Here’s a fact! The Pac-12 Conference finished 0-5 this latest bowl season. It’s true! Check the internet and you’ll discover that each team, save for Utah, lost in predictable fashion this holiday season. What was unpredictable was the Holiday Bowl, featuring UCLA and North Carolina State, which was canceled five hours before kickoff due to COVID issues with the Bruins. No telling what the result there could have been, but even one win out of six tries would have been disappointing.
The disappointing aspect of this news lies in just a few potential results that could have swung to the winners column.
Oregon State SHOULD NOT have lost to Utah State in the Jimmy Kimmel Bowl. Not only was OSU a solid six-point favorite, the Aggies lost their record-setting QB in the first few quarters, and still succeeded on the offensive end. Another disappointing result came in the Tony The Tiger Bowl, where Central Michigan beat Washington State after the two teams were paired due to COVID knocking out their opponents.
Utah fell to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, but that slugfest was so close it honestly could have shifted either way. Also factor in Utes quarterback Cam Rising’s 4th quarter injury, and there are plenty of reasons Utah didn’t walk away from Passadena with the “W”.
Can we all just admit the Pac 12 isn't a power conference anymore. This is just pathetic
— Chris (@hornsupchris) December 31, 2021
With Lincoln Riley entering the fray at USC this upcoming season there’s plenty to be optimistic about. But it’s important to remember these bowl season and push for a better future. We’ll leave you with this nugget from Jon Wilner about the Pac-12’s bowl season… Enjoy:
The Pac-12 was 0-2 in bowl games in the COVID-disrupted 2020 season, meaning it hasn’t won a postseason game since Jan. 1, 2020, when Oregon beat Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl to conclude the 2019 campaign. That’s back-to-back postseasons without a single win… This marks the fourth time in the past five seasons that the Pac-12 lost more bowl games than it won.
