Let me start by saying I am not declaring that the Pac-12 Conference is dead. I am not pushing for a world where one of the most storied and historic conferences in the nation crumbles to the ground and disbands after the strongest teams in the league defect for greener grass.
All I’m doing is acknowledging a world in which that outcome is possible — a world that seems more and more likely with each passing day.
A year ago, the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins knocked the conference off-balance by announcing their departure to the Big Ten. A week ago, the Colorado Buffaloes knocked the Pac-12 to the mat by announcing their departure to the Big 12. On Wednesday, the Big Ten took aim with the knock-out punch — an announcement that it was considering further expansion. All eyes were on both the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies, plus the Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears, should they be feeling greedy.
I’m not here pushing for teams to leave the Pac-12 conference and play their football elsewhere; it’s a reality that has become impossible to ignore over the last 13 months.
At this rate, you could reasonably convince me that in a week’s time, there will be only a handful of teams remaining in the Pac-12, with some of the top remaining teams taking off for greener grass. So should these defections continue to happen, and it ultimately end in the death of the Pac-12, where would everyone go?
Here are my predictions: