College Football Playoff implications are on the line when UCLA and Oregon face off in Eugene.
The biggest game out west this season does not involve USC, as the No. 10 Oregon Ducks (5-1) will host the No. 9 UCLA Bruins (6-0) in Week 8.
It has been somewhat of a renaissance for West Coast football this season. Even though USC and UCLA are bailing on the Pac-12 in two years, the conference has not looked this good on the gridiron in ages. With Dan Lanning’s one-loss Ducks hosting Chip Kelly’s undefeated Bruins on Saturday afternoon, the winner could emerge as a threat to make the College Football Playoff.
Are we getting ahead of ourselves here, or is this game going to live up to the GameDay hype?
UCLA at Oregon will serve as a litmus test game for playoff legitimacy out west
After getting its doors blown off in Lanning’s Oregon debut vs. his former team Georgia in Atlanta, the Ducks have rattled off five wins in a row. They are 3-0 in Pac-12 play with wins over Arizona, Stanford and Washington State. The Ducks also have somewhat of an impressive non-conference win by beating national independent and soon-to-be Big 12 program BYU back in mid-September.
While UCLA was quietly sneaking up on everyone, that is no longer the case for the Bruins after they beat top-15 Utah in the Rose Bowl two weeks ago. UCLA also has two more wins in Pac-12 play over Colorado in Boulder and home vs. Washington. While Washington looks to be much-improved under first-year head coach Kalen DeBoer, the home win over the Utes speaks volumes.
What this game in Autzen entails is the winner will be in serious consideration for the playoff should either win out. UCLA has to go undefeated to offset playing a weak non-conference schedule, as well as the Pac-12 brand having taken a hit over the last half-decade or so. As for Oregon, the Ducks could get in if they win out, as seemingly everyone loses to Georgia these days.
Ultimately, the Pac-12 needs more than just Oregon and Utah being good for people to care about the conference. It needs USC and probably UCLA playing well. And if that were not enough, it also probably needs Washington to play up to its historical standards, too. The good news is all five of these programs have been ranked at times this year and have shown that they can hold their own.
However, the winner of UCLA at Oregon stands as the Pac-12’s best chance at getting a team in.
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