LASH Roundtable: Pac-12 Edition

UCLA gets Oregon on their schedule for the second year in a row, a game USC doesn’t have to deal with. Last year the Ducks won 42-14, serving the Bruins their second loss of the season. Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Jason: If UCLA makes it through their schedule with one loss, let’s say to Oregon or Stanford, and win the Pac-12 title game over one of those two, then they should definitely be in a position to make a National Semifinal game. They stand to gain significant “brownie points” with their schedule IF they go 12-1 or 11-2.

USC’s schedule makes it more likely that they’ll be looking at an 11-1 record, but they’re schedule is pretty easy by Pac-12 standards. That may hurt them if they have a shot at making the playoff. I still think USC is a year or two away from making that type of noise again. 

Anthony: Well, this is where the schedule helps UCLA out quite a bit. With games against Texas, ASU, Oregon, Stanford, Washington, and USC, the Bruins’ schedule is pretty solid from start-to-finish. USC, on the other hand, has a pretty easy schedule after their game on September 6th against Stanford. Of course, some teams start the season ranked and finish un-ranked, and some teams start the season un-ranked and finish the season ranked…so both schedules could end up looking tougher or easier in just a few weeks.

Micky: Obviously this conversation is irrelevant if neither of the two teams wins the Pac-12 title, a daunting task when you look at the teams fighting it out up north. That being said, both teams are in great position to gain from their respective strengths of schedule if they can enter their names in the conversation. Taking Phil Steele’s rankings of schedule toughness as a measuring stick, only Stanford and Auburn rank similarly among title contenders.

Expanding outwards to other factors that this human selection committee will have to consider, it would be interesting to see if USC overcoming its sanctions played a role. But I don’t see the Trojans getting that for down the road.