CFW Week O – Can the Pac-12 survive?
“How long would it take for TV
money to destroy college football?”
“Well, maybe we’re there now.”
Those were the words of Washington State head football coach Jake Dickert. He was speaking on the recent realignment and potential demise of the Pac-12.
Dickert added, “But at the end of the day, we’ll look back in 20 years and be like, ‘What were we doing’? And to think that local rivalries are at risk to me is unbelievable.”
ESPN college football analyst Heather Dinich agreed. “We’re losing what makes college football special,” she said.
UCLA football coach Chip Kelly hit the nail on the head when he said, “Notre Dame is an Independent in football but they are in a conference for everything else. Why aren’t we all Independent in football? Take the 69 teams in Power Five and make that one division. Take the 64 teams in the Group of Five and make that another division. We play for a championship, and they play for a championship.”
Kelly added, “Football is different from all the other sports. We play once a week. Travel is not a big deal for football, but it is a big deal for the other sports.”
I suggested something similar in one of my CFW Blogs a few years ago. I wrote that college football should operate like the soccer leagues in England. There should be a Premier League at the top, consisting of 20-24 teams. The Premier League would be followed by subsequent leagues of 20-24 teams each – League 1, League 2, League 3, etc.
Don’t separate the Power Five and Group of Five teams into different divisions. The Group of Five teams would begin in the lower leagues, along with Division II and Division III teams. But everyone has a chance to rise to the top, just as everyone has a chance to descend to the bottom.
At the end of each season, the three or four teams finishing at the bottom of their league would be relegated to the next lower league for the following season. Conversely, the three or four teams finishing at the top of their league would be advanced to the next higher league for the following season. If you begin in a lower league, you potentially could work your way up to the Premier League.
Every year, the top 4 or 6 teams in the Premier League would have a playoff at the end of the season for the national championship. The 4 to 6 teams finishing at the top of each of the other leagues would have a playoff for their league championship.
Some teams like Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio State, etc. may rarely, if ever, be relegated from the Premier League, just like Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea in England. But other teams will move in and move out of the Premier League. That’s what makes it interesting. If you are in the Premier League, you have a chance to win the national championship.
Meanwhile, the conferences, as we know them today, should go back to being a group of schools from a common geographical area, competing in all the other sports – basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, etc. You don’t want these teams flying halfway across or all the way across the country to compete in a conference game or match.
And, they should be conferences, not conventions. A conference is a close geographical affiliation of 8 to 12 schools. More than 12 schools is not a conference – it’s a convention. We need conferences, not conventions.
Sadly, two weeks ago, we witnessed what may be the demise of the “Conference of Champions” – the Pac-12. The Big Ten poached Oregon and Washington. The Big 12 poached Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.
The Pac-12 has been around for 108 years – competing as a conference for 107 years.
The conference was founded as the Pacific Coast Conference on December 2, 1915, at a meeting at the Imperial Hotel in Portland. Oregon. The charter members were California, Washington, Oregon and Oregon Agricultural College (Oregon State since 1937). The schools began playing as a conference the following year in 1916.
Washington State joined the PCC in 1917, followed by Stanford in 1918. The PCC grew to eight teams with the admission of USC and Idaho in 1922. Montana joined in 1924 and UCLA joined in 1928. The PCC operated as a 10-team conference for 22 years.
Montana left the league in 1950. The PCC was a nine-team conference for the next 9 years.
In the summer of 1959, Idaho left the league. Shortly afterward, the PCC briefly disbanded as a conference. The PCC reinvented itself into what became the Pacific Athletic Conference or the Pac-8. The Pac-8 consisted of the two Washingtons, the two Oregons, and the four California schools – Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC. The Pac-8 became the Pac-10 in 1978 when Arizona and Arizona State were added. The Pc-10 became the Pac-12 in 2010 with the addition of Colorado and Utah.
Nicknamed the “Conference of Champions,” the Pac-12 has won more NCAA national championships in team sports than any other conference. The top three schools in the Pac-12 with the most team titles are Stanford, UCLA and USC respectively. Pac-12 has won 500 team championships.
The only conferences that formed before the Pac-12 were the Big Ten, the Big 8 and the Southwest. The Big Ten was founded in 1896. The Big 8 and Southwest came along in 1907 and 1914 respectively. The Big 8 became the Big 12 in 1994 when the Southwest disbanded.
The SEC came along in 1932, while the ACC did not start up until 1953. Both the SEC and the ACC grew out of the Southern Conference which was founded in 1921.
With the poaching by the Big Ten (UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington) and the Big 12 (Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State and Utah), the Pac-12 is down to four teams – California, Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State. All four are desperately trying to retain their Power Five status.
California and Stanford, along with SMU from the AAC, have sought membership in the ACC. They came up one vote short of approval. Stanford and SMU are still trying to get into the ACC. Stanford has recruited Condoleezza Rice to lobby for them, while SMU has Geroge W. Bush lobbying for them.
