Race to the Pac-12 Championship

After the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, there are five Pac-12 teams in the top-25. The conference is tied with the SEC for the most ranked teams among all conferences. Oregon stayed at No. 8, USC moved up one spot to No. 9 and UCLA jumped two spots to No. 10. The Utah Utes also moved up two spots to No. 12 while Oregon State stayed at No. 24.

The Pac-12 also has the most bowl-eligible teams out of any conference. The Washington Huskies are currently 6-2 and have secured their spot in a bowl.

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Calm Before the Storm

With the last two weeks being relatively quiet across the conference, games leading up to the Pac-12 Championship will be exciting to watch. In weeks seven and eight, there were major clashes that altered the conference standings, with Oregon playing UCLA and USC playing Utah.

The matchups this week feature Oregon traveling to Colorado, USC playing California, UCLA taking on Arizona State and Utah facing off against Arizona. The best game of the weekend will likely be Oregon State as they travel to Seattle to take on Washington.

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Despite the regular season coming to a close, there are to be some major changes within the Pac-12 standings. Next week, Oregon will be starting their final stretch of games against Washington, Utah and Oregon State. USC and UCLA are also preparing for their rivalry matchup on Nov. 19.

Pac-12 Championship

After suffering their second loss of the season against Oregon, the Utes have been knocked out of contention for a spot in the CFP. But, if they were to win the Pac-12 Championship, they would still have a shot at making a New Years Six Bowl game. However, if they lose in November, they’ll likely lose a chance to compete in the Pac-12 Championship.

The Ducks, Trojans and Bruins sit at the top of the conference, all boasting records of 7-1. If one of these teams win the Pac-12 Championship with one loss, they could find themselves in the CFP. In CFP history, a one-loss Power Five champion has not been invited to the CFP once.

There will be a much clearer picture on who will be facing off in Las Vegas after Nov. 19, when Oregon hosts Utah and UCLA hosts USC.