Transfer Portal Will Only Get Bigger, However … 22 Thoughts For 2022, No. 17

The transfer portal will be a bigger and more prominent part of college football, and that’s a problem. 22 College Football Thoughts for 2022, No. 17

22 College Football Thoughts for 2022, No. 17: The transfer portal will only get bigger and more prominent, and that’s going to be a problem.


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22 College Football Thoughts For 2022

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2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

17. The transfer portal will only become more important. However …

Don’t be stunned if the NCAA comes up with a way to clamp down a bit on how easy it is for the players to move around.

The NCAA and Mark Emmert might be going all Chicken Little on the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals, but that’s one cat that’s not going back into the bag. However, what they can start to work on and tweak is the transfer portal that might be a positive overall, but quickly went rogue.

Here’s the problem – now everyone has to recruit players from other schools all the time, all while coaches have to keep wooing their own guys. And if you’re not pinging around to see who might not be totally happy at whether they’re at, you’re not doing your job.

The transfer portal is the new recruiting. Outside of the elite prospects, why mess around with a guess when you can bring in ready-made men ready to play?

You ready to have some transfer portal fun? Wait until the depth charts start to come out – if they come out.

That’s like a list of Glengarry leads for a salesman – every No. 2 on the chart, especially at quarterback, will be offered the world. But coaches are going to wise up to this fast.

Get ready for this phrase over and over again …

“We’ll settle it in fall camp.”

You have to be insane if you come out with a depth chart that say anything but OR after every player’s name.

I’m a full proponent of players’ rights in every way, shape, and form, but on this I do get how there has to be something to tone this down, because it’s not fair.

It’s not fair to the coaches, it’s not fair to the players who might transfer to a school for an opportunity only to get shoved out when someone else wants to transfer in, and it’s not fair to the entire process when the big schools can go vulture away the best players from the smaller ones.

Oh yeah, and there’s that silly little thing about, you know, college. Yeah, go play football and go have fun, but maybe do a little of that learning thing along the way. That goes all out the window when players transfer just so they might be able to see the football field.

So how does this get fixed? Does it need to be fixed, since regular students can transfer at any time, so why not football players?

Maybe limit the number of transfers a school can bring in to be eligible for a given year. Maybe limit the transfer time to a fixed number of weeks – but make sure it’s not set up so players can get screwed over by depth chart manipulation.

Maybe limit the number of games a transfer can play – if a kid wants to actually go to a school to go to school, then not getting to play a few games shouldn’t matter. But, of course, that’s totally naive.

Where this gets even trickier is with the NIL deals. If a kid has a deal, and he’s all of a sudden the second string quarterback, then the entire world changes and moves will be based on whatever contracts and deals are set up and which states have the right rules to keep it all going.

But for now, the changes will likely come flying fast and furious very, very soon.

Pray for the coaches who’ll spend way too much time trying to keep everyone happy, and God bless those poor souls who keep putting out a print version of a preview that – thanks to the on-the-fly changes – will be worthless the second it’s off the presses.

Speaking of stealing talent …

22 College Football Thoughts For 2022
22, College football is changing, and it’s okay
21, Texas & Oklahoma, you really want the SEC?
20. SEC is really, really good if you like it or not
19. James Madison, welcome to the show
18. Sun Belt is the cool conference

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2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

College Football Is Changing? It’s Okay: 22 Thoughts For 2022, No. 22

With all of the changes coming to college football, it’s all going to be okay. 22 College Football Thoughts for 2022, No. 22

22 College Football Thoughts for 2022, No. 22: Don’t worry so much about the transfer portal, realignment, and all the various changes.


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22 College Football Thoughts For 2022

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22. No, all of the changes won’t mean it’s the end of college football

22 College Football Thoughts For 2022 
21, Texas & Oklahoma, you really want the SEC?
20. SEC is really, really good if you like it or not

If it seems like just about how college football operates is changing going into 2022, it’s because it sort of is.

