The Pac-12 hasn't been able to cleanse the stain that has come from finishing with the worst single-season bowl record in college football history.
That 1-8 mark was the lasting impression from a season that came to a close without a West Coast team in the College Football Playoff or the top 10 of the final AP poll. It's debatable the degree to which those failures should be used to evaluate the overall strength of a conference, but what's not up for debate is that the Pac-12 enters 2018 in need of image rehabilitation.
The most pivotal game in that process will take place in Atlanta on Saturday, when the No.