Pac 12 – Page 5 – Syndication Server

5 teams the SEC should target if they wanted to take expansion a step further

If Super-Conferences are the future of College Football, who might the SEC look to add? Here are five options.

The SEC will soon welcome in two of the nation’s biggest collegiate athletic brands. Oklahoma and Texas will be departing from the Big 12 and join a conference loaded with national-competitive talent.

News recently broke of another pair of big-time programs looking to leave their respective conference. USC and UCLA are reportedly in talks with the Big Ten to join the conference led by Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and others. The Pac-12 will lose its two SoCal teams.

Though the SEC will grow from 14 to 16 teams when the Sooners and Longhorns join, there’s a chance that the headquarters in Birmingham send out feelers to make the conference.

As you read this, a ‘Super-Conference’ may be in the works.

Assuming every Big Ten team is safe, here are five teams that the SEC should look to bring in if expansion continues.

How far USC, UCLA will travel to each conference opponent if they joined the Big Ten

The miles really add up if USC and UCLA were to join the Big Ten — including a pair of cross-country trips.

The Big Ten has made it a point to expand its midwest boundaries over the past decade.

A conference that once debated whether or not to stretch to add a wildly valuable Penn State program in 1990 extended its reach in the early 2010s. First came Nebraska from the Big 12, a logical addition for a league that had already established outposts across the Mississippi River in Minnesota and Iowa. Maryland and Rutgers followed three years after, sniping major media markets away from the AAC and ACC in an expansion to the East Coast.

But none of those moves could have adequately prepared the college sports world for what could reportedly happen next.

NEWS: USC and UCLA are in conversations to join the Big Ten conference, a source tells @TheAthletic.@wilnerhotline on it first.

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) June 30, 2022

USC and UCLA, both located in Los Angeles, are reportedly in the midst of ditching the Pac-12. By adding the Trojans and Bruins as its 15th and 16th members, the Big Ten would solidify its standing as a premier destination for college sports, insulate itself against defections created by the continuing consolidation of power conferences, and push the value of its television rights into a new stratosphere.

It would also increase travel costs. By a lot.

Before Penn State joined the league, the farthest distance between any two Big Ten teams (Minnesota and Ohio State) was 726 miles. In 2021, this distance was the 1,286 miles between Nebraska and Rutgers.

In 2024, reportedly the earliest date these additions could jump ship, the 2,797 miles between UCLA and Rutgers — a 41-hour drive, per Google Maps! — would now be a regular trip for conference games.

So how far would the Big Ten’s newest potential additions have to travel to see each of their 14 new rivals? Here’s the driving distance from Los Angeles to each, sorted from shortest trip to longest.

How many picks each conference produced in the first round of 2022 NFL draft

It was a great night for the SEC and Big Ten.

The NFL draft is the best time of the year for many football fans around the country. Continue reading “How many picks each conference produced in the first round of 2022 NFL draft”

Five takeaways from the first round of the 2022 NFL draft

Eight conferences had at least one player selected in the first round, the Big 12 was not one of them.

The first round of the 2022 NFL draft took place in Las Vegas on Thursday evening. Continue reading “Five takeaways from the first round of the 2022 NFL draft”

NFL Draft props: Which NCAA conference will have the most first round picks?

Can the SEC match its 12 first-round picks from a year ago?

The Southeastern Conference has dominated the first round of the NFL Draft in recent years and is primed to do so again after having 12 first-round picks in 2021, including six in the top 10.

Buoyed by a bevy of potential first-rounders from the national champion Georgia Bulldogs, the SEC is going to come close to that number again. But should you put your money on it happening?

That’s what I aim to answer, along with first-round props for the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12. Below is a look at which way to bet each conference and who some of those potential first rounders are.

Odds provided by Tipico

[tipico]

Pac-12 Basketball 2021-22: favorites, sleepers and players to watch

The Pac-12 is UCLA’s to lose and Arizona’s to steal

We’re less than a month into the college basketball season, just days removed from Feast Week’s Thanksgiving tournaments and are already looking ahead to conference play. Well, just the Pac-12 conference, whose men’s teams will ease into conference play this week. Each program will get in two conference games before the week is over, then resume non-conference play through the end of December.

It’s an interesting wrinkle in the schedule to have the two early-season conference games, but I think it’s cool, in a way. Teams will get an early evaluation of themselves and a look at their opponents before diving all the way in towards the end of the calendar year.

For us, the quick jump into conference play is exciting. We get to preview all things Pac-12 basketball, including sleepers, players to watch, and projections on which team could win the conference.

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook

Notre Dame-USC rivalry just got a bigtime boost

It’s on and it’s about damn time, @trojanswire.