And it’s going to be okay.

For a sport that thrives on tradition, and moves at a snail’s pace when it comes to advancements and improvements, all of the changes over the last two years have been seismic. But …

Please, don’t get too caught up in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). It’s all going to work itself out, and it really doesn’t mean anything more than players can now be better compensated for being the celebrities they most certainly are. That’s all.

Don’t get bogged down in the craziness of the transfer portal, and don’t get lost in the swarm of discussion about a possible bigger College Football Playoff, conference realignment, and expansion.

Of course, I’ll be writing and talking about all of that pretty much every day – starting with the rest of this 22 Thoughts for 2022 thing – but as a wise man once pounded into my head, none of that outside stuff matters once the ball gets kicked off.

And no, none of those changes will signal the end of college football.

The forward pass, conferences expanding and contracting, integration, a playoff, nickname changes, amending fight songs with questionable lyrics in the obscure fifth verse, instant replay, pivoting away from the cringy mascot, new uniforms, and on and on and on – the tweaks over the 150+ years of college football that, for some, were supposed to ruin the sport’s greatness did the exact opposite.

College football will thrive and be stronger with the advancements.

It’s long overdue that players are finally able to have more of a voice, more freedom, more power, and more of an above-the-board ability to profit off of what they do. At the very least, it’s long overdue that they have close to the same voice, freedom, power, and ability to profit that the coaches do.

College football will thrive and get stronger with the schools generating more revenue. It’ll thrive and get stronger as the media deals change and adapt. It’ll thrive and get stronger because …

It’s college football. It’s going to be fine.

More importantly, it’s college football. This is going to be fun no matter what.

22 College Football Thoughts For 2022 
21, Texas & Oklahoma, you really want the SEC?
20. SEC is really, really good if you like it or not

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2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 Alliance Is Here, But What Is It? College Football Daily Cavalcade

College Football Daily Cavalcade: The ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 alliance is officially a thing. So now what?

College Football Daily Cavalcade: The ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 alliance is officially a thing. So now what?


College Football Daily Cavalcade: ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 Alliance. What Is It?

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

Like the alliance of the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12, there’s not much to it.

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Basically, three major college conferences just agreed to be besties

And now it’s here.

The college sports world officially – well, sort of – has the alliance of the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 to combine forces for good against the evil that is the SEC.

Actually, it’s “a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling.”

Or something like that.

A whole lot of words are being written and said to keep this all as murky and vague as possible, but here’s what’s actually happening.

1. Yeah, yeah, yeah. These are conferences loaded with great academic institutions, and of course everyone cares about social issues, and the future of college athletics, and the pandemic, and the educational goals, and the …

2. Whatever. It’s totally about an SEC that’s living rent-free in the heads of these three conferences.  The alliance types are saying it’s not, but this is all about making the SEC pay for its expansion insolence. And that means …

3. This is all just a big fancy way of these three conferences atomic-dunking on the SEC as it came very, very close to figuring out how to get half of its league into a bigger College Football Playoff.

The expansion idea was all but a done deal, but the alliance just put the kibosh on that after the SEC expanded before the bigger CFP went through, not after.

That doesn’t mean the playoff won’t expand, but there’s no way, no how, no chance that the alliance will allow a system to be in place that lets the SEC get more than a few teams in.

ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 Alliance: Media Market Advantage

4. No one signed anything. They’re doing this non-binding alliance on a virtual fist-bump with the expectation of good will among the conferences. But as we all learned from – totally obscure movie reference alert – 24 Hour Party People, if you don’t have something officially signed, you risk losing the Happy Mondays. Case in point …

5. There’s nothing there to prevent the conferences from pitching woo to the schools of the other alliance members. Don’t think for a second that the Big Ten isn’t interested in making a whopper of an offer to North Carolina the second it figures out how to do it.

6. They haven’t exactly figured out a schedule to play each other. It’ll come, but all the power conferences have non-conference deals locked in for the next bazillion seasons, so figure they all get around to playing each other in football by 2037ish or so.

