After Washington beat Oregon State in Week 12, one spot was clinched in what will most likely be the final Pac-12 championship game of all time. Still, college football's saddest conference has one more spot open in their championship game. As noted by Saturday Out West, the Pac-12 has "outlined" the roadmap for the two final teams looking to fill the second spot.
The two teams in the hunt are Oregon and Arizona. The Ducks have the easier road to the conference championship as they need either Arizona to lose against Arizona State or for the Ducks to beat their in-state rivals, Oregon State on Friday. Meanwhile, Arizona needs to win and for Oregon State to win to make the Pac-12 championship.
The Huskies face off against Washington State in a game that will have little to no implications for the Pac-12 championship race. This game will most likely have college football playoff implications for Washington if they were to lose against a team that is fighting to be bowl-eligible. It is looking extremely likely that the Pac-12 championship game will have serious implications for the playoff.
What are the possible implications of the Pac-12 championship game for the Playoff?
If Washington is able to beat Washington State and then beat Oregon or Arizona in the championship game, it would be extremely hard to keep them out of the playoff. Based on the simple fact that Ohio State and Michigan play each other next week, one of these teams will have a loss which opens a spot for the Huskies to slip in from number five.
The only way that Washington could have a case for missing the playoff is if Alabama is able to beat Georgia in the SEC championship game. While Washington would be undefeated and neither SEC divisional champ would be, people might side with keeping both SEC teams due to the fact that Alabama beat the number one team in the country and Georgia was the number one team in the country.
If Oregon is able to beat Oregon State this week and then beat Washington in the Pac-12 championship game, the Ducks would have a great case for the playoff. Oregon would have beaten the only team that they lost to and would have a conference championship as well. Of course, it's hard to know what the resumes of the other teams will look at.
A one-loss Tide team that beats Georgia in the SEC championship game would be hard to keep out. Still, the Ducks would have plenty advocating for their spot in the playoff. If Arizona were somehow able to win the Pac-12 title this season, then it wouldn't be enough for them to head to the college football playoff. No matter what happens, the Pac-12 will surely have a lot of entertainment for the college football world to enjoy in its last hurrah.
