Big Ten reportedly 'contemplating' whether to expand further with Stanford after recent Oregon and Washington additions
Following what was one of the most hectic college football mornings in recent memory, Oregon and Washington are officially off to the Big Ten.
The two schools are just awaiting a vote by the conference, which is expected to go in their favor thus likely putting the dagger through the Pac-12. While reporting their move to the Big Ten, Brett McMurphy also indicated that the conference has to decide whether or not they will expand to 20 teams.
The Big Ten is contemplating whether to stand at 18 or consider adding Stanford and Cal, or possibly any ACC schools that may leave, sources said.
A couple schools in particular that may hope they do just that are Stanford and Cal, as they are viewed as candidates to be teams 19 and 20. However, they aren't the only schools vying for a Big Ten nod as McMurphy also mentioned a handful of ACC schools could be in contention.
The Big Ten now must decide whether to stay at 18 schools or expand further. The league’s options are adding Stanford and Cal or waiting to see if any schools become available from the ACC, such as Florida State, Clemson, Miami or North Carolina.
While this feels like a long shot, what's working in Stanford's favor is the fact that the ACC schools are all tied up for quite a while in their current deal. Florida State is making the effort to leave, but they have quite the legal battle ahead of them.
If the Cardinal don't get the invite to the Big Ten it appears their options are to go independent, merge with the Mountain West, or hope the ACC partnership comes to fruition.
