fans don't like the move to the SEC (no longer the big fish in a small pond?) One last thing;. I don't think USC is going to have problems recruiting like we will moving forward. As long as we're a PAC12 property, we are going to see elite players forsake us. We no longer have a national stage- or in this age the kind of national presence kids want to have. And players really don't care what PAC12 fans have to say about it.

Couldn't have said it better.

It took me awhile to come off my own arrogance about elite football in elite conferences, because I really do want Oregon State to thrive. Now they are on the cusp on G5 status. After all that Jonathan Smith has done to revive the program he helped establish as an up and comer. What a shame. I have my fingers crossed, because they deserve to thrive like Rutgers does. But it may be too little, too late.

In my opinion, USC, UCLA, and Colorado deserve all the credit. They are making sound business decisions based on real world conditions. I don't even have to elaborate on that given this forum itself has debated this issue for nearly a decade. I am wholeheartedly supporting all three schools this year. Rooting for them avidly. Because I believe the remaining Schools still see the world like some adults that play video games in their living room instead of getting out and living in the real world. Some people just have to fall completely into the abyss before they wake up. USC, UCLA, and Colorado aren't avoiding reality. Kudos to them for taking charge of their future.

I guess there WAS some truth to the rumors. Looks like two very reliable PAC12 sources have egg on their faces. Sometimes when there is smoke, there is fire. Arizona is on deck. No matter what people say at this point. I actually believe the Big Ten wants the conference to implode so they don't look so bad. Nebraska's President hinted at the future...it doesn't look good at all for Oregon State and WSU. One can't blame the kids for wanting to get paid, but the basketball and football players pretty much wrecked the Olympic Sports (talk about Conference of Champions). Fortunately, Title 9 is going to save the women. But the Conference of Champions just nuked the sports that garnered it's reputation. Just goes to show elitism doesn't save your neck. OBD should be fine long term. I'm sure we lost that 5star linebacker to Georgia because the conference can't get out of its own way though. If I were Dan Lanning, I'd tell the team we are going undefeated. Let them.know they can do it. A playoff win would turn any elite football player our way as well. Time to take matters fully into our own hands. WE CAN CONTROL OUR REPUTATION. Obliterate the mediocre, defeat the elite. Just win baby. That's where I'm at as far as this goes. Show the world Oregon is the new blue blood.

It seems to me the better route would be to ensure OBD schedule USC and UCLA as often as possible. College Football thrives on rivalries. SMU and SDSU would have to step up quickly, AND foster rivalries that are compelling nationwide. Our not so beloved conference leaders are doing a poor job of promoting this conference. What a tall task it will be to enhance SDSU's and SMU's reputation as P12 members. It will be difficult as it is without them to bolster conference rivalries nationwide. Convincing the conference to schedule USC and UCLA as non conference opponents would be a step in the right direction regardless of who we might add to the conference. At present, our games against Utah have not seen the national interest it should draw. Now if the Utes can garner another Rose Bowl appearance (because they won't defeat OBD for the coveted playoff spot), and defeat Michigan or Ohio State (because WE took their spot), then a rivalry that garners national attention may be born. A lot of ifs. That presumes Utah handles USC, we go undefeated, and Utah loses twice to us. Unfortunately, USC faces the Fuskies, OBD and Utah in the regular season, so their reputation won't bolster the three top remaining teams this year (too many losses for one or two of us). Unless...all three send the Trojans packing with double digit losses. Nothing would be more satisfying to send USC off with three indignant losses, to the three teams that would hopefully go to New Year's Day Bowls as the final send off as well. That would bolster the conference's reputation massively. As would three P12 New Year's Day victories. Again, lots of ifs. I believe getting our two Judas schools to schedule against the P12 often might help.

While it is attractive to go to an 8 game conference schedule, I believe the 9 game schedule assures the conference champ an automatic bid in the CFP. If any P12 team goes undefeated, that is an automatic bid that would raise the CFP slot above 4 in my opinion. It will still be difficult to go undefeated in this conference because there are four really good teams remaining (as long as little brother keeps performing well). Not a bad idea thinking of matching the SEC, but only if we challenge that conference to visit out West-especially Bama, LSU and UGA. Tennessee has visited, which was a surprise, and Florida is finally traveling West of the Mississippi for once. I would call out the SEC-stating they protect their reputation by ducking (pun intended) P5 programs by avoiding home and home schedules annually. I'd call out their vaunted reputation and start calling them a regional power instead of a national power because they duck the difficult games.

Phil Steele expects OBD to have the third stingiest defense, and the second highest scoring offense. I actually agree with that eval, and if OBD wins on the road, something they are matched up well to do against both the Fuskies and Utah, they have a very good shot at going undefeated. We won't be as good as your corn fed hombres, but we'll be pretty good.

