[Farm93]

So many elements -
First, missing Arizona and Colorado.  That is terrible for Stanford's Pac-12 and BCS chances.  With 9 conference games, Notre Dame, and a strong SJSU, Stanford will soar above all others on SOS.  Missing two of the bottom 3 or 4 in the conference only makes Stanford's task more difficult.  However, if there are a bunch of 1 loss teams trying to get a BCS invite, and Stanford is one of them, I would expect Stanford to get that slot based on preseason rankings and the SOS reality.

Preserving tradition in the Pac-12.  I think over the longer term playing UCLA and USC is a mixed bag.  However plenty of rivalries have been lost to conference re-alignment and at some point the forced California schedule will get dropped.  No doubt in my mind, it is just a matter of time.

Pac-12's newbies - Not in love with Utah or Colorado.  However, there are/were few expansion opportunities that were more logical than those 2 schools.  If the Pac-12 was only 10, then other conferences would have tried to pick the Pac-10 apart.  And in that world, Stanford would have been left to ultimately join the MWC if the Pac-10 became the Pac-5 or 6.  In my mind Arizona & Arizona State could have easily gone to the Big12 after the SEC and the BigTen poached their choices.  If the Pac-?? was forced to play musical chairs then as a Stanford alum that would have been a very bad game to play.  So if Utah and Colorado prevented THAT game, then welcome. 

[Farm93]

So many elements -
First, missing Arizona and Colorado.  That is terrible for Stanford's Pac-12 and BCS chances.  With 9 conference games, Notre Dame, and a strong SJSU, Stanford will soar above all others on SOS.  Missing two of the bottom 3 or 4 in the conference only makes Stanford's task more difficult.  However, if there are a bunch of 1 loss teams trying to get a BCS invite, and Stanford is one of them, I would expect Stanford to get that slot based on preseason rankings and the SOS reality.

Preserving tradition in the Pac-12.  I think over the longer term playing UCLA and USC is a mixed bag.  However plenty of rivalries have been lost to conference re-alignment and at some point the forced California schedule will get dropped.  No doubt in my mind, it is just a matter of time.

Pac-12's newbies - Not in love with Utah or Colorado.  However, there are/were few expansion opportunities that were more logical than those 2 schools.  If the Pac-12 was only 10, then other conferences would have tried to pick the Pac-10 apart.  And in that world, Stanford would have been left to ultimately join the MWC if the Pac-10 became the Pac-5 or 6.  In my mind Arizona & Arizona State could have easily gone to the Big12 after the SEC and the BigTen poached their choices.  If the Pac-?? was forced to play musical chairs then as a Stanford alum that would have been a very bad game to play.  So if Utah and Colorado prevented THAT game, then welcome.