Big 12 football: Ranking the 6 PAC-12 candidates for expansion

It is clear that the realignment conversation is firmly upon us again, and the Big 12 football conference is squarely in the thick of the discussion for the second year in a row. Last summer, the Big 12 was in the thick of the conference realignment discussion thanks to the departure of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the SEC by 2025.

The first shoe to drop in this round of conference realignment took place last summer with the news of Texas and Oklahoma leaving the Big 12 for the greener pastures of the SEC. That was followed by the Big 12 adding four teams in response to the departures of Texas and OU.

The four teams that the Big 12 added were the UCF Knights, BYU Cougars, Houston Cougars, and Cincinnati Bearcats.

But it now looks like the Big 12 is trying to make moves to expand again in the wake of the rejuvenation of this round of conference realignment. What sparked the Big 12’s intentions to expand this summer was the move by the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins to leave the PAC-12 for the Big Ten.

Ranking the PAC-12 candidates that could be added for Big 12 football after this week’s meeting

USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten has opened up the door to the possibility of other conferences trying to poach some of the more appealing remaining teams in the PAC-12. And a report from Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports this week mentions that the Big 12 has met with schools in the PAC-12 about the possibility of joining this conference.

Those six teams that met with the Big 12 include the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Utah Utes, and Colorado Buffaloes.

Here’s a look at a ranking of the attractiveness of each of these PAC-12 teams in the conference expansion conversation for the Big 12.