Pac-10 Expansion: What Does the "Pac-16" Mean for the Rest of the FBS?

The current state of the BCS reminds me a lot of the game Hungry Hungry Hippos by Milton Bradley.

The SEC, ACC, Big Ten, and Pac-10 are the four hippos, while the rest of the BCS schools are the little balls rolling around waiting for one of the plump conferences to gobble them up.

College football fans have been screaming for some sort of change the past few decades, and change is exactly what they are going to get. 

The Pac-10’s bold move to increase their conference size by 60 percent will undoubtedly create an enormous cascading effect if it truly reaches fruition.

Assuming that Pac-10 Commissioner Larry Scott’s buck shot severs the majority of the Big 12, the limbs left behind will be forced to scatter and seek shelter under the umbrella of a different conference.

Nebraska and Missouri have been courted heavily by the Big Ten in this epic, expansion-laced offseason.  A defection by the majority of their conference would most likely force the hand of these two schools, but they will definitely be much better off than any of the other teams left behind.

Placing the other four Big 12 teams becomes a little more complicated.

For Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, and Iowa State, finding a home in the BCS may not be as simple as waiting for a conference to devour them.  In all likelihood, these teams may have to take a demotion and play for a lesser conference in the FBS.

Iowa State may be able to finagle an offer from the Big Ten considering their ties to playing Iowa every year and the fact that they would make the new Big Ten an even 14 teams.

But the Cyclones don’t really add much in terms of revenue or overall national interest.

However, as Larry Scott showed, the Big Ten doesn’t necessarily have to stop at adding just two or three teams.

The resulting super conference brought on by the Pac-10’s threat of gobbling up of Big 12 teams could force the Big Ten to expand even bigger.   And the next best BCS pool to pull from would be the Big East.

Cincinnati and Pittsburgh become even more scintillating options for the Big Ten given their current success and the fact that they are geographic rivals with Ohio State and Penn State, respectively.

A “Big 16” would definitely rival the Pac-16 in both talent and television revenue, and the two conferences will be a step closer to forming the future landscape of this confusingly laid-out sub-division.

But what happens to the leftovers?  Do we just say "who cares?" and hope they find a home elsewhere?

In many cases, the general public is going to say yes. 

The better leftovers, like Syracuse, Connecticut, and Louisville, could get devoured by the other hippos (ACC and SEC) if they decide to hop on the expansion bandwagon.

These teams have enormous basketball programs and that alone should draw the attention of any serious conference.     

The scraps, like Rutgers, Baylor and Kansas State, may be forced to find a way to create a brand new BCS conference with the teams mentioned above (if that’s even possible) or bite their pride and take a dip back into a non-BCS conference.

While this is all just speculation and many dominoes have to fall perfectly into place for any of this to occur, a change to the landscape of college football is happening right before our eyes. 

Whether it is for the better or the worse, it is rather exciting to ponder what the standings and box scores will look like in the near future.