Stanford Football: Arcega-Whiteside saves Cardinal from upset threat

3. The Pac-12 needs this to be a fluke

Over its brief four-year history the Pac-12 has sent two teams to the College Football Playoff: Oregon in 2014 and Washington in 2016. They’ve missed out on the biggest prize in College Football as many times as they’ve qualified and have only sent one team to the Championship Game.

Part of the reason for the Pac-12’s spotty representation is its lack of depth. Washington and USC are the blue-bloods, but the conference, on the whole, needs more strength at the top if they want to challenge for Playoff berths.

The SEC, Big Ten and the ACC have all proven that having multiple elite programs increases the chances in any given year that at least one of their teams will weather the storm and make the final four. For several years now Stanford has been on the cusp of being great, each time failing to get over the hump. Is 2018 going to be any different? The Pac-12 needs it to be. Stanford needs it to be.

Stanford is supposed to be one of the big names in college football, but their early-season struggles are becoming a disturbing trend. They might very well finish with double-digit wins, but the nasty start is going to kill their Playoff dreams before they ever get off the ground.