OhioDuck

Not sure what the problem would be. Just adding Houston and TCU/Baylor/TT and San Diego St. for S. Cal. would put the PAC in 8 of the top 20 markets in the country. With Portland at #21 that's 9 or the top 21. An expansion into Texas makes a lot of sense from a marketing point of view, if they can make it happen.

Guy has great tools, he will be very good or great! Let Josh be Josh, he'll be just fine.

Yeah, call me a skeptic. I need to know a few things about this. One, how was the data gathered? Is this good science, an educated guess or just a guess. Two, what exactly is a fan? Are we talking, "Yeah, I kinda like the Ducks, those uniforms are cool." or are we talking, "I give half of my income to Ducks athletics, I bleed Green and Yellow!" The article Fish Duck posted seems more likely to me.

Look forward to some good reading! Great news!

Welcome, thanks for your own great comments. I admit, I would love nothing more than to see a conference formed from the PAC, Big 12 and ACC that would not only compete with the arrogant B1G (I know that, living in Ohio) and SEC, but beat them. But you're right, Oregon just might be in a position where they have to take and invite to the B1G. Now remember the Oregon record against B1G teams is all against top half teams, maybe top 1/4 teams and when top PAC teams have played top B1G teams in the Rose and other bowls the PAC has more than held it's own. Now one thing I don't think the PAC can change. That is how we are perceived back east. Except for the too short time I lived in Oregon, I've lived east of the Mississippi my whole life. I'm 65 and my whole life the PAC has never been respected. Even when the evidence is against the insistence that the PAC is an inferior conference, like bowl records (declining recently but still 500 since 2000) NCAA tourney wins in B-ball... it doesn't matter to folks back east. There is s very big bias against west coast athletics. Even in the pros the west coast is not respected. When west coast teams join east coast conferences because they think they "have to" to compete, it only feeds that perception. For now, I'm still hoping for a merger of conferences not named B1G or SEC that will put a better product on the fields and courts and end up beating them. There is still time for that. But the thinking has to be long term.

Any sense of entitlement by any of our current QBs should be gone now. One they both sat behind a mediocre QB transfer last year. Two they are likely to sit behind a better transfer this year. Three they have, maybe the top QB in the class coming in next year, who just might compete to start as a true freshman. I think Ty and Butters know by now they have to earn everything they get. I'm hoping the competition between Bo, Ty and Butters this year makes all three better.

I know what the numbers say, but my gut is telling me that the two "super conference" smucks need competition. Somehow I'd like to see those not included in the B1G Ugly and SEC now find a way to create something that not only competes with them but eventually beats them. I'm thinking long term, not just this year or next. Whether that's a three way with PAC, Big 12 and ACC as I've said I would like to see, or PAC/Big 12 deal. It seems that the "left outs" need to band together or the cream gets pick off one by one and there will be two conferences in college football where any of the teams have a realistic chance at a NC. I for one don't want to see that come to pass.

SDSU is already performing at or near PAC 12 level in many sports without the advantage of actually being part of the conference. Becoming part of the PAC could give them the push to become more than just competitive in the PAC, but a year in, year out contender for championships. I like the move. Fresno is also interesting. Pretty competitive, and good market. They should get a good look also.

SC has made some splashy moves with skilled players on offense for sure. They have solidified their defense, but I don't see spectacular improvement yet. So, they will almost certainly be better. We'll see how the move to the B1Ugly plays out with recruiting. Are Southern California guys going to cherish playing November and December games in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan? Even State College PA can be frigged. Yeah, it rains in Oregon, but you don't get frostbite. There is also a style of play issue. You think MC (no O) was boring. Wait until you get a load of Wisconsin and Iowa groveling in the dirt on Saturday afternoons. I'm still not sold on Riley. Yes, he's a good coach, but he has only proved so far that he can keep an already speeding train (Oklahoma) on the tracks. He took over a derailed USC program. He may very well prove himself at USC, but I want to see game day results before judging.

I'm not sure the Big 12 is that much better an option than the PAC. I still think some sort of merger of the two conferences is the best option for both. If not the B1G Ugly conference and SEuglyC will keep poaching members from each at will. To stop that there has to be a viable option that is competitive with the two Big Uglies. Neither the PAC or Big 12 has much of a chance of doing that alone at this point.

I think OSU may get some credit for being as close to Portland as it is. Programs like Vanderbilt and Rutgers are interesting. They are in major metro areas, but they are hardly relevant in those metro areas. They will still have to be relevant enough in those areas to make a difference to the conferences. In football Rutgers is the best college team in the NYC area, but they are still competing for attention with two NFL franchises. In B-ball NYC has lots of options, Seton Hall, St. Johns, U Conn, even as far as Syracuse. In Nashville you have an NFL franchise, plus Tennessee is probably more popular there than Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt lifts the whole SEC academic profile, if that is relevant at all in the discussion it may help them.

Okay answering myself here. Just a few thoughts on why I think this third way can work. One, if the PAC stays solid against any further defections to the B1G or SEC (seems they are done for the moment anyway). What will the B1G look like geographically? To me it looks like 18 dots in the north east and midwest bunched together and 2 dots in the south west corner. With no more West coast teams USC and USLA are isolated in their won conference. So, except for the two LA schools the B1G is still geographically bound. The SEC really did not go much outside their already established footprint to add TX and OK. If a conference were to be created from the PAC, Big 12 and ACC, it would truly be a coast to coast conference with teams from the the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Rocky Mountains and West Coast. This would outflank what the B1G and SEC are attempting to do, capture significant TV markets and enable the conference to have a true east division and west division (maybe 4 divisions, imagine a 4 team conference play off). And every few years, Oregon can go to Miami or host them and kick Mario's butt! Just a few thought.

