If the Pac-12 had stuck together, what would the 2024 football season appear to be? Who wins the conference? Who makes the playoffs? Who goes to a bowl game? — @draywilson29
This looks as if the proper topic to handle two weeks before the conference officially disbands – a lightweight, fun discussion before we take a tough have a look at the truth of the 2024 season.
So let's enterprise into an alternate universe where the Pac-12 enters the primary season of the expanded College Football Playoff intact.
First thought: The quarterback's play is not going to reach the obscene levels we saw in 2023, which is able to lead to a noticeable decline in success for the collective.
This situation should result in more parity, more exciting games every week and a splendidly chaotic final spurt.
The conference champion routinely has a claim to the CFP, with at the least one and possibly two teams battling for spots in the general rankings.
Our predictions for the conference race would look something like this:
1.Oregon: Absolutely charged and a contender for the national title.
2.Utah: Healthy and prepared for demolition.
3.Arizona: Serious talent, but high expectations.
4.USC: Better defense, worse attack.
5. State of Oregon: Jonathan Smith is back, the Pac-12 is undamaged.
6. Washington: Was 2023 the Huskies’ parallel universe?
7. Colorado: It's all in regards to the faceoff lines.
8.UCLA: New coach, same mediocrity.
9. Cal: Will the momentum from the tip of 2023 proceed?
10. Washington State: Playmakers are briefly supply.
11.Stanford: Better, but still a challenge.
12. State of Arizona: Also higher, but still a challenge.
We envision Oregon and Utah playing for the conference title, with the winner, Oregon, earning a top-four spot within the CFP and a bye to the quarterfinals.
The Utes sneak into the CFP because the No. 11 seed and play their opening game on the road against the No. 6 seed.
Arizona, USC, Oregon State and USC, in addition to Colorado, are eligible for bowl bids – a breakthrough for coach Deion Sanders that makes him a serious candidate to depart Boulder for the SEC.
This is how we imagine the 2024 season in a parallel universe where the Pac-12 presidents and commissioners make smart strategic decisions through the years.
Is Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti aware that the College Football Playoff host cities for the subsequent two seasons favor the ACC and SEC? — Jon Joseph
I'm sure Petitti knows the terrain because it is actually the identical.
The bowls that hosted the New Year's Six games make up the rotation of the CFP quarterfinals and semifinals, and 4 of the six are within the ACC and SEC divisions: Orange (Miami), Peach (Atlanta), Sugar (New Orleans) and Cotton (Dallas).
In addition, Atlanta and Miami will host the national championships for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
The postseason landscape has been and continues to be dictated by the climate. CFP officials imagine the fan experience is crucial. Aside from Los Angeles, the Big Ten can't offer rather more than slush this time of 12 months.
Is it really OK for the foremost media networks to have only three markets west of Austin within the two major conferences? — @UtahFFL
These three markets (Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland) at the moment are, in fact, a part of the Big Ten.
Meanwhile, Phoenix, Salt Lake City and Denver are recent home markets for the Big 12, while the large Bay Area market has teams within the ACC.
Given that the networks played a central role in shaping conference membership, they ought to be completely satisfied with the situation for 2024 and beyond.
If the ACC collapses (more on that below), each Fox and ESPN will likely be taking a look at how they spend their money.
If the ACC holds up, we expect the brand new world order to stay in place until the tip of the last decade, when the Big Ten renegotiates its media contract and (likely) a brand new wave of realignment begins.
How do you see the ACC situation? It looks like Florida State and Clemson are leaving. What's the firewall plan to maintain the remaining schools? — @Milkbear79
While the timing is unclear, two developments seem inevitable: Florida State and Clemson will leave the ACC sometime in the subsequent three to 5 years; and so they won't be the one ones.
Despite all the eye paid to the Seminoles and Tigers, North Carolina is probably the most coveted university within the ACC. It's a serious basketball brand, has a top-notch academic fame, and hundreds of thousands of television viewers. Plus, the Tar Heel State isn't currently occupied by a member of the SEC or Big Ten.
