Washington Books Its College Football Playoff Spot as the Pac-12 Say Final Goodbye

In the end, the Pac-12 refused to go quietly. And in fitting fashion, staying true to its brand until the very end, it happened after dark.

There were points, enormous moments, late-night suspense and some questionable officiating along the way. There was drama and intrigue and, if we're being honest, a little melancholy as a playoff spot was occupied in the conference's final moments.

While this Pac-12 hasn't exactly been a regular in the College Football Playoff era, it didn't feel that way on Friday night. For all intents and purposes, this was an elimination game. And while Washington was nearly a double-digit underdog, the Huskies didn't look the part from the very beginning.

Much like their first game against one another, Washington jumped out in front of Oregon. And much like that first game, the Ducks made a valiant comeback before the Huskies kicked it back into gear.

In the end, Washington delivered a 34-31 win in Las Vegas, clinching the conference title and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

In the previous matchup, Washington hung on to win 36-33 thanks to a missed field by Oregon as time expired. The two teams played two spectacular games with razor-thin margins. Ultimately, Washington was on the right side of both games.

In doing so, the Huskies are headed to the playoff at 13-0. There's no debate about it, regardless of what happens from here. Washington had its fair share of close calls against inferior teams, although it never wavered. In avoiding a loss, the Huskies become the first Pac-12 team to make the playoff since this same program crashed the playoff in 2016.

It's also the last Pac-12 team to make the playoff, which is hard reality to stomach.

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For as pronounced as the playoff drought has been, the Pac-12 was never boring. Blanketed with high-scoring games that often took place after hours, there's been a charm that has followed this conference for some time.

This year, however, was different. The charm gave way to brilliant football, and it did so with the future already decided. As soon as the season ends, the teams will scatter to the Big 10, the Big 12, the ACC and beyond. Washington State and Oregon State, the two remaining members, will figure out other plans.

Friday night was a celebration and a culmination of a lot of good. It was also the final act for a conference that didn't need to go out like this.

From the conference commissioners to the university presidents to the television networks, there are plenty of blame to go around. The Pac-12's demise is the result of both greed and insecurity, and a conference that completely rebranded itself this season will now no longer exist.

It didn't have to be this way. Better yet, it shouldn't have been this way. For as good as the product was on the field for the conference, it's been that bad away from it.

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A lack of vision and patience, a dormant decade of USC football and a shifting landscape ultimately doomed this conference. As the confetti fell and a special season was realized, it's hard not to think about what will no longer be.

Late-night football will still exist. Heck, Oregon and Washington could meet for a conference championship next season. Only this time they would be playing for a Big 10 title, and that will take some getting used to.

Rarely does a football game deliver such mixed emotions. On one hand, Washington delivered the kind of season the conference has been craving. The Pac-12 has a playoff team and a legitimate threat to win the national title.

On the other, it does so as the curtain falls, and the entire operation ceases to exist.

While the College Football Playoff era has been loaded with conference championship game blowouts, the Pac-12 delivered. It delivered touchdowns and turnovers and drama. It delivered an upset, something this weekend hasn't seen many of since a four-team postseason was born.

And now it must end for reasons most college football fans will never care to understand. Nor do they care at this point.

The last Pac-12 game has been played, and what a game it was. Washington's season will carry onward once the playoff begins with a title very much within reach. The conference, however, must go.

Turn out the lights, once and for all.