ESPN College Football

The Atlantic Coast Conference’s television contract extension with ESPN, announced Wednesday, is the first of three major conference deals expected to be finalized in the next few months.

The ACC contract was extended after the addition of new members Syracuse University and the University of Pittsburgh last September. The shifting of schools as part of conference realignment also led to changes in the Big 12 and Southeastern Conference that has those existing deals in play, too.

The ACC deal is worth $3.6 billion over the next 15 years, according to The Associated Press. That puts the ACC behind only the Big Ten and Pac-12 in terms of the average revenue per school, per year by one measure (viewing all current contracts divided between conferences’ 2012-13 membership.)

SportsBusiness Daily has reported the Big 12 has verbally agreed to a new contract with ESPN and FOX for its first-tier rights for $2.6 billion over 13 years. That would bring the per-year average for the Big 12 to $200 million and the per-school, per-year average to $20 million. The SEC is expected to reopen its contract talks with ESPN following the addition of the University of Missouri and Texas A&M.

ESPN had no comment on any of the deals, which vary in what slate of rights are included, but a spokesman did say that the network is in regular contact with its business partners.

With all of the shuffling and extensions, it can be hard to keep up. Here’s a listing, according to information from The Associated Press, SportsBusiness Daily, SportsBusiness Journal and Adweek, of where things stand now. The Big 12 extension is not included because it has not been finalized. Also, per-year averages and per-school, per-year averages are straight averages and do not take into account actual variances by year as stipulated in individual contracts.

(Read full post)

Kevin Gemmell and David Ubben preview Monday night's Fiesta Bowl matchup between the Stanford Cardinal and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

We'll find out bowl matchups for sure later today, but ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach and Brad Edwards have posted their final bowl projections.

Here's how they see the Pac-12 ending up.

Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio: Both have Oregon and Wisconsin because that's the game.
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Both have Oklahoma State and Stanford
Valero Alamo: Both have Washington playing Oklahoma.
Bridgepoint Education Holiday: Both have California playing Texas.
Hyundai Sun: Both have Utah playing Georgia Tech.
MAACO Las Vegas: Schlabach has Arizona State playing Boise State. Edwards has the Sun Devils playing TCU.
Kraft Fight Hunger: Schlabach has UCLA playing Illinois. Edwards has the Bruins playing Iowa State

Cal fans: Any comments on playing Texas? Any feelings about Longhorns coach Mack Brown you want to express? Refresh our memory of 2004.

There's also an obvious angle for UCLA vs. Illinois.

What we now know: Oregon will play Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

I love that matchup, by the way. Two teams that were just outside the national title discussion with tons of offensive star power who do things differently.

Then what?

Stanford is likely headed to the Fiesta Bowl. But who will it play? It looked like the winner of the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game until the Cowboys opened up a can of whup-butt in a 44-10 beatdown of their rival Sooners.

Now Alabama adherents are scurrying around telling folks not to do what their eyes and brains are saying to do: Put Oklahoma State opposite LSU, the most dominant No. 1 team of the BCS area, in the national title game and see what happens.

But that's another fight (and, yeah, if I were a coach, I'd rather play the Cowboys than the Crimson Tide).

The Pac-12 issue is if the Cowboys get promoted, who might play opposite Stanford? Likely the No. 2 team in the Big 12: Kansas State.

But there is a potential fly in the ointment, well-described here by Jon Wilner.

However, there is a remote chance that Stanford could get knocked out of the BCS. As the No. 4 team in the BCS standings, the Cardinal would be guaranteed a berth in all scenarios except one — the one that could become reality Sunday.

If Oklahoma State jumps Alabama, then the Crimson Tide would fall into the No. 3 spot and receive BCS protection as an at-large team.

In that case, Stanford would not be guaranteed a berth, and the Fiesta, under the letter of the BCS law, could invite someone else (best bet: Michigan). But would it? It seems highly unlikely that the Fiesta would pass on the No. 4 team in order to take a team ranked 8-10 spots lower. Never in the 13-year history of the BCS has the No. 4 team been left out.

Wilner also points out that the Fiesta Bowl's new executive director, Robert Shelton, is a Stanford graduate.

So let's assume a bowl that needs to do the right thing does so -- prioritizing merit -- and picks Stanford. Then with those two spots secure -- and the extra $6 million-plus it means for the conference -- there's the trickle down.

Washington is likely headed to the Alamo Bowl against an uncertain Big 12 opponent. First, we need to know what happens with Oklahoma State. Potential foes include Oklahoma, Baylor or Kansas State.

Then our guess is California goes to the Holiday Bowl (selected over Utah because they have the same conference record and Cal beat the Utes head-to-head). The Bears could face Baylor, Oklahoma or even Missouri or Iowa State.