Taggart did more than recruit well. If he'd been intelligent enough ( ethical as well), his 2018 AND 2019 teams were playoff bound. Warts and all, that offense he designed was perfect for Herbert- it was unstoppable. And he had a top 3 recruiting class before he destroyed it. Talk about lack of vision. Followed by another good salesman that couldn't deliver the goods in slow mo Cristobal. I believe Lanning is far ahead of both. And if Bo Nix sells the double Post pattern to his right before running the ball against UW, he avoids injury AND OBD go to the playoffs ( yes I'm saying it was poor execution, not a poor call for that situation- the safety HAS to stay honest if Nix looks to his right long enough). We all lose perspective sometimes, but Lanning has a damn near top five 2024 class. Some people just don't get that public service announcement about brains on drugs ( maybe their brains are just truly scrambled lol).

If we were truly righteous about our lives, this world would look a whole lot different right now. But as the saying goes, put your money where your mouth is. If you feel strongly about the Saudis, stop buying gasoline that comes from the Middle East. I don't see that happening anytime soon. So if the Saudis mind their own business, let's use their finances until we can replace them. I actually care about Oregon State and WSU. Despite being the snob I am, I prefer to have a West Coast football identity as part of the college football landscape. Of course I don't want OBD thriving in a suspect conference- that just stinks on all kinds of levels. Until an AMERICAN COMPANY steps up to make the numbers work, let's keep our options open. Make the PAC12 Great Again...damn it.

This better be a good deal. And if we go to streaming I expect a replay on demand feature. I don't want to fix my midweek schedule to do a programmer ever again. So, if I want to watch the replay of my beloved ducks at 3:30 in the morning, it better be available. That is what makes streaming attractive after all. Otherwise, I'm done with this conference. I'll pack my figurative bags and root for the LA schools (at least they're getting paid for the risk they take). Michael Crow. Can't say anything positive about the guy, so I'll keep it to myself. I sure hope he didn't have his fingers in the negotiation.

Because Coaches are responsible for THE WHOLE WORLD 🌍🌍🌍🌍 Dan Altman: "I've got 9 billion kids to feed". At least one of them is going to get mad before I get them a meal...sheesh.

It sure would be nice to add teams like SMU and SDSU. My reservations are how the heck are we going to draw $50-60M like we should given our brand. That was going to be tough WITH USC AND UCLA in the conference. Are we really going to continue yielding $100M plus when the dust settles next year? This really is about money. No money no life as they say, and it will certainly effect recruiting long term. Not to mention Utah and UW are not going to lay down for us and give us easy titles. We're assuming quite a bit expecting easy titles in a very, very diminished conference. I'd take my chances having better access to recruiting in The Big- even against the likes of tOSU and Michigan (the only teams I feel are high caliber enough we'd always face the prospects of losing on a regular basis). Where's the 50-60 million? That's my question. We can Garner that AND compete for playoffs in the BIG. Why risk "sitting on the beach" in our own conference when we can certainly compete in recruiting AND playing in the money conference? Show me the money. Especially the way Tom Cruise said it. LOL.

I believe this failed network has been the canary in the coal mine for nearly a decade. It is difficult to justify spending 40 million a year per team when the most popular matchup meets 11 million fewer eyeballs than the most popular matchup in the game, much less only a million more for an average game in the SEspnC. I believe the Fusky game at home this year was also a PAC12 night game ( correct me if I'm wrong) that had CFP implications as well as OBD needed to win out, and those foul Dawgs had already defeated Utah. Obviously the nation is hypnotized by tOSU v. Michigan games, but their Rose Bowl cousins have a very difficult time drawing interest even when the playoffs are on the line (on an exclusive broadcast with no competition at that). Untill the conference can demonstrate it can attract Five million plus eyeballs mid day, I don't see much value the teams can present to TV executives ( that's the average for also rans in the SEC like Florida and Tennessee each year. I wonder if Penn State and Michigan State get a many or more eyeball a week than even UCLA and USC). That's the crux of it in my eyes- the PAC12 Network couldn't compete on any level at any time with the Big Two conferences the past decade. Why would any business reduce their revenue for the sake of tradition? Why would a valuable brand like USC effectively destroy their brand for that matter? Competing at an elite level is expensive. We all know this. It makes perfect sense as far as I'm concerned to maximize your revenue in order to maintain your brand and the status that brand provides. I don't believe ethics is a part of USC's decision. It's good business sense. It's sound decision making, and while it affected competitors, it is supposed to. Self preservation after all is natural. I recognize this disturbs lots of West Coast fans, but heck, we've certainly not shown the conference much love when it comes to watching the brand if we're truly honest about it. Action talks and you know what walks. The West Coast isn't as interested as the South and Midwest in football. That is a deal killer. It's the elephant in the room we refuse to acknowledge quite frankly and no amount of tradition can change that. Does anyone remember when Sears was king of the hill? Well they died, and so did it's tradition. That's life unfortunately. Unfortunately, the Conference of Champions are champs in the wrong sports. And now those very sports are in danger of losing necessary funding to carry on ( most unfortunately). The thing that hurts most about this is we're only twenty years outside of dominant football Nationwide as a conference. Worse, at the beginning of the year it appeared we might have a shot at acquiring a fairly decent TV deal.

