2. The Most Underrated Thing Was …
Oregon State 41, Oregon 38.
Let’s start with blowing off this false narrative – the Pac-12’s chances of making the College Football Playoff didn’t suffer a mortal blow just because Oregon lost. It didn’t help that the defending Pac-12 champs lost to Oregon State in the fog, but the league needs 1) an unbeaten champion, 2) it really needs to be USC for branding purposes, and 3) there has to be a whole lot of help.
The Pac-12 has to have a shiny, unbeaten champion, and now the pressure and spotlight are on Washington to at least get to the title game.
If Washington and either USC or Colorado are unbeaten in the championship, and if Alabama gets rid of Florida in the SEC Championship, and if Notre Dame beats Clemson in the ACC Championship, and if maybe Ohio State really can’t go, and/or Texas A&M loses to Auburn, and …
The Pac-12 needs help, but an unbeaten Power Five champ is still an unbeaten Power Five champ.
Oregon, though, would’ve given the Pac-12 a whole lot more national sizzle if it could’ve kept winning.
However, the truly underrated aspect was Oregon State. Head coach Jonathan Smith has made the program competitive again in a hurry, RB Jermar Jefferson ran for 226 yards, and this game provided what all rivalries need.
A rivalry.
No longer called the Civil War, the Beavers lost in this thing 11 of the last 12 years and last won in 2016 when both programs stunk. And that goes to a bigger overall point.
The Pac-12 needs more good teams. Oregon State will never be a huge national program, but if it’s respected enough to make it a tough fight every time out, and if it’s considered a good win to take it down, that’s a huge plus.
– Week 13 Winners & Losers
– Sarah Fuller kicked a football: One Really Big Thing
– Rivalry weekend?: Most Overrated Thing
– The season is hanging on: What It All Means, Week 13