Cal finishes 2nd in the Pac-12 North thanks to being first in the alphabet

The California Golden Bears finished tied for second in the Pac-12 North with Oregon State and Washington, the first time they’ve finished in the top half of the division since the Pac-12 split up into divisions in 2011. They also finished in a tie for fourth in the overall Pac-12 with a 7-5 record.

Pac-12 rules proceed to give Cal second in the North as a result.

Apparently, after the Pac-12 figured out how to put teams in the conference championship game, they threw up their hands and called it a day. Here are the criteria for determining ranking in the Pac-12.

• Winning percentage in Pac-12 play
• Number of wins in Pac-12 play
• Overall winning percentage
• Number of overall wins
• Alphabetical order

Cal and Washington are dead even on the first four counts, with Oregon State being eliminated on the third criteria. That leaves the alphabet, and that’s good enough for me.

I’d like to take this time to thank the explorers who had the foresight to know that one day a half-millenia later that naming this area California would come in handy for determining Pac-12 tiebreakers.

Although this is hilariously bad, since Cal is set up to win this divisional tiebreaker for the next infinity years, I’m in favor of it.

On the bright side, Cal beat Washington head-to-head, so if the Pac-12 had real tiebreaker rules, Cal would’ve finished second as well!