* The following commentary appeared last week in the Hotline newsletter and has been republished (and updated) here …

The Hotline recently addressed the possibility of Las Vegas assuming a more significant role within the Pac-12 football landscape on two fronts:

By playing host to an early-season intersectional matchup — a Week One extravaganza — and by becoming the permanent site for the conference championship game.

There is a third option, as well:

A deeper, more lucrative relationship with the Las Vegas Bowl, which is currently No. 6 in the conference’s postseason lineup.

In that regard, there are developments worth noting:

* The first was news from reporter Brett McMurphy, who wrote last week that the Las Vegas Bowl plans to upgrade its pairing and move from second-rate Sam Boyd Stadium to the Raiders’ gleaming new home.

The bowl will cast aside the Mountain West, a longtime partner, and match a Power Five opponent against the Pac-12.

The SEC, McMurphy reports, is viewed as the leading contender for the spot, resulting in the only SEC/Pac-12 postseason matchup.

* The second development took the form of a conversation last week with one of the Hotline’s most trusted sources:

Officials throughout the Pac-12 are concerned about the fate of the conference’s bowl partnerships when the next contract cycle begins in 2020.

The current pairings are lacking compared to those of the SEC and Big Ten, largely because of the paucity of high-level bowls in the west.

(Geography is critical to matchups, because of the travel expense for fans: There are more Power Five schools, and more bowl games, in the east.)

Upgrading the Pac-12’s postseason lineup is considered essential to elevating the struggling football brand.

“Everybody feels like we need more bowls and better bowls,” the source said. “We don’t want to get left behind.”

To that extent, the ascent of Las Vegas couldn’t come at a better time:

The Raiders’ $1.8 billion stadium is expected to be ready for the 2020 season, with both state and local officials putting immense resources behind the drive to attract major sporting events.

Combine the first-class venue with top-tier payouts and a destination city for fans, and the Las Vegas Bowl would have the resources to become a marquee matchup — perhaps the No. 2 bowl in the western half of the country.

Don’t be surprised if the next round of bowl negotiations results in Vegas jumping into the second slot in the Pac-12 pecking order, ahead of the Alamo and the Holiday bowls.

Such a scenario would instantly add heft to the conference’s postseason.

Consider this potential lineup:

1. Rose vs. Big Ten

2. Las Vegas vs. SEC

3. Alamo vs. Big 12

4. Holiday vs. Big Ten

5. Sun vs. ACC

6. San Francisco vs. Big Ten/Mountain West/TBD

7. Cactus vs. Big 12

If the Holiday is your No. 4, that’s a fairly strong rotation, and there could be an eighth bowl added to the lineup.

But to make it work, to maximize impact, the SEC would have to deliver a top-shelf team. Related Articles The Heisman Trophy, the Pac-12 Networks, and the exposure equation for Khalil Tate and Justin Herbert

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A repeat of the Foster Farms Bowl arrangement with the Big Ten, which sent a stream of basketball schools, wouldn’t work … and assuredly wouldn’t happen.

Because of the venue and the location and the money, the Las Vegas Bowl, in theory, would be a desirable game for the likes of Georgia and LSU.

(Note: Foster Farms is no longer involved with the Levi’s Stadium-based bowl, which needs a title sponsor.)

If we expand our survey of the Pac-12’s postseason future, let’s not dismiss the potential for a bowl game at the Rams’ new venue in Inglewood, although that’s a tricky situation because of the Rose.

Two games within 20 miles of each other, in a five- or six-day span? Not sure how that would play.

An upgraded Las Vegas Bowl against the SEC, on the other hand, would be momentous for Pac-12 football.

It would also, let’s not forget, make a fabulous complement to the Hotline’s proposed Week One duel in Sin City against the Big Ten.

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