Rivalry weekend came and went this weekend as the college football fan’s Saturday started with Ohio State and Michigan before Alabama-Auburn provided a thriller. Beyond that, seemingly the rest of the nation played for a rivalry trophy of some sort, including Notre Dame, who once again took home the Legends Trophy after the 45-14 thrashing they gave Stanford, and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State lived up to the hype in Bedlam.

Little did we know when Lincoln Riley left the stadium in Stillwater that he’d soon be named the next head coach at USC, easily Notre Dame’s biggest rival. When both teams are peaking there isn’t a better rivalry in college football based off impact, dislike, and overall talent. The Irish and Trojans have met 92 times and really outside of winning football games, are each others yin and yang based off plenty of perceptions.

In recent years though, Notre Dame and USC may have kept playing (outside of 2020, stupid pandemic) but the rivalry took a significant hit. Not that the teams and fans don’t still have a deep disregard for the other, but the national impact hasn’t been there because rarely have both teams simultaneously been good.

Every year from 1972-1980, when Notre Dame and USC met, both teams were rated in the top 25. In fact, five of those nine games were matchups between teams ranked in the top 10.

Recently though, this rivalry simply hasn’t been between two teams anyone has viewed as regularly great. Notre Dame and USC have met 40 times since 1981 with both being ranked ahead of those games just nine times.

Sure, we remember some of the years or moments in that time like the 1988 1. vs. 2. game or the “Bush Push”, but the annual showdown has for the most part been anything but.

Brian Kelly has turned what was a fluttering Notre Dame program back into a national powerhouse. It’ll be a surprise to almost everyone if Lincoln Riley doesn’t quickly do the same at USC.

It may be fun as a Notre Dame fan to poke at USC during their down time but let’s face it, the Irish need USC to be good. For instance, if this year’s USC squad was the top 10 team it should be competing to be each year, how much better would the Irish resume for the College Football Playoff be?

Instead, that October win for Notre Dame is viewed as just a victory over 4-7, Power Five team.

If Lincoln Riley is able to make USC great again, it’ll elevate the Notre Dame-USC rivalry to what it was back in its heyday.

We’ll be blessed as college football fans that this rivalry should finally have both teams annually being legit championship contenders for the first time in decades.

And if USC gets better it’ll only force Notre Dame to have to keep getting better as well.

It’s on.

Brian Kelly’s great success all-time vs. USC

Notre Dame-USC: greatest moment from a rivalry low point

Keyshawn Johnson appears to not be a fan of Notre Dame football

College Football Playoff Rankings Projection following Rivalry Weekend

What will the next top 6 look like?

Rivalry weekend came and went in the 2021 college football season and it was an absolute doozie. Michigan getting by Ohio State after a decade-straight of losing to their rival was epic to watch while Alabama’s comeback at Auburn was borderline insane, and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State for Bedlam was terrific as well.

So what do we take away from the weekend and what will the new College Football Playoff ratings look like on Tuesday night?

Here is our best guess here at Fighting Irish Wire.

First up: 25-21…

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Watch: Notre Dame highlights in rout of Stanford

What was your favorite moment of the blowout victory?

No. 6 Notre Dame should be moving up in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night when the new rankings are released. Their 45-14 win over Stanford wasn’t competitive, although Stanford was able to end the Irish’s streak of not allowing a touchdown against previously in all of November.

Notre Dame was in complete control of Saturday night’s game and moved to 11-1. Will it ultimately be a strong enough resume to get the Irish to their third College Football Playoff appearance in four seasons?

Time will tell on that but be sure to enjoy this night and season. In what was seen by many as a potential rebuilding year, Notre Dame went 11-1 while getting a bunch of young players a ton of playing time and development.

Celebrate this game and season and check out the highlights from the victory below:

11-1 ☘️#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/H57OOLBCSe

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 28, 2021

2021 Notre Dame first comes in Stanford finale

It took 12 games but something happened for the first time with the 2021 Notre Dame football team,

No. 6 Notre Dame has experienced quite a bit in 2021 with last-second finishes, thrilling games, and 10 wins in 11 tries.

Something happened for the first time all year though as Notre Dame got started at Stanford:

Notre Dame didn’t receive to start the game.

In all 11 games to date Notre Dame had received the opening kickoff but Stanford won the coin toss and opted to receive.

I have no idea what the history is for the most times a team has received the opening kickoff in a season, but I can tell you that Notre Dame’s bid at doing so came to an end Saturday night at Stanford.

Now enjoy the game.

Does Michigan’s massive win over Ohio State help Notre Dame?

Alabama somehow survives at Auburn but it comes at a cost for Tide