Category Archives: Pac-12 Football

“(We) don’t have a deal because it hasn’t been good.”

George Kliavkoff came in as a swinging dick, but lately has been left twisting in the wind ($$).

Last July, shortly after USC and UCLA’s defections, the Pac-12 opened negotiations for its next media rights contract, which would take effect with the 2024 football season. Seven months later, there’s still no deal — and people are getting antsy. With good reason.

Three people with knowledge of the discussions said commissioner George Kliavkoff is struggling to find partners willing to pay close to what the league is seeking. Two of those sources said Kliavkoff overpromised his members on how many bidders there would be and what dollar amount they could command — a target north of $40 million per school, according to one league athletic director. Today, it’s uncertain whether the Pac-12 will even be able to exceed the $31.6 million average the Big 12 reportedly landed in a six-year extension with ESPN and Fox it reached last fall.

That’s… not optimal.  Basically, it’s the result of Kliavkoff overvaluing his conference’s media rights and the Big 12 getting a jump on him by negotiating their broadcast deal a year ahead of schedule.  So where does George go from here?

ESPN remains interested in the Pac-12, particularly in the league’s 10:30 p.m. ET games, but New York Post sports media writer Andrew Marchand reported last fall that the Pac-12 and ESPN were “hundreds of millions apart.”

When Mickey sees your primary value for broadcast fodder is filling late time slots, brother, you ain’t got much to sell.  Sure has been a long way down from those heady Alliance days, eh?

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Filed under Pac-12 Football

Death, taxes…

… and Lincoln Riley’s teams in the playoffs postseason.

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Filed under Pac-12 Football

Hold on, they’re coming.

I have a rule about not discussing the officiating in Observations posts, so I’m going to do it here.

I was absolutely staggered by the amount of holding the refs allowed both teams in the Peach Bowl.  This may have been the most egregious non-call…

… but there was plenty allowed all night.  I’d love to see a conference by conference comparison of holding calls this season, because if this was typical of Pac-12 crews, they’ve got to have the fewest in the country.

By the way, that’s not a reflection on either o-line.  If the refs are letting you get away with holding, hells, yeah, hold like a mother.

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Filed under Pac-12 Football

The pupil learneth from the master.

Shot ($$).

After the game, Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, “He’ll never say it, but he knows we’ve got better players.”

Chaser.

Looks like he heard the man.

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Filed under Pac-12 Football, Recruiting

The Pac-12 still can’t get its broadcast contract shit together.

Boy, if anything screams for a “Bold strategy, Cotton” reaction, it’s this prediction from SBJ’s John Ourand.

ESPN will be prepared to split the Pac-12’s media rights with Amazon, but will not offer the conference significantly more than it pays for the Big 12. That will lead the Pac-12 to sell almost its entire media package to Amazon for a price that is slightly higher than what the Big 12 gets from ESPN and Fox. The Pac-12 will carve out a handful of prime-time football games that it then will sell to CBS.

Almost the entire package on a streaming service and no ESPN?  Jeebus.  And the kicker is that “slightly higher”.  I’m sure his ADs are gonna be thrilled with that deal.

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Filed under Pac-12 Football

The dream lives

Ladies and gentlemen, fifth time’s the charm!

I guess we’re hoping Oregon makes the CFP field next season, amirite?

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Filed under Pac-12 Football

Seven years of college down the drain

Okay, not exactly, but, still…

Actually, that’s pretty friggin’ impressive.

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Filed under Pac-12 Football, The Body Is A Temple

Humble yourself.

Andy Staples ($$) has some advice for Lincoln Riley.

But perhaps Riley should call Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart this offseason. Because former wunderkind offensive coordinator Riley is in the inverse of the position that former wunderkind defensive coordinator Smart was after losing to LSU in the 2019 SEC Championship Game.

Yeah, so?

What did Smart do? He cut loose coordinator James Coley and hired Todd Monken. He empowered Monken to be aggressive as a play caller when necessary. What emerged was a Georgia program just as capable of winning shootouts as rock fights. And last season, the Bulldogs won the national title that had eluded them for 41 years. They’re currently No. 1 in the CFP rankings. Smart didn’t completely sell out on style, either. He and Monken recruited and designed an offense that fit Georgia’s desired personality while still being capable of being dynamic when the Bulldogs faced an opponent that could stress their defense.

There is a certain tinge of irony in that, given how much questioning Smart took last season about whether teams playing great defense had become obsolete dinosaurs in terms of being capable of winning a national championship in an era when offensive teams ruled the roost.  You know, like Oklahoma’s.

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Filed under Georgia Football, Pac-12 Football, Strategery And Mechanics

Aged like a fine Bordeaux

Yeah, this one stood the test of time:

Although, I suspect we really would have enjoyed a rematch.

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Filed under Georgia Football, Pac-12 Football

Heisman dark horse has opinion.

Bo knows, people.

Now, if we played them again tomorrow, the game would be completely different, and everybody knows that,” Nix said of the Dawgs.

Wait, that requires a follow up. Do you believe Oregon would beat Georgia today?

“I do,” the senior said. “From the first game of the season, a lot of teams get so much better.”

Georgia not being one of those, apparently.  Why would you expect anything different from someone who spent three years at a place that had a national championship parade for a team that didn’t win the national championship?

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Filed under Georgia Football, Pac-12 Football