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The Oregon Ducks' former conference, the Pac-12 Conference is adding four new members to join Oregon State and Washington State.
The Pac-12 board of directors unanimously approved applications from Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State to be added in 2026-27, according to multiple reports. All four are Mountain West teams.
The Pac-12 will then need to add two more school to get it to eight - the NCAA’s minimum required to qualify as an FBS conference. The conference must reach that minimum by July of 2026, the end of the NCAA’s two-year grace period.
Conference realignment has had ripple effects all over the college football world.
Oregon, the USC Trojans, UCLA Bruins and Washington Huskies left the Pac-12 conference for the Big Ten conference. Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah went to the Big 12 conference. Cal and Stanford are now in the ACC conference.
The argument could be made that the Ducks are winners within the conference realignment.
The Ducks are 2-0 and while the wins have not been dominant, Oregon is still a first-year Big Ten school in a position to win right away, with much thanks to its perimeter speed at wide receiver and in the secondary.
After being members of the Pac-12 Conference since 1915, the Big Ten conference allows for bigger influence. The Big Ten and the SEC are the undisputed powerhouse conferences in the new college football realignment landscape.
The Ducks will lean on their work ethic and grit during two of the biggest matchups of the collegefootball season: hosting Ohio State on October 12th and playing at Michigan on November 2nd.
If Oregon can defeat both Ohio State at home and Michigan on the road, the Ducks have a real shot at the Big Ten title and making noise in the College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes are looking to win their first Big Ten Title since 2020, while Oregon also won it's last (Pac-12) conference championship in 2020.
To get there, Oregon must find an answer on its offensive line, which has given up seven sacks in the first two games. Finding chemistry between the line and transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel is critical, as the Ducks travel to face in-state rival Oregon State this Saturday September 22 at 12:30 p.m. PT.
The Ducks explosive playmakers are ready to let loose. Veteran wide receiver Tez Johnson and tight end Terrance Ferguson add explosiveness to Ducks offensive coordinator Will Stein's exciting offense. Add in transfer Evan Stewart, a projected 2025 NFL Draft first-round pick, and things get even more interesting.
"(Will Stein) has some crazy trick plays, always. He's drawing up on a napkin somewhere in a restaurant," said tight end Terrance Ferguson to Oregon Ducks SI's Bri Amaranthus. "Coach Stein's done a great job of being creative like that. And he really thrives in trying to get the players the ball in space. And I think that's really the best thing you can do."
Oregon looks to find its groove fast, as the Pac-12's Oregon State would love to upset the Ducks.
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NFL Draft intel: Big Ten QB's elite arm turning heads among scouts
Each week, Yardbarker monitors the 2026 NFL Draft, scheduled for April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. From an Indiana quarterback to a Louisville wide receiver, here are five players we're tracking: Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates listed Mendoza (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) as their No. 5 QB on "First Draft" on Wednesday. Yates gushed over his arm. "This kid is legit," Yates said. "He makes a lot of cool throws. He makes a lot of very confident throws that I'm not sure other quarterbacks would even see." That's one reason the California Golden Bears transfer produced in 2024 without stellar weapons. The program had no offensive players selected in the 2025 draft, but he completed 68.7 percent of his passes for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns in 11 games. Imagine what he could do at Indiana, which made the College Football Playoff last season. Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti has said Mendoza's arm is stronger than former starting QB Kurtis Rourke's (now with the San Francisco 49ers). He tied for the FBS's 10th-most passing TDs (29 in 12 games) last season. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier On Aug. 8, LSU HC Brian Kelly confirmed Nussmeier has chronic patellar tendinitis in his left knee. The coach downplayed the injury. While not season-ending, Yates believes it will concern teams. "Get ready for a long medical conversation surrounding Garrett Nussmeier from late February into March prior to the predraft process," he said on "First Draft." The injury hasn't affected Nussmeier's odds of being the top pick in the draft. As of Thursday, FanDuel Sportsbook lists him as the favorite (+340) to go No. 1 overall in 2026. The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder may dispel the medical questions if he excels again in 2025. Last season, he ranked fifth in the FBS in passing yards (4,052 in 13 games). Clemson QB Cade Klubnik In his latest mock draft, The Ringer's Todd McShay has the Cleveland Browns taking Klubnik (6-foot-2, 210 pounds) with pick No. 1. "If the Browns are picking No. 1 in 2026, it means none of their quarterbacks did enough to claim the job long term, including Shedeur Sanders, despite his impressive preseason debut," wrote McShay. "Enter Klubnik, who's calm in chaos and has enough mobility and arm strength to succeed at the next level." Jacksonville Jaguars fifth-year QB Trevor Lawrence is the only Clemson player to be taken No. 1 overall in the draft. Klubnik could lead the No. 4 Tigers to a national championship, like Lawrence did during the 2018 season. The senior finished with the nation's third-most passing TDs (36 in 14 games) in 2024. With star wide receivers Antonio Williams and Bryant Wesco Jr. returning, Klubnik could have another big year. The wideouts combined for 16 TD catches last season. Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq Sadiq (6-foot-3, 245 pounds) should assume a bigger role after the Los Angeles Rams took former Ducks TE Terrance Ferguson (pick No. 46) in the 2025 draft. CBS Sports' Mike Renner ranked Sadiq as his No. 1 TE and believes he could go higher in the draft than Ferguson. "Even if he's on the smallish side by NFL standards, it did not show up much as a run-blocker," wrote Renner in a story published Wednesday. "Sadiq's play strength was unique for a true sophomore and should only improve as his career progresses. A potential top-20 talent with development." Sadiq — who had just two touchdown catches in 14 games last season — isn't considered a first-rounder yet. Tankathon's latest mock draft has the Carolina Panthers selecting him with pick No. 70 in the third round. His stock could skyrocket if he produces better numbers. Louisville WR Chris Bell Bell (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) may check the boxes for NFL teams when evaluating WRs before the draft. The Athletic's Dane Brugler rates him as his No. 2 WR. "With his strong, muscular frame, Bell passes the eye test walking off the bus," wrote Brugler in a story published Thursday. "He uses his physicality to be a possession target who can make tough grabs over defenders. And with his 4.4 speed, Bell can separate vertically or create explosive plays after the catch." Per Brugler, Bell must expand his route tree to improve his draft stock. He must also prove that he can succeed without QB Tyler Shough (now with the New Orleans Saints). Bell could still be productive after recording a career-high 737 receiving yards in 13 games last season. He has been named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list. The award recognizes college football's top WR.
Pirates' longtime failure can be explained by their new prospect's shocking revelation
It's not just a lack of spending or money that keeps the Pittsburgh Pirates at the bottom of the Major League Baseball standings every year. It's also the fact that they are poorly run. Especially when it comes to player development throughout their own farm system. One of their newest prospects, catcher Rafael Flores, who was just acquired before the trade deadline in the David Bednar trade with the New York Yankees, unintentionally gave an example as to one of the flaws with the Pirates. As Flores explained to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week, the Yankees' minor league focus is almost entirely on individual player development, while the Pirates — in his early view — seem more focused on team success at the minor league level. He also explained that the Yankees give their catchers every piece of information and data that they possibly can, while the Pirates only give their catchers the information that they specifically ask for. Those are two very eye-opening comparisons, and the first one is by far the most problematic and shows a very serious flaw with the Pirates' approach. The major league team should never, under any circumstances, care about the team success of a minor league team. Those teams do not exist to win games or win championships. They exist as an avenue to teach players how to play professional baseball, develop their skills and get them ready to be contributors for the major league team. Everything else is secondary. Now, Flores has only been in the Pirates system for two weeks. It is possible his initial perception is not the entire reality. But it's still an eye-opening comparison for a player to make when coming over from a completely different — and far more successful — organization. It would also track with a lot of the recent Pirates issues in developing players. They have been awful at developing position players, especially under general manager Ben Cherington, and tend to be slow to promote players through the system. (Paul Skenes was a rare exception to both issues.) It would also make sense that they want their minor league teams to do well. It makes it easy to sell hope to a frustrated fan base. If the major league team is not winning, it is easy for the Pirates to point out the success of their farm teams and say, "see, they are doing well ... there is help on the way" even if it is entirely misleading. The Pirates do have two of the best prospects in baseball in infielder Konnor Griffin and starting pitcher Bubba Chandler, but neither is currently in the major leagues. It remains to be seen if they will develop them into top-tier major leaguers. Recent history suggests the odds are not in their favor. Especially if the team is more concerned about its minor league teams winning games over individual players developing.
