Pac-12 Football Season Comes to End

Oh boy, the last weekend of the Pac-12 football season held many surprises and sobering conclusions.

Where to begin? Well, lets start with the biggest results and impacts.

First, Stanford beat UCLA. This means that Oregon - despite an 11-1 record and absolutely DOMINATING 11 teams and barely losing in OT to Stanford - is out (out!) of the Pac-12 title game. No Rose Bowl shot and certainly no National Championship game appearance. Wow.

At best, the 11-1 Ducks will appear in the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl - probably Fiesta. BUT...there are a couple scenarios out there in which Oregon would not even be picked for those games and might end up in the Alamo Bowl. Stunning.

It also means the league title game will be Stanford vs. UCLA this weekend. The winner of that game WILL be in the Rose Bowl...against either Nebraska or Wisconsin.

Moving on, the next biggest result in the Pac-12 was USC losing to Notre Dame. USC's season was pretty much toast anyway, but with the win ND nails their appearance in the National Championship Game...probably vs. the SEC title game winner (Alabama or Georgia).

From there, I'd say UW losing to WSU was a surprise. I mean, for all the frikin' talk of the Huskies "being back," this was a low point for their season. They just didn't show up serious and blew a 18 point lead to the lowly Cougars. Good for WSU, shame on UW. These are things that tell you that UW is NOT ready to compete for a league title any time soon.

Pac-12 BCS Bowl Situation

• Oregon will probably be picked for the Fiesta Bowl (vs. Kansas State) or the Sugar Bowl (vs. Florida). I'd like to see the later but expect the former. And of course, as noted above, the Ducks could be playing a Big 12 also-ran in the Alamo Bowl.
• Stanford or UCLA will be in the Rose Bowl. The loser of their game next weekend will probably be in a lesser, non-BCS bowl.

And that's it.

Final Standings
With the exception of the league title game, all Pac-12 football teams have completed their 2012 schedule. Here's how things turned out...

NORTH DIVISION

1. Stanford (10-2 overall, 8-1 in league play). Sure, they lost two games, but only one of them was in league play (to UW) and they beat Oregon.
2. Oregon (11-1, 8-1). Their one loss was to Stanford. And with that, they are aced out of the league title and National Championship.
3. Oregon State (8-3, 6-3). "Exceeded expectations" season for the Beavs. They actually have one more game to play (vs. Nichols State) that had to be postponed from earlier in the season. No matter, they should get Alamo or Holiday Bowl.
4. Washington (7-4, 5-4). Wishy-washy season full of "could have, should have...didn't" moments. Las Vegas Bowl or Fight Hunger Bowl await. 
5. Cal (3-9, 2-7). Unexpectedly poor season. Coach fired. No bowl. 
6. WSU (3-9, 1-8). Bad season full of controversy. But did you hear, they beat UW in the Apple Cup. All is good on the Palouse. 

SOUTH DIVISION

1. UCLA (9-3, 6-3). One of the surprises of the season. Still inconsistent, but the Bruins finally rose above the annual hype to deliver. Could easily be in the Rose Bowl. 
2. USC (7-5, 5-4). Biggest disappointment of the league. One wonders if the team rolled over after a couple losses and having to put up with their coach.
3. ASU (7-5, 5-4). Another year, another mediocre season from the Sun Devils. Mid/low tier bowl awaits.
4. Arizona (7-5, 4-5). Same comment as ASU.
5. Utah (5-7, 3-6). Second year in the Pac and another poor performance. 
6. Colorado (1-11, 1-8). Why did the league take this team in?

Prediction
One last league game before the bowls...

Stanford vs. UCLA for the Pac-12 title in Palo Alto. Stanford will win again and represent the league in the Rose Bowl. Trees 31-UCLA 24.