Utah heads to the Sun Bowl (vs. Georgia Tech?), Arizona State goes to Las Vegas for Dennis Erickson's last game (TCU if it doesn't get a bounced into a BCS at-large berth, or Boise State if it does), and UCLA -- armed with its NCAA bowl waiver for a 6-7 record -- gets an invite to the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against ... hmm... Illinois? Wyoming?

There would be an obvious angle, of course, for a UCLA-Illinois matchup.

We'll, of course, have more later on the bowls. I assume you knew that, though.

The SEC still leads ESPN Stats & Info's conference power rankings, but the Pac-12 has strengthened its position at No. 3 behind the SEC and Big 12.

The Pac-12 gained 3.6 points, most of any conference this past week. It is now 15.2 points behind the Big 12 and 7.3 points ahead of the Big Ten.

Why the move up?

The Pac-12 continues to rise based upon the resurgence of USC. At the beginning of the season, the Pac-12 looked to be a two-team race, but USC’s four-game win streak has catapulted the Trojans into the AP Top 10 and helped the Pac-12 build a solid lead for third place in the conference rankings.

The SEC holds a solid 5.7 point lead over the Big 12 heading into Championship Weekend. The ACC slid 7.6 points and fell into sixth place in the rankings for the first time this season. Losses by Clemson, Georgia Tech and Virginia dropped the ACC in the AP ranks, as the ACC now averages 64.5 fewer AP points per team than the Mountain West Conference.

If you don't like where you are in the power rankings.... you should have played better.

Note: These are not final. They merely reflect the short-term positioning. The final power rankings will include the entire body of work.

See last week's power rankings here.

1. USC: It's been a good two weeks for the Trojans. They are playing as well as any team in the country, and that includes LSU and Alabama. Just imagine if quarterback Matt Barkley shocks the world and decides to return for his senior season. Can you say 2012 preseason top-5?

2. Oregon: Oregon just needs to avoid tripping over itself against UCLA on Friday and it will go to its third consecutive BCS bowl game after winning its third consecutive conference title. Life is good, eh Ducks?

3. Stanford: While Andrew Luck might not win the Heisman, it's hard to consider a second-consecutive 11-1 season anything but a raving success on the Farm. It's extremely likely the Cardinal will head to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl opposite the Big 12 champion.

4. Washington: The Huskies, by virtue of winning their final game and owning victories over California and Utah, rise to the No. 4 spot, which likely means an invitation to the Valero Alamo Bowl. Also, good news that quarterback Keith Price looked all Keith Price-y against Washington State.

5. California: Shhh. Come closer. I don't want the Bears to hear this. Cal has quietly put together a nice run in November, winning three of four, the lone loss coming 31-28 at Stanford. If they were to beat a quality Big 12 team in the Bridgepoint Education Holiday, perhaps Baylor and Robert Griffin III, the Bears would post a pretty darn good season. Hey, keep it down. Don't want Cal to go all Cal on us again.

6. Utah: Utah! You were supposed to be different. The new guy who didn't know Pac-12 teams often go belly-up at unexpected times. The loss to Colorado certainly tripped up what looked like a nice run at the end of the Pac-12 schedule. You now are likely headed to the Hyundai Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas instead of the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Hey, once you've seen one Riverwalk, you've seen them all.

7. Arizona: The Wildcats finished their season with consecutive wins -- beating their hated rival Arizona State along the way -- and have hired a good coach in Rich Rodriguez. Successful two weeks.

8. Arizona State: Not much to say. It looked like a potentially special season, then things collapsed, and it's going to cost Dennis Erickson his job. Hugely disappointing turn in Tempe.

9. UCLA: Not much different than Arizona State. The Bruins simply never arrived at any consistently solid level of play with Rick Neuheisel. UCLA fans and administrators need to ante up: This program needs a great hire, and that means spending money. If the Bruins don't invest, things won't get better.

10. Colorado: The Buffaloes showed heart on the season's final weekend at Utah, and 26 seniors go out as winners after ending a 24-game losing streak outside of their home state. That's a nice building block for the offseason, though it's clear this program has a ways to go.

11. Oregon State: A second consecutive losing season punctuated by getting flicked aside by rival Oregon has folks grumpy in Corvallis. There will be pressure on Mike Riley to turn things around next fall. And will he need to make tough decisions with his coaching staff, to which he has been extremely loyal?

12. Washington State: It appeared the Cougars had crawled out of the conference basement, but they then lost seven of their final eight games and almost certainly cost coach Paul Wulff his job. Hiring Mike Leach, we will quickly note, would cause a nice uptick in sentiment in Pullman.

It now appears that the Pac-12 will produce two BCS bowl teams and two empty bowl contracts.

