Expansion Aftermath....

Now that the dust has settled, let's evaluate teams that are on the move....

• Nebraska will make an immediate impact in the Big Ten. They will bring a physically tough approach to the Big Ten. In recent seasons, the Big Ten has become a joke, getting manhandled by more physical teams. The Huskers will force teams to recruit more physical defenders, causing the defenses to start shutting down some of the more high-octane offenses. As a result, everyone in college football wins!

• Colorado moving to the Pac Ten surprised me the most. The program has struggled horribly over the past few seasons (did they *really* lose to Toledo) . While I have no doubts that Dan Hawkins can turn it around, he doesn't have nearly the athletes that USC, Oregon, and Oregon State have. Let's hope for Hawkins' sake that he gets to play Washington State every year...

• Utah will surprise people in the Pac Ten. They're 7-3 and against the conference, with some solid wins over Oregon, Cal, and USC in recent years. What will really set them apart is that they will be able to recruit more effectively in Texas with their move to the Pac Ten. No longer will TCU get the cream of the crop when Coach Whittingham can say "Hey, don't go to TCU, come here. We're a BCS school, we're on TV every week, and we can play for national championships, where as the Mountain West cannot".
  

Wrong on Expansion

Boy, was I wrong on expansion!!

I really didn't expect Commissioner Beebe to be able to pony up that kind of cash in such a hurry. I also suspect that the SEC and ESPN were involved in raising the funds. If Fox were to ever launch a 16 team Pac Ten, it would definitely pose a threat to ESPN. I can just see Chris Fowler cringing when his beloved Wolverines would get beat by someone like Texas or Oklahoma.

College Football Expansion

Many of you have asked about college football expansion - here's what I predict.....

The Pac Ten will add Texas, Oklahoma, OSU, Texas Tech, and Utah. Texas A&M won't go because they don't like being little brother.

The SEC will add Texas A&M, Clemson, Florida State, and West Virginia to expand to 16 teams.

I expect the Big Ten to go for broke and try to expand to 16 teams as well. I'd have to imagine that Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse, and Missouri are on that list.

Notre Dame won't join a conference.

Baylor won't get invited to join a conference (some would argue they shouldnt have gotten into the Big 12 to begin with - thanks Ma Richards).