Following last week's raid of the Mountain West, the new Pac-12 and American Athletic Conference are basically at a standoff in realignment to see who comes out as the fifth league champion to receive a berth to the CFP each season.

We spoke with a dozen people involved in the discussions and no one sees an easy move, making it hard to predict realignment resolution.

The blueprint for the Pac-12's plan to add the top football programs from the Mountain West had been collecting dust in a filing cabinet.

You can’t say the Pac-12 is making a comeback because it never really went away. The Conference of Champions was certainly in critical condition, but the remaining members Oregon State and Washington State vowed to keep it alive if a power conference invite didn’t come.

I keep hearing that the Pac-12 is paying the so-called “poaching penalty” for the teams from the Mountain West. But I haven’t heard if the Pac-12 is paying the schools’ exit fees. – Craig B The financial piece is top-of-mind for many fans – not to mention the involved parties – and worth addressing with as much sweep as possible.

Just one year ago, the two conferences seemed like a perfect match. The post It’s Complicated: How the Mountain West–Pac-12 Relationship Crumbled appeared first on Front Office Sports.