[jayasena]

I can\'t speak for others, but at least for me, the preference was never to be in the "easy" division (hence it doesn\'t matter what the "easy" division is). I also don\'t want to avoid the LA teams to make the path to a bowl game easier. What I do want to avoid is a structural disadvantage for Stanford relative to all other teams in the conference (well, Cal is in the same boat as us). Unfortunately, that\'s precisely what the 5-2-2 does if it lasts for more than 4 years or so.

I\'m certainly not in favor of giving up the rivalries with SC and UCLA. I want those games every year.

Unfortunately there\'s no way to meet both of those requirements while being in the North division.

[jayasena]

I can\'t speak for others, but at least for me, the preference was never to be in the "easy" division (hence it doesn\'t matter what the "easy" division is). I also don\'t want to avoid the LA teams to make the path to a bowl game easier. What I do want to avoid is a structural disadvantage for Stanford relative to all other teams in the conference (well, Cal is in the same boat as us). Unfortunately, that\'s precisely what the 5-2-2 does if it lasts for more than 4 years or so.

I\'m certainly not in favor of giving up the rivalries with SC and UCLA. I want those games every year.

Unfortunately there\'s no way to meet both of those requirements while being in the North division.