The college football world has gone through plenty of changes over the past few years. Between NIL, the constant shuffle of media broadcast rights, and the never-ending shell game that is conference realignment, it can be tough to track who is playing when, where, and why.
USC with a conference matchup in Happy Valley? Red River Rivalry as an SEC primetime game? It’s all on the table in today’s college football world.
You can forgive the AP Stylebook then, for not being up to date on the latest shifts of the collegiate athletics sands. In a post on social media, the AP Stylebook provided what would in other years have been a helpful reminder before the football kicks off in a few days.
Spell out the number "five" when referring to the Power Five, the group of conferences that generate the most athletic revenue in the NCAA and have some autonomy to create rules.
— APStylebook (@APStylebook) August 14, 2025
The group includes the Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference and…
Just one problem—since the Pac-12 dissolved into a shadow of its former self, with many of its powerhouse teams taken in by the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, the Power Five has become the Power Four. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 has become the Pac-2, at least for one more football season, with Oregon State and Washington State the last teams standing from the former conference of champions.
Again, you can forgive the AP Stylebook for the mistake, this is not easy stuff to keep up with. But the opportunity to correct the historical corrector on such a miscue was too good to pass up for many on social media. On the other hand, fans of the Cougs and Beavers were extremely excited that the stylebook of record had taken their side in the battle.
Who wants to tell them? https://t.co/kxSvr7UPm9
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) August 15, 2025
PAC12? https://t.co/ZjyPmys9yv pic.twitter.com/DdtHXRFCTf
— CougarStats (@CougarStats) August 15, 2025
Should we tell them? https://t.co/bgdEv1UmfI
— Josh Furlong (@JFurKSL) August 15, 2025
if you strike down the coogs & beavs they will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine https://t.co/5rERI3VDmL
— Floyd Thorner (@DaWgincatland) August 15, 2025
"This group includes ... the Pac-12."
— WHEATFIELD UNDERDOGS STAN ACCOUNT (@CougCenter) August 14, 2025
That's right, baby. https://t.co/5MXb0eKirl
The Oregon state fans gonna print this out and put it on their walls like it’s 1959 https://t.co/MKYqX4LmgS
— Tyrone Billy Johnson (@TyroneBillyJ) August 15, 2025
Next year, the new look Pac-12 will become a full reality, with some talented teams including Boise State, Fresno State and Utah State. Depeneding on how they play, we might see the conference ascend once again to Power Five glory.
But for now, it’s going to have to be the Power Four. Sorry to correct you, AP Stylebook—that puts our lifetime score of grammatical corrections against each other at 10,863–1.
I’m ready to start a comeback.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football Fans Loved Having the Chance to Correct the AP Stylebook.
