Pac-12 Football Notes: How Will CFP Committee View Oregon?

Following a weekend by which all 4 Pac-12 title contenders received, we handle six points:

4 Pac-12 groups — Oregon, USC, UCLA and Utah — determine to be within the prime 15 or so of the primary CFP rankings, which can be launched Tuesday.  However the large uncertainty is how the CFP committee will view Oregon. The Geese had that ugly 49-3 loss Georgia within the opener, however have received all  seven video games since then by scoring greater than 40 factors in every of them. Will Georgia’s No. 1 standing make the large loss acceptable? Does the truth that Oregon appears to be a significantly better crew now matter? Is getting squashed by any crew by 46 factors an computerized eliminator from national-title consideration?

Oregon, USC and UCLA are all 7-1, leaving all three in competition to turn into the primary Pac-12 crew since 2016 to earn a berth within the four-team national-championship playoff. Keep in mind, solely as soon as for the reason that CFP format started in 2014 has a 12-1 champion of a Energy 5 convention did not get a CFP berth (Ohio State 2018).

Colorado athletic director Rick George is the Pac-12’s consultant on the 13-person CFP committee, and Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman is the one different committee member from the the West. Not one of the members is from the Pacific coast.

Oregon, USC, UCLA and Utah are ranked eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth, respectively on this week’s AP ballot, and CFP rankings often observe the AP rankings fairly intently. We’ll see.

The Pac-12 title chase may get dicey if USC, Oregon and Utah all end with one convention loss, leaving it as much as tiebreaking formulation to find out the Pac-12 championship-game pairing. USC and Oregon do not face one another within the common season, so it might come right down to the third tiebreaking state of affairs. The crew that is available in third in that state of affairs is just not going to be pleased. 

The important thing date is Nov. 19, when Oregon hosts Utah and USC faces UCLA in Pasadena.

Offense, Offense, Offense

The offensive numbers within the Pac-12 on Saturday had been mesmerizing.

5 of the eight Pac-12 groups who performed Saturday gained greater than 500 yards of whole offense, and 6 of them scored a minimum of 34 factors. 4 working backs gained greater than 100 speeding yards, and 6 receivers amassed greater than 100 receiving yards. And quarterbacks proceed to place up large stats.

4 Pac-12 groups — Oregon, Washington, UCLA and USC — rank among the many prime 12 within the nation in each scoring offense and whole offense, and the SEC, with three such groups, is the one different convention with multiple within the prime 12.

It is no coincidence that the quarterback for every of the Pac-12’s 4 high-scoring groups transferred from one other faculty this previous offseason.

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Uh, Protection, Anybody?

In the meantime, no Pac-12 crew ranks within the prime 20 nationally in both scoring protection or whole protection.

The three Pac-12 groups in competition for a CFP berth rank forty ninth (UCLA), 76th (Oregon) and 88th (USC) in whole protection. Not one of the three groups ranks within the prime 50 in scoring protection, with first-place Oregon rating 81st, behind the likes of UConn, Outdated Dominion and New Mexico.

4 Pac-12 groups rank one centesimal or worse in whole protection among the many 131 FBS groups, and two (Arizona and Colorado) rank among the many backside six within the nation in scoring protection..

And also you noticed how powerless Pac-12 defenses had been on Saturday.

So the query is that this: Do Pac-12 offenses ring up large numbers as a result of the defenses are so dangerous, or do the convention defenses look awful as a result of offenses are so robust?

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Particular person Stars Aplenty 

Oregon quarterback Bo Nix (3 TD passes, 3 TD runs) and USC quarterback Caleb Williams (5 TD passes, giving him 24 TD passes and 1 interception for 2022) improved their Heisman Trophy resumes on Saturday, however they weren’t probably the most spectacular gamers on Saturday.

Two others had been extra spectacular.

UCLA working again Zach Charbonnet didn’t have a carry or reception within the last 11 minutes, however he nonetheless had 198 speeding yards, 61 receiving yards and three touchdowns in opposition to Stanford on Saturday.

He ranks third within the nation in speeding yards per sport (137.7) and leads the nation in yards per carry (7.53).

Listed here are two examples of what he did Saturday:

Simply as spectacular was the efficiency in a shedding trigger by Arizona huge receiver Dorian Singer, whose numbers (7 receptions, 141 yards, 3 touchdowns) do not inform the entire story.

Two of his three TD catches had been of the spectacular selection.

First was this diving one-handed catch:

And later was this seize when he climbed the ladder, reached up and snatched the move amid tight protection earlier than getting blasted.

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Ah, Sure, the Officiating

Egregious officiating errors have turn into a weekly subject within the Pac-12, and one such error got here up on the finish of the primary half of the USC-Arizona sport.

First the video replay:

Adopted by Lincoln Riley’s instant response:

Then the postgame feedback from Riley:

The NCAA rule stipulates that the clock is stopped following a primary down and is restarted when the ball is noticed and the referee alerts the ball is prepared for play.

Then this remark from revered Pac-12 reporter John Canzano:

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The Utah Secret

Utah ought to be recommended for profitable in Pullman, Washington, on Thursday with out its beginning quarterback, Cameron Rising, however FS1 was miffed that Utah didn’t give it a heads up that Rising wouldn’t be beginning.

When Utah got here out for its first offensive play, FS1 supplied a graphic of Rising’s exploits solely to note that Rising was not on the sphere and walk-on Bryson Barnes was the quarterback.

Print journalists perceive that coaches might not reveal key accidents to them for worry of getting a aggressive drawback if the opponent is aware of about it.  However TV people have an understanding with groups that such accidents can be revealed to them, with the groups trusting that the TV individuals wont reveal them till the sport begins.

Utah claimed Barnes was not instructed he can be the starter till a couple of half hour earlier than the sport began, however that was nonetheless sufficient time to alert the TV individuals, who might have ready a graphic about Barnes’ attention-grabbing story to be proven when he trotted onto the sphere for the primary snap. As a substitute FS1 was left scrambling.

Prime 5 Pac-12 Groups

1. Oregon (7-1, 5-0 Pac-12) — Geese are third within the nation in whole offense.

2. USC (7-1, 5-1 Pac-12) — Squeaking by Oregon State and Arizona raises some questions.

3. UCLA (7-1, 4-1 Pac-12) — The Bruins bounced again from their loss to Oregon

4. Utah (6-2, 4-1 Pac-12) — Utes are out of the CFP race however not out of the Pac-12 race.

5. Washington (6-2, 4-2 Pac-12) — Huskies by a hair for this last spot over Oregon State, which performs Washington in Seattle on Friday evening on nationwide tv.

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Pac-12 Participant of the Yr Standings;

1. Quarterback Bo Nix, Oregon — He accounted for six touchdowns Saturday, and has been sacked simply as soon as this 12 months.  Let me repeat that: He has been sacked simply as soon as this 12 months.

2. Quarterback Caleb Williams, USC — Third within the nation in landing passes (24) with only one interception.

3. Quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA — He appeared banged up in opposition to Stanford, and the Bruins cannot afford to lose him.

4. Quarterback Cameron Rising, Utah — Utes proved they’ll win with out him, however the query is: How lengthy will he be out?

5. Working again Zach Charbonnet, UCLA — Leaving the nation’s chief in passing yardage (Washington’s Michael Penix Jr.) off this record simply appears mistaken, however who would he change?

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Cowl picture of Zach Charbonnet by Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports activities

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