I don't expect UCLA to ask the Pac-12 to apply for a bowl waiver if the Bruins finish 6-7 after a loss Friday at Oregon in the Pac-12 title game. The Bruins are almost certain to be looking for a new coach. It would be extremely awkward to deal with that during bowl preparations. Further, a likely trip to the Bay Area for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl would be expensive. Probably not worth the, er, glory.

And I'm not sure the waiver would get rubber stamped, anyway. There will be more deserving teams available for the Kraft and New Mexico bowls. Heck, 10 Big Ten teams are bowl eligible.

By the way, expect some tough matchups. If Oklahoma loses to Oklahoma State this weekend, the Sooners are a likely foe for Washington in the Alamo Bowl. Arizona State, with or without Dennis Erickson, probably would get TCU in Las Vegas.

Rose Bowl Game: Oregon vs. Big Ten
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Stanford vs. Big 12
Valero Alamo: Washington vs. Big 12
Bridgepoint Education Holiday: California vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun: Utah vs. ACC
MAACO Las Vegas: Arizona State vs. Mountain West
Kraft Fight Hunger: No team vs. ACC or Army
Gildan New Mexico: No team vs. Mountain West

Things stay the same at the top with the Pac-12 bowl projections, but that's a change, because it seemed reasonable to start to look at Oregon's national title chances on Friday night when Oklahoma State lost.

No longer. The Ducks lost at home to USC, so their best possible destination now is the Rose Bowl.

The big mover is Utah. The Utes would close the season with five consecutive wins if they take care of business at home against Colorado on Saturday. That makes them the hottest and most compelling team after Oregon and Stanford. San Antonio likely will lure plenty of Utes to town, too.

After Utah, the other four bowl-eligible teams mostly arrive with a thud. No bowl wants to deal with a team that might fire its coach.

Rose Bowl Game, Jan. 2: Oregon vs. Big Ten
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 2: Stanford vs. Big 12
Valero Alamo, Dec. 29: Utah vs. Big 12
Bridgepoint Education Holiday, Dec. 28: Washington vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun, Dec. 31: California vs. ACC
MAACO Las Vegas, Dec. 22: UCLA vs. Mountain West
Kraft Fight Hunger, Dec. 31: Arizona State vs. ACC or Army
Gildan New Mexico, Dec. 17: No team vs. Mountain West

Tracking the offensive, defensive and coach of the year races in the Pac-12.

For a more thorough look at offense, re-read our Heisman Watch update.

Offensive player of the year

1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: Luck ranks fifth in the nation in passing efficiency. He's completing 71 percent of his throws with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

2. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon: James ranks first in the nation with 150.88 yards rushing per game and averages 7.89 yards per rush, which is the best among the top-23 rushers. He's also scored 12 touchdowns.

3. Matt Barkley, QB, USC: Barkley leads the Pac-12 with 29 touchdown passes and has six interceptions. His 278 yards passing per game ranks third in the conference. He ranks fourth in the conference in passing efficiency.

Defensive player of the year

1. Chase Thomas, LB, Stanford: Thomas is second the conference in sacks (6.5) and first in tackles for a loss (14.5). He's also forced four fumbles, which is tied for the conference lead.

2. Nick Perry, DE, USC: Perry, after recording 2.5 sacks against Washington, leads the conference with 7.5 sacks and is second in tackles for a loss with 11. He's also defended two passes and forced two fumbles, recovering one.

3. Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State: Burfict ranks second on the Sun Devils with 56 tackles, with 7.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. He also has an interception, four passes defended and a fumble recovery.

Coach of the year

1. Chip Kelly, Oregon: He's on track to win his third consecutive conference title in three years as Ducks head coach. And he's a huge fan of Styx.

2. David Shaw, Stanford: If Oregon were to lose -- even if it still wins the conference -- Shaw might get the nod if he goes 11-1 in his first year after replacing Jim Harbaugh and earns an at-large berth in a BCS bowl.

3. Lane Kiffin, USC: He becomes a serious candidate if his Trojans upset Oregon on Saturday.

Here's a look at what the Pac-12's top Heisman Trophy candidates did over the weekend.

My guess is both of these guys will at least be invited to New York for the ceremony.

Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: Luck completed 27 of 41 passes for 256 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in a 53-30 loss to Oregon. He also fumbled. He ranks fifth in the nation in passing efficiency. He's completing 71 percent of his throws with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Trending? Down.

LaMichael James, RB, Oregon: James rushed for 146 yards on 20 carries with three touchdowns against Stanford. He ranks first in the nation with 150.88 yards rushing per game and averages 7.89 yards per rush, which is the best among the top-23 rushers. He's also scored 12 TDs. Trending? Up.

The SEC remains atop ESPN Stats & Info's Conference Power Rankings, and the Pac-12 has moved back into fourth place behind the No. 3 Big Ten and No. 2 Big 12.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 are tight, though. The Pac-12 was 0.9 ahead of the Big Ten last week, but now it is 0.7 behind. Three weeks ago, the Big Ten was 22 points ahead of the Pac-12.

