Four need-to-knows for Week Four …
— Big Game, Big Change
If you dive into the weeds of the Pac-12 football schedule — a realm the Hotline enjoys, to be honest — you’ll encounter several seemingly mundane issues that actually carry a wallop.
One of those is the placement of Big Game:
The desire on the part of Cal and Stanford — but mostly Cal — to schedule the rivalry for the Saturday before Thanksgiving.
With all the surrounding events, the schools prefer to avoid conflicting with the holiday week.
Problem is, that impacts the Pac-12’s master grid. (We won’t get into the details; just trust us.)
All of which is another way to say the following:
Today marks the first time since 1973 that the Cardinal and Bears have squared off on Thanksgiving weekend.
Also, it’s the first time in 123 meetings that the teams will play each other on a Friday.
— Approaching the Brink
Oregon heads to Corvallis today with a chance to render next week’s trip to Berkeley moot, at least as it relates to the North division title and berth in the conference championship.
If the Ducks beat Oregon State, they would clinch the North with a victory over Washington in two weeks.
The game in Berkeley would be irrelevant.
Even with a loss to Cal, Oregon would finish 5-1, with head-to-head wins over any team that could also finish with one loss.
Of course, the Ducks still have an ultra-narrow path to the playoff. In that regard, every win counts.
— Breaking good
The week began with Washington and Utah in limbo.
The Huskies had no Apple Cup and no opponent; the Utes were waiting on a decision from Tempe on ASU’s availability.
By Tuesday, clarity emerged: The Utes would visit Seattle for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
By Wednesday, the game went next-level:
It was picked up by ABC in the prime time slot (4:30 p.m. Pacific) after the Oklahoma-West Virginia game was postponed.
That’s high-level exposure — and opportunity — for the teams and the conference.
A first-rate performance by Washington, which is playing at home for the third consecutive week, could provide the fuel needed for the Huskies to sneak into the CFP rankings.
— Hello, old friend
Colorado knew early in the week that the USC game was in jeopardy and lined up San Diego State as a replacement.
The surprising aspect of the non-conference game Saturday afternoon in Boulder isn’t its existence but, rather, its means of delivery to the public:
The game will be shown by the Pac-12 Networks.
Yes, those Pac-12 Networks.
That hadn’t shown a live sports event since March 11 until basketball returned this week …
That weren’t scheduled to show any football until the final day of the regular season (Dec. 19), if then.
But without a broadcast window on ESPN or Fox available for the 2 p.m. kickoff (Pacific), the conference went in-house.
Ted Robinson and Yogi Roth will call the game from the San Francisco studio, which is the responsible thing to do.
Yes, the Pac-12 Networks broadcast brings a limited audience, and the revenue won’t approach the $5 million (approximately) that comes with a game on ESPN or Fox.
But it’s far better than nothing for the Buffaloes, the fans and the conference.
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Author: Jon Wilner