Done deal: The suggested deal would reunite the Raiders’ $32 million Pro Bowler with Derek Carr.

John Saccenti grew upset as he glanced over Allegiant Stadium, saw the facility full with fans from the football schools of Washington and Oregon, saw people screaming and yelling.

“It was awesome,” Saccenti added. “‘I can’t believe there won’t be a Pac-12,’ I remarked. I’m the person who wants to cry when he sees someone crying. It’s hard to believe this occurred to the Pac-12. I’m sorry it happened.”

Saccenti, the executive director of the Las Vegas Bowl, was referring to the Pac-12 championship game, which Washington won 34-31 earlier this month. Now he will sit back and watch his bowl game’s final matchup with the Pac-12 as everyone knows it.

On Saturday, Utah (8-4) of the Pac-12 will face Northwestern (7-5) of the Big Ten at Allegiant Stadium.

The Pac-12 folded as a result of conference realignment. After this academic year, only two members will remain: Oregon State and Washington State.

The Las Vegas Bowl now has three partners: the Pac-12 sends one team to the game each year, while the SEC and Big Ten rotate.

However, bowl agreements throughout the country expire after the 2025 season, giving the Las Vegas Bowl two years to replace a Pac-12 team with another club.

The SEC has already committed to play in the game next year, while the Big Ten has committed to play in 2025. It doesn’t rule out the possibility of a Pac-12 institution being chosen using criteria other than the current ones. That doesn’t mean no one will.

“I can tell you we’ve caught the interest of the Big 12 given the footprint that it’s very interested in having in our city as well,” Saccenti went on to say. “I’m not sure what will happen, but I know we have some time.” We need to find a two-year solution, which we are now working on. It gives us two years to continue discussing and planning for 2026 and beyond.

“I’m constantly asked, ‘Is the bowl in trouble?'” Certainly not. It’s a two-year problem. We’ll discover a wonderful answer before starting over in 2026. I’ll pit our game, what we do, and where we do it against anyone.”

The bowl has also had negotiations with the Mountain West and, given UNLV’s comeback under coach Barry Odom, would welcome a team like the local Rebels to participate in the game for the next few years.

Saccenti points to several factors as to why his bowl will continue to thrive — a $2 billion stadium in which Power Five teams love to play. The proximity to the Strip and its hotel properties. The destination of a sports and entertainment capital of the world. People want to visit Las Vegas. They want to be associated with it.

“But the only way we can continue to grow and put ourselves in position for bigger and better things is if everyone is working together,” Saccenti said. “That means Allegiant Stadium. It means the convention authority being in line with the game, which they already are. That means our resort partners, which they already are.

“If everyone is working together with the same goal of trying to accomplish the same thing — which ultimately puts our city on the map — it will drive our tourism, and we win out every time.”

You won’t find many folks who don’t believe a College Football Playoff semifinal or national championship game won’t eventually be staged in Las Vegas. But what about earlier rounds of the expanded playoff?

If the format eventually changes from playing at school sites in earlier rounds, you wonder if games such as the Las Vegas Bowl might become involved in such a movement.

For now, the Pac-12 is no longer as we’ve known it.

That implies Saccenti’s game is changing.

“There are plans in place that make sense,” he went on to say. “We don’t know where it’s all going to land just yet, but we know how attractive this game is to teams and their fans.”