7. Revenue sharing? Uhhhhhhh, we’ll get back to you on that.

8. And the Big 12? Bless your heart. Yeah, one of these alliance conferences might go and grab a Kansas or something, but the Remaining 8 hasn’t been invited to the pizza party. And finally …

9. Of course this a football thing, but this will be a big deal for the other sports, too. Again, all that matters overall is how these three conferences keep the SEC from taking over the world. In reality, this will be a blast for basketball along with many of the non-revenue sports.

And in the end, alliance, schmaliance … the SEC still has Texas and Oklahoma.

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CFN 2021 Preview of all 130 teams

ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 Alliance. The Media Market Advantage: College Football Daily Cavalcade

College Football Daily Cavalcade: What’s the big chip an ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 alliance could play to beat the SEC? Media Markets.

College Football Daily Cavalcade: With the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 alliance, what’s the big chip it could play to beat the SEC? Media markets.


College Football Daily Cavalcade: ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 Alliance

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

It should be Alliance, capitalized, and not The Alliance. To paraphrase JT, just Alliance. It’s cleaner.

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This is where I’d compare this to the pro wrestling business, but I don’t know my WWWs from my WWEs.

Just how far are you willing to go with this, ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 alliance?

The alliance is coming together to combat the SEC’s master plan of world sports domination, create a more attractive option for the big media deals down the road, and to fight for better terms in the College Football Playoff expansion talks. That’s fine, but why stop there?

If you’re doing this – and I mean really doing this, and not just coming up with something to do after getting power-dunked on by the SEC …

Why not float the trial balloon threat that you might create a true super-conference? And why would you do that?

The Big Ten doesn’t have a whole lot of Big Ten-level expansion options.

Kansas would be easy, but that’s not like getting Texas and/or Oklahoma. Notre Dame isn’t happening, the ACC schools are locked into their media deal, and the Big Ten isn’t going to make a play for Pac-12 schools because … it’s not going to make a play for Pac-12 schools.

The Pac-12’s expansion options also include Kansas, to go along with Mountain West schools like San Diego State and Nevada, but that’s hardly going to get more than a yawn out of the SEC.

The ACC’s expansion options are simple – don’t lose Clemson and Florida State to the SEC.

Week 1 College Football Expert Picks

But even with the expansion options a bit limited – remembering that this is about business and not the product on the fields and courts – the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 alliance has one massive advantage over the SEC.

The biggest of the big media markets.

No, it’s not just about TV going forward – streaming, paywall services, and in-house networks are the play – but the alliance could make itself a whole lot bigger than an expanded SEC. That’s not to say the SEC wouldn’t be just fine, but if it wants the gargantuan coin to make it worth everyone’s while, it needs the rest of America to care, and it probably won’t if the alliance schools aren’t involved.

Why did the Big Ten want Rutgers? It’s wasn’t about getting Scarlet Knight fans. It was about getting easy clearance for all the Big Ten alumni living in New York and New Jersey who’ll watch Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, etc., and it worked out very, very well for the Big Ten Network. The same went for getting Maryland and expanding the footprint by pushing into the Baltimore/Washington DC area.

The ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 alliance would have New York (the No. 1 media market), Los Angeles (2), Chicago (3), Philadelphia (4), San Francisco/Oakland (6), Washington DC (9), Boston (10), Phoenix (11), Seattle (12), Minneapolis (14), Detroit (15), and Denver (16).

The SEC would have Dallas (5), (outside of the pocket of Georgia Tech fans) Atlanta (7), Houston (8), and (sort of) Tampa (13), but it wouldn’t have 12 of the top 16 media markets, and that’s a problem.

It gets even tougher for the SEC. Keep on going, and the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 alliance would all but own 23 of the top 30 media markets, and St. Louis (23) has a Big Ten contingent even with Missouri in the SEC.

