Jon Joseph

RIP! Hayes: The wildest day in college football history was years in the making SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Remember the date. On August 4, 2023, college sports (read: football) changed forever. Here's how ... and why it was inevitable.

Flunk me? How about Flunk You!

Tough pill to swallow but Dennis Dodd was not wrong. The Pac-12 is dead as we know it, just don't expect the Big Ten, Big 12 or anyone else to take the blame - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Friday marked a death knell for the 'Conference of Champions' and the end of the 'Power Five'

More on possible Playoff restructuring. How a shrinking Pac-12 could alter the selection process for the 12-team College Football Playoff - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Conference realignment could have an impact on how CFP bids are doled out in the 12-team era starting in 2024

It's behind a paywall but Stewart Mandel of The Athletic (well worth the cost for this article and the coverage of CFB coast-to-coast), has the best article I've read on the demise of the Pac-12. Including this nugget: The B12 hired 2 big-time media PR firms to help with the engineering of B12 expansion. GK hired a boutique media consulting firm to help with media negotiations. The CEO of the firm was GK's classmate at UVA Law School. Can't Make This Stuff Up!

Somewhat hate to say it but Fox played this perfectly. Purloined the LA schools and then waited and did not bid against itself before picking up the 2 best Pac-10 schools in Oregon and UW at a discount. Capitalism is not for the faint of heart and Elite Club karma is a witch.

Sorry, Beavers. But how about a few grins and maybe a cringe or 5? 5 college football rivalries we so need out of the even bigger Big Ten FANSIDED.COM College football is on fire with Oregon and Washington leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. The Big Ten just got even bigger! ...and...

Maybe? CFB Playoff will be forced to change format again before next season BAMAHAMMER.COM Before the CFB Playoff actually uses a 12-team format, it will be forced to change its selection process again. Mark it down as a...

247 Sports has listed the 16 college football (CFB) teams in 2023 with Blue Chip Rosters (BCR.) 5 of the 16 ranked BCR teams are members of the B1G and to be B1G, including 2024 members OREGON and USC. BCR rosters have 50% or more 4* and 5* recruits recruited over the last 4 seasons. No school won a BCS title or a CFB Playoff title to date, without having a BCR. (In 2023, Alabama sits at #1 with a 90% (!) BCR roster.) The 2023 BCR ranking of B1G and to be B1G schools. 2. Ohio State - 85%. 9. OREGON - 67%. 13. Penn State - 55%. 14. Michigan - 54% 15. USC - 52% 247 Sports has also ranked the top 2023 Transfer Portal classes. 5 B1G and to be B1G schools are ranked in the top 25. 5. USC 9. OREGON 10. UCLA 19. Michigan 24. Wisconsin. What jumps off the page here? How about Dan Lanning getting it done in both recruiting high schools and the transfer portal? OREGON is in the top tier of talented B1G and to be B1G teams. Having doubts about the move to the B1G? I hope you had the opportunity of watching the B1G Network's fantastic coverage of the B1G expanding from 16 to 18 members with the addition of OREGON and UW. Compared to Larry's Loser Network, OREGON just traded in a horse-and-buggy for a Tesla. OREGON just moved up from the Frosh football team to being a starter on the Varsity team. OREGON will no longer be hidden under Pac-12 Network wet blanket. Taking a discount to move up? How about instead of viewing this completely logical long-term move as paying a premium for a future media money commodity? Next up? What will the 2024 schedule look like? I expect OREGON's permanent scheduling partners will undoubtedly be UCLA, USC, and UW. Oregon is now a part of "East Coast Bias." This matters. Last season Michigan played Colorado State, Hawaii, and UConn out-of-conference (OOC) with the games all played in Ann Arbor. Michigan was the CFB Playoff #2 seed. In 2022, Ohio State played Notre Dame, a big-time OOC opponent, no doubt, Arkansas State, and Toledo OOC with all games played in Columbus. A one-loss Ohio State without a conference championship was the 2022 CFB Playoff #4 seed. Oregon will no longer be dragged down by the reputation of its conference. No longer dragged down by an unseen and unavailable network. Nationally relevant because rightly or wrongly, a win over Michigan State will be valued far more than a win over ASU. And Dan Lanning with a B1G Deal to sell? Watch Out! HUZZAH!

OK, Rob. starting in 2024 lose the scheduled games with B12 teams and replace them with the Beavers.

Start by buying out the back end of the TX Tech H+H and buying out the Baylor and OK St H+Hs. Replace with Oregon State and do the same for the OOC games scheduled with Michigan State and Ohio State. Also, if need be, in order to get the Beavers on the schedule dump the 2 for 1's with Boise and Utah St. No B1G team should be doing a 2 for 1 with a G5 conference. Oregon doing all it can to keep OR ST on the schedule would be a nice olive branch for the Beavers and any disturbed state legislators.

But not the group that refereed the Auburn BCS champ game, please!

Uncle Phil, please buy out the 2024 game vs Texas Tech, and the OK State, and Baylor H+H games and replace these games with Oregon State. Schedule OR State for the OOC series vs Michigan State which is going away along with the Ohio State OOC game.

USC and UCLA did not have B1G voting status when the offer to Oregon and UW was approved by the B1G presidents. And calmer heads at UCLA and SC realize that the 2 additions will help with travel concerns.

