The Pac-12 was left out of the College Football Playoff, though not for lack of trying. USC looked to be the best team for most of the year, and played a solid schedule. But a midseason loss to Notre Dame eliminated the Trojans, and there was no real legitimate second team.
In four years of the CFP, the Pac has been involved only twice, tied with the Big 12 for fewest of any Power 5 league. It's unknown at this point whether any Pac-12 team has the schedule strength to get into the mix in 2018.
ARIZONA
NC sked: Brigham Young, at Houston, Southern Utah
Conference sked: at Oregon State, USC, Cal, at Utah, at UCLA, Oregon, Colorado, at Washington State, Arizona State
NC grade: C+; Were it not for Southern Utah, this grade would venture into the B category. Going to Houston will be a test.
Conference grade: C; The Wildcats miss Washington and Stanford, and get USC and Oregon at home, and rival ASU must come to Tucson.
Overall grade: C
ARIZONA STATE
NC sked: UTSA, Michigan State, at San Diego State
Conference sked: at Washington, Oregon State, at Colorado, Stanford, at USC, Utah, UCLA, at Oregon, at Arizona
NC grade: A-; UTSA is improving but should be a victory for the ASU. Not sure we can say the same for Michigan State or San Diego State, especially on the road for the latter.
Conference grade: A-; The league did rookie coach Herm Edwards no favors, sending his team on the road to face Washington, USC and Oregon. November, which starts with Utah, is especially brutal.
Overall grade: A-
CALIFORNIA
NC sked: North Carolina, at Brigham Young, Idaho State
Conference sked: Oregon, at Arizona, UCLA, at Oregon State, Washington, at Washington State, at USC, Stanford, Colorado
NC sked: C; UNC at home will be a test, and going to Provo won't be any kind of picnic.
Conference sked: C+; Nearly all of the tough games are at home, only USC being away. No off weeks once league play starts is tough, as is the four-week gauntlet of Washington, Wazzu, USC and Stanford.
Overall grade: C
COLORADO
NC sked: at Colorado State, at Nebraska, New Hampshire
Conference sked: UCLA, Arizona State, at USC, at Washington, Oregon State, at Arizona, Washington State, Utah, at Cal
NC grade: C+; You had to do it, eh, Coach Mac? It was all good until New Hampshire, which should eliminate you from national contention on principle.
Conference grade: B; Road trips to USC, Washington and Arizona make this a pretty tough league journey, though getting Washington State and Cal in two of the last three should help a little.
Overall grade: B-
OREGON
NC sked: Bowling Green, Portland State, San Jose State
Conference sked: Stanford, at Cal, Washington, at Washington State, at Arizona, UCLA, at Utah, Arizona State, at Oregon State
NC sked: F; The league admins had better hope the Ducks don't have a great season, because they won't even sniff the CFP with that joke of a non-league schedule. When Bowling Green is the BEST NC team you face, you know it's bad.
Conference sked: C-; Most of the tests are in Eugene -- Stanford and Washington, most notably. The home tilts with UCLA will be worth the price of admission as Chip Kelly returns. Not much else to write home about.
Overall grade: D
OREGON STATE
NC sked: at Ohio State, Southern Utah, at Nevada
Conference sked: Arizona, at Arizona State, Washington State, Cal, at Colorado, USC, at Stanford, at Washington, Oregon.
NC sked: D+; The trip to Columbus will be a nightmare, but the other two games are winnable.
Conference grade: B-; Things start easily enough, with three straight winnable games after the opener with Arizona. But take a look at that November -- USC, at Stanford, at UDub and Oregon. Yikes!
Overall grade: C+
STANFORD
NC sked -- San Diego State, UC Davis, at Notre Dame
Conference sked -- USC, at Oregon, Utah, at Arizona State, Washington State, at Washington, Oregon State, at Cal, at UCLA
NC grade -- C+; San Diego is a nice opener, and going to Notre Dame should be one of the better non-league games of 2018
Conference sked -- B+; Man, is this thing front loaded. USC, Oregon and Utah early could have the Cardinal battling to stay above .500. Things ease up late, so if Stanford makes it through October with just one loss it could be in line for an excellent season.
Overall grade -- B-
UCLA
NC sked: Cincinnati, at Oklahoma, Fresno State
Conference sked: at Colorado, Washington, at Cal, Arizona, Utah, at Oregon, at Arizona State, USC, Stanford
NC sked: B+; Pretty ambitious slate for a first year coach breaking in a new quarterback. Going to Norman will be a measuring stick, and Fresno won't be any kind of easy as the Bulldogs are probably the better team right now.
Conference grade: C+; Kelly should be happy that most of the toughest games are at home -- Washington, USC and Stanford. Of course, nothing can be taken for granted as everything will be new.
Overall grade: B
USC
NC sked: UNLV, at Texas, Notre Dame
Conference sked: at Stanford, Washington State, at Arizona, Colorado, at Utah, Arizona State, at Oregon State, Cal, at UCLA
NC grade: B+; UNLV brings this down a tad, but Texas early and Notre Dame late should show how much the Trojans have improved.
Conference grade: B; Trips to Stanford and Arizona will be interesting, but the home slate is filled with teams that are inferior to USC.
Overall grade: B
UTAH
NC sked: Weber State, at Northern Illinois, Brigham Young
Conference sked: Washington, at Washington State, at Stanford, Arizona, USC, at UCLA, at Arizona State, Oregon, at Colorado
NC grade: D+; It's not often that a Pac-12 team travels to MAC country, so the Utes get points for that.
Conference grade: C+; Most of the heavy hitters are on the slate, though Washington and Arizona must travel to Salt Lake City.
Overall grade: C-
WASHINGTON
NC sked: Auburn, North Dakota, Brigham Young
Conference sked: at Utah, Arizona State, at UCLA, at Oregon, Colorado, at Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, at Washington State
NC sked: B-; The grade is almost entirely for Auburn, which will be a marquee contest in week 1 of 2018.
Conference grade: C+; Going to Utah and Oregon won't be fun, but the rest of the schedule is very manageable, and could keep the Huskies in the thick of the CFP race.
Overall grade: B-
WASHINGTON STATE
NC sked : at Wyoming, San Jose State, Eastern Washington
Conference sked: at USC, Utah, at Oregon State, Oregon, at Stanford, Cal, at Colorado, Arizona, Washington
NC grade: D; This is about what you would expect from a team that has zero snaps at quarterback and holes at the skill positions. Doesn't make it acceptable, though.
Conference grade: C-; The Cougars have a pretty tough road in 2018, due more to talent deficiencies than schedule. Getting USC, Utah and Oregon in the span of a month could set the tone for a long season.
Overall grade: D+
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