Pac-12 Plays Itself Out Of College Football Playoff
It was a big weekend for the Pac-12 Conference. The USC Trojans needed a win vs the Utah Utes to likely make the College Football Playoff, but Utah got the best of USC for the second time this season in a lopsided 47-24 win.
It has been quite the regular season for the conference of champions. For multiple weeks the Pac-12 has consistently shown they can compete. In the last week’s College Football Playoff Rankings, five total teams were noted. Good enough to be among the top conferences in the country. Several teams were inside or near the top ten throughout the regular season, including Oregon.
The Ducks’ loss to Oregon State last weekend put them out of not only the College Football Playoff but also the Pac-12 Championship. The Washington State loss to Washington sent Utah to face USC in the conference title game. It was a second consecutive win for a consistent Utah Utes team led by Cam Rising.
The Utah defense was the story of the game getting to USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The Utes had seven sacks on the Heisman Trophy candidate and limited the USC ground game, without Travis Dye in the lineup to just over two yards per carry.
As the game went on, Williams showed wear and tear and was hobbling trying to do his best to keep the Trojans in the game. It was also clear that William’s run game was affected, which led to many highlight plays throughout the regular season.
The Utes, with three season losses, are not ranked high enough to even breach the top four with the win on Friday night, helping to leave the Pac-12 out of the College Football Playoff yet again.
The Trojans loss opened a spot for Ohio State in the final CFP rankings. Georgia, Michigan, TCU, and the Buckeyes made the final top four. This sent a fortunate Penn State team to the Rose Bowl to face the Utah Utes. USC dropped to 10th in the rankings and will face 16th-ranked Tulane in the Cotton Bowl.
Oregon football finished the season ranked 15th and were selected for the Holiday Bowl and will face North Carolina on December 28th at 5pm Pacific Time on FOX.
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