Mets' playoff chances in jeopardy after latest tough loss
The New York Mets have been in a slump for a couple of weeks now, and it is putting their playoff chances in some serious jeopardy. After Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Mets have lost 13 of their past 15 games and have seen a once-comfortable lead in the wild-card race nearly completely disappear. Following Thursday's results, the Mets have the slimmest of leads over the Cincinnati Reds for the third and final wild-card spot in the National League, sitting just 0.5 games ahead of them. It is a stunning reversal from where things were just a little more than two weeks ago. On July 27, the Mets completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants to win their seventh game in a row and improve to 62-44 on the season. They were not only six games ahead of the Reds in the playoff race, but they were on top of the National League East (holding a 1.5-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies) and were just a half-game behind the Milwaukee Brewers for the best record in the National League. Now all of that is gone. As of Thursday night, the Mets trail the Phillies by five games in the NL East, they are 12.5 games back of the Brewers for the top spot in the NL overall and now only have half a game of cushion over the Reds. They also have the St. Louis Cardinals (3.5 back) right behind them and gaining ground. Manager Carlos Mendoza tried to remain optimistic while also acknowledging they are not playing well. The Mets' bats have been a big source of frustration during this slump, but it's not the only issue. The bullpen has also been a major problem, and key trade-deadline addition Ryan Helsley contributed to that on Thursday by giving up two runs in the top of the eighth inning to turn a 3-2 Mets lead into a 4-3 deficit. Whether it is the bats, the arms or the defense causing the problem, the common result remains the same — more losses. Now the Mets find themselves right in the thick of the playoff race, fighting for a spot. It was not that long ago that they seemed to be a playoff lock.
Six NBA players most likely to be traded
NBA teams won't assemble for training camp until September, but some players may not be on those teams for long. Here are six NBA players likely to get traded in the upcoming season. 1. Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz Some NBA teams go all-in. The Utah Jazz have gone all-out, ditching veterans Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins this summer. Their lone remaining high-priced player is Lauri Markkanen, a 2023 All-Star who has four years and $196M left on his contract. He had a down year in 2024-25, playing just 47 games and dropping to 19 points per game, but the Jazz were also holding Markkanen out so much that they got fined. Markkanen's shooting would fit on nearly any NBA team, and he's still only 28 years old. The Jazz have amassed a lot of future draft picks, but many of them aren't great — pick swaps with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Minnesota Timberwolves, and a 2027 Los Angeles Lakers first-rounder. Trading their Finnish superstar could get them a huge return, especially if NBA teams are seeing him dominate in EuroBasket exhibition games. 2. Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors It seems like a foregone conclusion that Jonathan Kuminga will resign with the Golden State Warriors and equally inevitable that the Warriors will then try to trade their 22-year-old forward. The only holdup is that the restricted free agent and his team can't agree on a new contract. The Warriors need to get something back for their former lottery pick, but they also need to preserve his salary slot. Kuminga and his agent couldn't work out a sign-and-trade this summer, but once free agents who signed this summer can be traded Dec. 15, far more trade options will open up. Kuminga doesn't want to be on the Warriors. The Warriors don't want to guarantee him playing time. The breakup looks like it's coming. 3. Anfernee Simons, Boston Celtics In a year where the Boston Celtics have dramatically slashed their payroll in Jayson Tatum's absence, they have a huge incentive to deal Anfernee Simons, the guard acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers in the Jrue Holiday trade. Getting rid of Simons gets them under the luxury tax, which is worth tens of millions of dollars, while also keeping the Celtics out of penalties for repeatedly being a tax team. It all depends on whether the Celtics will settle for the financial savings or hold out to get assets back for the impending free agent. But Simons is almost certainly headed somewhere. 4. P.J. Washington, Dallas Mavericks P.J. Washington was a huge part of the Dallas Mavericks' run to the NBA Finals in 2024. Unfortunately, he plays the same position as the guy the Mavericks just took with the No. 1 pick in the draft, Cooper Flagg. The Mavericks also have Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and the newly-extended Daniel Gafford. Washington and his expiring contract are now expendable. 5. CJ McCollum/Khris Middleton, Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards took on McCollum and Middleton in trades in the past year, moves that were primarily made to shed the long-term salaries of Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma. But even though those players were both born in 1991, they should still be able to contribute to winning teams in 2025-26. The Wizards may value their veteran leadership, but they also have a roster full of recent draft picks who need playing time — and you can never have too many future draft picks.
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