A lot of analysts and fans think that the CFP committee is biased against the PAC 12 conference. I don't agree with them, but I used to before I talked about these points. Here are some reasons why the CFP is not biased against the PAC 12.
PAC 12 v. other conferences
The Pac 12 is a bad conference. They haven't had a national champion since 2008. The Pac 12 is a power 5 conference, but isn't playing like one. There are certain non power 5 conferences that are playing better. The SEC has 6 national championships in the last decade. The ACC has won 3 in the last decade while the BIG 10 has won 1 in the last decade. While the BIG 12 hasn't had a national championship, they have had a great bowl record, have played well in the CFP, have had a lot of top 20 teams going to great bowls and have had a great record. The Pac 12 used to be very dominant with USC and UCLA, but it has become a conference to can't compete with other teams. The SEC has 4 teams (currently) in the Top 10 while the ACC has 2 in the Top 10. BIG 10 has 1 and the BIG 12 has 2. The Pac 12 has nobody in the Top 10. Top 25 numbers: ACC: 5, SEC: 4, BIG 10: 4, BIG 12: 4, while the Pac 12: 2. Others that have 2: AAC and Sun Belt. The Pac 12 is great in other sports, but football is not their sport. The Pac 12 is a tarnished football conference.
Bowl Record
The bowl record of the Pac 12 gets more horrible each year. They showed signs of coming back last year by going 4-3, but they are up and down. Their 2018-19 record was 3-4 and their 2017-18 record was so horrible at 1-8. They were 3-3 in 2016-17. They had their best record in 2015-16 which was 6-4. They are not the best. The only Pac 12 teams going to a bowl are Utah, Colorado, and Oregon. USC, Washington, Arizona State and Stanford are either opting out or aren't elidgable due to lack of games played. The Pac 12 is going to mediocre bowls this year and has been falling.
Coaches
One thing wrong with the Pac 12 is that the coaches. Mario Cristobal is the best coach in the Pac 12. He is followed by Kyle Whittingham at Utah, Herm Edwards, and Karl Dorrell at Colorado. You see coaches quitting and leaving to go coach other teams in other conferences. Mike Leach and Chris Peterson both quit their jobs at Washington State and Washington to leave the Pac 12. Peterson has not yet found another coaching job, but Leach is now head coaching in. the SEC at Mississippi State. These leaves do bring new coaches to the Pac 12, but most of them don't have power 5 experience. When Steve Sarkisian got fired, USC hired a coach who had never been a head coach and had never had a great coaching job, Clay Helton. UCLA hired a coach in 2016 who had been good at Oregon, but had been getting worse every year since he left Oregon. These 2 coaches took their teams into the ground. They have needed assistant coaches coaching great players to help them win. Lack of good coaching can lead to lack of big game wins. Lack of good coaches are becoming a problem in the Pac 12.
Competition v. each other
Every conference has one team that's an incredible team and has a great record and ranking. The teams that aren't this big team work each week to beat the big team. These teams are normally in the Top 10 (If you're a power 5). For example, the SEC's big team is Alabama, and the rest of the SEC work to beat them. Oklahoma (BIG 12), Clemson (ACC), and Ohio State (BIG 10) are also these teams. The Pac 12 does not have that. Nor does the Conference USA, but they aren't a power 5. The Pac 12 beats up eachother. Oregon State beat Oregon to give Oregon their 1st loss and Cal gave Oregon their second loss. Oregon made the Pac 12 Championship after 3-1 Washington canceled due to Covid, and Oregon beat 5-0 #13 USC to give them a final 4-2 record. Oregon is in a NY6 bowl (New Year's 6 Bowl) at #25 at 4-2! If USC had won, they would have probably been in a NY6 Bowl at 6-0 in a top 10 spot. USC is now #17 not going to a bowl (rejected). Same is true with Oregon last year when they dropped a game to Auburn to start their season and dropped their second to last game to ASU. They finished 12-2 after winning the Rose Bowl. In 2018, Washington went 10-4, won the Pac 12 yet went 8-2 in the Pac 12, losing to Cal and Oregon, and lost the Rose Bowl to Ohio State. The Pac 12 teams has lost too many games to their conference to be in the CFP. The teams the "big team of the Pac 12" lost to in the Pac 12 are bad (Cal, UCLA, Arizona State, Arizona, Oregon State). The Pac 12 needs a stand out program and good coaches competing against eachother.
Recruiting
Recruiting is sort of a problem in the Pac 12. Oregon is on top of the Pac 12 and is in the top 10 at 6. According to 247 Sports, after 2021 National Signing Day, the Pac 12 has 3 classes in the top 25. Cal is at 25, USC is at 13, and Oregon is at 6. The BIG 10 has 7. 1 is in the top 10 with Ohio State at 2. The SEC has 8. 4 are in the top 10 with Alabama at 1, Georgia at 3, LSU at 4, and Florida at 8. The ACC has 4 with 2 in the top 10. Clemson is at 5 and Miami is at 10. The BIG 12 has 2 with 1, Oklahoma at 7 in the top 10. Here is the Top 25 recruiting rankings according to 247 Sports:
Alabama
Ohio State
Georgia
LSU
Clemson
Oregon
Oklahoma
Florida
Notre Dame
Miami
Texas A&M
Michigan
USC
North Carolina
Tennessee
Wisconsin
Texas
Ole Miss
Maryland
Arkansas
Penn State
Iowa
PITT
Nebraska
Cal
As you can see, recruiting is becoming a problem for the Pac 12.
Refs
The referees in the Pac 12 are under trained. They consistently make the wrong calls or make the right calls, but give the penalty to the wrong person or team. They don't have good eyes and don't pay attention. They consistenly make mistakes and it needs to stop. So many crucial and important games in the Pac 12 have ended in very bad calls from the Pac 12 refs. They confuse the fans, too. They've got to be trained better or fans are going to get very mad.
If you want me to write on some more things on the CFP, comment.
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