People have short memories. It wasn't too long ago that USC was the Alabama of the college football world. It would just take one USC/UCLA playoff run for everyone to be talking about how the PAC is back.

For at least the next decade, the PAC12 is going to struggle against the SEC and ACC (colonial states with more money and an almost-religious emphasis on sports) and the B1G (very populous midwest, a finger in every pie, and time zones that play well with everyone). But they'll always be competitive with the Big XII.

The main thing holding them back is their time zone. That, plus a smaller population base makes things tough. Recruiting is harder, fundraising is more difficult, and there are simply fewer people watching the games.

But they've got a lot of stuff going for them. They dominate the region – the only interesting teams they don't have are BYU and Boise State. They have a lot of money flowing into their markets, and population is growing quickly.