Pac-12 National Championship drought continues

For the second time in five seasons, the Oregon Ducks came up short in the National Championship game. This time it was in the College Football Playoff compared to the BCS, but the result is the same; another season without a Pac-12 team winning it all.

With Oregon losing, it's now been a decade since the Pac-12 claimed the football national title. That victory -- USC's win against Oklahoma -- has been been vacated due to sanctions. Even including it, the Pac-12 has won just two titles in the last 20 years - both by USC.

A lot of conferences don't have many recent championships with the SEC dominating the 2000s, but the ACC, SEC, Big12 and now Big Ten have all won a title since the Pac-12 won its last. At least on paper -- and assuming Marcus Mariota heads to the NFL -- it appears that streak might continue next year. We're still some 228 days from college football season, but only USC is projected by many as a top 10 preseason team. The Trojans haven't lived up to preseason billing since Pete Carroll left for Seattle.

On a fun note, WSU is now back-to-back transitive eight-point national runners-up. Auburn beat WSU by seven points last season before losing in the national championship game. Oregon edged WSU by seven this season before suffering the same fate. I'm fairly certain that means WSU is an eight-point improvement from playing for all the Tostitos next season.

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Football:

Isiah Myers Selected To Play in College Gridiron Showcase - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State wide receiver Isiah Myers has been selected to play in the College Gridiron Showcase, the organization announced Monday.

Men's basketball:

ASU men’s basketball falls in power rankings | ASU News | The State Press | Arizona State University

The Cougars started as the least impressive team in the Pac-12, but two wins in the conference have them slowly moving up. Washington State has a chance to prove it is for real with a big stretch of games coming up this weekend at home against the Oregon schools.

This week in Pac-12 men's basketball | Pac-12
WASHINGTON STATE sophomore F Josh Hawkinson has posted double digit rebounds in seven straight games, averaging 12.9 rpg during that span.