College Football Playoff: What chaos does UCF need to reach the Top 4?

Step 3: Arizona State upsets Washington in Pac-12 championship game

Washington State is the front-runner in the Pac-12 this season. They are currently the top-ranked team from the conference in the College Football Playoff Top 25, and they still have an outside shot at getting to the semifinals for the second time in three years.

Of course, the Apple Cup still stands in the way. For the third straight year, the game has Pac-12 North implications. For the second time in three years, the winner will be guaranteed a spot in the Pac-12 title game. (Last year, Washington State’s win eliminated Washington from the championship game but the head-to-head loss against Stanford put the Cardinal up against USC.)

This year, a three-loss Washington team knocking out the Cougars would be right in line with the Pac-12 shooting itself in the foot. Beyond that, however, there is a mess in the Pac-12 South as nobody really wants to lay claim to the title. The clearest path belongs to Arizona State, though. Herm Edwards has managed to eke out an advantage head-to-head over Utah and USC in the division, and their Territorial Cup game against Arizona would seal their spot in Santa Clara.

The committee would almost certainly reject a three-loss Huskies team, but to really seal Pac-12 obsolescence in 2018 an Arizona State victory would lock the conference out of the College Football Playoff without any question or hesitation. The 10-2 Cougars would not get the spot ahead of an undefeated UCF, either.