This isn’t about just reaching the College Football Playoff. It isn’t about ending the Pac-12’s seven-year drought in its final year of existence as we know it. At this point, that feels like a certainty.
No, the Pac-12 winner is a legitimate threat to win it all, right there with anyone. Whether it is Washington or Oregon, and yes the Ducks can absolutely get there despite Saturday’s loss in Seattle, the conference has a legitimate shot to go out atop college football. And wouldn’t that be ironic amid the league being picked apart in the money grab otherwise known as realignment.
Washington and Oregon played an absolute classic on Saturday afternoon, a heavyweight top-10 bout that didn’t just match the hype. It surpassed it. It was thrilling. It was exciting. There were six lead changes, a questionable decision by Oregon coach Dan Lanning to go for a late fourth down and brilliant playmaking from both sides.
It was high-level football that wasn’t determined until the final seconds, when Camden Lewis’ game-tying 43-yard field goal missed wide right. It was a showdown between two Heisman Trophy candidates at quarterback, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix, and two defenses that held their own against electric offensive attacks ranked fifth nationally in scoring. There was NFL talent dotting both sidelines.
I’ll take either of these teams against any in the country. Georgia and Alabama in the SEC, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in the Big Ten, Oklahoma and Texas in the Big 12, and Florida State in the ACC.
Most of the aforementioned programs have yet to be tested, particularly the three Big Ten teams and Georgia, the two-time defending national champion which has mostly played down to the level of competition so far in the top-heavy SEC.
Oregon and Washington tested one another on Saturday after entering the contest with a series of blowout victories. Washington prevailed, but Oregon headed home knowing it is as good as anyone after this performance. There is a lot to be determined in this league, one conference loss separating five teams. Washington still has to deal with USC, Utah, Oregon State and Washington State. Oregon’s remaining slate includes the same four. But with what we have seen from both teams up to this point, it would be silly to bet against a rematch on Dec. 1 in Las Vegas in the Pac-12 championship game. In fact, for the first time since USC won it all in 2004, the conference has a legitimate chance to crown a national champion because of these two schools.
Frank’ discussion
There isn’t a coach in the country facing more pressure this week than James Franklin. He’ll be under the microscope Saturday afternoon in Columbus when his Nittany Lions visit Ohio State in by far the biggest game of the day. An argument can be made that it’s the biggest game of Franklin’s 10-year tenure in Happy Valley.
For all that Franklin has accomplished at Penn State, from recruiting at a high level to compiling an 84-36 record, he has earned the reputation of not being a big-game coach. Penn State is 4-14 against Ohio State and Michigan, its two Big Ten East rivals, under Franklin’s watch. It hasn’t won the conference since 2016 — the last time it beat Ohio State — and has never reached the College Football Playoff. The only way to get there is by getting past Michigan and Ohio State.
Calm it on Caleb
Let me be clear: Caleb Williams did not play well Saturday night. He was inaccurate and threw three costly interceptions in USC’s ugly loss at Notre Dame. The reaction to the performance, however, was well over the top. Suddenly, one bad performance eradicated everything else, his dominance the last two years. If Williams had anything resembling a defense, USC would’ve reached the playoff last year.
If Lincoln Riley wasn’t so dependent on an offense to put up huge numbers, maybe a rare poor performance by his quarterback could be overcome. Across three years of college football, Williams has produced 108 total touchdowns, has completed 66.8 percent of his passes and has thrown just 13 interceptions. In his six losses as a starter, his defense has allowed an average of 41.3 points. Don’t let one bad effort cloud the impressive entire body of work.
