ASU picked 16th (!!!!) in Big 12 poll

I'm more interested and impressed with Utah's #1 ranking. I hope Utah annihilates the rest of that conference. I hope UA finishes 2nd, ASU 3rd and Colorado butt-naked last.

Until the Big 10 killed the Pac, the Big 12 was second only to the SEC in my hatred.

I still can't stand them.

Media polls are interesting conversation starters, but if anyone should question their accuracy it is Beaver fans as we have frequently outperformed our preseason ranking over the years.

I like the sentiment, but as it stands, the Big 12 is worth at least $18 million more than the MWC, as far as media rights and final payouts reflect.

True but the poll will be by divisions. So Vandy never gets picked lower than seventh (pre-2024) or eighth. 

I think a 16-team league will prove pretty unwieldly, but as long as they are making bank, they won't care. In theory you could go 6 or 7 years without playing a fellow member of the league from another division, especially if they stay at eight league games.  

ASU is a traitor school. If they finish 16th in all Big 12 sports, that's fine by me. I wish zero success to all ten of them, especially the Los Angeles schools.

17 in the ACC.  (18 if you include Notre Dame.)
16 in the Big 12.
18 in the Big Ten.
16 in the SEC.

In the past 25 years, the only time that a conference had more than 14 was in 2020, when Notre Dame joined the ACC as an affiliate member for a year, in order to play something close to a complete schedule.  Syracuse finished 15th in 2020, going 1-9 and 1-10 overall.  The other 1-9 team in the ACC was Duke (2-9 overall).  Duke beat Syracuse 38-24 in Syracuse.

The last time that a 1-A conference had 16 teams in football was in 1998.  From 1996-1998, the WAC had 16 teams in a Mountain Division and a Pacific Division.  UTEP went 0-8 and 2-9 overall in 1996 to finish 16th in the WAC.  TCU was probably 16th in the WAC in 1997, finishing 1-7 in the WAC and 1-10 overall.  Hawaii probably finished 16th in the WAC in 1998, 0-8 in the WAC and 0-12 overall.  That same Hawaii team would rebound to go 9-4 the next year, beating Oregon State in the Oahu Bowl 23-17.  Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah, and Wyoming would split off in 1999 to form the Mountain West.

The last time before that that there was a major conference of more than 16 teams was in 1952.  From 1950-1952, the Southern Conference had 17 members.  (Team #17 was West Virginia, which joined between the 1949 and 1950 seasons.)  Virginia Tech finished 0-8 and 0-10 overall to finish 17th in 1950.  Virginia Tech went 1-7 and 2-8 overall to finish 17th again in 1951.  In 1951, Maryland accepted a Sugar Bowl bid, and Clemson accepted a Gator Bowl bid.  The Southern Conference voted in December to outlaw bowl games.  When Clemson and Maryland refused to break their contracts, the Southern Conference suspended both programs.  Both programs could play each other but could schedule no other program in the conference.  The State of South Carolina voted to compel Clemson to play South Carolina, and the Southern Conference allowed Clemson and South Carolina to play in 1952.  Richmond finished 17th in the Southern Conference in 1952, 0-6 in Southern Conference play and 1-9 overall.  Between the 1952 and 1953 seasons, Clemson, Maryland, South Carolina, and the four North Carolina teams voted to leave the Southern Conference to start up the ACC.  Virginia, a former Southern Conference member which was an independent at the time, joined a couple of months later.  Virginia Tech left the Southern Conference between in 1965.  West Virginia left the Southern Conference in 1968.  The two teams would join the Big East in 1991.

The last time before that there was a major conference of more than 17 teams was in 1932.  From 1929-1932, the Southern Conference had 23 members.  (Team #23 was Duke, which joined between the 1928 and 1929 seasons.)  In 1929, 23rd was probably Auburn, which went 0-7 in the Southern Conference and 2-7 overall.  VMI finished 23rd in 1929, 0-5 and 3-6 overall.  Mississippi A&M (Mississippi State) finished 23rd in 1931, 0-5 and 2-6 overall.  Sewanee finished 23rd in 1932, 0-6 and 2-7-1 overall.  13 teams left in 1933 to form the SEC: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi , Mississippi State, Sewanee, Tennessee, Tulane, and Vanderbilt.  7 of the 10 teams left would ultimately be founding members of the ACC, along with Virginia Tech, VMI, and Washington and Lee.  The eighth founding member of the ACC was Wake Forest, which joined the Southern Conference in 1936.

There will be a Big Ten team that finishes 18th in 2024.  And no team has done that in a major conference since VMI finished 18th back in 1932, a mere 92 years ago.