5 things we learned in Week 12 of College Football

Pac-12 does it again

Oregon hasn’t felt like a true College Football Playoff contender in the past few weeks and on Saturday night, the Ducks were exposed by Utah.

The Utes have lost three games this season but they are really tough to beat in Salt Lake and the Pac-12 conference can thank them for knocking the league out of the playoff mix again.

And there’s a good chance Oregon and Utah will meet again in the Pac-12 championship game with a Rose Bowl berth on the line, yet the Ducks still have work to do.

Oregon State which is 7-4 overall and 5-3 in the Pac-12 North is still alive, as is Washington State. If the Ducks lose to Oregon State, the Cougars will go with a win over Washington. If Oregon State beats Oregon and Washington wins the Apple Cup, the Beavers would win the north.

It adds some excitement to the final week but also serves as a reminder of why guaranteed berths aren’t a good idea if there is a 12-team playoff.

Do we really want Oregon State or Washington State two wins from an automatic berth? Cause that’s where we’d be right now with a 12-team playoff and automatic berths.

I desperately want to see the playoff expand to 12 teams. It’s more than needed. But let’s not give every Power-5 conference an auto berth.

If you need a reminder, the mess in the Pac-12 is a perfect reason why.