There is finally news on Pac 12, well, Pac 2. They have just inked a deal that could bring 4 Mountain West teams into the fold. Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Colorado State have notified the Mountain West that they plan to leave to join the Pac. This is a significant development as the two current Pac-12 members, Washington and Oregon State, have been vocal in their position to rebuild the conference. The conference still needs two more teams by July of 2026 to keep their conference status, so the work is still ongoing. The acquisition of just these four teams was not cheap. The acquisition is projected to cost around $100 million in buyout fees to the Mountain West. However, the conference has a sizable fund set aside for expansion, estimated to be around $200+ million. This is an excellent sign for fans of the former Pac-12 and regional sports in general.
No, this may not be the Pac-12 of old; media rights, weekly high-profile matchups, and national rankings broke up the historic alignment of universities. With it, programs without national brand appeal were left to pick up the pieces of the 109-year-old conference. However, despite the mountain to climb, there is finally some light on the horizon for the Pac-12.
The Pac-12's list of potential suitors for the remaining two spots remains wide open. With teams such as Cal or Stanford unlikely to rejoin because of their ACC contracts, the conference may have to get creative. Depending on what happens with the remaining Mountain West teams and their willingness to travel, the list is interesting.
Obviously, more Mountain West teams, such as Nevada or UNLV, would be high on the list to keep the conference travel limited. However, the Mountain West may be at its limit, and losing any more programs could cause its collapse. So, leaving the remaining MW teams, Stanford and Cal, off, who is left?
If the conference is willing to travel, these four could make sense: Memphis, USF, UTSA, or Tulane. However, would it make sense for them, as a lateral move conference-wise, plus increased travel time? It could be too much to ask. Looking at the former Pac-12 members, none seem likely to abandon their current track after one year, which narrows down the hunt drastically. It’s hard to see a direct path forward that doesn’t involve more poaching of the Mountain West or extending their geographic range.
Whichever direction the new six Pac-12 teams decide to take, we’ll likely know in the coming months. A decision will have to be made to work within the looming 2026 deadline. Regardless of who will fill the ranks, one thing is becoming clear: the Pac-12 won’t go quietly, and we’re glad to see it.
Moving on to this weekend’s slate of games. There are still some enticing lines without some of the marquee matchups we had last week. As always, you can find some of the best lines at DraftKings. With their limited time welcome offer, they are giving new players $250 dollars in bonus bets when you bet at least $5. It’s one of the best sportsbook promos out there, so take advantage and use our link below to cash in!
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In what may be the best match of the weekend, Missouri will take on the hot Boston College following their upset of FSU in week one and domination of Duquesne last weekend. The Eagles look to prove their dominance against one of the most dangerous teams in all of college football, Missouri. This may be Missouri’s first real challenge as they look to be on a path to the college football playoffs. The Tigers haven’t even let their opponents score on them this year, with two shutouts in this young season.
Missouri is sitting as a -16.5 favorite in this matchup, which, considering Boston College will be on the road makes some sense. Still, this line is too high for this fiery Boston College lineup. We’d take the Boston College spread +16.5 at this point at -115.
It happened early this year: Notre Dame dropped another one to an unranked Northern Illinois. A game that went down to the wire at Notre Dame ended in a last-second field goal block to seal the Fighting Irish fate. It's not that Northern IL is a pushover; they had a dominant defense and special teams unit. For Notre Dame, though, losing in week two while ranked 5th in the nation is nothing less than a total disaster. Now taking on Purdue on the road, a team known for their prowess of knocking off strong opponents, Notre Dame has a hill to climb to rescue their season.
The current spread on this game is Notre Dame -9.5 at -122 and -420 for the money line. The books don’t think lightning will strike twice against this Notre Dame team; we feel the same way. As much doubt as we have for this coaching staff and roster, their sheer talent should be enough for this matchup. We’d take the spread here at -9.5 for Notre Dame.
Speaking of the Pac-12, we get an early-season rivalry game this weekend. Oregon will travel to there former conference rival to continue their campaign for the college football playoffs. After a nail biter finish against Boise State last weekend, the Ducks came out with a 2 and 0 record early. However, Oregon State might be their biggest challenge yet. Making the short trip to Corvallis, Oregon, the Ducks will face a stout team. The Beavers shut out San Diego State last weekend and dominated Idaho State in their season opener. The Ducks will undoubtedly have the edge on talent and speed in this game, but it could turn into a rock fight as Oregon has struggled to put points on the board and pull away from opponents in their first two games.
The line is currently set heavily in Oregon’s favor at -16.5 Ducks spread. This feels a bit high for a Duck team that couldn’t beat Idaho by more than 10 late in the game and 3 in the Boise State game. Expected a 17-point blowout in a rivalry match on the road feels like a big ask for a team that has yet to prove its offense. We’d take the Oregon State spread at +16.5 for -118. If you’re feeling extra spicy, the Oregon State money line is at +550, just saying.
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