The Group of 5 became the Group of 6 over the summer, as the Pac-12 brand re-emerged two seasons after the once-proud conference of champions was pilfered by the Big Ten and Big 12. Oregon State and Washington State, the two institutions left holding the bag by that massive round of conference realignment, recruited a sizable chunk of the Mountain West to join their banner (along with Texas State from the Sun Belt to round out the conference).
The Mountain West answered by poaching Northern Illinois from the MAC, UTEP from Conference USA and, in their biggest coup, pulled North Dakota State up from the FCS. Now, the top teams from those western leagues will battle with the American, Conference USA, MAC and Sun Belt.