CFN Preseason Rankings, Schedules, Projected Records For All 130 Teams

Of course everyone all over the country would watch Alabama vs. LSU, Oklahoma vs. Florida, Texas vs. Texas A&M, and the biggest SEC games, but it’s not making Ole Miss vs. Arkansas appointment TV. Don’t discount just how much the rest of the country doesn’t care about the average SEC game – and vice versa.

Does San Francisco give a flip about college football? Not really. Are most of the major markets into pro sports more than college? Absolutely. But the numbers of those combined alliance markets are still too massive to ignore – the percentage of people in them who live and die for college sports like they do in SEC markets might not be great, but the raw numbers will be there.

So as this goes forward, alliance, why not create the nuclear deterrent of a 40+ school conference – let’s assume a further expansion to get San Diego State, Kansas, maybe Oklahoma State, maybe Iowa State, and in a perfect world, Notre Dame – that more than doubles the size of the expanded SEC and obliterates the media market share?

Threaten that, and business-wise it would just mean a whole lot more for the alliance.

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CFN 2021 Preview of all 130 teams

ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 Alliance, and What It All Means: College Football Daily Cavalcade

College Football Daily Cavalcade: The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 will form an alliance of conferences. So now what?

College Football Daily Cavalcade: The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 will form an alliance. So now what?


College Football Daily Cavalcade: ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 Alliance, and What It All Means

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

It’s not strong enough to be a part of any alliance.

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Keep your friends close and the other conferences closer.

The ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 are going to form an alliance of some sort.

No, it’s not the creation of a super-conference … yet.

Yes, this is a friends with benefits concept that should help stabilize the college athletic world against the advancing SEC menace.

No, this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the Big 12 … yet.

Yes, it’s probably end of the Big 12, at least as a Power Five conference.

No, this doesn’t mean it’s the end of the NCAA … yet.

Yes, it’s probably the end of the NCAA, at least in its current role and function.

No, this isn’t about ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 carving up the Big 12, because …

Yes, the Big Ten could go get any remaining Big 12 school it wanted at anytime.

And yes, the Big Ten might simply be buying time before its lawyers figure out how to steal away some of the ACC’s stronger schools.

Let’s just cut to the chase.

It’s in the best interests of the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 to create a way to make their own media deal that combats ESPN, the SEC, the SEC Network, the College Football Playoff, and how all of those things are tied together, even though ESPN owns the ACC Network, too.

A Power 3 Alliance could come up with something even stronger.

In the very near future, the idea of major sports network TV deals – and the ad revenue that comes with them – will go the way of the dial-up modem.

It’s the real gag with those Progressive commercials that try to prevent you from becoming your parents. If you’re actually watching that ad – or any TV ad – you’re your parents.

It’s going to be all about streaming, and while ESPN+ is terrific, the other conferences are going to want Hulu, and Amazon, and all the other options out there ready to WAY overbid to get exclusive college football rights that live behind a subscriber paywall.

(BTW, as you’re shaking your fist at the idea, do you know how much of your cable/satellite/YouTubeTV bill pays for ESPN?)

And then there’s the more urgent reason for the alliance.

The College Football Playoff. The move of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC brought the expansion momentum to a screeching halt.

The last thing the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 want is to be a part of a 12-team tournament that’s half full of SEC schools.

The all-but-done-deal plan floating around this summer was a playoff with the six top-ranked conference champions and six other highest-ranked at-large teams. Take a look at where Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, and Georgia are in the preseason rankings – and with Florida, LSU and Texas not all that terribly far behind – and it’s not that hard to figure out who wins in a 12-team expansion.

Going forward, assume that it all starts with the ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-12 locking arms to demand 1) equal payout of playoff money to all remaining Power Four conferences regardless of the number of teams in the CFP – which has zero chance of happening – and/or 2) a limit on the number of teams from one conference that can be in the College Football Playoff.

You want to try taking over the world, SEC? Fine, but there’s a rock-hard cap of three teams per conference allowed in the tournament.

