OregonDucks

At first, I thought that joining the B1G (or SEC) was a must but after reading more posts on OBD and other forums, I’m not sure that that is the way to go if Oregon’s long-term goal is to win a national championship in football. As Duck 1972 pointed out, top teams who have joined the Big-10, SEC, Pac-12 and other conferences have not had much success (e.g., Nebraska, Colorado, Texas A&M, Penn State). USC has not been good since Pete Carroll left. They get more money by joining the B1G but traded Oregon for Ohio State. Does anyone think that USC’s road to the playoffs got easier? My new ranking for Oregon would be: 1 Try to form a 3rd super conference with the top programs of the ACC, Big-12 and Pac-10. Some combination of Clemson, Florida State, Miami, NC, Duke, VT, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Oregon, Washington, Cal, Stanford, Arizona, etc. We could approach the ACC's existing TV partner to see if they would work with us. 2 Create a real alliance/merger with the ACC. We could keep the existing Pac-10 intact and look to add a few teams. The winner of the ACC could play the winner of the Pac for the championship of the combined league. This game could rival the B1G or SEC's championship game (e.g., Clemson vs. Oregon) and position the winner for an automatic bid into the college football playoffs. 3 Join the B1G. If you believe that super conferences are inevitable this option would be on top of the list, assuming you cannot make #1 happen. However, the existing playoff system would need to change. For example, the winner of the B1G play the winner of the SEC for the national championship. 4 Look to expand the Pac-10 and/or look to merge with the Big-12. This and the ACC option above would likely be temporary options until the B1G and SEC are ready to expand to 20+ teams. 5 Go independent. I think that this will be harder going forward with the super conferences, as the top teams will not want to schedule an Oregon in addition to their grueling conference schedule.

Be careful what you wish for? I would have felt much more comfortable facing Nick Saban's Alabama with Chip Kelly's innovative offense. Not so much now. Hopefully Dan Lanning will get Oregon's defense rolling and the team ready to compete again with the Alabama's of the world!

What is Oregon's best option to compete for college football national championships over the long-term, and why?

Given the above, there have been talks for years about Oregon going private. If the State of Oregon legislators attempt to thwart Oregon's attempt to join another conference. I wonder if these conversations will accelerate. Perhaps the wealthy donors will open the checkbooks to make this happen...

I hope that Oregon is also consulting Bob Thompson, a University of Oregon graduate, and the former president of Fox Sports Networks. Conference expansion is all about $$$ and Thompson knows a thing or two about TV. Oregon has to do what is in Oregon's best long-term interest.