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Note that is not the official title, I'm just an idiot saying stupid stuff.
The college football world perked its ears up upon hearing of a potential contest in Australia to start the 2016 season, with California and Baylor rummored to be the participants back in June. After some time passed, the proposed contest down under was called off according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy.
Proposed Baylor-Cal 2016 game in Australia is off, sources told @ESPN
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) July 3, 2015
And then it supposedly came back to life.
Baylor coach Art Briles tells me they expect to hear in 2 weeks whether they'll get NCAA waiver to play Cal in Sydney, Australia, in 2016.
— Brian Davis (@BDavisAAS) July 21, 2015
And now Baylor is no longer connected to the Australia contest...instead, it's Hawaii-Cal that could be playing overseas to open 2016.
I've learned 2 opponents for game in Australia in 2016 that originally targeted @BUFootball, will now be Hawaii vs California. @NCAAFootball
— David Smoak (@DavidSmoak) September 9, 2015
First off, moment of silence for the stat-porn fest that would've been Baylor vs. Cal. There is a very good chance the final of that game would've been 77-74 or something like that. Seth Russell and Jared Goff probably would've combined for 1,000-something yards in the air. In the time it is taking me to type this sentence, two touchdown passes would've been thrown by each team.
Lot of offense, you get it.
Second, I think opening the season with a Pac-12 opponent for the seventh year in a row definitely prepares the Rainbow Warriors for the rest of the season better than an FCS Matchup in Honolulu would. The exposure of playing overseas could bring some good press and coverage to UH leading up to the game. Also, neutral site match-up is more appealing to some teams than paying one to fly out to the islands for a home-and-home.
What do you think of the Rainbow Warriors potentially matching up with the Golden Bears in Australia?