If Stanford fails to remain in a Power Five conference, its Olympic sports programs could find it hard to retain their stature. In the 29 years of the Director’s Cup (top school in the country annually among all sports) Stanford has won the Cup 26 years.
Meanwhile, Oliver Luck has been hired by the Pac-12 to help keep the conference together by finding a common solution for the remaining four teams. The Pac-12 could invite all or most of the MWC teams to join the conference. Or they could invite all or most of the AAC teams to join the conference. Or they could invite a combination of teams from both the MWC and AAC. This would enable the Pac-12 to maintain its existence and possibly retain its Power Five status.
The other option is for the four Pac-12 teams to join either the MWC or the AAC. However, under this option, the Pac-12 would go away, and the four teams would lose their Power Five status.
Stanford and California believe they still have a chance of getting into the ACC. They are still negotiating with the conference. If, by chance, they should get in, that would really leave Oregon State and Washington State floundering as the only two remaining Pac-12 members. Budgets would be reduced. Some Olympic sports would be eliminated. Power Five status would be lost. I remember when Oregon State quarterback Terry Baker won the Heisman Trophy in 1962. Baker also played point guard on the Oregon State basketball team.
If he were alive, I can only imagine the uproar Mike Leach would be making. Leach, a former Washington State football coach, must be rolling in his grave. After he left Pullman for Mississippi State, he maintained a fondness for Washington State. Same for the former “Voice of College Football” Keith Jackson. Jackson was a graduate of Washington State.
This mess of “poaching” teams from conferences began with ACC poaching from the Big East some 20 years ago. The ACC grabbed Virginia Tech and Miami from the Big East in 2004, followed by Boston College in 2005. Then the ACC poached Syracuse and Pitt in 2011. After the 2011 poaching, the Big East ceased to exist.
So it would only be appropriate now for the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC to poach the ACC out of existence.
Regardless, it’s all spurred by television money and its destroying college football.
The real start of the college football season is next week. It is Week 1, when 87 games involving FBS teams will be played. However, there are seven games this week. In recent years, a handful of teams have been jumping the gun, playing a week early – different teams each year. So this week has become known as Week 0.
As far as most of the seven games are concerned, it is a Weak 0 – UTEP at Jacksonville State, Massachusetts at New Mexico State, Ohio at San Diego State and FIU at Louisiana Tech. Ohio at San Diego State being the best of that bunch. But there are three games involving Power Five teams – Navy vs. Notre Dame, Hawaii at Vanderbilt and San Jose State at USC.
The Navy-Notre Dame game takes place in Dublin, Ireland. A portion of the proceeds from the Hawaii-Vanderbilt game will go to the Hawaii Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund. And the San Jose State-USC game marks the 2023 debut of last year’s Heisman Trophy winner – Caleb Williams.
Between NBC, CBSSN, ESPN, FS1, SECN and Pac12N, all seven of Saturday’s games are on TV.
From Bennett to Beck. Jacksonville, Florida, native Carson Beck has been named the starting quarterback at Georgia. Beck was Stetson Bennett’s backup last season. Meanwhile, across the state line, Auburn named Payton Thorne its starting quarterback. An offseason transfer from Michigan State, Thorne was the starting quarterback for the Spartans last year.
CFW will return next Monday (August 28) with more commentary, along with the results and review of the Week 0 games.
Enjoy Week 0!
Touchdown Tom
August 21, 2023
https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com
Touchdown Tom’s Prediction for
Week 0’s Three Biggest and Most Intriguing Games…..and then none
Navy vs. Notre Dame – (AAC vs. Ind.) – 2:30 pm ET, Saturday, NBC – In the very first game of the 2023 season, the Irish and the Middies do battle in Dublin. Navy will need a little luck. Brian Newberry is the new coach in Annapolis. Apparently, he isn’t well thought of. A number of analysts have said Newberry is the worst and weakest of the 25 new head coach hires. He has his work cut out for him. That’s for sure. Meanwhile, Marcus Freeman is in his second season at Notre Dame. He got off to a slow start last year – very slow. The Irish were 0-2, with a loss at home to Marshall. Then, in the third game, they barely beat California in South Bend. Eventually, Freeman got things turned around. It will be Whisky in the Jar for the Irish in Dublin – Notre Dame 38, Navy 14.
San Jose State at USC – (MWC vs. Pac-12) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, P12N – They are back. Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams is back for his second season, quarterbacking the Trojans. And former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury is back in college football and back in Los Angeles as the Trojans quarterbacks coach. Swamp Mama will have her eyes on the sidelines – more specifically on Kingsbury. Williams wants to get off to a good start this year as he finished last season on a down note – losing the Pac-12 title game to Utah and losing the Cotton Bowl to Tulane. This will be Lincoln Riley’s second season at the helm in Troy. San Jose State won’t win this game, but the Spartans could give USC a fight. San Jose State has a very good quarterback in Chevan Cordeiro. The Spartans also have a good coach in Brent Brennan. Swamp Mama’s happy – USC 33, San Jose State 17.