You want to fight that, SEC? Fine, go it alone, do your regionalized thing, and see what kind of media deals you can generate with 2/3rds of the country – and most of the major media markets – not caring about your product nearly as much as you think it does.

Or the Power 3 Alliance decides to create a 40-team Super-League of Awesome and tells the SEC to choke on it.

Meanwhile, no one has to pay the players – aka, the labor – but that’s for another day.

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Report: AAC attempting to take all eight remaining Big 12 members

According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, the AAC is attempting to take all eight remaining members of the Big 12. Earlier reports stated just three to five, but a full merge of the conferences is wanted.

Texas and Oklahoma seem to have their next conference destination figured out. According to Ross Dellinger of Sports Illustrated, both schools are expected to be extended invitations to the SEC and then accept. The deal is all but finished.

As for the other eight schools… They seem to be out of luck at the moment. Reports of the Big Ten calling Iowa State and Kansas turned out to be false, while West Virginia and the ACC seem to be flirting with each other.

If everything works out how the Red River schools hope, the Big 12 will be at eight members come the 2022 football season.

Unless the American Athletic Conference makes a run at them. According to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports, the AAC is attempting to take all eight remaining members of the Big 12. Earlier reports stated just three to five, but a full merge of the conferences is wanted.

As things stand, there are 11 football and basketball members in the AAC, with Navy and Wichita State switching out. SMU is as west as the conference goes, the Temple being all the way up in Philadelphia. Location does not scare the conference.

The question then becomes whether or not the AAC would become a powerhouse football conference. Oklahoma State and TCU would ideally fit in as the big boys, with UCF still on the rise with Gus Malzhan. Cincinnati and Memphis have made New Year’s Six bowl games recently as well.

From a basketball standpoint, it becomes one of the best in the country.

Sadly, football money rules all. Comparing it to the SEC, Big Ten, and even Pac-12, and the AAC would still be behind the remaining four power conferences.

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Report: Big Ten may not have a place for Iowa State or Kansas

Iowa State and Kansas seemingly fit into the Big Ten well but have been shot down. While the talks did not seem serious, there was at least an attempt.

The only set in stone about the latest round of college football realignment is Texas and Oklahoma‘s move to the SEC. Nobody else is quite sure where the other eight Big 12 schools are going to land, if anywhere. It is entirely possible the conference attempts to invite other members.

Iowa State and Kansas were attempting to get ahead of the rest by reportedly reaching out to the Big Ten. While neither school may be the most marketable on the football field, the Cyclones are an up-and-coming program under Matt Campbell, while the Jayhawks can sell basketball.

Both seemingly fit into the Big Ten’s culture well but have reportedly been shot down by the conference.

According to Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman, Iowa State and Kansas “made a run at the Big Ten” but his source was not sure if they would get any place. While none of the talks seemed serious enough for the Big 12 to shrink to six schools, there was at least an attempt.

This puts Iowa State and Kansas in interesting situations. Option A seems to be hope and pray the Big 12 can figure it out. Add in a couple of new members who bring football value to the conference and TV contracts are re-upped by ESPN/Fox.

Option B is to see what happens with the Pac-12. Nobody is quite sure what the west coast conference is going to do. Could going further east than Colorado be of interest to new commissioner George Kliavkoff?

It seems as if the eight universities and Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby have just over a year to figure everything out. The expectation is for Texas and Oklahoma to be in the SEC by next season, paying a massive buyout.

Consider the Big 12 on life support.

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If the Big 12 folds, both the ACC and West Virginia would have interest in each other

According to The Athletic, if the Big 12 were to fold, WVU would have an interest in joining the ACC. In fact, the feeling is mutual.

With Texas and Oklahoma seemingly going to the SEC within the next couple of years, the other eight teams in the Big 12 are scrambling for new homes.

Reports of Iowa State and Kansas reaching out to the Big Ten have surfaced. Both schools make perfect sense for the conference with basketball being a huge selling point.

