Pac-12 football: How will Fox handle the Nov. 11 showdowns (USC-Oregon and Utah-Washington)? Our best guess

The kickoff times for both games will be released this weekend

The most anticipated Saturday of the Pac-12 season is quickly approaching, but there are no details on the two marquee games.

On November 11, all eyes will be on the Pacific Northwest as No. 20 USC travels to No. 6 Oregon and No. 18 Utah travels to No. 5 Washington.

Two College Football Playoff contenders, three Heisman Trophy candidates and four Pac-12 title hopefuls — all crammed into the upper left corner of the college football universe.

It’s exactly the kind of high-stakes scenario the conference envisioned when it set the 2023 schedule last winter.

And the Pac-12’s television partners are overjoyed, too, to the point where neither game has a kickoff time, making it difficult for fans to plan travel and parties.

Which game is most likely to begin when? We can make a reasonable guess.

First, some important background information:

— This is the rare week in which one network owns the top two picks in the weekly draft of Pac-12 games.

Typically, Fox and ESPN trade off access to the best games. But in the behind-the-scenes machinations before the season, Fox identified Nov. 11 as the date it wanted to monopolize the top of the Pac-12 draft.

As a result, the network will show both showdowns.

— The top-heavy nature of the Pac-12’s Nov. 11 schedule allowed Fox and ESPN to set the kickoff times for the other four games.

Only the duels in Eugene and Seattle have been placed on six-day holds, meaning the start times will be announced after the results of games this weekend.

— There are three broadcast windows for the two Fox games.

One of the Nov. 11 clashes will air at either 12:30 p.m. or 4 p.m.

The other will be shown on the company’s broadcast network at 7:30 p.m., a rare night game on the network. (Typically, FS1 broadcasts the conference’s 7:30 p.m. kickoffs.)

Which game should go in which window?

The outcome of the Pac-12 games this weekend, particularly the USC-Washington game at the L.A. Coliseum, will influence the decision.

A USC victory, in our opinion, would guarantee priority broadcast for the Trojans’ game against Oregon at 12:30 p.m. or 4 p.m.

If Washington defeats USC on Saturday, both games on Nov. 11 will feature a top-10 team (Oregon and Washington), making Fox’s decision more difficult.

However, the network’s calculation is also influenced by other conferences, particularly the Big 12, where No. 7 Texas faces TCU and No. 9 Oklahoma faces West Virginia.

(Please keep in mind that we are using the CFP selection committee rankings.)

The ‘Big Noon’ window (9 a.m. Pacific) on Nov. 11 is already taken: Fox will air the Michigan-Penn State game.

That means whichever Big 12 matchup Fox obtains through its weekly draft with ESPN will be weighed against the Pac-12 offerings for the 12:30 and 4 p.m. timeslots.

And within that decision is another consideration: how ESPN will manage its programming lineup.

The two networks collaborate on conference media rights deals but compete for ratings.

With the two Big 12 games, as well as Miami vs. Florida State, Tennessee vs. Missouri, and Florida vs. LSU, there are plenty of options that weekend. (The Pac-12 isn’t the only conference with a six-day window for selection.)

Our best guess:

Fox schedules its first Big 12 game in the early afternoon (12:30 p.m. Pacific), USC-Oregon in primetime on the East Coast (4 p.m.), and Utah-Washington in the evening (7:30 p.m.).

The kickoff times for the games on November 11 will be announced on Saturday night or Sunday.