The ACC, Big Ten and SEC dominated the discussion, thanks to their CFP participants (Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Alabama).
The Big 12 was mentioned when Oklahoma entered the discussion, courtesy of lead analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
The American Conference was heavily involved in the opening segment, thanks to Cincinnati’s hotly-debated position outside the top four.
The Sun Belt (Coastal Carolina) and Mountain West (San Jose State) were acknowledged.
The Pac-12?
Not a single utterance.
Not until the release of the CFP rankings and New Year’s Six matchups at 11:30 a.m. was the conference’s existence acknowledged.
And it wasn’t in flattering fashion.
As Oregon’s matchup against Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl appeared on the screen, ESPN host Rece Davis introduced the Ducks and then offered a long pause before a lukewarm description of them as “the Pac-12 champions, you know.”
His colleagues, including Herbstreit, perhaps the most influential voice in the sport, all burst out laughing.
“Wow, you sold that one, Rece,’’ Herbstreit said amid the cackling.
“Well, I mean, there are a lot of champions there,” Davis responded. “There’s the division champion: Washington finished ahead of them. USC won the South.”
And so it goes for the Pac-12.
Its first mention on ESPN’s most prominent studio show of the season — two-and-a-half hours into the festivities — was accompanied by a moment of mockery.
And that’s not the only example of the Pac-12’s position within the current college football machinery.
It has no teams in the semifinals.
It won’t have a finalist for the Heisman Trophy.
It doesn’t have a finalist for the Broyles Award, which is given to the top assistant coach.
It only has two bowl teams after five eligible teams declined bids (USC, Washington, Stanford, Utah and Arizona State).
From a national perspective, there is little evidence the Pac-12 season even existed.
That’s largely a result of the decision by the presidents and chancellors to postpone the season, then start in early November — two weeks later than the Big Ten and Mountain West.
They wanted to be safe; they wanted access to daily testing; they had state restrictions to navigate; they wanted a unified start on Nov. 7, even though many teams could have played on Oct. 31.
With their actions, the presidents told the college football world that all the trappings typically valued — playoff appearances, bowl bids, individual awards, a place in the narrative — simply weren’t important.
That wasn’t right or wrong. It was just different, a response to unique conditions and motivations on the campuses and in the communities.
But none of that matters to the rest of the country — to the college football media machine, to recruits and fans, to the teams and executives.
College football has churned through the pandemic, for better or worse, with zero interest in the Pac-12’s well being or status as a power conference.