Posts Tagged ‘Oregon State’

San Diego State and the PAC . . .

Posted: September 14, 2024 in Uncategorized
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Yeah, I employed the dot dot dot because who knows where and when the PAC stops. 8? 9? 24?

Silly? To a point.

Congrats to John David Wicker and Adela de la Torre. Perseverance coupled with tenacity (not the same quality) finally yields rewards. SDSU lands in a place of hope and dreams (apologies to Bruce Springsteen). SDSU leaves the Mountain West Conference and its necessary boondoggle of travel to far away places such as Laramie, Logan and, yes, Honolulu. The first two locations are in never-never land while Honolulu is the time equivalent of a NYC flight. The breath taking of altitude is gone. Gasping for air is now a tell-me-when story for old men.

Addressing the doomsayers: The third time (remember the long ago attempt to join the Big East? The August, 2023 implosion of the PAC-12 days after the Aztecs accepted an offer to join?) is a charm. Oregon State (hereafter known as the Beavs) and Washington State (hereafter known as Wazoo) are sitting on the substantial sum of $250 million looking for partners. SDSU did not rush into their collective hug without undertaking months of due diligence via in-house legal counsel, financial projections, cost-benefit analysis and general discussion.

Departure Money: Leaving the Mountain West (hereafter known as MW) will cost the Aztecs approximately $18 million. Remaining with the MW would have resulted in panic and the loss of unknown amounts of millions of dollars into the future. The Beavs and Wazoo will contribute mightily towards the contractual departure of SDSU from the MW. How much? Wait for the number to issue when the dust settles. Legal filings, judges and courts will be involved as the Beavs/Wazoo/Fleeing Four (Aztecs, Fresno, Boise and CSU) negotiate a lesser amount to exit the MW. Will the Aztecs need to finance future PAC revenue in repayment to the Beavs and Wazoo? Yes. Yet not to the detriment of SDSU’s long term future.

The Immediate Future: The Fleeing Four and the PAC-2 make the beginnings of an attractive fourth window for Saturday night football. Will SDSU be tied to 7:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. kickoffs in perpetuity? Most likely less the occasional Friday night broadcast and noon-ish Saturday start. Don’t complain.

Media (television in one form or another): The MW television contract concludes in 2026. SDSU joining the PAC begins in 2026. Convenient timing, indeed. Streaming will be involved. Lots of streaming. Like a river. Or a stream. MAX, Hulu, CW, YouTube and Apple will join CBS, FOX and ESPN (to a lesser extent) in bidding for the PAC product. Let us not forget nor neglect the force of men’s basketball in the upcoming television contracts. Will the agreed upon number be far greater than what would have been the MW renewal? Yes. As much as the former PAC-12? No. Would you rather continue with less than a handful of millions of dollars or begin a new start with two handfuls of millions of dollars? The PAC will invite additional schools. The upcoming television contract will guide those invitations. Becoming the best non Power 2 (Big 10 and SEC) and the other 2 (Big 12 and ACC) is the selling point. The PAC must offer a more compelling membership than the AAC, MAC and Sun Belt.

Add Ons (#1): I dismiss the idea that Cal and Stanford join the PAC. Both administrations quake in horror of joining mere state schools. What’s next? Eating a burrito with your hands! Bagging your own groceries! Aieeeee!!!! The two would rather participate in a soon to be demolished ACC and continue as discount members. Idiots.

Add Ons (#2): A few AAC schools may be of interest. Most mavens mention Memphis. I disagree. Memphis is waiting for an invite to whatever the ACC resembles in the next two years. Tulane is a more likely fit as is North Texas and/or UT San Antonio.

Add Ons (#3): Another MW school? Or two? Mmm. No. UNLV and Nevada are a legal pair. The Nevada state legislature will not let one go without the other. Air Force? No. They join their military brethren in the AAC.

Men’s basketball’s influence may spur creativity. Gonzaga joining as a basketball only member makes sense and enhances media interest. Hawaii is a MW football only member. Why not a PAC basketball only member? Including the Zags would be welcome and unconventional.

Good luck and fortune to the future PAC.