Has to be 2024 because the Pac-12 media deal concludes in 2023.

The NW schools have apparently negotiated a travel stipend in addition to the media revenue share.

SC and UCLA can whine if they want to but they don't have a B1G vote before 2024. Hats off to the NW schools for negotiating a 'travel kicker' as part of the deal.

Oregon reportedly has ‘quiet confidence’ in decision amid realignment discussions SATURDAYOUTWEST.COM Oregon has reportedly made its decision on possible realignment.

One bad apple?

Man, I feel like an expectant father as was once the case awaiting delivery of his first child.

As to my POV as to whether Oregon should stay or go if offered by the B1G I have said (sigh of relief from all Forum members) enough and likely, more than enough. But, if the B1G adds Oregon and UW and goes to 18 teams, I think this would make sense; if, I know what makes sense, competition and travel-wise. First, a B1G 10 (18) would have 5 teams that played for a BCS championship including newbie Oregon: Nebraska (boo! should have been the Ducks in 2001 and not Nebraska), Ohio State, OREGON, Penn State, and USC. Champs, Ohio State, Penn State, and USC (hose job vacated.) Playoff - Also five teams - including newbies Oregon and UW - Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, OREGON, and UW. Combined record - 4-8, 1 championship. B1G-10 (18) Divisions West - Iowa, Nebraska, OREGON, UCLA, USC, UW Central - Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin East - Indiana, Maryland, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers 5 intra-division football games with 4 or 5 division cross-over games. I'm thinking 10 conference games could be required by media partners. This would allow USC to play Notre Dame every year and hopefully, if schedules could be figured out, Oregon to play Oregon State every year and Washington to play Washington State.

Oregon first fielded a football team in 1894. In 1894 the fans at Oregon games all knew and were friends with the young men who took the field. No doubt fans sat on the side of the field and ate a picnic lunch while watching the games in the daylight. No one in the all-mighty Ivy League knew the results of Oregon football games. No one was being paid to play. College football coaches were student managers of a club activity and were not making $1,000 a year let alone $10M dollars a year. Eventually, one of the conferences Oregon became a member of after numerous other conference affiliations was the Pacific-8 Conference. That conference grew into the Pac-12 Conference. Football was still a regional sport before the NCAA lost an antitrust case in the 1980s. After this occurred, media companies and money generated from television broadcasts became a major factor in how college athletic teams are funded. The "need" for one true champion in college football led to the monetization of football and all college sports, especially football and basketball morphed from being regional-focused activities into national sports activities. Certain conferences benefited from the change, especially the SEC and other conferences focused more on matters other than mere athletic success fell behind. The B1G 10 Conference grew in the golden age of college football in the 1930s, along with Notre Dame, Army, and Navy to the point where these teams eclipsed the Ivy League which was more focused on academics than on success on the football field. Scholarships for athletes regardless of a student's academic bona fides became the norm. The Ivy League dropped from being a national power to being a regional sport. The majority of schools playing college football today, like the Ivy League, do not award athletic scholarships, and as many stray dogs as fans attend the games. But these teams do not compete for national titles. Today, Oregon is a major player in the capitalized world of college football and basketball. It's football and basketball coaches are paid millions of dollars a year. Oregon's athletic director's base salary is close to a million dollars a year and Oregon athletes play in multi-million dollar facilities. To me, the choice in this day and age is a simple one. If offered an opportunity to participate in one of two conferences that have the money to be sustainable in athletics in the future or attempt to piece together a lesser collection of lesser schools, at least lesser from an athletic revenue point-of-view is not a difficult decision. To attempt to hold onto a tradition that has already been blown away with UCLA and USC joining the B1G is frankly senseless. To be a member of a diminished conference so you can more easily compete for football and basketball titles IMO makes no sense. Especially, when Oregon will be competitive in every sport in the B1G. Oregon will likely play UCLA and USC every season in football but will not play Ohio State, Michigan, and Penn State every season. The playoff format will change in 2026 and as a member of the B1G and recruiting as a member of the B1G and the media coverage attendant to the B1G will help and not hurt Oregon's attempt to win football and men's basketball titles and in every other sport in which Oregon competes. The entry money will be less than that received by Northwestern and Rutgers which is far from ideal. But it will be more than the money Oregon will make in a diminished Pac-9 or whatever. IMO, if Oregon receives a B1G invite, failing to accept the invite will be ruinous down the road for Oregon's finances and for Oregon's opportunity to win championships. But that's just me and I more than respect and appreciate all other POVs.

It would likely be the same money as Oregon would receive as a B1G entry fee so IMO going B1G beats any alternative available at this point in time. The B1G is not the SEC when it comes to a path to the expanded playoff. Oregon can and has defeated Ohio State and Michigan at their places and has owned USC since Pete Carroll left and also UCLA since Terry Donahue left UCLA. Both in football and basketball Oregon will be more than competitive in the B1G and will not take a back seat in any other sport. The B1G is big due to location and the huge number of alumni/alumnae and the Midwest folks being more zealous when it comes to college sports than West Coast folks. In the future, there is roughly the same travel in the B1G as in the B12, especially with at least 4 teams on the West Coast than aligning in any less than a Power 2 conference.

And get Foxy with it?