iStockphoto / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
College football coaches spend all year complaining about strength of schedule, usually after somebody else has already decided what their schedule will be. The new Pac-12 has come up with a more creative solution: if the November matchups are not helping enough, it can literally change them.
The rebuilt eight-team conference is leaving all four games on Nov. 28 flexible and explicitly reserves the right to rearrange opponents based on the “best interests of the league,” including College Football Playoff considerations. The official Pac-12 schedule says teams might not learn their final opponent until six days before kickoff.
The Pac-12 Basically Gave Itself A November Edit Button
The currently projected matchups are Boise State at Utah State, Texas State at Colorado State, San Diego State at Fresno State, and Oregon State at Washington State.
Emphasis on projected.
If the conference reaches Thanksgiving weekend with Boise State sitting on the CFP bubble and another Pac-12 program offering a much stronger résumé opportunity, the league can reshuffle things.
Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould did not exactly hide the strategy. She told the Associated Press that the conference can “manipulate the schedule” to make it advantageous for bowl and CFP access.
You have to respect the honesty.
Most conferences spend November screaming that the selection committee should appreciate their teams’ schedules more.
The Pac-12 said fine, we’ll fix the schedule ourselves.
There are restrictions. Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and Washington State are locked in as the four home teams, and nobody can be sent back to the same road venue twice during the regular season.
Beyond that, the matchup board has an eraser.
These Games Do Not Even Count In The Conference Standings
This is where it gets particularly clever.
The Pac-12’s eight football members play a full seven-game round robin through Nov. 21, meaning everybody has already faced everybody once. The two teams playing in the Dec. 4 conference championship will therefore be determined before the flex weekend, barring tiebreaker issues.
The Nov. 28 rematches are officially treated as non-conference games for standings purposes.
So the Pac-12 can use its final Saturday to create attractive television games, strengthen potential playoff résumés or improve bowl positioning without messing with who qualifies for the conference championship.
Imagine Boise State and Washington State both entering the weekend ranked with a chance to improve the league’s playoff position.
Congratulations. You two might suddenly have plans.
The strategy makes particular sense for a conference trying to establish itself again after being rebuilt around Oregon State and Washington State, with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State, and Utah State joining for football.
The Pac-12 does not have the margin for error that the SEC or Big Ten does when it comes to CFP positioning, but it can pull some shenanigans.