Utah may have emerged last night as the Pac-12 champion, but the real winner of Friday night is Ohio State.
The Buckeyes path to the College Football Playoff is now clearer than ever after No. 4 USC fell to the Utes 47–24 in the Pac-12 title game. The Trojans now have two losses—both to Utah—and no team with two losses has ever made the field of four.
No. 5 Ohio State has only one loss, which came in The Game against Michigan last weekend. The Buckeyes weren’t particularly close in the matchup against their archrival, but still seemed positioned to benefit after USC’s loss.