It's about money of course, college sports has been about the money for a long time. The difference now is the amount of money has increased and those involved with making the decisions have no long term vision for where this is leading and little or no sense of the traditions cherished by many fans. The writer talks about wanting to have something where the 20 or 40 maybe best programs are competing against each other. In what universe would Oregon not be near the top of the list there. Yet at the moment the Ducks are in limbo, hoping for the best. I will watch and wait. My hope is somehow the the PAC, Big 12 and ACC manage to create a third way, one where a few little guys can be included too. I'm still thinking the best way is if you don't like what they are doing, you can give up and join them, or beat them against all odds. Seems to me the second option is more in keeping with Oregon tradition. Go Ducks!

Future Rocket, wonder if he will try out for punter, bet he would be pretty good at it. I imagine his body will change a bit with a major college training table and conditioning, but this guy could quietly turn out to be a great pick up.

Recruiting is often all about building relationships. Part of the reason MC is so good at recruiting is he does that and seems to be someone who is authentic in how he cares for the players. This just confirms that.

I haven't seen him, only heard about him. Where understanding the game is important, you can teach that. You can improve on some of the physical abilities, some just can't be taught. As long as he has enough physical ability to make the plays he sees with his eyes and understands with his mind, he could be great! The thing about Brady is he has all the throws. Yeah, most of the time he makes the easiest throw available, but when he has to he makes the hard ones too. Not the best arm, but good enough. Of course Arch has a long way to go to even be mentioned in the same sentence with. Tom Brady.. A lot will have to do with fit for what the OC wants to do.

For me the phrasing of this question is important. "Long Term" is important. Is any of this totally money driven, TV contract driven, re-alignment really good for college athletics in the long run? I think rather than joining them, we need to think about beating them. All of this is driven by the B1G and SEC trying to monopolize the college football product. How do you fight a monopoly? Competition! Build a conference to compete with them!

If there is a TV contract anywhere near what is happening with the B1G and SEC, that $50m buy out would be paid off in a year or two. The question is if there is a big enough pay off on the other side. A conference made up of top ACC and PAC, plus a few others might be attractive for a big TV contract. You start by seeing which networks might be interested and what they may be willing to pay. Plus bring in the best of the ACC basketball programs too and you may have the best basketball conference.

Yeah, Cowturd constantly makes me want to violate FishDuck's word not to use.

I think the PAC, Big 12, ACC combo league drawing the best from each is the best option. Going with a 24 team conference with an east and west division. Starting East: Clemson, FSU, UNC, UVa, Syracuse, Pitt, Miami, Duke... Mid west: OK St., Houston, Texas Tech, Baylor, KU, K St.,Texas Christian, Iowa St.... West: Oregon, Stanford, Utah, Arizona, Ar. St., Washington, Oregon St. Cal or WSU. Also consider BYU, Boise, San Diego St. Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Colorado... and maybe, just maybe outflank the big10 and get Notre Dame. I'm sure I'm leaving out a good choice or two. If the big 10 and SEC are determined to create super conferences, beat them to it. There could even be a combination of all current members of all three conferences plus a few more split into 4 divisions and having a four team play off to decide the championship. That could generate a lot of excitement!

At this point, if the PAC survives with Oregon in it, they need to move quickly and boldly. I think at least an immediate merger of PAC and Big 12 would make sense. Add ACC, maybe, but only if those definitely coming include Clemson and UNC. If Notre Dame could somehow be pulled into that configuration, what a wonderful gut punch to the Big 10 (I'd love to see that, but not expecting it.) It seems regional based conferences are no longer desired. So why not an expansion from coast to coast. Too bad the PAC didn't have the forethought to do this kind of thing two years ago, or at least as soon as OK and Texas announced for SEC. You had to see this coming as the Big 10 tried to compete. I'm still sick to my stomach though. I don't see how all of this ends up being good for college sports, even if you are just talking about football.

What's the dilemma? three good QBs in the room, and two possible great recruits. Maybe if Johnson wants to commit, but the Ducks are waiting on Moore, but I have to think the coaches will know where they stand with each. Right now, Nix looks poised to reach some of that unrealized potential. Ty just smoked 'em at the Manning Camp and Butters looked great in the Spring game. Whoever starts will have a more than capable back up and even third string guy. A whole lot of schools would love to have Oregon's dilemma.

Yeah, I remember 2 a days in August in VA when I was in high school. Oregon dry 95 degrees is paradise! Oh, and GA, AL, MS... are much worse than VA. These guys are going to love this. I also am feeling some commits coming.

Look at who's on campus this weekend. Some commitments are already coming. I have a good feeling about several of these players and a few from last weekend also. We don't have to get all of these guys. One or two of the 5 stars, then 3 or 4 of the 4s and Oregon is well on it's way to a top ten class, maybe top 5. I live in Ohio and I can feel the vibe from here.

That will be one very unusual year in Vermont high school football!