Pac-12 still fourth in power rankings

The Big 12 has overtaken the SEC in ESPN Stats & Information's Conference Power Rankings, while the Pac-12 is again fourth.

The Pac-12, however, joined the Big 12 as the only two conferences that went up last week. The Pac-12 is behind the No. 3 Big Ten by only 6.2 points after being behind 22 points last week.

Why did the Big Ten fall?

Losses by Wisconsin and Illinois also hurt the Big Ten’s ranking. Just two weeks ago the Big Ten had three undefeated teams (Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois), which was tied for the most of any conference after six weeks. Today, no team in the Big Ten is undefeated or ranked in the top eight of the AP Poll.

The Pac-12 is ahead of the fifth-place ACC by 14.4 points. Last week, the margin was 9.2.

Why is the Big 12 higher than the SEC?

Seven of the Big 12’s 10 teams have two or fewer losses, and all seven of those schools received at least 25 points in the AP Poll.

In comparison, five of the SEC’s 12 teams have two or fewer losses and only six SEC teams received AP votes.

The computers favor the Big 12 over the SEC as the Big 12’s average computer ranking is 8.5 points higher than the average SEC ranking. Oklahoma State is the top-ranked team in the nation according to the BCS computers.

ConferenceAP RankComputers RankOverall RatingOverall RankingRt Change

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Pac-12 says no (mostly) to expansion

And after all of the chatter about super-conferences and the Pac-Whatever, the Pac-12 has decided to... stay the Pac-12.

From the conference home office:

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said, “after careful review we have determined that it is in the best interests of our member institutions, student-athletes and fans to remain a 12-team conference. While we have great respect for all of the institutions that have contacted us, and certain expansion proposals were financially attractive, we have a strong conference structure and culture of equality that we are committed to preserve. With new landmark TV agreements and plans to launch our innovative television networks, we are going to focus solely on these great assets, our strong heritage and the bright future in front of us.”

You should note the bolded "culture of equality." The Pac-16 deal didn't get done because the Pac-12 didn't feel that could be maintained with expansion.

Bottom line: There were a lot of discussions -- and proposals -- traded between Texas, Oklahoma and the Pac-12, but the parties were unable to reach an agreement that worked for everyone.

So, does this augur long-term stability for the Pac-12? Maybe. But anyone asserting certainty is just being hopeful. It appears that the ACC, SEC, Big East and Big 12 are still engaged in reckless eyeballing, so there are still dominoes to fall that could again change the landscape.

What the Pac-12 is really saying is that it is confident in its present position, but if things change, it will be able to react in a way that maintains its position in the conference pecking order -- see the recently signed, $3 billion, 12-year deal with ESPN and Fox that is the richest in college sport.

Is this the endgame? Does it feel like we'll be celebrating "20 years of the Pac-12" in 2031?

Probably not.

But on Sept. 20, 2011 -- a Tuesday night of the college football season's fourth week -- the conference announced it would remain the Pac-12. It seems certain it will remain so through the weekend.

But if Texas comes back to the table willing to make a concession for equal revenue sharing, expansion talk will perk up again. And fast.

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OU 'not surprised' by Pac-12 decision

Oklahoma president David Boren released a statement on Tuesday night in response to the Pac-12's announcement that it would not expand.

"We were not surprised by the Pac 12's decision to not expand at this time. Even though we had decided not to apply for membership this year, we have developed a positive relationship with the leadership of the conference and we have kept them informed of the progress we've been making to gain agreement from the Big 12 for changes which will make the conference more stable in the future. Conference stability has been our first goal and we look forward to achieving that goal through continued membership in the Big 12 Conference."

Oklahoma went out of its way to make it clear that it did not apply for membership for the Pac-12, regardless of whether or not it had the intention to do so.

I wouldn't take the last sentence as an unequivocal commitment to the Big 12, but it would seem now, with no other realistic option, that's where the Sooners are clearly focused.

A wild day, no doubt. Just another one in the shifting landscape (or is it?) of college sports.

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