The Pac-12 remains decisively ahead of the ACC by 11.1 points.

Here's why the Big Ten moved ahead of the Pac-12:

The Big Ten reclaimed third place in the rankings after wins by Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin. Despite not having a team ranked in the Top 12 of the AP Poll, the Big Ten has five teams ranked in the AP Top 25, which is tied with the SEC for the most of any conference.

The Big Ten does not have one elite national-title contender, but the conference has five teams with an 8-2 record and only two teams with losing records. In contrast, the Pac-12 only has three teams with two or fewer losses and four teams with losing records.

The SEC and Big 12, separated by just 4.7 points, are way ahead of the other conferences. The Big 12 is 20.8 points ahead of the Big Ten.

» BCS standings reaction: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC | Non-AQ

Oregon is rated fourth in the latest BCS standings, behind LSU, Oklahoma State and Alabama.

That makes the Ducks, ranked seventh last week, the second-ranked 1-loss team behind the Crimson Tide. Oklahoma is No. 5, the third 1-loss team. The Sooners were ahead of the Ducks last week.

The human polls and the computers match, by the way, all the way through the top-six teams. Oregon and Oklahoma are tied for fourth with the computers.

LSU and Oklahoma State are again tied for No. 1 in the computer polls.

Stanford fell from fourth to No. 9 in the BCS standings. No other Pac-12 team is in the top-25. USC, ranked 18th in the AP poll, isn't eligible for the BCS standings due to NCAA sanctions.

Oregon is 0.0344 behind Alabama. That's fairly substantial. For comparison's sake, LSU is .0291 ahead of Oklahoma State.

The Ducks should get a boost from playing USC on Saturday while Alabama plays Georgia Southern, an FCS team. On the downside for Oregon, it won't get a lift from the Pac-12 championship game. The South Division winner is certain to be unranked.

In other words, it seems likely Oregon would finish behind Alabama in the BCS standings unless poll voters promote the Ducks ahead of the Crimson Tide, which doesn't seem likely.

There really are no surprises in this week's BCS standings. If Oregon wins out, it's still going to need some help to get to the title game.

Projecting the bowls based on the 11 weeks of games.

Rose Bowl Game: Oregon vs. Big Ten
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Stanford vs. Big 12
Valero Alamo: Washington vs. Big 12
Bridgepoint Education Holiday: Arizona State vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun: Utah vs. ACC
MAACO Las Vegas: California vs. Mountain West
Kraft Fight Hunger: UCLA vs. ACC or Army
Gildan New Mexico: No team vs. Mountain West

Tracking the offensive, defensive and coach of the year races in the Pac-12.

For a more thorough look at offense, re-read our Heisman Watch update.

Offensive player of the year

1. Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford: Luck ranks fifth in the nation in passing efficiency. He's completing 71 percent of his throws with 26 touchdowns and five interceptions.

2. LaMichael James, RB, Oregon: James ranks first in the nation with 151.57 yards rushing per game and averages 7.98 yards per rush. He has nine rushing TDs.

3. Matt Barkley, QB, USC: Barkley leads the Pac-12 with 28 TD passes after throwing six against Colorado. He ranks fourth in the conference in passing efficiency.

4. Chris Polk, RB, Washington: Polk ranks seventh in the nation and second in the conference with 121.8 yards rushing per game. He has nine rushing TDs.

5. Robert Woods, WR, USC: Woods ranks No. 4 in the nation with 124.56 receiving yards per game. He's caught 11 TD passes.

Defensive player of the year

1. Chase Thomas, LB, Stanford: Thomas leads the conference in sacks (6.5) and tackles for loss (12.5). He's also forced four fumbles, which is tied for the conference lead.

2. Vontaze Burfict, LB, Arizona State: Burfict ranks second on the Sun Devils with 51 tackles, with 7.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks. He also has an interception and four passes defended.

Coach of the year

1. David Shaw, Stanford: Shaw remains unbeaten as a head coach. If he's still unbeaten on Dec. 3, he's the Coach of the Year.

2. Chip Kelly, Oregon: How could Kelly not be Coach of the Year if he wins a third consecutive Pac-12 title?

Projecting the bowls based on the 10 weeks of games.

Allstate BCS National Championship Game: Stanford vs. BCS team

Rose Bowl Game: Oregon vs. Big Ten

Valero Alamo: Arizona State vs. Big 12

Bridgepoint Education Holiday: Washington vs. Big 12

Hyundai Sun: Utah vs. ACC

MAACO Las Vegas: UCLA vs. Mountain West

Kraft Fight Hunger: California vs. ACC or Army

Gildan New Mexico: No team vs. Mountain West