The Pac-12's 2018 football season starts Aug. 30, when Utah hosts Weber State. It may end two days later, after Washington meets Auburn in Atlanta.
That’s an extreme, yet not uncommon, view of where the conference currently fits into the college football landscape. The Huskies are seen as the conference’s only hope of qualifying for the College Football Playoffs. So what happens if they lose to Auburn and look bad in the process?
And is that kind of opening-day pressure fair to Washington? “It doesn’t matter if it’s fair or not,” coach Chris Petersen said last month during the Pac-12 Media Day.