Is Colorado's domino effect on Pac-12 collapse a potential reason behind Washington State's aggression in Week 12?

The Pac-12 collapse has been something that has been well documented as the conference is set to be extinct after this year.

The Colorado Buffaloes have been one of the 10 teams that have found a new home for next season as they depart for the Big 12. But the Washington State Cougars are one of the two teams that has remained loyal to the conference during the Pac-12 collapse.

Heading into halftime of their Week 12 matchup, the Washington State Cougars hold a 42-7 halftime lead over the Colorado Buffaloes. The Cougars look a lot different than they have at any point throughout the season, and people are noticing on social media.

With the Pac-12 collapse and the legal issues going on for the ownership of the Conference of Champions, this 35-point halftime lead feels a lot more personal for the Washington State Cougars than just a game on the schedule.

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Who is responsible for the Pac-12 collapse?

The collapse was inevitable for the simple reason that they did not have strong leadership at the top. Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff certainly failed to secure the future of the conference as instead of getting a solid media rights deal, he continued to try to push for every single dollar, which resulted in a downturn.

The Pac-12 Conference was going to have the USC Trojans and the UCLA Bruins gone. Even with that, ESPN was willing to pay $30 million per program annually for a media rights deal. However, Kliavkoff decided to ask for $50 million for each program and the contract talks ended there.

Kliavkoff hired consultant Oliver Luck to save the Pac-12 but it was too late as the collapse was already at a point of no return. Instead, every program except the Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers have announced they are joining a new collegiate conference beginning in 2024.

From the looks of it, The Conference of Champions is closing its doors because of the ineptitude of the people in charge.