4. The Really Big Thing Was …
Arizona State 31, Oregon 28
It was a big piece of the overall College Football Playoff puzzle, and it was exactly what the Pac-12 didn’t need.
Things could still play out just as they would’ve if Oregon didn’t lose in the desert – Utah could still go to the College Football Playoff and Oregon can still go to the Rose Bowl – but what was being set up as this massive potential CFP play-in game two weeks from now lost its mojo.
If the committee likes 12-1, Pac-12 champ Utah, then it likes 12-1 Pac-12 champ Utah no matter what Oregon just did. However, now there’s one less shot at the big tournament since the Ducks are still good enough to beat the Utes.
CFN 1-130 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Early Week 14 Line Lookahead
Rankings: AP | USA Today Coaches | FWAA
– Playoff Rankings Projection
– Predicting every remaining game, conference race
– Big Ten Quick Thoughts
– Arizona State 31, Oregon 28: What It Means
I already went in depth on what this all really means to the playoff and the college football world as this Oregon loss falls into the “things end up working out” cliché.
The Ducks didn’t wake up until it was too late, Arizona State played better than it had for well over a month, and now, for Utah, or Alabama, or Baylor, or Oklahoma …
Things might have ended up working out because of this.
This loss helped the Big 12 champion – if it’s 12-1 – it helps Alabama, it helps the possibility of Ohio State getting in if it gets stunned in the Big Ten championship, it helps just about everyone that needed something big to happen on a Saturday full of SEC vs. Marshmallow States and without any other big shockers.
Week 13 Roundup
Winners & Losers | Most Overrated Thing
Most Underrated Thing | What It All Means