Pac-10 Conference Realignment: What Utah and Colorado Mean for Arizona State

If the past is any indication of the future, the Arizona State Sun Devils will welcome Utah and Colorado to the Pac-10 with open arms.

In its history, ASU is 2-0 against Colorado and 16-6 against Utah. 

Utah is set to begin Pac-10 play in 2011, while Colorado is scheduled to stay in the Big 12 an additional year (although, Colorado Athletic Director Mike Bohn has stated he is working to get out in time for the 2011 football season).

According to a Denver Post report, the Utes and Buffaloes will join the Arizona and Los Angeles schools in a south division, while the remaining universities will make up a north division. 

Besides perennial powerhouse USC (which might be on the decline because of recent NCAA sanctions), no other school in the Sun Devils' new division should really intimidate ASU. 

UCLA is on the rise, but hasn't been to the Rose Bowl since 1998. 

Arizona has had two winning seasons in a row (including back-to-back Territorial Cup victories over ASU), but doesn't field the same long-term football pedigree as the Sun Devils.

If ASU should find a way to win its division, the team would play in a conference championship game against the winner of the north division with a bid to the Rose Bowl at stake. 

It is still unclear where the title game will take place, but it has been speculated that it might rotate between NFL stadiums in Pac-10 cities.

Other Notes

The Sun Devils' scheduled 2018 and 2019 home-and-home football series with Colorado will need to be replaced. 

Pac-10 teams will likely continue to play nine conference games, meaning ASU will play four teams from the north division (Oregon, Oregon State, Washington, Washington State, California, and Stanford) per year.