OR vs. USC Football 2015

But the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday may give the Pac-12 a glimmer of hope.

Breaking down No. 22 USC’s matchup against No. 23 OR at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. All OR fans asked is that the team turn it around and make something out of what was becoming a dumpster fire of a season – they have.

Although the likelihood of either team finding its way into the College Football Playoff is slim, the following is a look at what the conference needs from Stanford and Utah for a chance to appear in the playoffs.

OR can still win the north if the Cardinal loses to California and Arizona will doubtlessly be motivated to end its rival’s season.

Both teams are being pumped up by their coaches; they know a whole season could be in the dumpster as far as what will be remembered if they don’t win this game, and they will carry the shame for an entire year until the two teams meet again.

California (6-4, 3-4) will travel to #15 Stanford (8-2, 7-1) to take on the freshly beaten Cardinal.

Whereas Bruins coach Jim Mora Jr. said he was happy with how his team came out energized for practice this week despite the disappointment, there were mixed emotions Monday as the Utes tried to move on.

A lengthier conference schedule may partially explain the Pac-12’s predicament, but the conference may also be suffering from a year in which it has a lot of good teams but no elite team. And even if it plays out exactly as described, there’s no guarantee the committee will follow suit.

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football.

The Ducks’ three losses in the first half of the season doomed them to a unranked state less than a year removed from a run to the national championship game. Clemson may not stay at No. 1, but they’ll be in the playoffs.

All games are Saturday, all predictions are probably wrong. (John Bazemore/AP Photo) 2.

I’d rather have virtually every regular-season game be suspenseful than tease me with the prospect of a big reward at the end.

Yet Southern Cal’s defensive coordinator is anything but misty-eyed on the eve of the Trojans’ first game at OR since 2011.

Then we have one of two rivalry games with Arizona and Arizona State. The Trojans might need a repeat of that game and they have to start fast. If only the Washington State loss had not happened we would be thinking much differently now.

Speaking of #18 Utah (8-2, 5-2), they will be hosting now-unranked UCLA (7-3, 4-3) at home on Saturday. But USC’s offense has taken a step backward during that stretch.

Safety Chris Hawkins said the defense is now “more simple” and that “there’s no question of what we’re doing”. The Cornhuskers finish the season with bowl eligibility, but ruin Iowa’s dream of the playoffs. The road team has won the last three in this series, covering the spread in the process. It’s very easy to blame this coach or this player and it has to be his fault. In last weeks, tough win against Colorado, Kessler threw for 204 yards, with 3 passing touchdowns albeit throwing one interception. However, even splitting games, it’s likely the Cowboys don’t have enough to get in. Besides a great offensive line, what makes him such a great running back? Stanford was shocked by Northwestern and Washington State lost to an FCS team in Portland State. Eight of its 12 teams are expected to play in a bowl game, while those that are not bowl eligible will be only one or two wins away from contention. Is this flawed logic? ASU hosts Arizona in the Territorial Cup game on Saturday before closing at Cal. Washington plays at Oregon State on Saturday before hosting Washington in the Apple Cup game. No playoffs for the Gators despite a solid season and turnaround. Watch a game, any game and you’ll see DB’s called for PI for simply trying to cover a guy.

We deal with hype in covering the Ducks, too, because fans and Duck-friendly media seemingly never consider what could go wrong with the team or they can’t look through flash-and-dance to see flaws. It just seemed like Utah could do no wrong.