For the conferences that didn't announce expansion this year, we'll go ahead and classify them as both a winner and a loser. If these conferences opt to expand in the future, they could end up as winners, depending on potential teams added.
If they continue to opt against expanding in the future, they might become losers to not follow in the footsteps of the various conferences that are expanding around them. This works the other way around, too. Not following the realignment trend may actually help these conferences in the future, whereas ones that decide to expand might be making a mistake in the long run in doing so.
It looked as if the Mountain West was set to add members this year, but things are remaining quiet in the conference for now. Still, there's no guarantee that things will remain quiet in the conference, as its contract is set to expire in We'll keep an eye on it, but for now, the Mountain West remains neutral in our power rankings.
It looked as if the conference was set on expanding at one point in time, however. In the end, it didn't happen. McPhee said regarding the realignment rumors : "We greatly appreciate the interest other conferences have shown in our athletics program and in our university, as they are a testament to the overall excellence of our institution, both athletically and academically. However, after careful consideration and due diligence, I am pleased to reaffirm our commitment to Conference USA.
The Pac looks like it may not expand any time soon, and it doesn't really look like it needs to for now. The Big 12 and SEC made the biggest moves in expansion, so the Pac is wise to remain quiet for now. There aren't too many geographical options for the conference that make a ton of sense, either. The one school that the Pac could perhaps consider down the line that would make sense is Boise State. The Broncos have been nationally relevant within the Group of Five for over a decade, and Boise State would be competitive coming into the conference.
Boise, along with another Mountain West school, may be what the Pac considers down the line, but for now, we'll have to wait and see if that happens. Although the conference is without a team mostly Clemson in the playoff for the first time since the playoff was introduced in , the conference has 10 teams playing in bowls this season. But Clemson's dominance—with the exception of this season, which the Tigers can still finish with 10 wins—puts the conference in great shape moving forward without a real need to expand.
While Ohio State is out of the playoff this year, Michigan is representing the conference for the first time in the final four.
Michigan State represented the conference in the playoff in , too. This year, the Big Ten has nine teams playing in bowl games, including Michigan's semifinal against Georgia. League champion UAB was a 6. Most of the games were blowouts, but Marshall and UTSA at least keeping their losses to single digits.
By Jerry Palm. Jan 4, at am ET 5 min read. Getty Images. Potential No. Watch Now:. Bowl records by conference, Jerry Palm 5 min read. Top storylines from wild season Dennis Dodd 7 min read. Alabama, Ohio State lead early top 25 Dennis Dodd 7 min read. Projected No. Georgia, Alabama lead national championship odds Shehan Jeyarajah 3 min read. AP Top 25 poll: Georgia No. Top Dawgs cement legacies, end drought Dennis Dodd 6 min read. Little went right for the Pac in the regular season, and that continued into the postseason.
Oregon , the league champion that was not a division champion, got drilled in the Fiesta Bowl by Iowa State. Colorado put up a fight early against Texas but got stampeded in the second half in a loss.
Clemson was the only team favored to win its game, so not much was expected, but this was bad by any measure. Those are your highlights. The Bearcats and Wolverines had break-through seasons, but their offenses were overmatched in the semifinals. Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder finished 17 of 32 passing for yards, and the Bearcats finished with 26 rushing attempts for 74 yards.
The defense could not stop Alabama's rushing attack. Michigan split time between quarterbacks Cade McNamara and J. McCarthy, which will kick-start a controversy heading into next season. Michigan managed just 27 carries for 91 yards, and the defense failed to get a sack.
Luke Fickell and Jim Harbaugh did remarkable work to get their programs to this point. It's clear, however, that there is more catch-up to do with the SEC powerhouses. Ohio State rallied from a two-TD deficit to beat Utah in the Rose Bowl, and that was made possible by the remarkable combination of C. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The Ohio State quarterback had a fantastic bounce-back performance after the loss against Michigan.
He had six catches of 30 years or more and was unstoppable against the Utes' secondary. Freshman Marvin Harrison Jr. The Irish built a lead in the first half against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, and it looked like Marcus Freeman's debut would be a rousing success. The Cowboys had yards at halftime, but a late first-half TD kick-started a rally in which Oklahoma State scored 30 unanswered points in a victory. It was the first time Notre Dame has blown a point lead and lost since Oklahoma State had total yards of offense despite converting just 3 of 14 on third downs.
Spencer Sanders also torched the Irish defense for yards passing and yards rushing. It's Freeman's first game, but it goes down as his first loss to a top team.
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