A potential destination for another member has been given in the ACC. According to The Athletic, if the Big 12 were to fold, West Virginia would have an interest in joining the conference. In fact, the feeling is mutual.

Nothing is for certain, with the two parties being in a flirtation stage if anything.

Ever since the Mountaineers joined back in 2012, it felt a bit odd. Their closest “road trip” is 12.5 hours away in Ames, IA. A flight to Austin is nearly seven hours long, with a layover required. Being so far out east, West Virginia was due to find a new home.

Going to the ACC makes sense on multiple levels. Location is No. 1, with historical rivalries being No. 2. The Backyard Brawl with Pittsburgh dates back to 1895 and has been played 104 times. Virginia Tech is another regional rival.

Even from a basketball perspective, old Big East rivals reside in the conference. Louisville, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse all featured in the final season of the conference before moving to the ACC.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich’s commented on the situation, saying it makes perfect sense on the West Virginia side. But will the ACC be willing?

“Well, West Virginia would certainly be interested in joining the ACC if this falls apart in the Big 12,” Dinich said Sunday morning on Sportscenter. “This is about self-preservation, if this does indeed happen, and everything is expected to snowball quickly. It makes sense financially — from a travel aspect, from geographic location, right? But here’s the thing — the ACC has to want West Virginia. Everybody is going to be watching this like a hawk — what is the ACC going to do?”

It’s been a chaotic five days with realignment happening. Until Texas and Oklahoma are officially voted into the SEC, anything can happen.

Will Texas and Oklahoma REALLY Leave For The SEC? College Wires Podcast

Could Texas and Oklahoma really go to the SEC? So now what? Pete Fiutak and Nick Shepkowski discuss it all on the College Wires Podcast.

It’s all anyone in the college sports world wants to talk about – Texas and Oklahoma and the SEC. Pete Fiutak and Nick Shepkowski discuss the massive possibilities on the College Wires Podcast.


College Wires Podcast: Will Texas and Oklahoma REALLY Leave For The SEC?

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Really? No … REALLY?! Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC?

How awesome would that be – at least for everyone but the Big 12? Could it really happen? Will it really happen?

The story is changing by the minute, and at the very least it’s going to lead to a whole lot of rumors and speculation as conferences freak out about all the possible business deals that could be done.

Pete Fiutak and FightingIrishWire.com‘s Nick Shepkowski get into it all in the College Wires Podcast.

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Predictions for every Big 12 game

Texas and Oklahoma looking to join the SEC is news to the Big 12

Seeing Texas and Oklahoma abandon the Big 12 ship for college football’s top conference was shocking to everyone. Including the Big 12. 

According to Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle, Texas and Oklahoma could be heading to the SEC. The two rivals have been in the Big 12 since its formation in 1996, meaning they would be leaving over 25 years of history.

When the news broke, it was hard to believe. However, more outlets began to confirm similar stories. Seeing the Longhorns and Sooners abandon ship for the sports’ top conference was shocking to everyone.

Including the Big 12.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo, the idea of Texas and Oklahoma wanting to head to the SEC “would be news to the Big 12.” The general sense is that both schools would not get into the playoff as easily.

The two Red River rivals exiting the Big 12 would put the rest of the conference in quite the pickle. Eight programs would have to scramble to either find new members or different conferences.

Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News is reporting there was a Zoom call between all 10 affiliates of the Big 12 this week. No discussion of Texas or Oklahoma leaving the conference was even mentioned.

If reports become true, and the SEC approves Texas/Oklahoma to join the conference, it would be a revolutionary move in college football. Not only would two of the biggest programs be moving into the SEC, but it also would be the first 16-team conference.

Only Texas, and to an extent Oklahoma, could pull off such a move.

With just over six weeks remaining in the offseason, this story is going to dominate headlines. With a vote by the SEC conceivably pending, Texas could be playing one of its final seasons against Big 12 opponents.

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