Pac-12 football has a major branding problem and it’s serious

Pac-12 football has the perception of being the lesser of the Power Five conferences. They’ve done nothing to change that perception.

In the movie Remember The Titans, coach Herman Boone met with coach Bill Yost and coach Herb Tyrell since the school board decided to integrate them.

“You coached at what, four or five schools in North Carolina,” Yoast asked.

“Yes, with four or five championships,” Boone retorted.

“That’s double-A ball, coach Tyrell interjected; this here Virginia, we play triple-A.” Coach Tyrell had a preconceived notion that North Carolina football was inferior to Virginia football.

The same could be said about the Pac-12.

This season is the perfect example of how the West Coast-based conference is nothing more than an afterthought. Both the Pac-12 and the Big Ten started late. The Big Ten’s sole reason for playing was to get Ohio State into the playoff. The Ohio State Buckeyes and USC Trojans each played five games before their respective conference championship games. Granted, the Trojans did themselves no favors by losing to Oregon — a substitute for Washington who had a COVID-19 outbreak — but there was no push to get the Trojans into the playoff.

Even if you look at their respective resumes, both teams played three close games against inferior opponents. USC against Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA; Ohio State against Indiana, Penn State and Rutgers. This is not an argument that Ohio State and USC are in the same place as programs — they are not. However, even when the Pac-12 began to play, they were instantly out of the playoff conversation.

Unlike the Big Ten and the SEC, the Pac-12 is a one-loss and done conference. Once a Pac-12 team loses a game, the conference is eliminated from playoff contention most seasons. Why? Is the Pac-12 as inferior as perceived?

The Pac-12 has some serious issues with their brand — some of it their own doing — and here are some of them.