“… but perception-wise, the Pac-12 is going to be perceived as a higher-level Mountain West.”

Yeah, I imagine this is leading to more than a few awkward moments on the recruiting trail ($$).

… And in the week since, we’ve learned that the remaining Pac-12 schools are exploring a variety of options to ensure their futures.

The truth is wherever the 10 remaining schools land, they’ll only be as good as the talent they acquire. And in a post-USC/UCLA recruiting world, the conference is left with more questions than answers at the moment.

“Recruiting right now is tough,” another Pac-12 recruiting staffer said.  “Everyone wants to know the future of the conference and what are we looking like right now, so it’s really tough to answer. … It puts some questions in recruits’ heads, for sure.”

When all you’ve got left to sell is “you’re going to be closer to home, you don’t have to travel all those hours”, you ain’t got much, fellas.

“I think the really good recruiters will definitely be able to use that to their advantage,” a Pac-12 assistant coach said.

Hell, the mediocre recruiters won’t do too badly with it, either.