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.