On November 5th, we got a glance at the first College Football Playoff rankings. The PAC 12 has two teams in the top 10—the Oregon Ducks and the Utah Utes. Both teams came into the season with playoff hopes and were set out to prove to the media why they had pre-season hype.
Each team has a loss on its resume that should’ve been a win. The Ducks lost a last-second heartbreaker against the Auburn Tigers in their first game, while the Utah Utes’ loss came back in September against the USC Trojans. Both teams have seemed to put those losses behind them and haven’t looked back, while building up momentum for a collision in the PAC-12 Championship, giving us the title game we deserve.
The Ducks’ remaining schedule seems to be in their favor by blowing out the USC Trojans this last weekend. They should be able to win out and head to the PAC-12 title with one loss on their record. Their remaining games are against the Arizona Wildcats at home, at Arizona State and ending the season at home against the Oregon State Beavers in the 123rd Civil War. Oregon State could be a trap game since everyone shows up for rivalry weekend, but Oregon should prevail.
Utah’s remaining schedule isn’t as favorable having to face off against the UCLA Bruins next weekend. The Bruins should put up a fight, but the Utes should win this game in a shootout. Utah then has to travel to Arizona to face off against the Wildcats before ending the season at home against the Colorado Buffalos.
I’m as excited as a kid in a candy store with the collision course these two are on. This is why the PAC-10 expanded into the PAC-12—so we could have a championship and not get overlooked for not having a title game.
I believe the winner of the PAC-12 Championship deserves a playoff spot if that team has one loss.