Some thoughts here: 1) Expansion as Jon suggests. I like the idea of adding inventory Eastward. In addition, if the schools collaborate on truly developing teams the way Utah did in the MWC, in order to develop Boise State credibility (most especially a few upsets of the Blue Bloods), AND a very short term deal ( I'm talking four years tops) with a very serious effort from Utah,UW and Oregon to bolster the additions by any means necessary ( to bolster the Brand of the conference in football). I'm for that. Given the prestige hit the conference will definitely take, serious collaboration at nailing playoff contenders is essential. The aim being enhancing the Brand and doing everything to get two conference teams in the playoffs. This requires some serious thinking out of the box and commitment to athletic excellence. Given that the current Presidents want the Research Funding- a WRITTEN Agreement with penalty clauses (am I dreaming here or what?) may entice Tulane and SMU to bite. Nothing would be more awesome than to go after the second tier of the SEC - say an up and coming Tennessee or better yet FULLY FUNDED A&M - and ruin their rise while bolstering the conference. Especially at Noon Eastern or 4:30 Eastern while a Blue Blood is on( I can see the highlight reels interrupting those games lol). Given that thought, THIS YEAR IS A MAJOR YEAR FOR THE REMAINING TEAMS. Upsets this year are an absolute must. Same for any teams joining the fray. Nothing can bolster a conference better than what UW did to MSU last year, and OBD did to tOSU recently. Another option for OBD to stay, and negotiate its own Network, with some sort of revenue sharing once the deal is inked. The 7th most popular brand in football should be able to Garner an extra 10-25 million on its own ( and yes playoff appearances would truly help). If course, this requires an extreme amount of trust, and forward thinking. But heck, the only other thing I can think of is flat out calling the other conferences chicken for not inking home and home deals with the conference ( tOSU bailing out anyone- especially after talk of keeping OBD out of the BIG). I would be relentless about it too, and seriously prepare in collaboration to seal upsets. Unfortunately, the focus has been so academic centric, we might see our schools morphing into Ivy League West. Not a bad thought Jon. Maybe some WWE style tactics can keep the conference relevant with an upset or two. Perhaps all those brilliant minds in the conference can learn some marketing and sports management.

Awesome take as usual my friend. I do believe the schematic advantage was handled well by Auburn ( the coaching in the SEC is superior to other conferences), but they did not handle OBD passing game well, which Chip failed to exploit enough. There lies the rub, because Chip's team was also equally matched against the Tigers, and Chip's team was unfazed at the fact the Tigers neutralized that schematic advantage. Hence the kind of mental toughness and fierceness to climb back into the game despite all the obstacles the team faced. In the Ohio State title game, our injuries nullified an opportunity to match some of that NFL clad talent, and some truly poor linebacker play wasted a tie game at the start of the fourth quarter. Not to mention a failed opportunity to force a safety to convert tOSU's series back to OBD early in the game after we took the early lead. Talent absolutely matters. Talented Depth matters more. But I do believe the size of the fight in the dog matters as much as the size of the dog in the fight. For instance, I didn't see any ferocity last September in Atlanta, like an outburst or two or a scrap or two to let the Bulldogs know they were going home sore that night. I would have rather seen lots of Bulldogs on the ground no matter the score. Teams respect that kind of effort, even in a rout. We saw OBD had talent, as the season progressed. As a coach or a fan, I know I would fear a team that punches a more talented team in the face no matter the score. That commands everyone's attention because you KNOW you better being your A game .

Can OBD go undefeated? If so yes. Duh? Yes, but any PAC12 team that goes unbeaten will really have a shot at winning the whole thing. More so than the year OBD ran the table in 2010. I don't see the talent, or the killer instinct in this year's team ( Chip's boys were assassins - point blank). Chip's team had talent, but they were monsters through and through. Tough, tenacious, focused, and flat out hungry. I haven't seen that since. Did you see the way Georgia opened and closed last year? They left no doubt who was superior. That is what's missing. Heck, that type of intensity usually produces victory. I'd rather see my team make mistakes with that intensity level because eventually, improvement leads to butt whuppings. You know, like Georgia did often last year (and Chip's Natty team did all year). Chip's team didn't have near the talent level we've seen throughout the playoff era, but that beast mode effort matched every single one of them. So, with that effort and intensity, then yes, I say they will perform well enough to run the table. I don't think it will happen, but the defense alone will dramatically improve if they play like a team possessed. One can dream that OBD plug themselves into that machine in the Matrix movie to teach them to be rabid dogs. But I'll accept their best effort nonetheless.