The Oregon Ducks are the Pac-12 Champions.

The Ducks pounded the Utah Utes Friday night 37-15 in the conference championship game, eliminating the Pac-12 from College Football Playoff contention.

The Utes entered Friday night’s game ranked as the No. 5 team in the country; however, now, Utah will drop out of contention. Already ranked No. 13, Oregon is out of the Playoff race, too, following its bad loss to Arizona State earlier this season. So, the last three years now the Playoff has been Pac-12-less.

The Pac-12 puts players in the NFL like the others, but the conference’s lack of involvement in the Playoff has certainly negatively affected its brand.

In six seasons now, the Pac-12 has sent only two teams to the Playoff: Oregon (lost to Ohio State in first year) and Washington (lost to Alabama in the semifinal game).

Entering championship weekend, No. 2 LSU plays No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. If LSU wins, the Dawgs are out; however, if UGA can upset LSU, then things get very interesting.

No. 1 Ohio State may be in the Playoff regardless if it beats Wisconsin or not in the Big Ten Championship.

The other key game is the Big 12 Championship, as No. 6 Oklahoma plays No. 7 Baylor.

With Utah now out of contention, things are becoming more clear. Georgia, Oklahoma and Baylor are the three teams essentially vying for the last spot in the Playoff. The Sooners and Bears need Georgia to lose Saturday.