Pac-12 football: 10-game, conference-only schedule, will that get a team into playoff?

By going conference-only, does this help the Pac-12 reach the playoff?

The Pac-12 is reportedly going with a 10-game, conference-only schedule for the 2020 campaign.

According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo, the Pac-12 is planning on a 10-game schedule with a Sept. 26 start date. The Power 5 conference was one of the first to announce it was going conference-only for 2020, along with the Big Ten. The ACC and the SEC have since adopted a 10-game conference schedule, with the ACC having a plus-one with a huge caveat in the non-conference.

Thamel added, “Pac-12 plans to start with aggressive scheduling — USC vs. UCLA, ASU vs Arizona and Washington vs Stanford planned for Week 1 on Sept 26.” He then informed us, “Pac-12 plan will also give schools the option to delay the start of the season by a week. Week 1 opponents could push back the game to Dec. 12, for example, if playing that week doesn’t appear realistic.”

Does a 10-game, Pac-12 football season help get a team into the playoff?

Throughout the College Football Playoff era, the Pac-12 has lagged behind the other four Power 5 conferences. The ACC and the SEC have gotten at least one team in all six years, with the SEC getting in the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs back in the 2017 season. The Big Ten has gotten in four teams, as has the Big 12. However, the Pac-12 has gotten in only twice.

The only two Pac-12 teams to ever reach the College Football Playoff were the 2014 Oregon Ducks, who fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the national title after defeating the Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl, and the 2016 Washington Huskies, who got in as a four-seed and were boat raced by the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide in the Peach Bowl. It hasn’t been great.

However, the Pac-12 has one team the College Football Playoff Selection Committee is dying to get in there in Oregon. The Ducks are recruiting at an SEC blue-blood level under head coach Mario Cristobal. Had the Ducks not lost to the Auburn Tigers in Arlington, Texas on Labor Day Weekend or to the Arizona State Sun Devils in Tempe, Arizona, they would have made it in last year.

By going conference-only, Oregon won’t have a tough non-conference game vs. Ohio State in Eugene this year. While the Ducks could have won that game, they would have been the home underdog to the Ryan Day’s Buckeyes. By adding a 10th conference game, Oregon might have the team capable of going 9-1, maybe even 10-0 before the Pac-12 Championship game.

An undefeated or one-loss Pac-12 Champion definitely gets into the College Football Playoff.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.