Pac-12 Has Played Itself Out Of The College Football Playoff

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Coming down to the home stretch is when you want to be playing your best football. However, it appears that Stanford and Utah did not get the memo. The two teams ranked in the top ten with the best chance at representing the Pac-12 Conference in the 2nd year of the College Football Playoff lost on Saturday, ending the possibility that the Conference of Champions will be able to have an official National Champion this season. Was this something that was expected? I think so – I wrote about it a few months ago.

The level of competition, aside from the last few seasons of dominance from the Oregon Ducks, has been evident this season across the board. The Quarterbacks are better, the Running Backs are better and on Saturday night the Utes, who lost in double overtime as well as the Stanford Cardinal who lost to Oregon by a missed two point conversion were left scratching their heads and now have a regular bowl game to look forward to. It could still be a good one on New Years Day or late on the bowl schedule. Both teams could still make it to the Pac-12 Title Game, but that is all the glory they will get this season. The College Football Playoff will have to wait for next year.

The Stanford Cardinal has one Pac-12 game remaining against the Cal Bears. A win gives them the Pac-12 North, a loss opens the door for the Oregon Ducks to claim the Pac-12 North Title – but the road for Oregon is a little harder. They have to beat USC and Oregon State at Autzen the next two weeks. For the Utah Utes, the season and Pac-12 Title appearance could come down to the final weekend of the regular season when Utah faces USC. The UCLA Bruins also control their own destiny in the Pac-12 South and will take on Utah this weekend.

Next: Oregon/USC Kickoff Time Set

USC visits Oregon on Saturday for a 12:30pm Pacific Time Kickoff on ESPN.