SALT LAKE CITY — Without question, aside from one notable outcome, Pac-12 football has been a collective disappointment this season.

Oregon and Utah sit atop the respective North and South division standings with three games remaining and are heavy favorites to play in next month's championship game in Las Vegas. With respect to the Utes, they probably only need to beat lowly Arizona and Colorado in two of their next three games to win the South for the third time in four years.

Playing the comparative score game, which admittedly is often dangerous, the Pac-12 doesn't look good. Oregon's only loss came against Stanford, which lost to Utah last week by a whopping 45 points at home.

The Utes, whose 1-2 nonconference record was their worst since joining the Pac-12 in 2011, were embarrassed in a loss to Oregon State last month. Considered a contender after beating Utah, the Beavers have since lost their following two games against Cal and Colorado.

For bad measure, Cal has become a historical footnote, known as the team Arizona beat to end its notorious 20-game losing streak. Minus one surprising run in 2016, Colorado has stunk every full season since joining the Pac-12.

Things have spiraled downward enough for multiple programs to fire assistant coaches during the season, moves that often signal desperation. After losing games last week, Washington dumped its offensive coordinator while Oregon State's defensive coordinator suffered the same fate.

At least those coaches lasted longer than coach Clay Helton did at USC, the South division preseason favorite. Helton was fired two games into the season and already has landed a similar job at Georgia Southern.

Arizona State can one up USC on the coaching carousel, having suspended three assistants before the season due to an ongoing NCAA investigation primarily into improper recruiting during a dead period. Coach Herm Edwards could be in trouble depending on any impending NCAA rulings.

There's also the crazy situation with Washington State, where half the coaching staff was fired mid-season for apparently failing to meet COVID-testing state mandates. Dismissed coach Nick Rolovich is taking legal action against the university.

In a bizarre twist, ASU will play a team with an interim coach for the third consecutive week. The Sun Devils played Washington State and USC the last two weeks and this week travel to Seattle to play Washington, whose coach, Jimmy Lake, has been suspended one game without pay for getting physical with one of his players during last week's loss to Oregon.

Thank goodness, for the Pac-12's sake, Oregon managed to beat Ohio State in Columbus in the second week of the season. It's the only reason the Ducks came in at No. 4 in the initial college football playoff rankings and likely will move up this week after No. 3 Michigan State lost to Purdue.

All in all, though, the Pac-12 defines mediocre this season from top to bottom. Not that this is anything new for a conference that hasn't had a team make the football playoff since the 2017 season.

Fifth-ranked Oregon is the lone Pac-12 team in the Associated Press Top 25, joining No. 14 BYU as the only western teams in the poll. Utah, which has gone 5-1 since making Cam Rising the starting quarterback, is the only conference team receiving Top 25 votes.

Objectively, based on rankings, the Pac-12 is the worst of the Power Five conferences. But mediocrity also can be couched as competitive balance, which has some validity.

"Oregon's going to the playoffs if they happen today, right?" Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said in answer to a question on the conference's national perception. "I prefer to think we've got a lot of balance in this league rather than not (being) very good."

Obviously, though, Whittingham doesn't want Oregon representing the Pac-12 in the four-team playoff. The Ducks, who almost certainly won't make the playoff with two losses, come to Rice-Eccles Stadium on Nov. 20.

Given the ineptitude of the South division, Utah most likely doesn't need to beat Oregon to qualify for the Pac-12 championship game. Assuming second-place ASU closes on a four-game winning streak, which is improbable, the Utes could lose to Oregon and still win the South by beating Arizona and Colorado.

Further contributing to the bad look, the Pac-12 representative in the Rose Bowl could have five losses. If Oregon makes the playoff, the loser in the conference championship could move up to play in the Rose Bowl game.

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