Pac-12 Championship Game: Will Utah beating Oregon be enough to get in playoff?

Should the Utah Utes defeat the Oregon Ducks in the Pac-12 Championship on Friday night, will that be enough to send them to the College Football Playoff?

The Utah Utes are in a very interesting spot heading into the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday night. Utah is one of seven teams still alive to make the 2020 College Football Playoff. At 11-1 (8-1), Utah won the Pac-12 South division title this year. Their only loss was at the USC Trojans early in the season. Utah has still yet to beat its division rival on the road at any point.

Awaiting the Utes at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California on Friday night will be the Oregon Ducks. Oregon enters the title bout at 10-2 (8-1) but has no shot at the Playoff. All the Ducks can hope for is to play in the Rose Bowl this January. A win over Utah in Santa Clara will ensure that or if the Utes end up as one of the four teams in the Playoff. Oregon would represent the Pac-12.

So while the Ducks are looking forward to some roses, the Utes would prefer to party at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona or travel across the country to play in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia. One would think that a 12-1 (8-1) Utah team would have the resume to be one of the four best teams in the Selection Committee’s eyes, but what has to happen for the Utes to get in?

First things first, Utah has to beat Oregon for any of this to happen and the Utes will probably have to beat Oregon convincingly to convince the Selection Committee that they belong in. Beating the Ducks on a neutral site will serve as the Utes’ signature win they’ll desperately need this season.

After that, the Utes would have to wait and see how the other four Power 5 conference championships will shake out. Utah must accept that the SEC winner is getting in, whether that’s a one-loss Georgia Bulldogs team or an undefeated LSU Tigers team. Should Georgia upset LSU, both the Dawgs and the Tigers will get in. That would mean Utah is likely on the outside looking in.

The reason for this is that if the Clemson Tigers win the ACC and the Ohio State Buckeyes win the Big Ten, those would be the two other teams getting in. Both are undefeated heading into their conference championship games. A loss to the Virginia Cavaliers will keep Clemson out, although that’s not happening. A loss to the Wisconsin Badgers might not Ohio State out, but maybe not.

So if Georgia beats LSU, then Utah has to pray for Clemson to lose to Virginia or the Selection Committee to not believe in a one-loss, non-champion Ohio State team as an at-large inclusion. Fortunately for the Utes, they do seem to have the leg up on the Big 12 contenders for that theoretical last spot in. Utah ranks ahead of both the Baylor Bears and the Oklahoma Sooners.

Could a Big 12 title be enough to usurp a Pac-12 title to be the last team in should Georgia fall to LSU? Maybe, but that Big 12 champion would have to be Oklahoma and probably not Baylor. Utah’s resume would be better than Baylor’s, but debatable with Oklahoma’s for that last spot in if Georgia falls to LSU. However, Utah would have the leg up on Oklahoma by playing better lately.

Overall, a Pac-12 championship doesn’t necessarily guarantee a Playoff berth for the Utes. However, couple that title with a Georgia loss to LSU in Atlanta and the Utes could reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in school history. As long as they win, the Utes will be the team of greatest intrigue for the Committee to dissect and see who does belong in the Playoff.

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