The Kamikaze Kid

Great article. I'd say the Pac itself also deserves much of the blame. USC has bumbled from one bad coaching higher to another and another for about fifteen years since Coach Pete left and has completely squandered the Pac's biggest name brand. UCLA has pretty much ignored football in that same period of time squandering the entire LA market. ASU has just been laying there like a wet rug for years squandering the Phoenix market. The fuskies have also been floundering around most of the last decade squandering the Seattle market. Cal and Stanford are as disinterested in football as can be which also squanders the bay area market. And let's not forget the snooze fest going on in the Denver market Colorado has been hosting the past decade. All the Pac has had to offer has been the Ducks working hard to create a national brand from a small college town and Utah climbing the Pac ladder from the middle of nowhere. How ironic that as the Pac is about to crumble, UW, USC and UCLA all of a sudden come back to life and rejoin the top 25 at the same time coming out of years of hibernation. Too little to late. If even half of these large market teams had put in as much work as the UO has this past decade, we wouldn't have been in this mess. And blaming the Ducks for giving up and just moving on is simply lazy. Look in the mirror Pac. You did this to yourself.

Just more SUC being SUC. This time for the whole world to see.

I think the BIG was planning on one permanent rival with the rest being somewhat random. With SUC whining so hard about playing the Ducks every year, I wouldn't be surprised if they also made that happen just for ratings alone!

You've got to hate your coach to be able to love them. That's how you get to the mode of running through a brick wall for them.

The BIG may just tell the Ducks "build it and they will come."

It's all over their 24/7 page. They seem to think that he won't stick around after this year.

Oregon's recruiting has been with the incredible shrinking PAC and a puny streaming deal to contend with. I think the shift to the BIG helps close the deal with some/ many of the high value recruits still to make decisions. I'd also look for some flips as the signing deadline nears.

Now that UO is in the BIG, the interests of the BIG come first. And since football rules the roost, I don't see how Cal and Furd make the BIG any stronger. They would be feathers in the academic cap for sure but I think the BIG's priority is to keep up with the SEC in football. FSU and Clemson seem like the next biggest prizes to go after in the expansion game.

UCLA fans are very nervous that Dante Moore is very upset and may want to go back to the Ducks next year. That kind of counts as recruiting in the BIG.

From the UCLA 24/7 site: If Oregon going to the big10 pisses off USC at UCLA's expense, I'm all for it.

"Can't get it out of my head" -ELO

In another thread, a Rutgers fan explained that all decisions the BIG make are to the benefit of tOSU and Michigan. I have no problem believing that. It also makes me think that UO was brought in to thump on the Trojans and keep taking their recruits to keep SUC at tier 2 in the BIG. I think we're seeing the SUC fans realize this in real time and it ain't pretty. But it is hysterical!

What part of the "We're back!" am I not getting? Is it the loss to Utah in the 2022 Pac championship with a follow up loss to Tulane or is it the loss to UO in the 2020 Pac championship?

When you view the BIG as a safe space to go hide in, the fear is real.

What an epic disaster. Is GK still on the Pac payroll? If so, he should be fired on the spot. $20M a year per school to be buried in a subscription package on Apple TV? That is what you had the entire conference waiting for nearly a year to find out? Of course every team with decent market value was going to jump that sinking ship. Instead of pasting together worthless scraps of a media deal this whole time, he should have been working on bringing in as many valuable assets he could like the B12 did and then try to work an actual tv deal with some cutting edge streaming thrown in to fatten the kitty. SD St, UNLV, Boise St, SMU and many others were there for the taking in decent media markets Instead we get snarky little quips about shopping for teams in the B12 when we're ready and how this great up coming deal was going to exceed that of the B12. Again the Pac presidents got plaid by a talker that was in way over their head. I'd say 90% of this tragic tale was set in motion by Limo Larry and the arrogant Pac presidents but still moves could have been made, danger warnings could have been expressed instead of "all is well" BS. I really hope OSU and WSU land on their feet because they were doing the right thing and working hard as small market teams to be competitive in a P5 conference.

Not official but pretty dang close. Looking forward to walking back in to the Colosseum again and disappointing more SUC fans for years to come. Also, I hope Utah and ASU stay in the Pac as they bring in the best of the MWC and keep powering on.

The timeline seems to be coming into view. 01: The Apple deal is not signed and the offer expires on Friday. 02: Four corner schools announce the B12 jump. 03. BIG offers UO/ UW. 04: UO joins the BIG.

If the goal is to stay competitive with the SEC, then the BIG adding UO is a no brainer. If the goal is adding value to the media deal, you bring in the Ducks as well. If the goal is to turn the BIG into a safe space for SUC and the other bottom feeders, then by all means stay away from OBD.

The Pac was done after the last clink of glasses toasting Larry Scott's excellent work. About the same barely noticed sound, about the same devastating impact.

Ironically, the amount of hatred SUC fans have for the Ducks may be what drives the BIG to bring in UO and maintain the rivalry!

I'm hoping that who ever is left in the Pac bring in the top MWC schools, still maintain a top 25 presence and keep going as strong as possible. The only thing that makes me happy about any of this is the outrage from SUC fans about the Ducks crashing their party.

I've been hoping the Pac holds together and some how some ways they find themselves in a good media deal. I've also contemplated the benefits of going to the B12 and playing in Texas every year. But the possibility of going BIG and remaining the endless nightmare for SUC fans seems just too good to pass up.

Great to see some actual football news!

If OSU WSU Cal and Furd are the last Pac teams standing, I would expect them to bring in SD St, UNLV, Boise St, Fresno ST, U St, CSU. Basically bring in the top of the Mountain West. Still could have a couple ranked teams and a playoff contender.How that plays out money wise, who knows.

I don’t really understand the love affair with Cal and Furd. An academic feather in the cap sure but neither school really cares about sports and have lack luster fan bases because of that. This really squanders the Bay Area media market which is a part of the problem the Pac has with getting a good media deal. Seems like a waste of precious final slots to me.