Just Two Pac-12 Teams in Bowls, and Both Are Underdogs

Pac-12 can improve its football image if Oregon and Colorado win postseason games, but the point spreads suggest that's unlikely

The Pac-12 will finally get a chance to prove itself against other conferences when the postseason gets started, but only two Pac-12 teams are playing in bowl games this season, and both are underdogs.

We will get to the interesting point spreads of the two bowls involving Pac-12 teams Oregon and Colorado later in the story, but let's first take a look at the conference's image.

The Pac-12's football reputation has never been lower. It had only two teams -- USC and conference champion Oregon -- in the final College Football Playoff rankings, and the Ducks barely made it at No. 25.

It's the first time since the CFP committee began its rankings in 2014 that at least three Pac-12 teams were not in the CFP's final top-25, and the first time the Pac-12 did not have at least one team in the top 10.

Check this list of the number of Pac-12 teams in the final CFP top 25 in the seven years that the CFP has been doing this, and you'll notice a disturbing trend:

2014: 6 Pac-12 teams in final CFP top 25 (Oregon the top-ranked Pac-12 team at No. 2)

2015: 4 (Stanford No. 6)

2016: 5 (Washington No. 4)

2017: 4 (USC No. 8)

2018: 3 (Washington No. 9)

2019: 3 (Oregon No. 6)

2020: 2 (USC No.17)

This suggests the Pac-12 might not have any teams in the final CFP rankings in 2021.

But the Pac-12 was handicapped this year by the fact that its teams could not play nonconference opponents. (A one-week exception was made for Colorado to play San Diego State because of conference cancellations.)

The Pac-12 began the season as a lowly regarded conference and had no way to improve its image.

So two teams -- Oregon and Colorado -- have a chance to change the impression in the postseason, with Oregon facing Iowa State in the Jan. 2 Fiesta Bowl and the Buffaloes playing Texas in the Dec. 29 Alamo Bowl.

The fact that the Pac-12 has only two teams in the postseason is a story in itself.  What happened? Well, although the NCAA is allowing any team, regardless of record, to play in a postseason game, the Pac-12 required a team from its conference to have a least a .500 record.

So while South Carolina is going bowling with a 2-8 record that includes a current six-game losing streak, five Pac-12 teams with a losing record were eliminated from bowl consideration. (Yes, Cal, a 1-3, would have been eligible for a bowl if it played in the SEC.)

Then five bowl-eligible teams from Pac-12 -- Stanford, Washington, Utah, USC and Arizona State -- opted out of the bowl season, primarily for reasons related to COVID-19.

None of the nine other FBS conferences have fewer teams playing in bowls, and only the Mid-American Conference matches the Pac-12 with just two teams playing in the postseason. This has a lot to do with the Pac-12's more restrictive (and some would say, smarter) public health criteria relating to team availability based on virus issues.

Here are the number of bowl teams from each conference. (These numbers are as of Sunday, but could change with expected bowl cancellations):

SEC: 12

Big 12: 6

ACC: 6

Big Ten: 5

American: 5

Sun Belt: 5

Conference-USA: 4

Mountain West: 3

Mid-American: 2

Pac-12: 2

Yes, even the Sun Belt and Conference-USA each has at least twice as many bowl participants as the Pac-12.

So what can Colorado and Oregon do about the Pac-12's descending football reputation? Well, an Oregon victory over Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl and a Colorado win over Texas in the Alamo Bowl would boost the Pac-12 image quite a bit. However, oddsmakers' point spreads are suggesting both Pac-12 schools will lose, and if they lose by decisive margins the conference's reputation would sink even lower, if that's possible.

BetOnline (www.BetOnline.ag) lists Oregon (4-2) as a 4-point underdog to Iowa State, which is 8-3 and lost its season opener to Louisiana.

VegasInsider's consensus line also has the Ducks as 4-point underdogs.

But that's nothing compared with the Alamo Bowl spread.

BetOnline lists Colorado as an 11 1/2-point underdog to Texas, which is 6-3 and finished fourth in the Big 12

Colorado (4-1) opened as an 11-point underdog to the Longhorns on VegasInsider, but apparently that was not a wide enough gap to attract betting on Colorado, so the Buffaloes are a 13-point underdog to the Longhorns as of Monday.

Yikes, you don't see two-touchdown spreads often in bowl games. In fact only two bowl games -- Alabama favored by 19 1/2 over Notre Dame and Appalachian State favored by 21 1/2 over North Texas -- have larger spreads.

This gives Colorado a chance to show the nation that the Pac-12 is better than the perception. Or it may confirm that perception if they lose.

Cover photo of Oregon celebrating Pac-12 title-game win is by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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