ACC talks with Stanford and Cal heat up amid conference realignment as MWC and AAC sight Pac-12 leftovers: Reports

Conference realignment has been the biggest story during the college football offseason and we may have some more before the kickoff of Week 0. With the SMU Mustangs, Stanford Cardinal and California Golden Bears set to join the Atlantic Coast Conference, there is some more movement to be had by Pac-12 teams.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports is reporting the Mountain West and American conferences are both interested in Oregon State and Washington State.

"The MWC and AAC's pursuit of the Cougars and Beavers is accelerating as ACC discussions with Stanford and Cal intensify. Left homeless when the Pac-12 broke apart earlier this month, Oregon State and Washington State now find themselves in the midst of a conference tussle for their services - the latest two dominoes in the most significant realignment wave in the industry's history."

The Pac-12 has been trying to merge with either conference to remain alive. However, at this point the Pac-12 merging with another conference might not be the best solution as Dellenger adds.

"A rebuilt Pac-12 will almost certainly lose two designations - one from the NCAA and one from the CFP: (1) the autonomous-five governing status that grants them more authoritative powers in rule-making; and (2) the Power Five status with the CFP that grants those leagues more revenue in the playoff distribution model."

The conference realignment might have been the final blow to the Pac-12 but the superconferences have definitely been the benefactor of it.

With conference realignment, who will take the fifth spot of the Power Five?

The conference realignment has seemingly killed all chances that the Pac-12 will remain a Power Five conference. After all, they are reportedly down to just the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars in 2024. It seems as if either the Mountain West or the American Conference will fill the empty spot left by the Pac-12.

This makes a lot of sense as UAB coach Trent Dilfer stated he believes the AAC is worthy of being a Power Five conference as presently constituted. The Mountain West would be a logical decision if the NCAA wants to keep a west coast conference in power and represent different sections.

If that is not the case, The American seems to be a better overall program in college football, which is going to be the tiebreaker.

Either way, the Pac-12's dismantling is going to be a benefit to a Group of Five conference.