How Oregon and Washington to Big Ten hurt the Pac-12 more than ASU, Arizona to Big 12 

Oregon and Washington's moves to the Big Ten is a massive blow to the Pac-12 and could in fact be the final blow to the conference.

It arguably is the biggest change to the Conference of Champions that has shifted dramatically during the college football offseason.

However, it was not the only pair of teams to announce their departures to a different Power Five conference.

The Arizona Board of Regents announced both the Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats would be the newest members of the Big 12. That also hurts but perhaps not as much of a sting as Oregon and Washington were.

Why exactly are Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten more impactful than ASU and Arizona to the Big 12?

Oregon and Washington to Big Ten started a domino effect

Oregon and Washington joining the Big Ten is something that is going to be studied for years to come as the Pac-12 comes crumbling down. With these programs now changing conferences, things began to snowball.

The Pac-12 has now lost UCLA, USC, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State in a matter of just 13 months.

While Oregon and Washington's decision was not the first, it signified a bigger thing than the Arizona Board of Regents was able to. They began the snowball effect of the conference as outside of UCLA, USC and Oregon, no other programs would have been looking to change leagues.

Once the Pac-12 lost Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten, they had to kiss away everything that was being built on. The Pac-12 media deal was essentially scrapped and everything was put back at square one.

Oregon and Washington just seem to have more of a certain cachet than Arizona and Arizona State.

If the Sun Devils and Wildcats stayed, the conference would be viewed more similar to what it is at the moment. However, if the Ducks and Huskies stayed, there would be a few more signs of hope.

Could it be that the football programs are a little better combined than Arizona and Arizona State? Possibly. But there is a more secure feeling.

Conference realignment is changing the college football landscape as a whole and it feels like superconferences are the big thing now. It will be interesting to see how all four of these programs fare in their new homes beginning in 2024.