The conference’s evolution got us to Friday’s must-watch championship, but a Trojans win and College Football Playoff bid will bring growing pains
LAS VEGAS — It is the best-worst-weirdest of times for the Pac-12 Conference, which comes together in the desert this week for a veritable Victorian Era drama that will play out on a football field.
But the conflicting emotions are real. This is an exercise in staying present and taking what the league can get before it’s gone. Pac-12 supporters will be conflicted rooting for the Trojans, who seek a College Football Playoff berth.They are the sense and sensibility of the Pac-12, with an old-school coach in his 18th year in Kyle Whittingham and a playing style that added some meat-and-potatoes heft to a lightweight league in recent seasons. They are the antithesis of L.A. sizzle in many ways. And they are proud Pac-12 members .
UCLA’s Board of Regents is scheduled to meet on Dec. 14, at which time it is expected to either sign off on the Bruins’ departure for the Big Ten or throw some sort of wrinkle in the plan. The wrinkle could be requiring UCLA to share some of its massive future Big Ten revenue to fellow UC System and Pac-12 brother Cal-Berkeley. Or it could pause the proceedings. Or it could be as drastic as roadblocking the move altogether.
There will be high drama at Allegiant Stadium, in a rematch of a one-point thriller won by Utah in October. For the first time in a while, the Pac-12 has commanded the nation’s attention in December. Kelly’s point: shifting loyalties have always been part of the sport. “Transferring, realignment, this has all gone on forever,” he continues. “People act like this is all new, but it’s just our iteration of it.”Mark J. Terrill/AP
Breaking that up at the behest of a mega-rich TV deal with Fox is not the most noble of purposes. But to Kelly’s point, college athletics has never been built on an unshakable foundation. Stuff happens. Things change. Lanning must replace offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham after a successful first season at Oregon.Then came the quarterbacks: Caleb Williams transferred to USC from Oklahoma; Michael Penix arrived at Washington from Indiana; Bo Nix came to Oregon from Auburn; Incarnate Word sleeper Cameron Ward turned down a host of other offers to go to Washington State.
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