Jon Joseph

Great take. I've been wondering if Disney?ESPN and Fox are going to be able to cover the checks they have promised?

I think Anybody hangs out in Sacramento?

SSDD. According to the learned pundits OR ST and WA ST are already in the Mountain West. The 4 Corners schools are in the B12 (what media entity is going to pay for this,) OR and UW are in the B1G, and Stanford and Cal are in the Ivy League No Pac-10 team is leaving before the bottom line on the new media deal is finalized and revealed. These folks are terrific at spending other people's money. Not only do media companies have to come up with the cash but they then have to sell the media rights to 3rd party advertisers at a 15% markup to make a profit. SMH.

I'm not sure the Baseball Playoff Committee knows that baseball is played west of the Mississippi.

In fairness, Rob didn't know it at the time but spreading sugar on a conference that is doing all it can to destroy the Pac-10 is bad business. Buy out of the OK ST and Baylor games.

You are far kinder to Rob than I am. IMO there is no excuse to have to bargain with Boise and Utah State and any other Mountain West teams. These teams should be thrilled to get national exposure playing Oregon in Autzen. The man needs to stop making excuses and schedule up. Yes, Autzen is a tough place to play but so is Rice-Echolls Stadium and Utah has Florida coming to town this season. Ohio State (BOO) canceled an H+H in 2024/25 with UW for a payment of $500K. No reason that Rob can't buy out of the OK St and Baylor games for less money. What network will Oregon at Boise and Oregon at Utah State games be on? What number of eyeballs will these games draw? How many recruits will choose Oregon because of these games? Do these questions even cross Rob's mind? At any time in its history, this is the time when the Ducks need more national exposure; not the time to be playing at MW teams in the Mountain time zone.

Not that you will want to watch but it will be more than 1 game. UCLA and USC will both play late-night on Peacock. Won't it be funny if Pac-10 does a deal with the far more widely distributed Apple or Amazon while the LA schools play on a network close to the number of subscribers who paid for the Pac-12 network? Love to see the LA schools hoist on their own greedy petard. Already partially hoist with B1G teams now expected to receive $65M, at best, and not $70M per annum.

Sad, but true. Many schools awarding athletic scholarships today will not continue to do so once, not if, players are found to be employees. NFL Lite is coming with the NFL picking up the bill and the players being athletes and not student-athletes. And the players will be drafted out of high school and be union members with restrictions on transferring, etc. Very sad IMO but inevitable now that CFB has been completely monetized. BTW, Nick Saban will not be paid $12M a year to coach in NFL Lite. Meanwhile, let's enjoy CFB for what it is today for as long as we can.

And NBC moved a Michigan State home game from E. Lansing to Detroit. The money spends but it comes with a price. Take note UCLA and USC. Streaming of all sports events and pay-for-view will be here sooner rather than later. Both Apple and Amazon are in far more households, worldwide, than Peacock.

The Ducks put the X to Xavier 6 times this season. Now, take Oral Roberts to the dentist. No anesthesia.

Now, go to Omaha for the 1st time, visit Warren Buffet, and come with a buffet of home runs!

I like peanut butter creamy peanut butter crunchy peanut butter too. With some Natty jelly on the side, please?

Always great to read your takes Joshua. Thank you. Tez played on the Sun Belt's championship team last season. A team that defeated Will Stein's CUSA champion UTSA in an underrated and somewhat off-the-radar bowl game. A game that if the G5 had its own playoff could easily have been the title game. No offense to MW champ Fresno State which handily defeated Wazzu in the LA Bowl. You more than correctly point out the revival Dan and Dilly made on offense. As Charles early and often pointed out, resuscitating a Mario-led O that was destroying the Oregon brand. Can't wait to watch Bo make a Heisman run and for these two excellent receivers to light up the scoreboard.

Below are Oregon's future football out-of-conference schedules from 2025 through 2028. 2025 - Montana State/ Oklahoma State/ at Boise State 2026 - Boise State/ at Oklahoma State/ Portland State 2027 - at Baylor/ Utah State 2028 - North Dakota State/ Baylor/ at Utah State Games at Boise and Utah State? Really? Oregon plays at Texas Tech in 2023 and plays Texas Tech at home in 2024. It is too late and not equitable to try to buy out of the games versus the Red Raiders. Playing Oklahoma State in 2025/26 and Baylor in 2027/28 is senseless. Senseless with the B12 doing all it can to destabilize the Pac-10 and senseless in that these games will not draw the media magic $4m eyeballs. Yet, both Oklahoma State and Baylor, especially in Stillwater and Waco, are good enough programs to hand Oregon a loss. The Oklahoma State and Baylor games will give these two teams and the B12 a media viewership boost and do nothing of playoff import if Oregon wins these games. IMO, Rob needs to find a way not to play at Boise and at Utah State in games played in bandbox stadiums and off the national radar. Rob also should buy out the games versus Oklahoma State and Baylor. These games will not be a big nationwide viewing draw so pick up games versus G5 teams and add home games in 2026 and 2027. If you are going to play a G5 opponent on the road play at Hawaii to help recruit players from the Pacific Islands. Playing at Boise and Utah State does not move the recruiting needle.

