Here's what you'd get without Oregon and Washington

Here's what you'd get if you kept them and added SDSU and UNLV

Here's what you'd get if you kept them and added Oklahoma St, Texas Tech, TCU and BYU/Kansas St

If the PAC12 wants to turn the tide and be able to retain their teams or to poach from the Big 12, then they need to have the numbers on their side. So getting that information is a better gamble than just sitting there and being presumed behind.