The Pac-11 Welcomes the Colorado Buffaloes

by mlev811 on Jun 10, 2010 8:12 PM MST in ASU Football

A storms a brewin' out there. No, not the microbrews on every corner in Berkeley. It's a storm filled with sinking ships, traitors, bandwagoneers, and a few universities forced to walk the plank.

How exactly this realignment will shake out is up in the air. With Colorado defecting to the Pacific-X conference, Nebraska will probably be next, heading east to the Big Ten.

Who does that leave in limbo?

The new Big Ten (which is the old Big-12). Mostly Mizzou, Kansas, KSU, and Baylor.

Following suit to the new Pac-X - Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma St., and Oooooooooklahomaa jump ship to the Pac-X and make it the Pac-16. What does that leave ASU with? Losses.

Do we stand a chance against Oklahoma or Texas? No, they quickly become the USC and Oregon of the old Pac-10. What about Texas Tech and Oklahoma State? Rarely. Texas A&M? It'll be a game. Colorado? Yes. Arizona? Easy win.

Tack on a pairing from the West division (USC and UCLA, UW and Wazzou, Stanford and Cal, Oregon and Oregon St.) and the Devils better start shelling out some $$ to the NAU's of the world. What might our 2013 schedule look like?

Sacramento State - W

Wisconsin - L

Stanford - W (Assuming we play them)

Cal - L (Assuming we play them)

Texas - L

TAMU - W

Notre Dame - L (in Texas, nonetheless)

TT - W

Oklahoma - L

Oklahoma State - L

Colorado - W

Arizona - W

2014? Repeat. I'm really not sure ASU will ever eclipse .500 in the new conference as the talent gap between the Pac-10 and the Big-12 is significant. Our best year and Texas' off year ended with a Texas thumping of the Devils.

This convergence can cause a lot of different scenarios. Maybe we get a rush of talent from Texas. Maybe we lose our grip in California and struggle to get a grip in Texas, leaving us fighting with U of A for a whiff of skilled players.

The future scares me, but what I do know is that ASU can use the revenue from the big TV contract. Spending it on some renovations for Sun Devil Stadium wouldn't be such a bad idea.

However it all plays out, there is one thing I can guarantee: USC isn't going to a bowl game the next two years and I won't miss them a bit.

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Comments

It's going to be more difficult

but it also makes successes more meaningful. There was a step up from the WAC to the Pac-10, and it cut down on success, but the increased level of competition (IMO) brought up the level of Arizona State’s program. I think that something similar would happen here as well (and the Texas recruiting definitely can’t hurt; there’s plenty of talent there to go around), and that while it’ll be tougher to win league titles, and the records may be flat or slightly down, the program will be equal or stronger overall.

Also, if this bumps up the number of BCS bids the league gets (maximums would probably increase to 3, or there could conceivably be two auto-bids for the league depending on how things develop), that would increase rather than decrease the opportunity to compete in the biggest games.

Mr Pac Ten's Blog - 2007 2008 2009

by MrPacTen on Jun 10, 2010 10:36 PM MST reply actions

I, for one

Welcome our Colorado overlords.

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by Cory Williams on Jun 11, 2010 12:32 AM MST reply actions

We promise to be kind and generous overlords

Oh, who the hell am I kidding. Until we get things turned around, we’re not going to be overlording anybody.

Except Baylor. We kicked their sorry butts right out of the Pac- uh, just how many of us are there, anyway??? And you’ll thank us for that. It’s one less hellhole for you all to visit. The Big XII south does football incredibly well (except Baylor). But scenery is not something they’ve ever figured out.

Beware the coming plague. The wHorns bring money and television and exposure and recruiting opportunities. And they’re such major pains in the ass that most of us concluded a long time ago they’re probably not worth it….

So excited to be running with the Pac now! I’ve always been an ASU fan, have a couple friends who graduated from there. But I’m sure we can all learn a good and healthy hatred for one another, over time.

by Junction Rox on Jun 11, 2010 12:23 PM MST up reply actions

I'd swap the W and L

For Tech and OK St. Okie Lite, otherwise known as Xerox U for copying other teams’ traditions, graduated just about all their starters while Tech is loaded next year.

BTW, looks like a Howdy is in order. We’ll try our best to keep the whorns in their place on the field, but off the field they can be a real pain. Get ready to travel to Lubbock (formally known as BFE). It will make home seem so much better. Except for the fact that we have the best hotties in the Big Whatever.

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