In the seven seasons since the College Football Playoff era began, the PAC-12 has been poorly represented, earning a top-four ranking only twice. Oregon represented the conference in the inaugural year, then again with Washington during the 2016/17 season. Much has been said about the conference’s perceived weakness when stacked up against its counterparts in the SEC, Big 10, Big 12, and ACC during these seven seasons. Still, the potential expanded playoff selection would give the west’s best an opportunity to buck that perception.
Under the proposed model, the six highest-ranked conference champions would receive an automatic bid, with an additional six at-large bids being awarded to the highest-ranked non-champions.