Pac-12 to return November 6, 7 game schedule

Submitted by WorldwideTJRob on September 24th, 2020 at 7:00 PM

Just broke on SportsCenter, looks like all Power 5 conferences will play this season.

Football

LewisBullox

September 24th, 2020 at 8:50 PM ^

If you ranked P5 conferences from 2010-2020 in football and basketball, I'd say they were the worst in each sport and certainly combined. Football maybe they had more depth than the ACC but Clemson's dominance cancels that out. No question in basketball.

That said, the picture changes quite a bit if you look at 2000-2010.

Joined: 04/02/2020

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Infectious Dis…

September 24th, 2020 at 9:25 PM ^

Not sure what you need to be explained but,

Cal, Oregon St., WSU, Arizona, UCLA, and USC are abysmal.  Washington, ASU, and Colorado, while better than in years past, are all lower-tier teams in the Big10.  Stanford presents the only real option to compete with Big10 teams in terms of style and recruiting but they are in a three-year downturn and UTAH is just a fraud that hides in the South division every year.

The only team that currently presents ANY type of competition is Oregon and that is basically because of their recruiting cache.  They had a hard time putting away a three-loss Wisconsin team.

Add to that the fact that the conference plays less defense than the Big12 and it simply isn't good football.  

Joined: 09/02/2020

MGoPoints: 182

Don

September 25th, 2020 at 10:13 AM ^

I arrived on campus in 1971, so I had my initial exposure to the bizarre Michigan and Big Ten attitude toward PAC8/10/12 teams a long time ago.

Before each and every one of the Rose Bowls we've played, regardless of opponent, I've heard the same refrain from Michigan fans, and more than a few local sports media people: "The PAC doesn't play a physical brand of football like we do in the BIg Ten, and Michigan will have its way with these effete foofs on the west coast who shy away from physical contact."

Hell, that attitude has even been displayed by Michigan coaches—here's former DC Jim Herrmann before the 2004 Rose Bowl against USC:

"Michigan defensive coordinator Jim Herrmann said that USC's quick passes to the wideouts on the wing, which the Trojans use to give their receivers room to make defenders miss, calls for no special tactics. "We have to get numbers to the ball," Herrmann said. "Those are 'party' plays. There goes the ball. There's a party out there. Go to it. Don't be late. The receivers don't like to catch the ball and get hit."

All the USC receivers proceeded to was run around, over, and through the Michigan defense that day. On top of that, USC sacked Navarre nine times. Not physical my ass.

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1VaBlue1

September 25th, 2020 at 8:34 AM ^

One could reasonably say that Oregon, Washington, USC, and Utah are the equivalents of Michigan, OSU, PSU, and Wisconsin.  The second and third tiers are also fairly similar, going down the pecking order.  We generally don't like the way they play football, but I bet they go ~.500 in a round robin against the B1G.

They are P5 because, individually, they have larger stadiums, more money in the AD budget, and a larger national name cred, than any random G5 school.  As a conference, they've been around as long as any conference in the nation, have a huge nation-wide TV contract, have a nation-wide ability to reach out and take 'croots from anywhere and anyone, and can throw around more political power than any random G5 conference can hope for.

Stop being obtuse.

Joined: 01/31/2016

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1VaBlue1

September 25th, 2020 at 8:37 AM ^

Please place your pessimism in the same location the opinion was placed earlier.  K?  Thanks...

 

I'd like that Michigan play in the Rose Bowl this year against Oregon or Washington.  Wouldn't that be nice?  The power of positive thought can provide good feels!

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mackbru

September 24th, 2020 at 11:49 PM ^

Oh, you mean the conference whose teams we mock every time we or another B10 team heads west and gets its ass kicked? Get over yourself. Take away OSU and we’re equal. Just because the Pac12 hasn’t had a Top 5 team doesn’t mean it’s weak. Oregon. Washington. Utah. USC. Stanford. Usually at least 4 of these teams are very good. 

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Merlin.64

September 25th, 2020 at 9:33 AM ^

Agreed. Over the years, our record against the Pac12 in the Rose Bowl has been unimpressive, even under Bo and Lloyd. Too often have we headed west after winning the Big 10 only to watch our run game grind down to a pedestrian pace, while their passing attack exposed the limitations of our defense (sound familiar?).

This is recency bias. They may be in a down cycle, but we can relate to that from recent experience. But the cycle will turn. Inevitably. OSU may not take us as seriously as they used to, but their game against the Wolverines is the one on their schedule they REALLY don't want to lose. And it will happen. Perhaps sooner than they expect.

Let's heighten their anxiety. Go Blue.

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MacMarauder

September 25th, 2020 at 8:49 AM ^

Wow that is a tight schedule, they are starting November 6th and planning to have their conference championship game on Dec 18. So they will only have time for six before the championship game and then teams will play their final game after which just seems weird.

Joined: 01/22/2016

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jmblue

September 25th, 2020 at 6:16 PM ^

Of course.  At some point people were going to notice that pretty much all major sports are going on in some form.  (Actually this was noticeable back in August, when the Big/Pac conferences cancelled, but their reaction time was a bit slow.  Our leadership needs Southern speed, apparently.)

In the end they will be starting their season right when the seasonal respiratory illness will be ramping up.  Good thinking guys.

 

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