Even though what’s left of the Pac-12 is nowhere near considered a Power Conference, leaders are meeting with the sole intention of finding a way to get the Pac-12 Champion into the College Football Playoff field.
According to Pac-12 reporter John Canzano, the Athletic Directors in the soon-to-be Pac-12 Conference will meet on Wednesday at conference headquarters to discuss the College Football Playoff and the league’s path toward the postseason.
“We gotta get our champion in,” one source said.
Well, that’s fun, although not really at all. The Pac-12 is kinda just the island of misfit toys at this point, and that doesn’t really seem like a recipe to earn national respect. I mean, listen to the teams that make up the league: Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, and Texas State. That’s not exactly the 1927 Yankees, hell, that might not even be the 2024 White Sox.
Still, it’s a notable topic to discuss as playoff conversations continue to spiral. The CFP format is expected to remain at 12 for the immediate future, though the SEC seems to want 16 teams included, and the Big Ten wants even more at 24. Neither of those seems super likely until another wave of conference realignment or massive drama stirs the pot, but for now, it doesn’t really make sense to include a Pac-12 Champion in the puzzle, especially considering they likely won’t be ranked inside of the Top 15 in the AP Poll even at their best.
For now, this is just desperation and wishful thinking, but you can’t blame the teams or leaders for wanting access; it just doesn’t make sense at the current moment unless things change. That said, this is modern college football, and things can change at just about any given moment.