Oregon State 21, SDSU 0

Posted: September 12, 2024 in Uncategorized
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Hanging a zero is never encouraging. New qb or not. New offense or not. Certainly, 7 penalities in the first half did not assist in creating advantageous distance from our offense to the goal line. Myles Murao received 3 of the 7. He was wrong way busy.

Due to all the holding and false start penalties, Marquez Cooper watched 35 yards disappear from his game total. Danny O’Neil started sluggish (overthrown pass) and never found a pace worthy of a win. AztecFast is a work in progress. Proof? 59 offensive plays for the Aztec offense. Far off the fast mark.

The defense was on the field for 40+ minutes and 78 plays courtesy of the Beavers offense. Exhausted? You bet. During the third quarter the futility induced via too much time on the field resulted in an Aztec pass rush that looked underwhelming and ineffective. Push, shove, stop for breath. Repeat. Please send a sub.

Cal at Berkeley is next. The Bears play Florida State the following weekend. Perhaps Cal’s prep for us might be lacking? Let us hope.

Go Aztecs

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The Demise of the PAC12. The Future of the Mountain West

Posted: August 6, 2023 in Uncategorized
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Well, well, well. As I stated August, 2022 (read my SDSU, Big 12 and PAC 12 Implosion piece) when the Bruins and Trojans accepted the invitation to join the Big 10, the PAC 12 was two schools away from complete collapse. The time has arrived. Surprisingly, not initially at my insistence of Oregon and Washington causing the rupture, rather Colorado and Arizona triggered the crumble of the once power 5 conference.

The flight of the Ducks and run of the Huskies to the Big 10 was long anticipated by yours truly. Now the Big 10 has four schools in the treasured fourth window (Pacific time) of college football (sorry, basketball has no influence in any of the August, 2022 forward movement). Two schools to four schools doubles options and flexibility surrounding scheduling on Saturday . . . and Friday (!). Yes, the Big 10 media contract insists on Friday night games. Guess which four newbies will shoulder the dreaded, unnatural Friday night exposure?

The wait-for-me exit of Arizona State and Utah to the Big 12 was their only viable option. The Big 10 wanted nothing to do with either school. Staying with the now four remaining schools was the equivalent of eating under cooked chicken and wondering why your were vomiting for days after. However, Brett Yormark’s long standing desire to provide the Big 12 with a fourth window of linear TV (to those of you wondering, linear TV is normal TV. You know, pre-app and similar broadcast platforms) remains unfulfilled. Will Mr. Yormark shy away from his stated West coast desire or is another addition or two possible?

Concerning the remains of the once vaunted PAC 12, I present to you the chalk outline of Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State. Bow your head. Pray. You recovered? Here we go.

Stanford has enough money (the root and cause of all realignment movement) to hit the Notre Dame independent road. Cal does not. Both schools are woefully short on football centered alumni (they don’t care. Shhh). The idea floated by certain commentators and wishful thinkers that the Big 10 is interested in either school is, dare I say, poppycock. Yes, harsh language for harsh idiotic ideas. Both schools feature a yawn of recent achievement in the land of football. Cal is sub .500 the last ten years while Stanford is sub .500 three of the last four years. Both results are dismal in the eyes of Midwest decision makers. Cal has no other option other than to join the Mountain West, no matter how distasteful the idea. God forbid, joining a conference with six schools featuring the word “State” in their title. The horror. If Stanford dips their toe in the water of independence, I predict a BYU experience at best. Stanford has zero national appeal and marginal regional appeal (I’m generous. Candidly, they have no appeal outside the Bay area). Joining the Mountain West provides stability as opposed to the who-knows-what-will-happen journey of life without conference affiliation.

Washington State and Oregon State generate no interest with any of the remaining Power Four conferences. Pullman (population 33,000 ) and Corvallis (population 60,000) are small towns surrounded by smaller towns in the middle of nowhere. Traveling to and from is a pain. Both schools are perfectly suited for the Mountain West. The Cougars and Beavers offer a football upgrade for the Mountain West which is most welcome. Basketball, not so much.

Finally, the remaining PAC 12 schools are staring geography in the face. Distance matters. As does a lack of outside interest, athletic departments with budget deficits and nowhere else to go. Welcome to the Mountain West!