College Football Expansion: How The Big 12 Can Be Salvaged

College football expansion has gone from a minor aftershock to a full blown 8.0 earthquake that has shaken the foundation of college football from the Pacific coastline all the way to the Atlantic.

Here's what we know so far before I get into the meat and potatoes.

Big 12

Nebraska was the first to leave the Big 12 conference and is now a member of the Big Ten. That news broke on Wednesday afternoon and it seemed minor at the time. All we knew was the fact that the Big 12 as we know it was going to be torn apart.

Almost 24 hours later, Colorado became the next team to wave goodbye to the Big 12 and headed to the conference out west, the Pac-10.

That's what we know so far to be fact and it's been confirmed by several news sources, as well as the schools themselves.

That leaves several unanswered questions and rumors that will continue to make their way around the internet until the other dominoes begin to fall.

Since the Big 12 is the conference that looks like it may be no more after the dust settles, let's start there and take a look at who is on their way out and who will be left on the outside looking in.

On their way out:  Nebraska, Colorado

Soon to follow: Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M

Who's left:  Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Baylor

We already know that Nebraska is headed to the Big Ten, while Colorado is headed to the Pac-10.  But where are the other teams headed and what happens to those still left in the Big 12?

Let's start with Texas.

The Longhorns can go anywhere they want to go. They are a HUGE bargaining chip to either the Pac-10 or the SEC. Both conferences have expressed interest in bringing them on board.

All the rumors seem to be pointing to the 'Horns heading to the Pac-10 and, if that does end up happening, I don't think there's any question that Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M will probably follow suit, although Texas A&M has been in discussions with the SEC. Even though that might be the case, most expect the Aggies to follow the Longhorns wherever they end up.

That still leaves Texas Tech, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and Baylor to decide where they're going, if they're invited to join another conference.

Texas Tech has an invitation to follow the other four teams to the Pac-10, so it seems likely the Red Raiders wouldn't hesitate to follow.

So what happes to the rest? Newy Scruggs of 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas spoke to Chip Brown of OrangeBloods.com, who said Cal-Berkeley would have a problem with Baylor coming to the Pac-10 because of Baylor's religious affiliation. That left me shaking my head. Here I thought this was about football, not politics.

The Pac-16:  Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Cal, USC, UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Colorado.

How to Save the Big 12 Conference

The teams that remain in the Big 12 will undoubtedly be looking for other conferences to bring them on board but with the Big Ten (Big 16) and Pac-10 (Pac-16) having already added their list of teams, the Big 12 needs to be looking to add teams of their own.

Who they have: Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Missouri

Who they could look to add: Rice, Houston, Tulsa, Tulane, Boise State, Fresno State, SMU, TCU, BYU, Utah

First of all, looking at this list I can eliminate BYU, Utah, TCU, and Boise State right off the bat.

The Mountain West Conference is going to look at expansion as soon as the Pac-16 and the Big 16 are done making their moves and one of the first teams that I expect to move is Boise State.

The Broncos have been desperate to leave the WAC, a conference they are not having any problem running through with ease. A move to a conference that will be adding teams gives them an even better shot at a national title as well as more revenue for their athletic department, as well as for recruiting.

That leaves Rice, Houston, Tulsa, Tulane, Fresno State and SMU.

I know Conference USA would hate to lose both Houston and SMU, but if the Big 12 adds the right teams before they come calling to these aforementioned teams, they may take the first chance they get to jump ship.

The most likely of these is Fresno State who have been, like Boise State, aching to leave the WAC and move into a bigger conference that will land the school more exposure. It's why Bulldog head coach Pat Hill schedules the likes of Wisconsin, Oregon, and Ole Miss as part of the football's non-conference schedule.

If the Big 12 can get back up to 10 or 12 teams, they should be able to rebuild the conference and keep it intact.

There's no question that it's not going to be nearly as strong as it once was but at least the conference will stay intact instead of disappearing into the distance.

The new Big 12: Baylor, Iowa State, Missouri, Kansas State, Kansas, Fresno State, SMU, Houston, Tulsa, Rice

While this is just a prediction of the way things might go, we won't fully know just how big this expansion will get until it's all said and done and the dust has settled over the college football world.