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.
If USC beats No. 12 Utah (9-3, No. 11 CFP) this weekend, it would mark a major step in the Trojans' return to prominence under first-year coach Lincoln Riley.
"Everybody sees it now, but the reality is all the games have had this much at stake," Riley said. "If you don't win those, you're not even playing in this one. You're at home and getting ready go out and recruit, and players aren't practicing, like 99% of the teams out there."
The Utes, with a chance to repeat as Pac-12 champs, hope to do more than simply play spoiler to a potential CFP invitation for the Trojans.
"A lot of things had to line up for us," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said of the journey to the title game. "They all transpired. Our team did a really good job of taking care of our business."
Utah also handed USC its only loss with a 43-42 victory on Oct. 15 in Salt Lake City. Riley faced rematches in winning four Big 12 titles in five seasons leading Oklahoma; the Sooners lost to two of those teams in the regular season.
"It's great that it worked out that way," Riley said of facing Utah. "It's a championship game. You're going to play a good team regardless. I don't think we would be any more or less excited if it was anyone else. This is not a revenge game."
Utah won its first Pac-12 title last season after beating Oregon in the regular season and again in Las Vegas. The Utes are playing in their fourth Pac-12 title game in five years, but this season didn't live up to expectations. They hoped to make a real run at the playoff but fell short with losses to Florida, UCLA and Oregon.
"We're not saying we're thrilled with that (record)," Whittingham said, "but that speaks also to the level of where we're at when you think of a 9-3 season as not quite what you were after."