Pac-12 football notebook: Los Angeles becomes the center of the universe in Week 6

Utah at UCLA in the afternoon. Washington State at USC in the evening. Week 6 puts L.A. at the heart of the Pac-12 title chase in two big battles. Let’s go to the notebook.

Because of the new playoff format in Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers are about to get several days off. They and a few other teams will sit home and relax this coming weekend while eight teams battle in the new wild card series.

If we had the old playoff format, the Dodgers might have been scheduled to play Sunday, Oct. 9, in Game 1 of the NLDS. As it stands, the Dodgers won’t play for nearly a week. Their first playoff game won’t be until Tuesday, Oct. 11.

They, along with other Angelenos, can sit back and watch college football this weekend. Los Angeles will be a central focus of the college football world, not just the Pac-12.

National college football writers will have to pay attention to the Pac this week. Utah-UCLA is a midday kickoff in afternoon sun. Washington State-USC is a late-afternoon kickoff which will end under the lights near 8 p.m. in the Coliseum. It’s getting serious in the Pac-12. Here’s our notebook after Week 5 and heading into Week 6: