Predicting what an 18-team Pac-12/Big 12 merger might look like
The ever-changing landscape of the college football world is changing more quickly than usual of late.
After USC and UCLA announced last week that they would leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, the world of college athletics has been thrown into a tizzy, scrambling to figure out what conferences are going to look like in a matter of years, and which teams are going to be playing where.
At first, it looked as if the Oregon Ducks were going to be among the teams likely to leave the Pac-12 and follow the Los Angeles schools to the Big Ten. Over the past few days, though, it seems there’s a better chance the Ducks either stand pat in the Pac-12 or potentially merge with the ACC or Big 12. We will likely know more in the coming days or weeks.
One of the intriguing options that we’ve come across, though, is a merger between the Big 12 and the Pac-12. In this scenario, some of the top schools from the Pac-12 would join the Big-12 and form what would be a less powerful superconference, but a superconference nonetheless. This is what it would look like, in our minds:
Oregon Ducks
Washington Huskies
Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Utah Utes
Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports
BYU Cougars
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona Wildcats
Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports
Arizona State Sun Devils
April 13, 2018; Tempe, Arizona; Detailed view of Arizona State Sun Devils helmets on the field during the teams spring game scrimmage at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas Jayhawks
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas State Wildcats
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Colorado Buffaloes
Russell Lansford-USA TODAY Sports
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
TCU Horned Frogs
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Baylor Bears
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Houston Cougars
Tim Flores-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Iowa State Cyclones
Amy Kontras-USA TODAY Sports
Cincinnati Bearcats
West Virginia Mountaineers
Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
UCF Knights
Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
