Will Oregon State and Washington State join the Mountain West, quashing rumors of Big 12 contention? CFB insider makes his pick

Oregon State and Washington State joining the Mountain West seems likely as the Pac-12, now dubbed the Pac-4, heads toward possible dissolution.

The four remaining Pacific-12 schools - Oregon State, Washington State, Stanford and California - are contemplating their futures in the conference as other eight programs have found new homes for 2024.

According to college football insider Jim Williams, the Beavers and the Cougars could join the Mountain West instead of the Big 12.

The two schools' move to the MW makes sense, as the Big 12 has already taken the Colorado Buffaloes, Utah Utes, Arizona State Sun Devils and Arizona Wildcats. If it wanted to add Oregon State and Washington State, it would have done so already.

This will be interesting to keep tabs on as there is no appetite for the remaining Pac-12 schools by the rest of the Power Five conferences. So what will the future be, and will the Beavers and the Cougars join the Mountain West?

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How will Oregon State and Washington State benefit from joining the Mountain West?

Washington State vs. Oregon State

Oregon State and Washington State joining the Mountain West would signify a few things for college football. The first would be that the Pac-12 is officially waving the white flag as a conference and either dissolving or merging its intellectual property with another conference.

The second would be that if no merger occurs, Oregon State and Washington State will not be viewed as Power Five programs by others in college football.

The two schools will not be fillers in Big Ten or Big 12 expansion as the conferences have already added their teams, and potentially some more are becoming available with extra value.

There was also a report about the four remaining Pac-12 teams going to the American Athletic Conference as a group as an expansion, not a merger. However, the Mountain West makes the most sense as the geographical proximity to the rest of the conference would make traveling much more manageable.

At this point, it is unclear whether the four remaining teams will act individually or group together to find a viable future.

Stability is one of the benefits the two programs will get from joining the Mountain West while also offering competition that is more on their level. But how things pan out in the coming days will determine the direction of the ongoing realignment.