The pursuit of a media rights agreement and decision on expansion are the most significant issues facing the Pac-12 but hardly the only unresolved matters with long-haul implications.

 

For instance, the football schedule for the 2024 season and beyond must be reconfigured without the Los Angeles schools but, potentially, with one or two new members.

 

What format works best for securing multiple bids for the expanded College Football Playoff? Should the Pac-12 return to divisions? Should it plow forward with nine conference games or drop to an eight-game model?

 

On that last topic, we believe there's a third option.

 

Our (latest) radical idea for the Pac-12 football schedule: Play 10 conference games

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Adding a conference game would alleviate supply-side and economic pressure.

 

Sure.  Let's make it harder for us compared to the SEC...

 

With a 12-team playoff, this does have merit. But even with a 12-team field you want to make sure as a conference champion you are a top 4 seeded champion or get a spot in the field if not a conference champ.

 

Also, what will the broadcast situation be? Do not want a lot of night games conflicting with one another.

 

If eyeballs count and they do, the FCS, G5, and a B1G or SEC P5 team seem to work the best. And who knows? The conference could stay at 9 teams. The 2 new teams if added will come in at a lesser share but that is still money the 10 teams, especially a school in the financial shape of Wazzu, can use.

Canzano and Wilner discussed this a few days ago on their podcast and it doesn't seem too radical after looking at the numbers. 

 

Plus, we play 9 already, let's go ahead and add on one of the new guys who aren't up to snuff.  

 

I recall it took quite a while for Utah to reach equal status to the big dogs and CU isn't there yet.  

 

The new media deal will probably be short term and end about the same time as the next re-alignment happens.

 

So, with the expanded playoffs, doesn't bother me.

The SEC plays less games away from home and less conference games. Both of these features help their cause toward winning a national title

 

The SEC plays New Mexico State, sometimes twice in a year as fodder to their schedules. There are plenty of Nevada's, New Mexico States to fill our schedule if winning a title is our goal.

 

You aren't going to win the playoffs after a tough schedule and lots of travel. A team needs to recover, and be fresh when the bowl season starts. Maybe if making more money is our goal then a 10 game schedule makes sense, but what is our goal?

 

If we want to win the national title then playing a 10 game schedule makes no sense. Pretty sure Larry Scott would be pounding his fist on the table in support of this idea.

On 6/3/2023 at 8:29 AM, WoadBlue said:

Pac teams need to play more games against schools located in EST and CST. So what the Pac needs is to get OOC scheduling run out of the conference office so that every school plays 2 such games a year against teams from 'the East': one at Home and one Away. 

For Oregon this appears to be easier said than done. 

If the PAC played 10 conference games, it would make them look like the weakest conference.  People hardly look at anything else other than W/L.  You are adding more Ls to each PAC team.  Financially, it makes some sense, but perception wise, it would be terrible optics.

When it comes to securing multiple bids for the expanded College Football Playoff, there is a need to determine the best format. One question is whether the Pac-12 should return to divisions or continue without them. Additionally, the conference must decide whether to stick with nine conference games or switch to an eight-game model.

 

However, I believe there might be a third option worth considering on the topic of the number of conference games. It's essential to thoroughly evaluate the pros and cons of each choice and find a balance that ensures fair competition while also allowing for flexibility and overall strength of the conference.

Good take but I do not want to go back to divisions and lose the assurance that the 2 best teams will play for the conference championship.