'Hard to say anything particularly encouraging' about Oregon State, Wazzu getting Power conference membership

ESPN's Bill Connelly doesn't see a way into a Power conference for either Oregon State or Wazzu following the dissolution of the Pac-12 following the Big Ten's poaching of USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington and the Big 12 stealing Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and ASU.

"When it comes to future power-conference membership, it's hard to say anything particularly encouraging at the moment," Connelly prefaced before saying, "But as the Beavers face a future in either the Mountain West or a remodeled Pac-12 that strongly resembles the MWC, they can at least take heart in the fact that we have no idea what the future holds in terms of conference alignment and that, even though it's not really their fault they're in this position to begin with, if they field successful football teams moving forward -- more TCU, less UConn -- they could improve their lot a few years down the line."

This flies in the face of several recent rumors about where the Pac-2 schools could go in the future.

Oregon State and Wazzu rumored to get Big 12 invites soon, be part of ACC contingency plan

Depending on who you ask, there is a Power conference plan for Oregon State and Wazzu.

Longtime college football radio host Greg Swaim hinted that the Big 12 can come calling with invites for the Pac-2 at some point.

"Good news coming soon for those of us who believe that (Oregon State) and (Wazzu) belong in the Big 12," tweeted Swaim.

Meanwile, PressBox DC's Jim Williams reported that the ACC would look to include Oregon State and Wazzu in a contingency plan with Memphis, Tulane, USF, and UConn if/when FSU, Clemson, UNC, and Louisville leave. With that said, whether or not the ACC would remain a Power conference in this situation is up for debate.