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Show i'll best day effectively knocked conference out of playoff contention Pac-12- 's BY CHRIS DUFRESNE Stanford has a sliver of a prayer of a chance because TNS it still plays No. 4 Notre Dame in Palo Alto Nov. 28. A case can be made that a can happen in college football when the greatest day in your conference can also be your worst. This idea is not incongru-en- t or mutually exclusive. Commissioner Larry Scott said he could not have been It wall-to-wa- fan bases and proving why it may be the nations 1 i r o and deepest league, it was also eliminated from contention for this years ' College Football Playoff. Back when only two teams made the playoffs in two-los- s Louisiana two-los- the to No. 4. two-poi- That champion, first, to be Stanford, not Utah, which lost its chance when it lost in double overtime to Arizona. It was a terrific game, and highly entertaining, thanks for the effort, but Utah lost its national traction weeks ago by badly losing, in broad daylight, to USC. would have t 1 " 1 ? ' F . "V two-poi- J s . J .JU) five members in the top 25 of Sundays USA Today coaches poll. UCLA has the most points of the remaining schools, which puts the Bruins at No. 26. Five Pac-1- 2 schools also made the Associated Press poll, with UCLAs points total working out to No. 30. The problem is the top Pac-1- 2 team in both polls is Stanford at No. 15. The Cardinal was demoted eight positions for a home loss to Oregon in which it failed on a final try to extend the game to overtime. Utah fell five spots to No. 1 8 for a e defeat. The other ranked Pac-1- 2 teams are Oregon, Washington State and USC. What the conference lacks in top-1- 4 firepower it No. 7 in the Bowl Championship Series standings on the After a hard days night, LSU was No. 2 in the BCS on its way to winning the national title. So only a fool could say s with certainty a Pac-1- 2 from the champion could not work its way back sity t i overall strength Sunday by State was i I al best 2007, i 7-- its Ha , , S one-los- drama for ll " Wv, . s Pac-1- 2 inore prouddisappointed. was stagAs the Pac-I- 2 ing V ' - champion of the could bump out the s champion of the Big 12. Its not probable, but the odds arent infinite. The best and worst fears were realized. The league was too tough for anyone to get through unscathed. Stanford somehow made it to 0 (thanks to a missed field-goattempt at Washington State) before running into a rejuvenated Oregon team Saturday. The conference flexed its two-los- f r A i 4 F University of California Los Angeles running back Paul Perkins is tackled short of the goal line by the Washington State defense quarter at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California Nov 1 4 UCLA is currently 4-- 3 in conference play compensates with brutally and tough, compelling play. Utah at Arizona was a thriller in which Rich Rodriguez team played the role of supreme spoiler. Arizona is not new at this, defeating a top-1- 0 opponent for the fourth straight year. Washington States win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl had to be seen, then replayed two or three times, to be believed. The action ended half-pa1 1 with quarterback Josh Rosens heroic, late end- hand-wringi- late-nig- nt nt double-overtim- ht st zone dive being answered by Luke Falks equally-heroi- c touchdown pass. It put three-los- s USC and three-los- s UCLA in control of the South Division. It also put the Pac on the outskirts of acclaim. Once again, national contenders not named USC flinched under pressure. Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan, a fifth-yesenior, fumbled two fourth-quartsnaps when two center snaps were never more important. The Cardinal played two centers during the game, with one botched snapped for each. Utah had a chance to close Arizona out in regulation until tailback Devontae Booker fumbled. Utah got another chance but failed on third down when a receiver n dropped a pass. Utah allowed the game to extend to extra time where backup quarterback Jerrard Randall finished the Utes off with a touchdown pass, his only completion of the night. Theyve had a great season, Rodriguez said of Utah. But they still had to er 25-ya- the first beat Arizona, and our guys came to play. Utah cant wallow because the Pac-1- 2 South is still up for grabs and UCLA is coming to Salt Lake City. Saturday. We will regroup and come back, Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. There is no doubting the conference, and some of its featured teams will rebound. If this was basketball, though, you would say the conference has now, effectively, been boxed out. (c) Tribune Content Agency. first-dow- ar in rd id 'nix, me jre 1 t r 1 1 1 7 Kit u IA i f M i i '.Vj r j I ye j i r t a S r J lr' y,i 1 r 1 f iSKiXMi. 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