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

The most anticipated Saturday of the Pac-12 season is fast approaching with no specifics for the two biggest games.

On Nov. 11, all eyes turn to the Pacific Northwest as No. 20 USC visits No. 6 Oregon and No. 18 Utah heads 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 high-stakes scenario the conference had in mind when it set the 2023 schedule last winter.

And the Pac-12’s television partners are elated, as well — to the point that neither game has a kickoff time, which makes it difficult for fans to make travel and party plans.

Which game is likely to start 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 showdowns will be shown at either 12:30 p.m. or 4 p.m.

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

Which game is going in which window?

The decision depends, in part, on the outcome of the Pac-12 matchups this weekend, especially the USC-Washington affair in the L.A. Coliseum.

In our estimation, a victory by USC would ensure priority broadcast for the Trojans’ date at Oregon, meaning the 12:30 p.m. or 4 p.m. window.

If Washington beats USC on Saturday afternoon, both games on Nov. 11 would feature a top-10 team (Oregon and Washington), and the decision becomes more difficult for Fox.

But the network’s calculation also depends on matchups in other conferences — particularly the Big 12, where No. 7 Texas plays TCU and No. 9 Oklahoma faces West Virginia.

(Note: We’re using CFP selection committee rankings.)

We know the ‘Big Noon’ window (9 a.m. Pacific) on Nov. 11 is already occupied: Fox will broadcast the Michigan-Penn State duel.

That means whichever Big 12 matchup belongs to Fox — via its weekly draft with ESPN — will be assessed against the Pac-12 offerings for the 12:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. windows.

And within that decision is yet another layer to consider: How ESPN will handle its programming lineup.

The two networks are partners on conference media rights deals and competitors for ratings.

There are plenty of options that weekend with the two Big 12 matchups plus Miami vs. Florida State, Tennessee vs. Missouri and Florida vs LSU. (The Pac-12 isn’t the only conference with six-day selection windows.)

Our hunch:

Fox places its premier Big 12 game in the early-afternoon window (12:30 p.m. Pacific), selects USC-Oregon for primetime on the East Coast (4 p.m.) and slots Utah-Washington into the night window (7:30 p.m.).

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

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