Hawaii at Vanderbilt – (MWC vs. SEC) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, SECN – Last year, in Honolulu, Vandy beat Hawaii, 63-10. Under first-year coach Timmy Chang, the Rainbow Warriors were a decimated team. In Chang’s second year, Hawaii is still a poor team, but not as decimated as last year. Vandy coach Clark Lea is in his third year with the Commodores. The Dores were vastly improved last year, chalking up wins over Kentucky and Florida. Look for improvement out of Hawaii and overconfidence out of Vandy. How could you not be overconfident after winning this game by 53 points last year. There is no pot of gold at the end of Hawaii’s rainbow – Vanderbilt 35, Hawaii 24.
ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:
FIU at Louisiana Tech – (C-USA vs. C-USA) – 8 pm ET, Saturday, CBSSN….
Quotes of the Week
I’m sorry that my gain is your loss,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark to Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff.
The Teams – 2023 (Touchdown Tom’s Consensus Top 40)
Those of you who have been reading CFW for some time know that I compile my Consensus Top 40 at the beginning of every season. I gather all the legitimate preseason polls I can get my hands on – AP, Coaches, CBS Sports, ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, etc. Then I combine the results of the polls to come up with my Consensus Top 40. This year, the results were compiled from 17 preseason polls.
Are you ready for the Top 40? Drum roll, please! It should be no surprise to you that (1) Georgia is the No. 1 team in the consensus poll. In fact, the Dawgs were No. 1 in 16 of the 17 polls. The only outlier was the ESPN poll. ESPN had Georgia at No. 3. Following Georgia is (2) Michigan. The Wolverines were almost as strong at No. 2 as Georgia was at No. 1. Michigan was 2nd in 13 of the 17 polls. The next two spots were pretty solid too with (3) Ohio State and (4) Alabama. The Top 5 was complete with (5) LSU.
The remainder of the Top 10 consists of (6) Penn State, (7) USC, (8) Florida State, (9) Clemson and (10) Washington. Penn State was only 2 points behind LSU. The Top 6 teams are all from the SEC and Big Ten – three each. There are no Big 12 teams in the Top 10.
The poll continues with (11) Texas, (12) Tennessee, (13) Utah, (14) Notre Dame and (15) Oregon. Notre Dame was just 3 points behind Utah. The remainder of the Top 20 are (16) Oregon State, (17) TCU, (18) Wisconsin, (19) Kansas State and (20) Oklahoma. Oklahoma was just 2 points behind Kansas State.
Finishing out the Top 25 are (21) Ole Miss, (22) North Carolina, then a tie with (23) Iowa and (23) Texas A&M. The final spot goes to (25) Texas Tech. Iowa and Texas A&M were just 2 points behind North Carolina. The SEC has 6 teams in the Top 25, followed by the Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 with 5 each. The ACC has 3 teams and there is one Independent.
Beyond the Top 25 are (26) UCLA, (27) South Carolina, (28) Tulane, (29) Kentucky and (30) Arkansas. Tulane, of the AAC, is the highest-ranked Group of Five team.
Filling out the Top 40 are (31) Pitt, a tie (32) Miami (Florida) and (32) UTSA, (34) Florida and (35) Auburn. Pitt was just 1 point out of the Top 25. UTSA, also from the AAC, is the second highest-ranked Group of Five team. The final five teams in the Top 40 are (36) Boise State, (37) NC State, (38) Minnesota and a tie between (39) Baylor and (39) Maryland. Just missing out on the Top 40 is (41) Illinois. Boise State, of the MWC, is the third and last Group of Five team in the Top 40.
So the Consensus Top 40 consists of 11 teams from the SEC and 7 teams from the Big Ten. There are 6 teams each from the ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12. Two teams from the AAC and one each from the MWC and Independents.
Conference USA, the MAC and the Sun Belt placed no teams in the Top 40. The highest-ranked Sun Belt teams are (48) Troy and (53) South Alabama. The highest-ranked MAC team is (60) Toledo and the top C-USA team is (69) Western Kentucky.
Checking out our seven “Ye Olde Stomping Grounds” teams, we have (1) Georgia, (11) Texas, (34) Florida, (43) Duke, (58) Nebraska, (63) Purdue and (68) West Virginia. There are 133 teams in FBS football.
For what it’s worth, how did last year’s Top 4 teams in the consensus poll compare with the final polls of the season? Well, last year the Top 4 teams in my Consensus Top 40 were (1) Alabama, (2) Ohio State, (3) Georgia and (4) Clemson. The final CFP poll at the end of the regular season had (1) Georgia, (2) Michigan, (3) TCU and (4) Ohio State. And the final AP Poll at the end of the full season had (1) Georgia, (2) TCU, (3) Michigan and (4) Ohio State.
Where were Michigan and TCU in the Consensus Top 40 last year? The preseason poll had (8) Michigan and (54) TCU. And where did Alabama and Clemson end up? The final AP Poll had (5) Alabama and (13) Clemson.
Touchdown Tom
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