Pac-12, Here Today, Gone Soon – November 4

The Pac-12 grew out of the old Pacific Coast Conference, which started in 1915. It has gone through many name changes and different members, but it has always been the premier conference among schools in the west. Today, No. 5 Washington plays at No. 20 USC in a Pac-12 showdown that will greatly affect who plays in the conference championship game. That championship game will be the conference’s last.

Earlier this year, all but Oregon State and Washington State decided to move to a different conference after the 2023-24 academic and athletic year. USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon will join the Big Ten next year. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will become members of the Big 12. Cal and Stanford – along with SMU from the AAC – will join the ACC. The two remaining Pac-12 schools have not yet made a decision as to what they will do.

What Happened to the Pac-12

Like pretty much anything in big-time college athletics, it all came down to money. The Big Ten changed the dynamic of college sports when the conference started its own television network. Other conferences followed suit because its a cash cow. Of the Power 5 conferences with a TV network, the Pac-12’s is the one that makes the least amount of money. 

The network as well as television rights from other networks generates a ton of revenue for the Pac-12. The big issue in why ten schools chose to leave the Pac-12 was the lack of a new media rights deal. For example, the SEC just signed a new deal with ESPN that is reportedly worth around $300 million per year. All SEC schools share in that revenue. The Pac-12’s TV contracts expire this year and no new deal was in place. That’s why school’s started to defect.

Great Swan Song for the Pac-12

The Pac-12 has taken a lot of heat for only making the College Football Playoff once. It’s teams have not even sniffed the CFP since Washington lost to Alabama in a semifinal game at the end of the 2016 season. This year, however, the Pac-12 has a shot at getting back to the CFP. Heading into Week 10 of the season, the Pac-12 has six teams ranked in the CFP poll. Utah, UCLA, and USC are ranked No. 18, 19, and 20, respectively. Oregon State (6-2) is ranked 16th. 

Washington (8-0) is the conference’s best contender for the CFP. The Huskies beat No. 6 Oregon 36-33 earlier this season to hand the Ducks (7-1) their only loss. As mentioned, Washington plays at USC today. The Trojans were 6-0 and ranked in the top-10 at one point, but they lost back-to-back games against Notre Dame and Utah. Last week, USC survived Cal 50-49, winning after the Bears missed a two-point conversion. 

Colorado, with Coach Prime Deion Sanders running the show, was also ranked earlier this season, but the Buffaloes are now 4-4. The same is true of Washington State, which was 4-0 after the first four weeks of the season but is now 4-4 after four straight losses. Even Arizona, which was 1-11 just two seasons ago, is having a solid year. The Wildcats are 5-3 heading into Week 10.

Sal Simply Can’t Be Stopped

If you are betting on Pac-12 games today, hop on board the Sal Lombardi money train. The guy is absolutely crushing his picks this week. Yesterday was another stellar performance by one of our top experts.

Sal wasn’t the only one. A couple of other Sports Hub experts ended up in the top-5 yesterday and overall, 25 cappers won at least $100. You’ve got to get in on the action today. There are dozens of college football picks in the system already and many more to come. 

Here’s how our guys did yesterday.

• Sal’s money train: After going 5-2 on Thursday, Sal followed that up with another brilliant 5-1 finish yesterday. Remember how Sal loves the NHL. Well yesterday, he hit 4-of-4 NBA picks. In total, he hit on three underdogs and won $449! For the last three days, Sal is now up $1262! 
• Ben & Gino: No, it’s not a new ice cream company. Ben Miller hit both of his picks yesterday and took home $235. Gino De Luca also hit his two picks and won $215. Gino is a soccer guy who is 4-1 over the last three days and has cleared $367.
• Top-5: Also in the top-5 was Sports Hub expert Patrick Doyle. He went 2-0 and won $200. Over the last four days, Patrick is 5-2 and has won $400.
• More Sal: It’s worth noting that Sal Lombardi is all over our leaderboards. Not only was he No. 1 yesterday, he’s No. 1 over the last 7 days. He’s also our top NHL capper over the last 7 days with a ridiculous $1813 in winnings. You can view all of the leaderboards right HERE. 

