Eight Pac-12 questions to addre s this week with just one game left:.Is there any way that USC would NOT make the College Football Playoff if it beats Utah in Friday's 5 p.m. Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas?Simply put, Ohio State is the only po sible fly in USCs ointment if the Trojans finish 12-1. Lets run down the po sibilities.Georgia is in the CFP whether it bests LSU in the SEC title game or not. So thats one spot taken before the weekend even starts.Michigan would be in if it beats Purdue in the Big Ten championship game. Thats two teams.TCU will be the third CFP team if it knocks off Kansas State in the Big 12 title contest. Thats three.USC would be next if it is the Pac-12 champion. The Trojans are No. 4 in this weeks AP poll, which doesnt mean the CFP committee will rank them fourth this week, but its a pretty good indicator.If LSU beats Georgia in the SEC title game, LSU would still have three lo ses. No two-lo s team has ever made it to the CFP, so a three-lo s team has no chance.Clemson took itself out of the running with lo ses to South Carolina and Notre Dame, a team USC beat.Tenne see is Michael Irvin Jersey 10-2 after its 56-0 beat-down of Vanderbilt, but the Vols wont own a conference title. The same goes for twice-beaten Alabama.That also applies to Ohio State, which will finish with just one lo s. Its hard to imagine the CFP committee would put the Buckeyes, who will not own a conference title, ahead of a Pac-12 champion with the same number of lo ses. Especially after the Buckeyes faded badly in the second half of a 22-point lo s to Michigan on Ohio States home field.If USC beats Utah on Friday, the Trojans will finish with wins over UCLA, Notre Dame and Utah in their final three games, and all three are ranked among the top 20 teams in Sunday AP rankings.A Trojans win on Friday, and USC is in, no debate.Of course, if USC loses, the Pac-12 gets shutout of the national Brad Kaaya Jersey championship race again..Can USC compete with Michigan or Georgia with the Trojans' defensive shortcomings?USC ranks 91st in the country in total defense, and the Trojans may seem overmatched in a four-team tournament with the likes of Michigan and Georgia, which rank second and fourth, respectively, in total defense.But the Trojans can get away with it because they have forced their opponents into 27 turnovers, fourth-best in the country, and more takeaways than Michigan and Georgia have combined.Turnover margin is one of the best indicators of a teams succe s, and the Trojans not only lead the nation in that category at plus-23, but no other team in the country has a turnover margin better than plus-14. Georgia has a turnover margin of minus-3, which makes you wonder how the Bulldogs could be undefeated and ranked No.1..What are Utahs five steps to winning the Pac-12 title for the second straight year?On Thanksgiving Day, Utah seemed to be out of contention, needing so many things to fall its way.1. It needed UCLA to beat Cal on Friday. UCLA 35, Cal 28. Check.2. It had to beat Colorado on Saturday. Utah 63, Colorado 21. Check.3. It needed Oregon State to beat Oregon. Oregon State 38, Oregon 34, as the Ducks blew a 31-10 lead. Check.4. It needed Washington to beat Washington State. Washington 51, Washington State 33. CheckThat put Utah tied for second place with Washington and Oregon, and it went down to the Pac-12s fourth tiebreaker rule to determine Utah would be paired with USC on Friday. The decisive information in tiebreaker No. 4 for multi-team ties is this: Here are the Pac-12 teams each of three tied teams faced, and the combined winning percentage of those nine opponents:Utah: Arizona State (2-7), Oregon State (6-3), UCLA (6-3), USC (8-1), Washington Ray Lewis Jersey State (4-5), Arizona (3-6), Stanford (1-8), Oregon (7-2), Colorado (1-8). That group combined had 38 wins, 43 lo ses (0.46914 combined win percentage)Oregon: Washington State (4-5), Stanford (1-8), Arizona (3-6), UCLA (6-3), Cal (2-7), Colorado (1-8), Washington (7-2), Utah (7-2), Oregon State (6-3). That group combined for 37 wins, 44 lo ses (0.45679 combined win percentage)Washington: Stanford (1-8), UCLA (6-3), Ariszona State (2-7), Arizona (3-6), Cal (2-7), Oregon State (6-3), Oregon (7-2), Colorado (1-8), Washington State (4-5). That group combined for 32 wins, 49 lo ses (0.395061 combined win percentage)So, e sentially, the fact that Washington and Oregon did not play USC and Utah did put the Utes in the conference title game.5. Utah needs to beat USC on Friday to claim a second straight Pac-12 title, which would no doubt earn the Utes a second straight trip to the Rose Bowl..Can Utah beat USC again?Well, the Utes beat the Trojans in their head-to-head meeting on Oct. 15, but it was by just one point on a gutsy two-point Sam Waardenburg Jersey conversion with 48 seconds left and it was in Salt Lake City, where the Utes are 12-0 the past two seasons.This time the game will be in Las Vegas, but the Utes have been playing well lately, Cam Rising is healthy and playing at an elite level again, and the Utes always seem to perform well in big games. The game is a virtual to sup, with USC being a 1-point favorite on some sites, a 1.5-point pick on some other betting sites, a 2-point favorite at other betting places, and a 2.5-point favorite at other wagering sites..Scroll to ContinueWho will be the Pac-12 Rose Bowl team is USC wins Friday and makes it to the College Football Playoff ?The logical choice would be Utah since it got to the conference title game. But if the Utes lose they would be 9-4, and with Washington sitting there with a 10-2 overall record and the same conference mark as Utah, youd have to think that the Huskies would be the choice to face a Big Ten team, presumably Ohio State.It would match the nations leader in pa sing yardage (Washingtons Michael Zach Johnson Jersey Penix Jr.) against the player who was the Heisman Trophy favorite for most of the season and who still leads the nation in pa sing efficiency (Ohio States C.J. Stroud)..How did Oregon State overcome a 21-point deficit without pa sing?After Oregon scored to go up 31-10 in the third quarter, Oregon State ran 19 offensive plays the rest of the game and all 19 were runs. Thats no way to mount a comeback, is it?It is if:---Oregon could not stop the run even though the Ducks knew it was coming.---With Oregon leading 31-21, Oregon punter Alex Bales fumbled a snap, giving Oregon State the ball at the Oregon 2-yard line.---Leading 34-31, Oregon tried for a first down on a four-and-1 play from its own 29-yard line. Bo Nix, clearly hobbled by his ankle injury, tried to run for it and was stopped for a 1-yard lo s. The Beavers scored the go-ahead touchdown on the resulting po se sion.Was it a disappointing lo s?.What happened at Arizona State and Stanf