Will the Pac-12 be able to participate in the College Football Playoff?
The College Football Playoff final rankings is set to take place on Sunday Dec. 20. It's during that show that they will select the final four teams scheduled to play in the two national semifinal games; the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl, both of which are set for New Years Day.
College football started its season officially two weeks ago, and so that means that teams that are currently playing, or will be playing by the end of the month (wink wink SEC), will all be eligible for the national championship.
What about the Big Ten and Pac-12, both of whom are (more than likely) electing to return to the sport albeit at later times.
“It’s uncharted territory. We don’t know how many games each league is going to play," Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said. "There are going to be many more differences than we’re normally used to and I don’t know whether the average is going to be six games or eight games. I don’t think anyone can tell you. We don’t know what player availability is going to be and the committee is going to have their work cut out for them. There is going to be a lot more subjective this year. I would not rule anything out.”
Right now, the Big Ten is set to begin its season on Oct. 17, giving the conference nine conference games and then a Big Ten championship game on Saturday, December 19.
That's more than enough for a team, or teams, to establish themselves as CFP contenders.
But what about the Pac-12?
As of right now, there is no official word whether or not the conference will be playing football this fall — but according to reports, the conference is aiming for a Nov. 7 start date.
If that's the case, the Pac-12 will play just six conference games before a conference title game (ideally on Dec. 19 as well) before the committee makes its selections.
But is that enough of a sample size for a team from the Pac-12 to solidify its spot amongst the nation's elite? I don't think so. How could the committee take a 7-0 Pac-12 champion over somebody from the SEC who finished 9-1 with multiple wins against superior competition — or maybe even loss in the SEC title game?
“I don’t think if you ask any of my fellow commissioners they can tell you how many games their teams are going to play,” Scott said. "They know what they’re going to try to play, but we’ve already seen in the first two weeks every league that’s tried to play has had to postpone games. So no one’s feeling supremely confident at this point, especially those that don’t have daily tests, that all their teams are going to play every game.
In my opinion, a Nov. 7 start date — although most realistic — doesn't make a lot of sense for the Pac-12 with the ultimate goal being winning a national championship. Starting on Halloween — a week earlier — would give the conference champion a little more ground to stand on and say they deserve to be one of the top four squads.
Another option is pushing back the CFP selection date and giving each conference an extra week. While that may sound good in theory, in reality it doesn't make much sense because it would cut down the preparation time for the semifinal games.
Regardless of whether or not the Pac-12 plays or not, having a team qualify for the College Football Playoff is considered a longshot and comes with many issues moving forward.
First things first though, they have to play to even have a chance.
Want to share opinions or ask questions? We want to hear them! Making a profile is free and it only takes ~1 minute to set up. Also, be sure to like us on social media for future coverage:
Twitter — @UtahUtes_SI and Ryan Kostecka at @Ryan_Kostecka