Oregon State, Washington State are testing Mountain West's patience with Pac-12 drama

And then there were two... It was always going to be the Pacific Northwest Step Brothers figuring out where they can sit in the new world of college athletics. Oh, no doubt about it, Oregon State and Washington State have great fans and strong athletic departments in their own rights. The problem is neither brand offers anything that moves the needle in the latest waves of conference realignment.

For this season, the Pac-12 holdovers will play each other and round out their "conference" slates by playing Mountain West games. This should be one of the better Group of Five leagues out there, but the Mountain West is hoping for a merger or a rebrand, while Oregon State and Washington State are looking out for their best interests. I understand where both parties are coming from, but figure it out.

Chris Vannini of The Athletic unpacked the complexities that lie ahead for both the Mountain West and the so-called Pac-2. Oregon State and Washington State will play basketball in the West Coast Conference this year. Oregon State baseball opted to go independent for the foreseeable future. There is a lot at play here. I will do my very best to try to break this down in layman's terms for y'all.

It all starts with potentially one other domino to fall in major college athletics. That would be the ACC.

Oregon State, Washington State are making it hard for Mountain West

Even though Clemson and Florida State decided against departing the ACC for the 2025-26 academic year by the Aug. 15 deadline, again, those are not the two schools to watch. Keep your eyes on academic powers, North Carolina and Virginia. If either the Big Ten or the SEC want those two schools, the ACC will collapse as we know it, resulting in yet another wave of conference realignment.

Vannini argued that Clemson and Florida State departures could pave the way for Oregon State and Washington State to be their ACC replacements while maintaining their "Power Five" designations. Then again, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips foolishly added an odd number of teams to the league. Not only are Cal and Stanford joining the ACC from the Pac-12, but so is Group of Five power SMU.

From an outsider's perspective, it feels like Oregon State and Washington State want preferential treatment in figuring out where they go next. They feel entitled to it. I wouldn't blame them, as they were left to die by their 10 former conference members. In truth, helping elevate the Mountain West makes the most logical sense, but again, we have to see what happens to the ACC first in all of this.

If I were Oregon State and Washington State, I wouldn't want to join the ACC. To me, this is all about seeing what becomes of that other league. Who goes to the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and whatnot whenever that poorly managed league folds? It serves Oregon State and Washington State to link up with the Mountain West as a sign of strength, rename it the league the Pac-14 and then go from there.

Once the ACC collapses, be the ones to hand Cal and Stanford a life raft to help solidify the Pac-16.