LAS VEGAS — Conference officials will take a neutral stance when the University of Southern California plays Utah in the Pac-12 title game Friday night, but there’s little doubt what a USC victory would mean for the league.
A win by the Trojans (11-1), who are fourth in the AP Top 25 and the most recent College Football Playoff rankings, is expected to make them the first Pac-12 team to be one of the four CFP contenders since Washington in 2017.
“I think it’s incredibly important that one of our teams makes the playoff,” Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said Thursday. “It’s been one of our goals, and we’ve been building a multiyear strategic football plan to make that happen. That said, I don’t have a rooting interest tomorrow.
“We think there’s a great opportunity for multiple of our teams to be in New Year’s Six bowls. We’re taking a step forward compared to where we were a year ago. We’ll take a step forward again next year.”
The four-team field for this season’s CFP will be revealed Sunday, and next year will be the final edition with a qualifying quartet. The CFP announced Thursday it would expand to 12 schools beginning in 2024, and the six highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids, so the Pac-12 will likely be an annual participant.