I don't think you understand my point. Let me try again.

I see no difference between

(a) 3-6 Big Ten teams leaving for the SEC and

(b) The Big Ten continuing to add teams (because you really think this is done @ UCLA/USC?)

NO DIFFERENCE.

That makes no sense.

If you liked having traditional games against Michigan, OSU, and if you count it PSU, then how can there be no difference when those 3 schools are no longer on the schedule at all?

It just seems like you just now want to rant about the good old days even though the good old days are long gone and in the average young days we live in now that USC/UCLA keeps the Big Ten together.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

In four years when there are 24 teams in Big Ten how often is Michigan State going to make the trek to Camp Randall?

As someone who still doesn't see Penn State as a legitimate Big Ten program, I'll never see the California schools as members. But if I were an athlete, I certainly would welcome a SoCal trip in the dead of the winter.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I think it’ll be funny to see SC have to travel to Ann Arbor or Madison in November.

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Definitely.

Let's face it, football programs like Iowa, MSU, Wisconsin, basically everyone not named Michigan and Ohio State, should be shitting themselves. LA teams with B1G money and now B1G TV exposure? Add in weather, bigger NIL opportunities (hell, the Trojans were THE LA pro football team when Pete Carroll was there anyway), cheerleaders who are hot (and don't graze on the field like in Champaign, Madison, Iowa, Purdue, etc.), and MI and OSU always being overrated? The LA teams should be able to kill it if they play their cards right.

No B1G team is leaving the conference willingly. They were raking in big bucks before this. There is about to me far more money coming in for Guenther Jr. in Champaign to do nothing with but count.

Graze.

As an over the air carrier(& B1G producer) of the conference, Fox must be overjoyed.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

going to be some nice cover opportunities when USC plays the 11 am game in the eastern time zone in November

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I will say this on Penn State, that program was independent prior to joining the Big Ten, and the group of independent teams out there, which were plentiful in the 1970s and 1980s all naturally migrated to conferences after the NCAA lost media rights in early 1980s, which makes sense because there is no way Pitt could have negotiated its own national media deal. So although many of those independents essentially played themselves as a de facto conference (Miami, ND, West Virginia, Florida State, Syracuse) it wasn't a team that left an affiliated conference for a new conference.

It's pretty clear it's just going to be the Fox Sports Conference and the ESPN/ABC Conference eventually.

You're talking about USC and use the example of Ohio State being overrated? I'd say in the past 15 years, there hasn't been a more universally overrated team than USC.

You have #1 right in your own state

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Notre Dame told they can pick a friend to join them in the Big Ten.
Washington/Oregon show up too then.

Notre Dame would be turning down between $50 to $100 million a year by not going to the Big Ten and that includes a reported $140 million buyout from the ACC.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I don’t think it’s some far fetched scenario that sometime in the not near, but not far future these mega conferences might start dumping dead weight schools. The opportunity to fleece cable subscribers 50 cents a month is dwindling and it may matter that no one’s watching an Indiana Rutgers game.

Notre Dame to the Big 10 has always been something that should happen.

But that buyout with the ACC is a problem.

Gotta think they find a way to make this happen tho.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

They haven't even been in the picture to be overrated. They have been a complete afterthought. Zero visibility given their crap TV deal. The opportunity they have now is a gift. Let's see if SC and UCLA can get their acts together. If they do, watch out

You are correct.

Just need to get enough teams out west fo make two 10 team divisions. The pacific big 10 for the west one sounds about right.

I’ll refrain from any further comments because there are kids on my lawn and a few clouds that need yelling at.

Make a 16 team national championship division, and three regional 16 team lower divisions (South, North, West). That covers the 64 teams who would typically deserve to be "bowl-eligible." Take the top 8 championship division teams and the top 4 regional teams into the National Playoff, with appropriate byes and seeding.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

When California, Stanford, Oregon and Washington (or Colorado) join up, it's over.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

ACC has a terrible deal with ESPN, runs til 2036 but pays about half what the Big Ten got on its last TV contract. I think the Big 10 is due for a new national TV deal, probably getting delayed for all this realignment. Could see ESPN scrapping the ACC contract as part of the new Big 10 deal, if the Big 10 has the opportunity to poach ND and/or other ACC schools.

Oregon has Phil Knight money. Push comes to shove, they could give 2 shits about being in a conference. But if it's the difference between being part of a playoff or not, they'll have to sign on with one of the presumably national championship eligible conferences.

This prediction looks like it’s right on track to be correct.

So much for people giving a shit about the Rose Bowl.

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Can just call the Big 10 championship game the Rose Bowl.

Everyone knew the Big Ten was going to add more teams.

The point is they are doing it so they don't get raided by the SEC. They jumped the gun on Washington and Oregon for sure but if they hadn't added USC/UCLA they are likely off to the SEC at some point or possibly even the Big 12.

The Pac 12 tried to stay traditional and was not aggressive at all with expansion and it's now hoping it can take teams from the MWC before the MWC snaps up the rest of their conference.

It would be cool if the traditional Big Ten teams played more often. It just would have meant that OSU, Michigan, and PSU were in the SEC to do it and I am not sure that your favorite matchup of MSU/Wisconsin can really sustain the conference.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

We are also seeing the effects of cord cutting. No one wanted to give the PAC 12 a real TV deal. Which is ultimately why it died this year.

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That's part of it. The Pac 12 also did a terrible job of managing their television contracts. The SEC basically merged with ESPN. The Big Ten basically merged with Fox. The Pac 12 just kind of tried to do their own thing. They were at a disadvantage though as they couldn't start games until the 3pm window on the East Coast and their late afternoon window goes against the top games of the other conferences too. There was value in the gamblers special starting at 10pm but not enough.

Ultimately though, the Big East and Big 12 both couldn't stop it either. The Big East had to literally stop playing football. The Big 12 is just kind of picking up the scraps but even they had to invite a bunch of schools that won't really help them and they probably wish they had waited before inviting.

If you could go back in time, the Pac 12 should have partnered with a sports tv network. CBS was probably the best option. They should have raided the Big 12 like they did with Colorado. Texas and Oklahoma would have said no quickly. Get anyone else who wants to come besides West Virginia because it would make no sense. USC and UCLA probably stay in that situation as the money would be good enough especially if they did an uneven split of revenue. Washington and Oregon have no where else to go.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I think the next phase will include the networks kicking teams out of the bloated conferences that do not bring them monetary value. If conferences are written in a way they can't kick teams out, they will just force teams to leave and for new conferences. This wont happen until some time in the next decade though.

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