College Football Insider Names Eight Potential Pac-12 Expansion Candidates

College football fans may have assumed and even hoped that conference realignment was done after it dominated the offseason before 2023.

While it died down a bit, it ramped all the way up on Wednesday. A late-night report by Yahoo's Ross Dellenger revealed that the conference was targeting Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State as expansion targets. All four programs announced on Thursday morning that they were, in fact, joining the Pac-12.

However, the conference still needs at least two more teams to reach the necessary threshold to be considered an FBS team. This has led to much speculation as to who could be next to join, but college football insider Brett McMurphy provided a bit of an insight into that mystery on Thursday.

He named eight programs that could, one way or another, be in play as possible targets.

More Mountain West Teams

McMurphy revealed that if they wanted to add more Mountain West Conference programs, Air Force and UNLV would be at the "top" of that list.

However, Dellenger did reveal that "politics" are at play when it comes to UNLV and its ties to Nevada. A situation that is comparable to what UCLA had to deal with when it came to leaving Pac-12 and Cal behind. UCLA will now have to pay Cal $10 million a year over the next three years in what is now known as "Calimony," according to the Los Angeles Times .

Bring Back Some Familiar Faces

McMurphy did reveal that former Pac-12 members Stanford and Cal could technically be an option, but it sounded more like a dream.

"Or the Pac-12 could hope (and pray) that somehow Cal and Stanford decided to leave the ACC and return to their Pac-12 roots," wrote McMurphy.

Realistically, the two programs worked so hard to get into the ACC, and it wasn't always a certainty that it would happen. However, the growing sentiment is that if the ACC does collapse, it could have a comfy place to call home if they cannot get into the Big Ten.

Poach the Best of the AAC

As it stands right now, the new Pac-12 is certainly looking like it will be the best Group of Six (formerly five) team. So, if they are able to offer more money exposure, a couple of programs may be willing to jump ship from the American Athletic Conference.

McMurphy named both Memphis, who is viewed as the best Group of Five team in college football, and Tulane. The Tigers would add instant value with their on-field success, and also have a major basketball brand. As for Tulane, even after the departure of Willie Fritz, the program still appears to be one of the better non-Power 4 teams.

Take a Chance on FCS Powers

In a bit of a wild card suggestion, McMurphy threw out the possibility of adding FCS giants South Dakota State and North Dakota State. They have dominated at the FCS level, winning 11 out of the last 13 championships and routinely giving Group of Five or even Power 4 teams troubles when they play against them.

Adding them would certainly bolster the Pac-12's strength on the field, and would likely make the conference worthy of an automatic bid every year. It would surpass both the MWC and AAC as the top Group of Five/Six conference, which means the conference champion would more likely than not get a playoff nod every year in the new format.

The Pac-12 certainly shocked the college football world, and now we are left waiting to see what the once-presumed-dead conference does next.

Related: Four Other Programs That Could Emerge as Pac-12 Expansion Targets