Even before Adam and Eve entered the transfer portal in pursuit of the most lucrative NIL deal, there has always been conference realignment.
It’s been a constant in college athletics but reached epidemic proportions this past year.
Ten schools left the Pac-12 for the Big Ten (Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington), Big 12 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah) and ACC (Cal and Stanford), while Texas and Oklahoma moved from the Big 12 to the SEC and SMU jumped from the AAC to the ACC.
So what’s ahead for the 13 teams changing power conferences? Greener pastures? We’ll see. More money? Duh. More losses? Absolutely.
For all the schools that took the money and ran, be careful what you wish for. Because based on history, those schools will take some lumps this season and won’t enjoy as much success as they did in their previous conference.
In the past 13 years, 16 schools have moved to a power conference or changed power conferences. Of the 16, only three had a winning record in their first season in their new conference. Two finished .500, and 11 of the 16 had losing conference records in their debut season in their new league.
Conference Record in Debut Season
| Team | Record & Conf. | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Texas A&M | 6-2 (SEC) | 2012 |
| Louisville | 5-3 (ACC) | 2014 |
| Nebraska | 5-3 (Big Ten) | 2011 |
| Maryland | 4-4 (Big Ten) | 2014 |
| Syracuse | 4-4 (ACC) | 2013 |
| TCU | 4-5 (Big 12) | 2012 |
| Utah | 4-5 (Pac-12) | 2011 |
| West Virginia | 4-5 (Big 12) | 2012 |
| Pitt | 3-5 (ACC) | 2013 |
| Rutgers | 3-5 (Big Ten) | 2014 |
| UCF | 3-6 (Big 12) | 2023 |
| Missouri | 2-6 (SEC) | 2012 |
| BYU | 2-7 (Big 12) | 2023 |
| Colorado | 2-7 (Pac-12) | 2011 |
| Houston | 2-7 (Big 12) | 2023 |
| Cincinnati | 1-8 (Big 12) | 2023 |
While the first season was a rocky start for most of the new schools, it got worse the longer they were in their new power conference.
Of those 16 schools in a new power conference, Utah is the only one that has had more winning seasons in conference play than losing seasons. Of the 16, only Utah (two Pac-12 titles) and Pitt (one ACC title) won a conference title in their new league.
The Utes have been the exception after moving from the Mountain West to the Pac-12. Utah had nine winning conference records in 13 seasons. No one else came close to having that success.
In fact, some schools have failed miserably. Syracuse, Colorado, Maryland and Rutgers have combined for only two winning conference records in 44 combined seasons in their new power conference.
Here are the number of winning conference seasons in league play since joining the new power conference.
Winning Records in New Conference
| Team | Winning Conf. Records | Conf. Change |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 9 in 13 Years | MWC to Pac-12 |
| Pitt | 5 in 11 | Big East to ACC |
| Louisville | 5 in 10 | Big East to ACC |
| TCU | 5 in 12 | MWC to Big 12 |
| West Virginia | 5 in 12 | Big East to Big 12 |
| Nebraska | 5 in 13 | Big 12 to Big Ten |
| Texas A&M | 3 in 12 | Big 12 to SEC |
| Missouri | 3 in 12 | Big 12 to SEC |
| Syracuse | 1 in 11 | Big East to ACC |
| Colorado | 1 in 13 | Big 12 to Pac-12 |
| Maryland | 0 in 10 | ACC to Big Ten |
| Rutgers | 0 in 10 | Big East to Big Ten |
| UCF | 0 in 1 | AAC to Big 12 |
| Houston | 0 in 1 | AAC to Big 12 |
| BYU | 0 in 1 | Independent to Big 12 |
| Cincinnati | 0 in 1 | AAC to Big 12 |
Unbeaten … For Now 💪
Nearly one-third (43-of-134) of the FBS teams are still undefeated. The list of unbeatens will suffer shrinkage this week, as there are eight matchups between undefeated teams.
This week’s battle of unbeatens: Illinois at Nebraska, San Jose State at Washington State, James Madison at North Carolina and Navy at Memphis, Utah at Oklahoma State, Tennessee at Oklahoma, ULM at Texas and Kansas State at BYU.
Unbeaten Teams by Conference
- Big Ten: 9
- ACC: 7
- Big 12: 7
- SEC: 7
- Sun Belt: 4
- AAC: 3
- MAC: 2
- MWC: 2
- CUSA: 1
- Pac-12: 1
(Big 12) Country For Old Men 👴
When Utah visits Oklahoma State on Saturday, it will not only match up two of the Big 12’s top teams but also two of the nation’s oldest quarterbacks. Utah’s Cam Rising is 25, and Oklahoma State’s Alan Bowman is 24.
The combined 49 years between Rising and Bowman is older than the combined ages (44) of the starting QBs in Sunday’s NFL Colts-Bears game between Anthony Richardson (22) and Caleb Williams (22).
It’s also the same combined age (49 years) of the Vikings-Texans game between Sam Darnold (27) and C.J. Stroud (22).
Maybe Significant (Or Not) 🏈
Only three teams have not allowed a touchdown so far this season and — breaking news! — they’re all undefeated.
Ole Miss and Georgia (who have played three games each) and Ohio State (two games) are a combined 8-0, allowing no touchdowns and a total of 11 field goals.
Meanwhile, not scoring TDs is very, very detrimental to a team’s win-loss record.
Four schools have yet to have a rushing TD — Colorado, Kent State, Miami (Ohio) and Temple — while Air Force is the nation’s only team that hasn’t thrown a TD pass. The combined record of those five teams: 3-11.
It Just Means More NFL Riches 💰
No surprise that five of the 10 colleges with the most active players on opening weekend NFL rosters are from the SEC. The Big Ten has four of the top 10, and independent Notre Dame ranks fourth.
Number of Active Players on Opening NFL Rosters
- Alabama 61
- Ohio State 51
- Georgia 45
- Notre Dame 41
- Michigan 40
- LSU 39
- Penn State 36
- Oklahoma 33
- Washington 32
- Texas 31
Dream Bowl Projection of the Week 😋
Maybe this wouldn’t be a dream for Oklahoma State or Notre Dame since they both have College Football Playoff aspirations, but a trip to Orlando in December would be a nice consolation prize if they don’t make the 12-team field.
It would be a rematch of the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, Marcus Freeman’s first game as head coach at Notre Dame. And, best of all, the winning team gets to a eat a giant Pop-Tart.
Sandwich Spot 🥪
There are only three games that fit my non-scientific model of teams that might be in a challenging schedule or motivational situation.
Opening lines from Sunday.
Navy +11 vs. Memphis
Navy, which isn't the easiest team to prepare for, gets Memphis coming off a big victory at Florida State.
Ohio +20 at Kentucky
Ohio travels to Kentucky, facing a dejected Wildcats team that coulda/shoulda beat Georgia and has a trip to Ole Miss next Saturday.
Louisiana +3 vs. Tulane
Louisiana gets in-state foe Tulane, which is off frustrating losses to Kansas State and Oklahoma and opens AAC play next week vs. USF.
Each Sunday, I’ll put my Sandwich Spot plays in early in the Action Network App — download here for free
Season Record: 3-3
