Media by Associated Press – FILE – The Pac-12 logo is shown during the second half of an NCAA college football game between Arizona State and Kent State, in Tempe, Ariz. on Aug. 29, 2019. The Pac-12 announced, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, it was scrapping its divisional format for the coming season Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Ralph Freso, File)
In the wake of the Big Ten bombshell earlier this week, in which they approved the applications of USC and UCLA to join beginning in 2024, the Pac-12 is scrambling to make plans of its own.
News of the Los Angeles schools’ exit came as a surprise to those within the Pac-12, according to media reports. There was a meeting prior to the breaking news in which administrators reportedly did not get a sense anybody was leaving. Surprise!
Now the Pac-12 will “explore all expansion options,” according to ESPN. They are dropping to 10 teams with the threat of losing others.
Washington and Oregon have been rumored to leave, but as of Saturday, they remain members of the Pac-12. For Oregon, they should be the league favorites and have the best playoff odds as things stand, though there will be pressure to win out due to a weakened league.
ESPN reports that it is “wide open” as to what the league will do, including evaluating options from the Big 12 and ACC. “Every effort” is being made to secure the conference’s future, ESPN reported.
Realignment speculation
Many media outlets trying to project the future say that this is only the beginning. The Big Ten adding USC and UCLA is the counter to the SEC, which last summer approved Oklahoma and Texas to join in 2025. It comes as many media rights deals are expiring, and negotiations are already underway.
The Big Ten now has Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Detroit, and New York (thanks, Rutgers) as key strongholds. As a result, there may be more poaching, experts warn, with the likelihood of super conferences that may have 20 or more teams.
Speculation is the SEC, and Big Ten could lure historic ACC or Pac-12 programs or rising Big 12 teams to form their super conferences. Then the remaining from those three leagues could merge to form their own 20-team conferences.
It’s also possible some academic institutions, such as Stanford, Northwestern, and others, could not join superconferences. Again, it’s speculation at this point.
Iowa’s recruiting win
The No. 6 overall prospect in the Class of 2023 chose to be a Hawkeye.
Kadyn Proctor, a 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive tackle prospect from Southeast Polk High School in Runnells, Iowa, was deciding between Alabama and Iowa. He’s the third offensive line recruit to choose Iowa in the class and is the state’s highest-ranked recruit in the rankings era.
He follows in the footsteps of former high school teammate Xavier Nwankpa, who was an ESPN 300 recruit in the class of 2022. They’ll be teammates at Iowa.
Burnt orange recruiting stream
Since Arch Manning verbally committed to the Texas Longhorns, the program has received nine more commitments since June 23. The latest is wide receiver Johntay Cook III, the No. 43 overall prospect in the Class of 2023 per ESPN. Cook is another win for Steve Sarkisian, whose first year at Texas included an embarrassing home loss to Kansas, finishing 5-7.
The recruiting class is currently ranked 10th and should rise in the next update.
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