Welcome back to the latest episode of the GCR. I have to apologize for the non-standard schedule. My day job is rewarding, yet very long days. So, if you can forgive me and maintain flexibility, we will keep driving toward kickoff (just 4 weeks from yesterday).
…..
Today we are going to look at the newest Group of 5 conference (see explanation below). I don’t know what to call it. Granted the Big 12 and the Big Ten have demonstrated that the number in their name is irrelevant, but still. To use the moniker Pac 12 (which they are still using) for a 2-team “conference” just seems wrong. I think here at the GCR we will use the Pac (1)2 for clarity of this weird year. Over the summer, the Big 12 took Arizona, Arizona St, Colorado, and Utah. In addition, Oregon, Southern Cal, UCLA, and Washington shifted to the Big Ten. And finally, California and Stanford jumped to the ACC. That left just Oregon St and Washington St being the kids not invited to ride in the limo to prom. Because of the loss of 2024 pre-planned conference games, the Beavers and Cougars needed to put games on the schedule. They made an agreement with the Mountain West Conference (MWC) to pick up games. Together they are playing 15 against the Group of 5 MWC. Oregon St is playing 3 games against Power 5 teams while Washington St is playing just 2. Those are strong Group of 5 schedules, but not Core 4 (used to be Power 5 before the Pac 12 became the Pac (1)2). Another piece of evidence that the conference is no longer considered a major, the winner of the single conference game will not have a automatic bid in the 12-team playoff as is true for the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and the SEC). So, they’ve been demoted just like Pluto and that is that.
…..
In the table below, (F) indicates an FCS opponent, (4) indicates a Core 4 challenge, (M) indicates a game against the MWC, which are pseudo conference games that don’t count as such in the standings for either conference, and (N) indicates a neutral site game. They do not play any games against non-MWC Group of 5 teams.
| Team | 2023 Record (Rank) | 2024 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away/Neutral Games | Opp 2023 Rec |
| Washington St Cougars (1) | 5-7 (63) | 7.60 (61) | (39-38/.506) Portland St (F), Texas Tech (4), San Jose St (M), Hawaii (M), Utah St (M), Wyoming (M) | (47-32/.595) Washington (4N), Boise St (M), Fresno St (M), San Diego St (M), New Mexico (M), Oregon St | 86-70 (.551) |
| Oregon St Beavers (2) | 8-5 (27) | 6.51 (107) | (45-43/.511) Idaho St (F), Oregon (4), Purdue (4), Colorado St (M), UNLV (M), San Jose St (M), Washington St | (29-35/.453) California (4), San Diego St (M), Air Force (M), Nevada (M), Boise St (M) | 74-78 (.487) |
…..
That’s it for this episode. Tune in later today for a special mascot episode. During the next week, we’ll explore the 6th and 5th place conferences. We are getting closer to game time!!! Thank you for reading and sharing with others, G
