A new era of Pac-12 football is near with the rebuilt conference set to debut this fall. The eight-team league announced its 2026 schedule on Wednesday, which features a round-robin slate and a unique "flex" matchup for each team in Week 13. That flex week could prove instrumental in determining the College Football Playoff picture as the Pac-12 seeks to establish itself as the preeminent Group of Six league and send one of its members to the 12-team tournament.

The modest size of the reimagined Pac-12 creates a reality in which teams cannot play more than seven conference games. Maintaining a three-game nonconference slate with a bye week leaves one unclaimed date on each squad's schedule, and it is with that open slot that the Pac-12 will introduce the flex games.

The flex week introduces one repeat matchup per team. Every program will play a Pac-12 team it faced earlier in the year, but importantly, the Week 13 rematch will not count towards conference standings. Last year effectively provided a trial run of this format, as Oregon State and Washington State played a home-and-home wherein the first game counted as an official Pac-12 contest and the second was a non-conference battle.

Here is everything we know about the Pac-12 flex week and what it could mean for the conference's CFP outlook.

Flex week gives Pac-12 unique advantage in CFP race

As with every other Group of Six conference, the Pac-12 aims to produce one of the five highest-ranked league champions in college football to secure an automatic bid into the CFP. Pairing two former power conference programs in Oregon State and Washington State with five top-flight Mountain West schools and a rising Sun Belt contender gives this league a bevy of potential playoff hopefuls.

The flex week allows the Pac-12 to assess late in the season which of its teams have the most realistic paths to the CFP and to dynamically adjust their schedules to increase their odds of earning berths.

Say Boise State stands at No. 15 in the CFP rankings in mid-November and that no other Group of Six teams are in the top 25. The Pac-12 could hand the Broncos a highly winnable matchup in the flex week to ensure they remain undefeated.

Or perhaps Fresno State is in a battle with teams from the American and Sun Belt and needs a marquee win to set itself apart. The conference could pit the Bulldogs against the second-best team in the league in hopes that they win and boost their profile.

Furthermore, since the flex game is a nonconference matchup, the top two teams in the league can lose in Week 13 and still participate in the Pac-12 Championship Game. That offers some margin for error where a highly regarded team could still qualify for the CFP as a conference champion even with a late-season loss.

Pac-12 flex week stipulations

While the Pac-12 has complete authority over which teams play which in Week 13, it still must abide by one key rule with regard to game locations. That is, teams are guaranteed at least six home games in total and four against conference opponents. Since half of the league will only play three conference home games, the other half is guaranteed to play at home during the flex week.

Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and Washington State will host their flex games regardless of their opponents.

Additional considerations could come into play in determining the matchups, but there are no guarantees. The Pac-12 specifically noted in its schedule release that it will attempt to prevent repeat road trips. For example, since Boise State has a road game at Fresno State in Week 6, the league would try not to force the Broncos to play the Bulldogs at Valley Children's Stadium again in Week 13.

Projected Pac-12 flex matchups

The Pac-12 announced four projected matchups for Week 13. These contests follow the aforementioned criterion of no team playing two road games against the same opponent.

In practice, the conference will likely need to be lenient when it comes to repeat road trips. Any deviation from these projections will almost certainly force at least one team to play a second game in an away stadium.

When will Pac-12 flex games be determined?

Flex games will be finalized no later than six days ahead of kickoff. That makes Sunday, Nov. 22 the deadline to announce the Week 13 pairings. Matchups could be determined before that date, though.

One disadvantage of this deadline is that the Pac-12 must set its flex games prior to the Week 13 CFP Top 25 rankings release. That is less than ideal since the conference aims to use the flex week to better position its playoff contenders, but the Week 12 rankings and results should help the conference to make an informed decision.