Can any Pac-12 team make it through the conference gauntlet undefeated?
We are officially five weeks into the 2023 college football season, and I already have a bold statement to make as it relates to the College Football Playoff: This year could be the most controversial College Football Playoff selection that we've ever had.
The Pac-12 is the deepest and the best conference through the first month of the season, which has not been the case for the last decade. But when looking back at how the first month of the season played out, what these teams are and what these teams have in front of them, it makes me incredibly nervous for this conference. The deepest and best conference in college football might eat itself up. That's always been the case for the Pac-12, but we never really worried about it because there was never that elite team that we needed in the playoff.
This year, that's different. There are some elite teams in the Pac-12., and I'm really hoping we get one of them into the CFP. Last week was a reminder to all of us why the Pac-12 is going to be so difficult over the course of the next two months.
Utah won an emotional game against UCLA in Week 4, winning with great defense and without its starting quarterback. Then, the Utes had to turn around and face a ranked Oregon State team on the road on a Friday night in Week 5. That Oregon State team lost to a really good Washington State team on the road in Week 4.
Guess what happened? That Utah team lost. You could've seen that coming, too. At the start of the year, you could've picked out that game being a tough one for Utah as the schedule does the conference no favors. In fact, it's somewhat unavoidable this year because of the amount of quality teams this conference has.
Later in Week 5, USC held a 27-point lead against Colorado late in the third quarter but still needed to recover an onside kick to win. Washington went down to Tucson and played somewhat of a sleepy game against an Arizona team that enacted the blueprint to beat the Huskies: limit the possessions and explosive plays. All of a sudden, Washington was in a one-possession game.
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Week 5 was a case study on why it's going to be so difficult to get a one-loss champion in the Pac-12. That's why I think if any team wins the Pac-12 with just one loss, that team should go to the CFP.
The gauntlet continues for the Pac-12 next week as it has three teams involved in top-10 matchups. Oregon takes on Washington in Seattle, while USC will hit the road to face Notre Dame.
When you take a look at what's in front of the four unbeaten teams remaining in the Pac-12 (Oregon, Washington, USC and Washington State), you start to think to yourself, "How many losses are they going to have?" That thought turns into a sense of anxiety for the Pac-12 and whether it's able to get a team into the CFP.
Let's take a look at each undefeated Pac-12 team's remaining schedule against ranked opponents:
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No. 7 Washington (5-0)
Oct. 14: vs. No. 8 Oregon
Nov. 4: @ No. 9 USC
Nov. 11: vs. No. 18 Utah
Nov. 18: @ No. 15 Oregon State
Nov. 25: vs. No. 13 Washington State
Washington is a really good team. I've been singing its praises since the beginning of the season. I called Michael Penix Jr. my dark horse to win the Heisman before the year and I said the Huskies were the scariest team in college football at one point. I think that point remains true.
Yet, five of Washington's final seven games are against ranked teams. Can any team in America go through that five-game stretch with one loss?
No. 8 Oregon (5-0)
Oct 14.: @ No. 7 Washington
Oct. 21: vs. No. 13 Washington State
Oct. 28: @ No. 18 Utah
Nov. 11: vs. No. 9 USC
Nov. 24: vs. No. 15 Oregon State
Oregon is sitting here with five of its last seven games also against ranked opponents, all of which are in the top 20. This team has a big rivalry game against Washington coming up, and it has to go to Utah, which is probably the most difficult place to play at in the conference over the last three seasons. And the Ducks still have USC and Oregon State on their schedule after that.
No. 9 USC (5-0)
Oct. 14: @ No. 10 Notre Dame
Oct. 21: vs. No. 18 Utah
Nov. 4: vs. No. 7 Washington
Nov. 11: @ No. 8 Oregon
USC now has questions surrounding its defense after that showing against Colorado. It only has four games remaining against teams currently ranked, but can anyone in the nation go through that stretch with one loss?
No. 13 Washington State (4-0)
Oct 21: @ No. 8 Oregon
Nov. 25: @ No. 7 Washington
Washington State, a team that I've compared to last year's TCU squad with a veteran quarterback and knows how to win, only has two games left against ranked teams. But it also has an away game against UCLA this weekend and a home game against Colorado later in the season.
The bottom line: The Pac-12 is ridiculous. The slate of games in front of those teams is as difficult as you'll find anywhere. If any of those four teams, or even the one-loss teams (Utah, Oregon State, UCLA), run the table to win the Pac-12, it has to be in the CFP.
What in the world are we going to do with the four-team playoff? Oh yeah, we're expanding to 12 teams - and it's going to be glorious.
Joel Klatt is FOX Sports' lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast "The Joel Klatt Show." Follow him on Twitter at @joelklatt and subscribe to the "Joel Klatt Show" on YouTube.