Oregon football probably lost any shot at the College Football Playoff by losing to Washington, but the Pac-12 is still in the hunt.
Despite the loss last weekend against Washington, Oregon football still has a lot to play for in the final two weeks of the regular season.
In this week’s College Football Playoff rankings, the top four remain the same with Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and TCU rounding out the top four spots. I find it somewhat ironic that a team that is leaving the Pac-12 Conference for ‘greener pastures’ in the Big Ten is now in 7th giving the Pac-12 their best shot at a College Football Playoff appearance.
The USC Trojans do have some challenges ahead, including games against UCLA and Notre Dame before the regular season comes to an end. Two wins could be enough to move the Trojans closer to a CFP appearance.
While the Ducks have fallen to 12th this week with their loss, they will face a now-top 10 Utah Utes team who also still has playoff hopes on their mind. A Utah win over Oregon would give the Utes a coveted top fifteen victory, where if Oregon wins, it is more redemption for the two losses last season at the hands of Utah.
The Pac-12 is very well represented this week with six ranked teams, with USC at 7, Utah at 10, Oregon at 12, UCLA at 16, Washington at 17, and Oregon State at 23. With six ranked teams, it shows that the Conference of Champions is among the most balanced in the country, which some may have not thought was the case at the start of the season.
I would not have expected so many top 25 matchups inside the Pac-12 this season as there are more this week with USC meeting UCLA and Oregon facing off with Utah.
The Ducks and Utes meet in a pivotal game for a chance at the Pac-12 Championship on Saturday. Kickoff from Autzen Stadium is set for 7:30 pm Pacific Time on ESPN.
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