WVU v Pitt is a perfect example of what makes CFB great and, conversely what ESPN and the media are ruining.
WVU v Pitt is a traditional bitter rivalry as storied as any other rivalry. People in this board may not care or may not of have heard of it, but it is as storied as UT vs A&M. Believe it or not, there are a lot of people in the country who couldn’t give two flips about UT vs A&M. Not everyone cares about Ohio St v Michigan, except in both cases the networks (ESPN) will heavily promote them, and sure, I’ll watch them if they’re on.
WVU v Pitt hasn’t been played since 2011 and many of those fans haven’t forgotten, which is awesome. This is pure CFB
The thing I have against Utah is that the only reason Utah is P5 is Orrin Hatch and the only reason they were invited to the AAU is they were in the PAC 12 yet they behave as though they are God’s gift to football and academics. Let them go back to the Mountain west and let Colorado go back to the Big 12.
I don’t like Utah either. But they are an outstanding football program and would immediately give the B12 another candidate for a national championship.
WHO CARES what their upside is?? We dont need them. We have BYU. We want to invite 4 PAC schools to join Big 12…We can invite who ever we choose, and we should choose schools who want to be here. New markets and territories far more important than what Utah record is the last few years…We already have many powerhouse programs in FB and BB…We are Big 12, not cusa…
If Utah is so great, why doesnt BIG want them? or maybe they do…but i would make it a point NOT to invite them, since they made it clear we are unworthy of them, in their way of thinking.
One thought that occurred to me is that I could very easily imagine Utah coming to the Big 12 kicking and screaming but once here for a bit become avid defenders of the conference.
When the Big East fell apart, Cincinnati and UConn had similarly negative attitudes towards the AAC. Cincinnati got over it and got to work and a lot of their fans became advocates for the conference (even while, like us, trying to move up). UConn never did any of that and went on to leave.
When I lived out there I don’t remember them being anywhere near as critical of the MWC as they are of the Big 12 right now.
If I had to guess, I would guess Utah is more like Cincinnati than UConn.
TBH I’m not sure it’s either-or. If SDSU adds to the conference we should add them. If Utah adds to the conference we should add them. If both add to the conference then we go to 17. Their pros and cons are different enough I’m not at all sure adding one would de-value adding the other also, if each improves the conference.
Fox will need to fill that 3:30 pm window and at least five 7 pm games during the season. I don’t think fox will that slot with other BIG matchups, those will go to BIG network.
Not sure whether the pac12 is negotiating with Fox at this point.