Imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery. Thank you, English Premier League, and others for the inspiration to help the Pac-2!
Two proud programs, Washington State and Oregon State, have totally been screwed over by money-crazed athletic programs, inept administrators and greedy university presidents. While no solution is ideal for the Pac-2, College Football Odyssey offers the best option from a very limited palette.
KEEP THE PAC ALIVE!
The Odyssey’s solution is to add 6 teams to make it the Pac 8 – The same number of teams that the Conference had for decades prior to the addition of the Arizona schools in 1978. The name value of the PAC and some residual assets make the PAC worth saving. However, the same 8 teams would not be in this revamped conference from year to year!
SAY NO TO ADDING ON TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST
Becoming part of a 14-team conference is undesirable for the Cougars and the Beavers. The Mountain West’s strength in football has dropped in recent years and there are too many bottom feeders (Hello , New Mexico, UNLV and Hawaii! To boot, San Jose State and Nevada are often not quality outfits) to justify being regular opponents for WSU and OSU. Even 2 of the conferences ‘bellcows, Boise State and San Diego State combined for seven losses by the end of September.
CHERRY PICKING THE BEST OF THE MOUNTAIN WEST
However, adding the 6 best teams from the Mountain West would make a viable conference that does not have the regional insanity currently confronting the Big 10 and the ACC.
How could this cherry picking be fairly done without devious politicking and underhanded bribery? The Odyssey’s suggestion is to initially peg the 6 teams that have the best conference record in the previous 5 years. On this basis,
Boise State 34-7
Fresno State 27-13
Utah State 26-13
San Diego State 25-14
Air Force 23-13
Nevada 20-20
Hawaii 19-22
San Jose State 18-21
Wyoming 17-21
Colorado State 11-25
UNLV 9-29
New Mexico 4-35
The demarcation between the Moutain West’s top 6 and bottom 6 is aided by the fact that 6 have had losing conference records during this period.
THE RESIDUAL: A REDUCED MOUNTAIN WEST
The bottom 6 teams would stay in the conference. Since 6 is a relatively small number, the objective is to add 2 teams. For the current teams in the “bottom” of the Mountain West, there is a much bigger chance of winning a conference title in this reconfiguration. Regionally, New Mexico State and UTEP would be a desirable added duo. UTEP’s addition would be redemptive for the Miners as they were kicked to the curb in the post-WAC incarnation of the Mountain West. New Mexico State has been the most common non-conference opponent played by Mountain West teams, including 7(!!) in 2021. However, neither the Aggies and the Miners have an esteemed football pedigree.
Thus, alternative #2. Offering an invite to 2 of the best FCS programs west of the Mississippi. North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Sacramento State and the Montana schools would all be attractive and would make the conference stronger than the Aggie/Miner pairing.
Reconfiguring these conferences is quite beneficial to the Mountain West as this reduces the chance of its more desirable teams being poached in the future.
PROMOTION / RELEGATION CARROT
An exciting element to the reconfiguration of the 2 conferences is the concept of promotion/relegation. The Odssey’s suggestion is that the bottom team in the Pac 8 be relegated to the Mountain West and the champion of the Mountain West promoted to the Pac 8 annually. We would be open to the relegation of the top2/bottom 2 annually if increased incentives to move up to the Pac 8 are desired. While we are not English soccer gurus, reports indicate that the games to avoid relegation are often intense and exciting.
NON-CONFERENCE FLEXIBILITY
For the Cougars and Beavers, one of the attractive elements to this proposal is the ability to have 5 non-conference games. Both can attempt to retain numerous rivalries among their former Pac 12 brethren. Thus, many opportunities would remain to schedule games with traditional Power 5 squads. Protection of certain rivalries would need to be part of the non-conference equation due to the possibility of being in a different conference in a given year For example, the following games would be played even if teams were in different conferences in a given year.
Washington State – Oregon State
Colorado State – Wyoming
San Jose State – Fresno State
San Diego State – Fresno State
Nevada – UNLV
If the UTEP/ New Mexico State option is adopted, then New Mexico would retain games with New Mexico State and UTEP.
The Promotion/Relegation concept would be unique and add needed allure to the conference. The Mountain West’s best teams would have a chance to shine on a somewhat larger stage. The Odyssey likes the idea of the Pac-2 each having 5 non-conference games each year while locking in 7 conference opponents from the Western part of the country.