1. COLLIN KLEIN: I mean, is there a bigger winner than Collin Klein? He orchestrated the pursuit that landed the Wildcats Avery Johnson.
2. BIG 12: No conference took as much of a step forward as the Big Ten when they landed USC and UCLA. But the Big 12 (knock on wood) seems to be the only Power Five league, outside of the Big Ten and SEC, that hasn’t been rumored to losing teams in the latest stage of realignment.
3. CATS: Is anyone hotter than Kansas State on the recruiting trail? It wasn’t just Johnson. The Wildcats also secured the services of running back Joe Jackson and offensive lineman Jackson Fullmer.
4. MIAMI: K-State is hot on the recruiting trail, but Miami is hotter. That is a problem for Florida and Florida State, who have some unsettled fans because of it.
5. NOTRE DAME: They are the school that is the most in demand and they seemingly hold all of the cards in terms of what happens next across the college football landscape. In one way, shape or form, the Fighting Irish will hit the lottery, whether that comes from the Big Ten, ACC or NBC.
1.CAL, OREGON STATE AND WASHINGTON STATE: I’m sure they feel much like Kansas State, Iowa State, etc felt this time last year. Their future prospects appear to be in peril.
2. KLIAVKOFF: He has been on the job for just a short time and has lost the two powers that steer the ship in the Pac-12. Many sleepless nights face George Kliavkoff in the coming weeks as he strives to find security for the remaining members.
3. WOLVERINES: Worst case scenario has transpired for Jim Harbaugh and Michigan. They lost 2024 five-star quarterback and Lloyd Carr’s grandson, CJ Carr, to rival Notre Dame. To make matters worse, another in-state five-star quarterback picked Oregon when Dante Moore committed to Dan Lanning and the Ducks over Texas A&M, the Wolverines and the Fighting Irish. There is no momentum in Ann Arbor despite a playoff appearance last season after winning the Big Ten. Perhaps Harbaugh shouldn’t have flirted with the Minnesota Vikings.
4. OREGON AND WASHINGTON: It is clear that their preference is the Big Ten, which makes sense in every way. Everyone understands that desire. The problem is that it appears to not be an option at this point. For the time being, it sounds like they are going to be sorely disappointed by any realistic outcome.
5. ACC: The ACC is in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. The grant of rights attached to the members and television deal locks everyone in until 2036. However, the issue is that it is already an antiquated deal that really hinders the programs in the conference from coming close to their deserved compensation. If they are to add teams and attempt to expand that revenue, it triggers a re-negotiation and they become more exposed to suffering the same fate as the Big 12 and Pac-12. Does a partnership with the Pac-12 mitigate that liability? I don’t know that answer, but the increase in revenue, if at all, is likely negligible.
