SALT LAKE CITY — Most college football eyes locally have been glued to potential expansion in the Big 12, where the conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby and prominent athletic directors within the conference were presented with information that may encourage the 10 team league to expand to 12 teams.

Expansion may or may not include BYU and could dictate whether the Cougars are included in the upper echelon of college football, at least financially, or force them to reexamine their place as an independent team in the changing college football landscape.

Meanwhile, the Pac-12, home of the University of Utah, gears up for the 2016 college football season, hoping to avoid a repeat of last season, which found the conference on the outside of the College Football Playoffs looking in.

Where as the Big 12, the SEC, Big Ten and the ACC were all represented in the College Football Playoffs, the Pac-12, largely due to critical non-conference schedule losses and a cannibalistic nine-game conference schedule, was left asking whether or not it featured one of college football’s elite teams.

This year, with the nation watching the Pac-12, the Utes and Cougars will play a prominent role seemingly weekly in the Pac-12’s biggest games, potentially dictating the conferences inclusion in the college football postseason.

These are the biggest games, and storylines each week throughout the Pac-12 season.

Week 1:

Though technically the first week of the season starts in Hawaii, when the Cal Bears take on the Rainbow Warriors, the full slate of conference games starts during the first week of September, with perhaps college football’s best non-conference game all season. The USC Trojans travel to Tuscaloosa to take on the defending national champions of Alabama. The Crimson Tide will likely enter the season with a top five ranking in the AP poll, while USC hopes to be featured in the Top 25. A win for USC would place them firmly in the discussion for potential playoff teams if they can take care of business in the Pac-12.

While no game quite compares to USC and Alabama, UCLA traveling to Texas A&M gives the Pac-12 another chance to prove itself against the SEC, while Arizona and BYU face off in a neutral site game in Arizona. The new-look Cougars offense faces off a new-look defense in Arizona, with a matchup of dynamic quarterbacks in Tanner Mangum and Taysom Hill for BYU, and Anu Solomon for the Wildcats.

Week 2:

The second week of the season won’t just be the biggest college football game in the state of Utah this season, with BYU and Utah facing off at Rice-Eccles Stadium, it will be the biggest game of the weekend in the Pac-12. The Utes and Cougars face off in primetime on FOX. It’s the first time a regular-season matchup between the two schools has been aired on a national network, and is the first meeting between Utah coach Kyle Whittingham and his former defensive coordinator Kalani Sitake, who now leads BYU.

Week 3:

Week three features a great slate of games for the Pac-12, with the biggest game kicking off the conference schedule as USC travels to Stanford to take on the defending Pac-12 champions. This game could dictate the eventual winners of the North and South divisions within the conference, and could feature two AP Top 25 teams.

UCLA, expected to compete for the Pac-12 South championship, travels to Provo in the Cougars' third consecutive matchup against Pac-12 schools. If Tanner Mangum is the starting QB at BYU, the game will feature two of college football’s elite sophomore QBs, with future Top 10 pick Josh Rosen calling the plays for the Bruins. BYU fell just short of upsetting UCLA in Los Angeles last season and should present an enormous challenge to an already tough non-conference line-up for Jim Mora's team.

Additionally, Oregon travels to Nebraska for the Ducks' first real test of the season. The Ducks appear to be heading in the wrong direction since losing coach Chip Kelly to the NFL and likely need a big season to regain its slowing momentum. A win at Nebraska would be a good start.

Week 4:

The Utes kick off the week for the conference with a dynamite Pac-12 South matchup as USC travels to Salt Lake City for a Friday night matchup. These two teams tied for the Pac-12 South championship, though USC won the division by owning the tiebreaker. The teams have split their previous two matchups, and the Trojans may be looking to avoid a potentially disastrous start to the season if they fall to both Alabama and Stanford in the opening weeks of their season. If the Utes get past BYU and USC in their first four weeks of the season, they could be primed for a big season.

Stanford travels to UCLA for their second consecutive weekend taking on a Los Angeles opponent. This matchup features the conference's two biggest stars, with UCLA QB Josh Rosen taking on Stanford running back and Heisman Trophy favorite Christian McCaffrey.

Week 5:

Week Five might be the weakest slate of games in the Pac-12 all season, though Stanford going on the road to take on Washington likely features the two favorite teams to win the Pac-12 North. Washington featured the conference's best scoring defense last year and appears primed for a breakout season.

Week 6:

The Utes again find themselves in one of the conference’s biggest games, taking on Arizona at home. The Utes have struggled to figure out Rich Rodriguez’s Wildcats teams over the past several seasons, and last year's late loss cost the Utes a chance to represent the South in the conference championship game. This game could have similar consequences, and is a must win for the Utes.

Washington State looks for revenge against the Stanford Cardinal after a disappointing loss last season in the game’s final minutes. The Cougars missed a 43-yard field goal late that would have sealed a victory. Instead, they lost, 30-28.

Week 7:

In a matchup of two of college football’s historic programs, Stanford travels to South Bend to take on Notre Dame. This could be a matchup of Top 10 teams vying for a midseason spark to push them towards the College Football Playoffs.

Meanwhile, the league’s two premiere QBs face off in Pullman, Washington, as Luke Falk of Washington State hosts Josh Rosen of UCLA. Expect a high-scoring, high-yardage affair.

Week 8:

The Pac-12 South may be on the line as the Utes travel to Los Angeles to take on UCLA. The Bruins marched into Utah last season and held the Utes to 9 points without premier running back Devontae Booker. The Utes allowed just 17 points, but couldn’t muster enough offense to stay competitive. The teams have exchanged wins on each others' home turf over the past two seasons, and the Utes look to keep that trend going.

Week 9:

Another relatively weak slate of games is highlighted by the Utes, as they host the Washington Huskies. The Utes defense last season had a dominant performance against the young Huskies offense, which is expected to make enormous progress this season. This game has big implications in both the North and the South.

Week 10:

Two of the league’s heaviest hitters matchup as the Oregon Ducks travel to Los Angeles to face off against USC. These are the two most prominent financial members of the conference, with two of the most pronounced, yet differing styles. This is one of the league’s highest profile games in name value alone.

Week 11:

Oregon again dominates the headlines, as they host the Stanford Cardinal in one of college football’s best rivalries. These two teams have often faced off with big postseason implications, and could do so again to see which team represents the North division in the Pac-12 Championship game.

USC travels to Washington in hopes of finding revenge for a stunning loss at home last season. Last year’s win at USC put Jake Browning and Washington on the college football radar and look to repeat against the Trojans again this season.

Week 12:

The battle for Los Angeles returns, with UCLA hosting USC at the Rose Bowl. This game very realistically could determine who represents the South in the Pac-12 championship game. UCLA looks like the better team heading into the season, but a true rivalry like this isn’t impacted by preseason predictions.

The Utes host an Oregon team coming off brutal back-to-back weeks against USC and Stanford. They're looking to avenge the worst loss in team history at home, as the Utes stunned the Ducks last season with a dominant 62-20 victory at Autzen Stadium. Oregon will be looking to return the favor.

Week 13:

Rivalry weekend wraps up the season with a full slate of exciting games. While Utah faces a tricky game at Colorado, Notre Dame traveling to USC may dictate whether the Fighting Irish make their first appearance in the College Football Playoffs.

With BYU looking to play the role of spoiler in the first three weeks of the season taking on Arizona, Utah and UCLA, the Utes will be featured prominently throughout the rest of the Pac-12 conference schedule. Though the Utes have yet to win the Pac-12, and BYU remains independent, both teams will have an enormous impact on whether or not the conference finds itself represented in the College Football Playoffs.

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