A year ago, last Saturday’s game between No. 4 Oregon and No. 8 Stanford would have decided the Pac-12 conference champion. Both teams entered the game with unblemished conference records and national title aspirations.

But when the conference expanded to 12 teams for this season, the league was divided into two separate divisions, and a championship game was created.

The new setup changes the mentality coaches and teams have taken after losses this season.

‘I think it’s something that we all need to get used to,’ Stanford head coach David Shaw said during the Pac-12 coaches’ teleconference Tuesday. ‘It’s a different feeling losing that game because a year ago, without a conference championship game, you lose that game and you know you’re not conference champions. Now, you lose that game and you say, ‘We’re not in the championship game.”

After Utah and Colorado joined the Pac-12 this season, the conference constructed the North and South divisions based on geography. The six teams from the North encompass northern California, Oregon and Washington, while the six in the South cover southern California, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. The winners of each division will square off in the Pac-12 championship game Dec. 2.  

But in the first season with the new setup, the two best teams in the conference will not face off in that game. Even though the Cardinal and Ducks have emerged as the class of the conference through 11 weeks, only one will have a shot to take home the title, as both are in the North Division.

After beating Stanford 53-30 last weekend, Oregon is in the driver’s seat. The Ducks simply need to avoid losing one of their next two games against Southern California and Oregon State to clinch a spot in the title game.

Some fear the configuration of the league does not strike a competitive balance. Still, many coaches in the conference stand behind the setup, saying there’s no reason for concern because the success within the conference will spread out over time.

‘I think you’ve got to let it play out,’ Colorado head coach Jon Embree said during the teleconference. ‘And I’m sure the teams in the South will improve with what they’re doing, and shoot, anything can happen in a one-game deal.’

Though anything could happen in the championship game, the gap between the North and South has been huge.

The North Division has reigned supreme over its counterpart this season. Arizona State, UCLA or Utah will serve as the South Division’s representative in the championship game by virtue of the two-year postseason ban against USC. Arizona State and UCLA have far-from-perfect 4-3 records in conference.

Washington has an identical 4-3 record, but it was eliminated from the title race a few weeks ago because powerhouses Stanford and Oregon are in the same division.

Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said the dominance of one division over the other in a major conference is nothing new. Louisiana State and Alabama are both in the Southeastern Conference’s West Division. And both have been the class of the SEC and the nation this season.

The situation with Oregon and Stanford is no different.

‘I think sometimes it’s going to happen from year to year, maybe the two perceived best teams are in the same division,’ Riley said. ‘I think it’s happening right now in the Southeastern Conference probably.’

Riley said it is hard for anyone to raise an issue with the way the divisions were organized. He said the power balance of the divisions will rotate.

Embree has experienced similar trends throughout his coaching career.

He served as an assistant coach at Colorado when the Big 12 conference was formed in 1994. He said that early on the conference title would often come down to the matchup between North Division members Colorado and Nebraska even though there was still a championship game to be played.

But since then, the face of the conference has continued to change. And the same will likely be true with the Pac-12 conference down the road.

After one season it’s impossible to gauge the success of teams within the Pac-12, but Embree knows that in college football nothing is certain.

‘College football is cyclical, and I don’t think it’s a case of rushing to judgment whether this is the best scenario or not,’ Embree said.

adtredin@syr.edu

Published on November 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm