Pac-12 Football Notes: Will Utah Ruin USC's CFP Bid?

Georgia is in the CFP. Michigan would be in if it beats Purdue in Big Ten championship game. TCU would also be there if they beat Kansas State in B12 title game, and USC would join them if the Trojans win Pac-12 championship on Friday. USC is No. 4 in this week's AP poll. If USC beats Utah on the Friday, it will finish with wins over UCLA, Notre Dame and Utah in their final three games. If they lose, the Pac 12 gets shut out of the national championship race again.

USC's defense ranks 91 in the country in total defense. The Trojans forced their opponents into 27 turnovers, fourth-best in country. They have more takeaways than Michigan and Georgia have combined.

Utah is not in contention for the Pac-12 championship.

UCLA beat Cal 35-28 on Friday.

Utah beat Colorado 63-21 on Saturday.

Oregon State beat Oregon 34-38.

Utah tied for second place with Washington and Oregon. The Pac-12's fourth tiebreaker rule determined Utah would be paired with USC on Friday.

Utah, Arizona State, Oregon State and UCLA are Pac-12's tied teams. They had a combined 38 wins, 43 losses.

Washington State, Washington, Stanford, Arizona, UCLA, Cal, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State won 37 games, lost 44.

Stanford, UCLA, Arizona, Cal, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, and Washington State won 32 games, lost 49. Utah won't play USC, but it will play in the conference title game.

Utah needs to beat USC on Friday to claim a second straight Pac-12 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

Utah beat USC in their head-to-head game on Oct. 15. The game will be played in Las Vegas. USC is a 1-point favorite on some betting sites and a 2-5-points favorite at other wagering sites.

The winner of the Pac-12 championship game will play in the Rose Bowl. If USC wins and makes it to the College Football Playoff, the winner would be Utah. The loser would probably be Washington.

How did Oregon State overcome a 21-point deficit without passing?

Oregon State scored the go-ahead touchdown on the resulting possession. Bo Nix was stopped for a 1-yard loss on a four-and-1 play.

Kenny Dillingham was introduced as Arizona State's next head coach the morning after Oregon's devastating loss in Corvallis. David Shaw resigned as Stanford's head football coach. Stanford is on a downward trend and its 1-8 Pac-12 record this season is its worst since 1960.

USC went from 4-8 last season to within a step of the College Football Playoff this season. Washington went to 10-2 this year thanks to a transfer quarterback. Arizona went 1-11 last year and 5-7 this time thanks in part to Jayden de Laura.

USC is 11-1 and is in line to be the first Pac-12 team since the 2016 season to reach the College Football Playoff.

Washington has won six straight games.

Utah is the only team to beat USC.

Bo Nix is no longer a running threat for Oregon.

Jonathan Smith is the coach of the year at Oregon State.

Caleb Williams will earn the Heisman Trophy if he plays well in the Pac-12 title game.

Michael Penix Jr., Washington's quarterback, led his team to 10 wins.

Cameron Rising, Utah's quarterback, is a big-game performer.

Bo Nix has been injured the past two games.

Zach Charbonnet is fourth in the country in rushing and averaging 7.0 yards per carry. Dorian Thompson-Robinson is fifth in that category.

Utah-USC is a key game for USC's CFP bid.

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