Big Ten expansion, realignment prediction: Pac-12's Oregon, Washington to join conference

College conference realignment and expansion speculation is back for the Big Ten Conference.

Could the conference add some teams from the Pac-12?

One college insider has come out with an interesting prediction for the Big Ten in college expansion chatter.

The writer, CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, predicts that the conference will add Oregon and Washington if the Pac-12 falls apart amid its media rights deal saga.

Of the possibility of the two Pac-12 schools potentially joining the Big 10, Dodd wrote: "Assuming the Four Corners bolt first, that creates a decision for what would become the two biggest available brands in the country. Keyword 'available' because, with the league crumbling around it, Oregon and Washington would have options. And their best option would likely be the Big Ten."

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Dodd further explained that Oregon and Washington aligned academically with the conference and that they would be a natural fit in the conference alongside USC and UCLA, "mitigating travel issues" in the conference for the schools.

Dodd wrote: "An 18-team league would make the Big Ten the biggest in the history of major-college football. It would create significant scheduling issues and result in balking from existing rightsholders, who will be asked to pay more. Perhaps a streaming service would get involved to defer costs. Best guess: Oregon and Washington would take less than a full Big Ten share (estimated $75 million per school starting in 2024) at least initially to be part of the richest conference in the land."

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Ducks Wire also projected the Big Ten to land Oregon and Washington from the Pac-12.

Zachary Neel wrote of his Oregon prediction: "The Ducks are among the biggest available brands on the market, and you can guarantee that the Big Ten would welcome them with open arms should they ne looking for a new conference to play in. One of the top teams in college football, and historically competitive in college basketball, the Ducks fit well in the Big Ten at the big boys’ table."

Of Washington and the Big Ten, he wrote: "The Huskies would absolutely be part of the ideal with Oregon to the Big Ten. They have a large media market and are among the top available brands in the sport as well. With USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington, the Big Ten would have a great start to a western conference."

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Could Oregon and Washington really land in the Big Ten?

It's something to monitor as college football conference expansion and realignment speculation continues to swirl.

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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Big Ten expansion, realignment prediction: Pac-12 teams to conference