$SEC and $cam are synonymous. So, the SEC (and the ACC) have dropped divisions but will continue to play 8 conference games in 2024 and the foreseeable future thereafter. No school that played 9 conference games has won a playoff title. Staying with 8 assures that come 2026 the SEC will put at least 3 teams into a 12-team playoff field season after season and be even further subsidized by increased playoff money. Below is the breakdown by P5 conferences of the number of games on the schedule being played against P5 opponents in 2023. B1G - 13 games - 14 team conference B12 - 12 games - 14 team conference in 2023 Pac -12 - 10 games - 12 team conference in 2023 ACC - 10 - 14 team conference plus scheduling agreement with Notre Dame SEC- 2 - 14 team conference in 2023 Two! This is as outrageous as an NFL team playing one less conference game every season. Yes, by any metric the SEC is the best conference but don't try and tell me that Bama vs NM State in a 4th out-of-conference game is the equivalent of Oregon playing Oregon State in a 9th conference game. And we all know that the SEC could play 6 conference games and not be dinged by the PO Committee regarding the strength of the schedule. The SEC (and the ACC) have 1 committee vote. It's time to step up and end this chicanery or it is time to get off of the SEC playoff gold merry-go-round.

Especially if you order chili.

No, but it means more than any title other than winning in CFB and CBB and the SEC deserves a comeuppance the way the committee kissed its butt when the field was seeded and regional sites were determined. Now, playing 8 conference football games in a 16-team conference is an obvious ploy to get at least 3 teams in the 12-team playoff field. Maybe it's time to stop subsidizing the SEC. But at least the SEC/ESPN didn't stab the Pac in the back. That was the Pac's long-time 'partner' B1G/Fox What are the chances that a Pac 10-2 3rd place team gets in the 12-team playoff field over a 10-2 SEC team? Sick of bending over for the SEC and playing in its sandbox. Participating in an expanded playoff so the SEC and B1G can score more money. Sick of playing 9 conference games when the teams in the southeast game the system by playing 8 conference games.

How about the 2 Oregon schools having the chance to win a regional down south? The field and seeding for baseball is as bad as how the B1G is treated come CBB tournament time.

Played golf in Lubbock once. I should have bought an anchor! Embarrassing when your drive goes in the other direction for negative yardage. Had a lot of fun with some great guys. The 19th hole was packed.

I think this is how it will come down.

LOL! On the Saturday Down South board, most posters are blaming not going to 9 due to ESPN not willing to come up with more money than &70M a year for each SEC team. 8 games mean 4 and not 3 SEC teams in the 12-team playoff field. I hate to have anything to do with the B12 these days but come 2026 the ACC (conference teams without Notre Dame on the schedule play a 9th conference game,) B12, Pac-10, and the top 2 teams in the G5 have their own post-season tournament. Let the B1G and the SEC play their own tournament along with Notre Dame. Kind of like the bowl system today. All the 12-team field is going to do is throw more peanuts at the Little P3 and one G5 team while the Power 2 is further subsidized. Not as much $ but other than that, SEC teams cannot have more than 85 guys on scholarship so there are plenty of very good HS players to go around, and the additional $ from a 12-team PO will only go to coaches, administrators, and not to the fans who will have to schlep to more and more night games.

HUZZAH! Nothing better than defeating an SEC team in SEC country in any sport.

And although it will be up against Texas at Alabama, I love that the game is on big Fox and not on ESPN 2. Lubbock can be batten down the hatches windy and the fans will be out in full force. I wish Tyler all the best in 2023 except in game 2. In theory, Oregon has the advantage of playing Portland State in its opening game at home while TT has to trip to Laramie to play Wyoming. Not an easy place to play. As you note Hayward, the back half of Oregon's 2023 schedule is loaded. The PSU and Hawaii games will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. If a tree falls in the forest? The TT game will give the Ducks much-needed national exposure.

Sorry, I meant to say no OK and no OK St.

David, I give credit to Sonny Dykes for taking TCU, when it didn't win its own conference title, to the playoffs and defeating a heavily favored Michigan before facing Bull Dawg reality. Something Puddles had to deal with in the opening game. Overall, I could not agree more with your thoughts. The B12 is a G5 and a half-conference, In the battle for the bronze the Pac-12 will hopefully come up with a media deal better than that of the B12 and then will be smart and platy chessboard realignment defense. Keep the B12 out of the Pacific time zone. How can this be accomplished? Add SDSU, Fresno, and UNLV (all in the Pacific time zone) and plant the flag in B12 country by adding, at least, SMU. All 4 of these schools, 3 in the MW and SMU in the AAC, can be picked up at a bargain compared to what P5 conferences, even the ACC, are receiving in media money. The B12 could be further thwarted by adding AAC member and defending champion, Tulane and perhaps, AAC member Rice. Frankly, George, I don't give a damn about academics. Yes, with the addition of ASU as a member, 8 out of 10 Pac schools are AAU member institutions. But two of our member schools are not and Tulane, SMU, and Rice fit the bill academically with the other three, especially SDSU, bringing in good-sized markets. It's time to begin running the Pac like a business and not an Elite Club with tottering members and cobwebs in the corner. I want to take this opportunity to again thank you for the terrific articles and comments.