The Pac-12 has completely imploded over the past several months, and only two teams will remain in the conference next season if things stay as they are. While it may be difficult to believe, that could actually happen.
Washington State and Oregon State are the only two Pac-12 schools that have not committed to move to other conferences in 2024. That means the Pac-12 will either need to add more schools or merge with another conference (such as the Mountain West) in order to remain in existence. But that does not have to happen yet.
As Stewart Mandel of The Athletic recently pointed out, NCAA bylaws require conferences to have at least eight members. However, there is a two-year grace period to get back to eight teams after schools leave a conference. Mandel wonders if Washington State and Oregon State could take advantage of that grace period and operate as a two-team conference.
Washington State and Oregon State could, in theory, make their own schedules. Whichever of the two teams wins the conference would then have a realistic path to being one of the five highest-ranked conference champions, which would give them an automatic bid into the expanded College Football Playoff.
OSU/WSU making their own schedule to finish above the MWC/AAC/SBC champ and get into the playoff as one of the five highest ranked conference champs — and then keeping all that money — would be the most fascinating outcome imaginable. https://t.co/R2SvRYnAvO
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) September 3, 2023
The Pac-12 has experienced a mass exodus, with three more schools deciding last week to leave for the ACC. If Washington State and Oregon State can parlay the unfortunate situation into a potential College Football Playoff appearance, that is certainly something they should consider.
