Pac-12 Conference has no plans to expand

PALO ALTO — With conference realignment once again all the rage in college football, Pac-12 Conference Commissioner Larry Scott said he had no plans for expansion.

He also offered this caveat: “In my short three years-plus here, I’ve learned never to say never.”

Scott said he was happy with the current 12-school configuration.

“While the sands of the college landscape will continue to shift, no doubt, going forward, I feel like we’re in a very strong position,” he told reporters during a news conference before the conference championship game Friday evening at Stanford.

Scott also offered comments on a few other hot topics.

He said he was disappointed but not surprised that the Pac-12 Networks was not yet available through some major cable providers. The Pac-12 and DirecTV have yet to reach an agreement.

And he said the conference would attempt to avoid a repeat of this year’s title-game situation, which pitted teams that had played each other in the final game of the regular season. But Scott said the annual USC-Notre Dame and Stanford-Notre Dame series, along with Stanford and California’s desire not to play the annual Big Game on Thanksgiving weekend, makes some scheduling issues unavoidable.

Scott also said he had explored with athletic directors the concept of a conference policy regarding football injury reports. “There are strong opposing views within our conference,” he said. “There is not a consensus.”

Scott said he would continue to collect information from other conference commissioners. But he did not sound optimistic. “It’s a very divisive issue,” he said, “and one where each market and each coach tends to have his own point of view.”

On the run

Stanford came into the game with the nation’s No. 1-rated defense against the run, giving up an average of just 71 yards per game.

The most rushing yards Stanford had given up in a game this season was 198, against Oregon. UCLA passed that mark early in the second half.

UCLA ran for 168 in the first half — 118 by Johnathan Franklin and 50 by quarterback Brett Hundley.

The Bruins finished with 282 yards rushing and averaged 7.8 yards per carry.

Taylor tops charts

A 10-yard run by Stanford’s Stepfan Taylor at the end of the first half set up a 37-yard field goal. It also gave Taylor the Stanford career rushing record.

Taylor passed Darrin Nelson, who ran for 4,169 yards from 1977-81. Taylor is No. 6 on the Pac-12’s career rushing list.

Taylor finished with 76 yards in 24 carries Friday, giving him 4,210 in his career.

Quick hits

Representatives from the Holiday Bowl, Alamo Bowl and Fiesta Bowl were in attendance. …UCLA linebacker Dalton Hilliard sat out with a shoulder injury..

chris.foster@latimes.com

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