LOS ANGELES -- College football's screws are tightening. There are 12 unbeaten teams remaining, including three apiece in the American and Big 12, but none in the Pac-12 -- which sets it apart from the other Power 5 conferences in an undistinguished way.
With previously unbeaten and third-ranked Utah going down hard at USC, 42-24, the national storyline as we await the first rankings from the College Football Playoff selection committee on Nov. 3 will be the Pac-12 getting left out of the playoff. ESPN Stats & Information has been telling us for weeks that the conference is the most likely to have a two-loss champion, and a two-loss champion is like being a billionaire with cirrhosis of the liver.