

Reports of the Pac-12 being eliminated from the College Football Playoff have been largely misinformed. Those who understand that September college football comes with a giant grain of salt never officially ruled them out, but Utah and Oregon–very much the Pac-12’s true last hopes–are each one November 2nd win away from being thrust back into the conversation on a national level. With wins next week, both Utah and Oregon teams will have a bye week and then three games to close out the year, in all of which they will be heavy favorites. This is far from a lock, as next weeks games are much closer to coin flips than guarantees. Both teams play on the road against very talented Washington and USC teams, and if either team walks away with a loss it could have playoff-hope-ending effects on the entire conference.

Utah and Oregon’s playoff hopes are not conjoined at the hip. Neither of these team’s resumes are strong enough to get in on their own merits at this point. Without each other winning out, these teams won’t have a signature win late in the season to catapult them into the top four. If each team wins out, the Pac-12 Championship would be a matchup of top 10 teams (and probably closer to top 6). Without that type of a victory in a conference championship, it may not be enough.

Utah fans are now Oregon fans, and Oregon fans are now Utah fans.

SUPERSTITION TRIGGER WARNING: If you are the superstitious type, and are worried that the mere existence of the article will someone make the hypothetical events impossible or less likely, please do not read further. If you are a rational human adult who realizes the childish fallacy of superstition, please continue and share with your friends.

So how do these two teams get to the playoffs?