If the Seminoles and Tigers can get out of the ACC's rights-transfer agreement with little financial impact, UNC will certainly follow suit.
Could the ACC survive this triple whammy? No, since the second-tier schools (Virginia Tech, NC State, Louisville, Miami) would look elsewhere for salvation—hello, Big 12—and there wouldn't be much left.
(We covered the realignment earlier this week, including a have a look at SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey's comments on the expansion.)
Bottom line: Ignore all of the speak about Florida State and Clemson not going anywhere.
If the ACC collapses, all the pieces changes.
What would the brand new Pac-12 conference be called? By the variety of teams or the brand name? — @LAWomensHoops
If Washington State and Oregon State rebuild the conference, they might likely keep the “Pac” a part of the name. The number could change, although there are various examples of membership counts being ignored in conference names.
Despite its 18 teams, the Big Ten is the Big Ten due to its brand value that has grown over many years and the continued presence of the faculties affiliated with the conference.
The Pac-12 has lost its most famous schools, but can be higher off staying true to its past, whether it's the Pac-8, Pac-12 or Pac-16.
My very first query to you is in regards to the Pac-12's bowl affiliations: Let's say Oregon's record within the Big Ten puts the Ducks on the shortlist for the Citrus Bowl, but their overall record puts them on the shortlist for the Alamo Bowl. Can Oregon select? — Tom S.
The Pac-12 announced late last week that every one 12 schools affiliated with the conference would take part in the bowls.
And the Hotline reported Thursday that overall record, not conference record, would determine the pecking order for selection.
In other words, the Ducks couldn't resolve. They have only two options for the postseason: the expanded CFP or the Pac-12 bowl games, with overall record being the deciding factor.
This also applies to the opposite 11 schools.
Some time ago, you said that Oregon State and Washington State can be independents in baseball. Have the 2 schools made any progress in setting their baseball schedules for next 12 months? — Dan C.
I don't remember specifically saying that the OSU and WSU baseball programs would turn out to be independent, but that doesn't matter.
The Beavers have actually chosen this path for the 2025 season, while the Cougars will compete as a member of the Mountain West.
None of the faculties have published their timetable for 2025.
What will generate more interest: news about Pac-2 or the Paris Olympics? — @MrEd315
For Washington State and Oregon State, we’ve got entered a dead period, so to talk, as they plot their course for the longer term.
By next summer, the Pac-2 will need to have chosen a house for the autumn of 2026 and be in intensive negotiations on a media rights deal.
The only other option, as we suggested weeks ago, can be to hunt a waiver from the NCAA extending their grace period from two to 3 years.
In this scenario, the Pac-2 could last until the summer of 2027, giving WSU and OSU more time to watch the situation and potentially profit from realignments within the ACC or Big 12.
When will we stop using the term “student athlete” in our recent sports world? – @zacyourback
The hotline hasn't referred to them as “student athletes” in years, with one exception: when the outline is a component of a direct quote from a school sports official.
Nevertheless, we’d approve of the term “sports student”.
Did last week's Big 12 Football Media Days make you are feeling like a state was captured? The Pac-12 has all the time claimed Las Vegas as its own and it was an enormous Big 12 success. Will you be there next 12 months? — @mlondo856
The Hotline didn’t attend the event because that they had planned a vacation long before the dates were announced. (It was unlucky timing, however it was my first vacation in years and I desperately needed it.)
For this reason, I cannot give an opinion on the Air, although several reports indicated that it was a whole success.
However, these media spectacles have a limited shelf life in the peak of summer. The priority for the Big 12 in the brand new era of school football is evident: to supply a compelling product on the sector.
This is the one way we will counter the impression that the conference is a second-class citizen in comparison with the SEC and Big Ten. (The ACC faces the same challenge.)
And yes, the hotline plans to be there next summer.
Originally published:
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