Australia might host Stanford-Rice game in 2017

Another Pac-12 team may play in Australia next season if the NCAA allows it.

A neighbor to the Pacific coast, Australia may land yet another college football game. This past season, the Cal Bears and Hawaii Rainbow Warriors represented their institutions at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. This time, according to Mark Berman, a 2017 match-up between Stanford and Rice is likely to happen, but only if the lawmaking body of the NCAA permits it.

If Stanford and Rice were to make headlines over international waters, it would mark the second time that a Pac-12 school has played in Australia. Much like the NFL playing in host cities, such as Mexico City and London, the NCAA will be trying to mock that business model. But this isn’t as new as some would think. In the late nineteenth century, Montreal was a regular host to college football. You also have the Bahamas bowl, which is played in Nassau.

All that said and done, it’s not only about a marketing plan. Granted, the Stanford-Rice game in Sydney won’t be a spectacle. In fact, the teams just met this year for the first time in a few decades. On Nov. 26, Stanford would claim a 41-17 victory over the Rice Owls. Despite less turnovers and more first downs than Stanford, Rice would be out-gained 534-291.

Following a 3-9 season, HC David Bailiff and Rice aren’t bowl eligible. The wins they would notch would be against Prairie View A&M, Charlotte and UT-El Paso. Stanford, on the other hand, has been a bit topsy turvy. Stanford would lose to two Washington state teams by double digits, but they rebounded with a five-game winning streak to end the season.

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Next season, they will be without Christian McCaffrey, since he decided to enlist in the 2017 NFL Draft. His last game will be against “General” Mitch Trubisky and the UNC Tar Heels in the 2016 Sun Bowl.