USC-UCLA and Oregon-Utah showdowns highlight expert picks for Week 12 in college football
It's pretty rare when all the attention of a college football weekend is on the Pac-12. That's the case Saturday in Week 12 of the season with four teams still alive to make the league's championship game – and there's an informal semifinal matchup between the quartet.
No. 6 Southern California is the highest-ranked team in the conference and is the lone representative left in the College Football Playoff race. The Trojans, who are one win in front of No. 10 Utah and No. 13 Oregon at the top of the standings, travel to No. 16 UCLA for their final Pac-12 game. A win ensures a spot in the championship game and also keeps alive hopes of reaching the semifinals. The Bruins won't be receptive hosts, however, and would have the inside track on the championship game if they win.
That's because Utah and Oregon will start their game 2½ hours later, and someone has to lose. The Utes beat the Ducks twice in dominant fashion last season, but neither of those games were in Autzen Stadium. The Utes have won four in a row, including a defeat of USC, since losing to UCLA. The Ducks are off a home loss to Washington that ended their playoff hopes.
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There are no other games involving ranked opponents, but that doesn't mean there are no other games of interest for teams in the playoff race.
Could No. 1 Georgia possibly fall at Kentucky? No. 3 Michigan faces a potentially tricky matchup against Illinois, one week before the Wolverines face No. 2 Ohio State. No. 4 TCU pays a visit to Baylor hoping to keep its unbeaten record and avoid the kind of loss that would spoil its possibility of reaching the semifinals.