In what seems to be bitter irony, the Pac-12 Conference is enjoying one of its best seasons in a very long time just in time to see 10 of its 12 members vacate the conference in favor of other powerhouse conferences after the 2023 season. However, in true Pac-12 fashion, the conference may see yet another year without a team in the College Football Playoff.
The Pac-12 has a tendency to knock off its own top teams, having all the middle of the pack teams playing spoiler to those who have real chances in the playoff hunt. Since no team has made the CFP with more than one loss, that seems to be the cutoff, at least until a team does it. Despite having six teams ranked, there are only two Pac-12 teams still in the running for a playoff spot.
This past weekend of games in the Pac-12 exemplified this problem, with two one loss teams taking their second loss of the season. The then-No. 8 Oregon Ducks handed the then-No. 13 Utah Utes their second loss of the season in a 35-6 rout. That game, whichever way the final score ended up, would have seen one of those teams take their second loss of the season. The then No. 11 Oregon State Beavers also suffered their second loss of the season to the Arizona Wildcats in a 27-24 finish.
This past weekend helped contribute to the season-long theme of Pac-12 teams –– hurting other Pac-12 teams’ chances of making the playoffs. Utah, which just got its second loss, has also beaten USC and UCLA, but lost to Oregon State. The Beavers suffered key losses to Washington State and Arizona that put them at two losses for the season. Oregon’s only loss came against Washington, which almost lost to Arizona State and played a relatively close game against Stanford.
The USC Trojans, who began the season as the highest ranked Pac-12 team, took their second loss of the season when they fell to Utah. That string of losses leaves only two teams with a chance to make the playoffs: the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies. However, if both teams meet in the Pac-12 Championship, either the Ducks or Huskies could knock the other out of contention in the final week of the season.
No Pac-12 team has made the playoffs since the 2016 season, with the Washington Huskies finishing fourth in the nation that year. The Huskies and Ducks currently sit at No. 5 and No. 6 respectively in the latest AP Poll, which gives them both a good chance to finish the season inside the top four teams. However, Oregon still has to face USC and Oregon State, who are currently ranked No. 24 and No. 16 respectively. Washington faces USC and Oregon State, too, but also still has Utah coming up on the schedule. A grueling Pac-12 slate is what every top team in the conference had to face this season, and some of the toughest matchups are still to come for those teams still in the hunt.
Even the Pac-12 teams that find themselves at the bottom of the conference have almost played spoiler for some of the top teams. Cal, which sits tenth in the conference, lost by just one point to USC, and Arizona State, which is currently 11th in the conference, lost by only eight against Washington. Half of the currently ranked Pac-12 teams have at least one game remaining against either Cal or Arizona State. These games, which are as close as the Pac-12 has to free wins, have proven so far that they are anything but easy games for the top teams to blow out.
The Pac-12 peaked early this season with eight of the 12 teams ranked — the most it’s ever had — going into Week 4 of the season. Since that point, a few teams have fallen out and rejoined the rankings, but the number has hovered consistently around having six teams present in the rankings.
This strong play from the whole conference has caused many observers to recognize the strength of the Pac-12 this season, when for so long it has been widely considered the least of the Power-5 conferences. However, as the season winds down, it is easy to see a possible outcome that finds all 12 teams in the conference on the outside looking in at the playoff picture — an image that would perfectly capture the spirit of the Pac-12 in its final season.