NBA In-Season Tournament Gets Off to Great Start

It’s something new and it got off to a great start last night. The NBA Cup – the league’s new in-season tournament – started last night. The tournament is set up very similar to a world soccer event. There is group play. Group winners then advance to a knockout round and finally, there are semifinals and finals. 

All of the games, except the championship game, count toward a team’s regular season record. Players and coaches will receive financial rewards for their performances during the in-season tournament. You can learn more about the NBA Cup right here at Sports Hub.

What else is trending?

• Stallions, out: Connor Stalions, the Michigan staffer who ran the whole signal stealing thing at Michigan, resigned his position yesterday. The investigation continues. Michigan faces Purdue tonight.
• Big day for the Pac-12: We already mentioned the Washington-USC showdown. Oregon is at home against a pesky Cal. Oregon State is at Colorado, which has lost four of its last five games. Coach Prime demoted his offensive coordinator Sean Lewis, who will now be the co-OC along with former NFL coach Pat Shurmur.
• Bombs away in Denver: Just prior to the Mavericks-Nuggets game last night, the three-point lines had to be repainted. In a morning shootaround, Mavs F Grant Williams noticed his shot was off from behind the arc. Turns out the lines were too far from the basket. It didn’t matter. The Nuggets shot 43.3 percent from behind the arc and beat Dallas 125-114.
• Bellinger declines option: Cubs slugger Cody Bellinger declined his $25 million option with the team. That will make him a free agent. The 2019 NL MVP hit .307 this year with 26 homers and 97 RBIs. That will likely command him a better deal somewhere else.

• Still no losses: The Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights remain the only two NHL teams without a loss in regulation. Both teams are in action today.

Pac-12 Heads Big College Football Schedule

The Washington-USC Pac-12 battle is one of two matchups of ranked opponents today. Still, it’s a huge day for college football. Let Sports Hub’s experts help get you through it with more wins. Visit our database for all of our picks today.

There’s more than just college football on tap today. 

1. NHL: Saturday is always a huge day for hockey. All but two teams will play today. That’s right, 15 NHL games are on the schedule. Wonder how many Sal will have picks for? Head to the members’ area today and find out.
2. NBA: It’s not in-season tournament action today, but there are eight games on the schedule. Denver, fresh off a big win over Dallas last night, hosts the Chicago Bulls.
3. Big day for soccer too: All of the top pro soccer leagues have multiple matches. If you’re a soccer bettor, there are games in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, and the MLS playoffs.
4. College football: It could get interesting in Week 10 of the college football season. The Pac-12 Washington-USC game is the big one, but there are several other conference games that will have an impact on championship games and the CFP. No. 14 LSU plays at No. 8 Alabama, for example. The Crimson Tide is a 3.5-point favorite.

5. CFL playoffs: The quest for the Grey Cup gets underway. Hamilton is in Montreal and BC hosts Calgary. The winners will play for division championships next week.
6. Golf: Camilo Villegas took over the lead at the World Wide Technology Championship. The third round is today. Round 3 play is complete in the TOTO Japan Classic in Omitama, Japan. Shiho Kuwaki and Nasa Hataoka are still tied for the lead.
7. Tennis: The semifinals of the Rolex Paris Masters are today on the ATP Tour. Two more tournaments – Moselle Open and Sofia Open – begin today. On the women’s side, the semifinals in the Dow Tennis Classic in Michigan are today.
8. UFC Fight Night: Jailton Almeida takes on Derrick Lewis in a heavyweight main event at tonight’s UFC Fight Night. 

It’s a full day of sports. Make it a great day by keeping the Sports Hub website open so you can refer to it throughout the day. Members can check the database all day long for picks in all sports. There are nearly a hundred CFB picks right now and that will easily double by the time games start kicking off. 

Let’s have a winning day and come back tomorrow and do this again. Until then.