We will never forget you PAC 12 It’s finally here. College football is ready to kick off the 2024 season. But before we get into the first investments of the season and after having reviewed the new head college football head coaches, there’ some more critical items to go over – starting with the conference realignments.
The conferences, after years of tweaking the membership, went into warp drive this year. The PAC 12 melted down faster than Chernobyl, the Big 2 conferences (SEC and Big Ten) cherry picked the best of the other Power 5 (now Power 4), the ACC took the leftovers of the PAC 12. The Big 12 lost their two best teams so grabbed a mixed bag of PAC 12 teams - a full 15 teams changed conferences. Plus, one new member was added to Div 1A (Kennesaw State) bringing the total teams to 134.
Here’s how it all shook out starting with the conferences that stood pat.
The MAC has been steady eddy for years now and remains with these 12 teams - Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan.
The Mountain West remained on the sidelines but did schedule 15 games with the two leftovers from the PAC 12, Oregon State and Washington State. The 12 teams are - Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming.
The Fun Belt decided to stay put with these 14 teams - Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State and Troy.
Then the fun begins!
The conferences, after years of tweaking the membership, went into warp drive this year. The PAC 12 melted down faster than Chernobyl, the Big 2 conferences (SEC and Big Ten) cherry picked the best of the other Power 5 (now Power 4), the ACC took the leftovers of the PAC 12. The Big 12 lost their two best teams so grabbed a mixed bag of PAC 12 teams - a full 15 teams changed conferences. Plus, one new member was added to Div 1A (Kennesaw State) bringing the total teams to 134.
Here’s how it all shook out starting with the conferences that stood pat.
The MAC has been steady eddy for years now and remains with these 12 teams - Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (OH), Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo and Western Michigan.
The Mountain West remained on the sidelines but did schedule 15 games with the two leftovers from the PAC 12, Oregon State and Washington State. The 12 teams are - Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming.
The Fun Belt decided to stay put with these 14 teams - Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, UL Lafayette, UL Monroe, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Texas State and Troy.
Then the fun begins!
Army and Navy are now conference rivals too The American Conference made one change swapping out SMU for Army. For the first time ever, Army and Navy will be conference rivals. The AAC now consists of 14 teams – Army, UNC Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, Navy, North Texas, Rice, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB, South Florida and UT San Antonio.
The ACC watered down their membership by adding the dregs of the PAC 12 (Cal and Stanford) and added SMU, who were so desperate to get into a Power 4 conference, they forwent 9 years of ACC TV revenue. The 17 teams are - Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
The Big Ten lit the fuse on the PAC 12 melt down by grabbing the cream of the former legendary conference, Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington. The Big Ten now boasts these 18 teams - Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, scUM, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin and, of course, your favorite team and mine, Michigan State.
The Big 12 grabbed the next tier of PAC 12 teams, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah but lost its two biggest brands in Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. The Big 12 now consists of 16 schools - Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah and West Virginia.
The ACC watered down their membership by adding the dregs of the PAC 12 (Cal and Stanford) and added SMU, who were so desperate to get into a Power 4 conference, they forwent 9 years of ACC TV revenue. The 17 teams are - Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
The Big Ten lit the fuse on the PAC 12 melt down by grabbing the cream of the former legendary conference, Oregon, USC, UCLA and Washington. The Big Ten now boasts these 18 teams - Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Maryland, scUM, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Washington, Wisconsin and, of course, your favorite team and mine, Michigan State.
The Big 12 grabbed the next tier of PAC 12 teams, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah but lost its two biggest brands in Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC. The Big 12 now consists of 16 schools - Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Central Florida, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, Utah and West Virginia.
Come on up SEC - the weather is fine With the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, the SEC now has 16 teams - Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
The loser in all the changes over the years is the Conference USA. It is by far the worst conference in Div 1A and is now just an entry level league for teams moving up from Div 1AA. The 10 team line up is – Florida International, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP and Western Kentucky.
Even with just two teams the PAC 12 is still a better conference than the CUSA – the forgotten two are Oregon State and Washington State. Keep them in your prayers.
With Army joining the AAC, there are now just three Independents – Connecticut, Notre Dame and Massachusetts.
Of course the biggest change is the 12 team playoff. Yes! About time. You could make the argument in years past that teams 5 and 6 should be in the playoffs and have a legit chance to win. But not teams 13, 14 and beyond.
This is how it will work - The four highest ranked conference champions will be seeded numbers 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. Seeds 5-12 will play each other in the first round. The higher seeded teams will play host in their first round games.
Another big yes! I can’t wait for a team like LSU have to play Wisconsin in Camp Randall with a cold snowy breeze whipping off Lake Mendota.
The Big Guy is entering a preseason pool on the 12 team playoffs. It’s a bit of a stretch but here is what I sent him.
The loser in all the changes over the years is the Conference USA. It is by far the worst conference in Div 1A and is now just an entry level league for teams moving up from Div 1AA. The 10 team line up is – Florida International, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, UTEP and Western Kentucky.
Even with just two teams the PAC 12 is still a better conference than the CUSA – the forgotten two are Oregon State and Washington State. Keep them in your prayers.
With Army joining the AAC, there are now just three Independents – Connecticut, Notre Dame and Massachusetts.
Of course the biggest change is the 12 team playoff. Yes! About time. You could make the argument in years past that teams 5 and 6 should be in the playoffs and have a legit chance to win. But not teams 13, 14 and beyond.
This is how it will work - The four highest ranked conference champions will be seeded numbers 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. Seeds 5-12 will play each other in the first round. The higher seeded teams will play host in their first round games.
Another big yes! I can’t wait for a team like LSU have to play Wisconsin in Camp Randall with a cold snowy breeze whipping off Lake Mendota.
The Big Guy is entering a preseason pool on the 12 team playoffs. It’s a bit of a stretch but here is what I sent him.
If I get half right I'm doing pretty good
More to come including investing in win totals and week 0 picks
Remember - the 2024 Go Jumbo trip is Nov 16th at the Westgate SuperBook. And don't forget your drink coupons
More to come including investing in win totals and week 0 picks
Remember - the 2024 Go Jumbo trip is Nov 16th at the Westgate SuperBook. And don't forget your drink coupons
