Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota hurdles Oregon State safety Justin Strong in last weekend’s victory. (Getty)
Back on Oct. 2, unranked Arizona went into Eugene for a Thursday night game against second-ranked, and heavily-favored, Oregon. What happened that night on the West Coast shocked the college football world – Arizona 31, Oregon 24. It’s been the only loss of the season for the Ducks.
Fast forward two months.
Friday night, Oregon gets another crack at Arizona. This time it’s for all the conference marbles as the teams meet in the Pac-12 Championship Game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. Once again the Ducks (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) are ranked second, but now the formerly-unranked Wildcats (10-2, 7-2 Pac-12) have moved all the way up to No. 7.
The Pac-12 Championship Game is relatively new, as this is just the fourth one in the conference’s history.
The game can be seen on Fox at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Here’s what you need to know about the Pac-12 Championship Game:
1. The Heisman Trophy Front-Runner is Playing in The Game
If you haven’t had a chance to watch Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota play, put it on your college football bucket list. But you better hurry up, because the Heisman Trophy hopeful’s college career is likely winding down. The redshirt junior is almost certain to forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft, where he is expected to be a very high – if not the top overall – selection.
Mariota is a smooth operator on the field who gets it done with both his arm and legs. He’s thrown for nearly 3,500 yards with a ridiculous 36 to 2 touchdown to interception ratio. On the ground, Mariota has scored 11 more TDs with 636 yards.
The Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year leads or is among the national leaders in passing efficiency (190.2, 1st nationally), yards per attempt (10.39, 1st), fewest interceptions (2, 2nd), passing touchdowns (36, tied for 2nd), passing yards per completion (15.15, 5th), passing yards (3,470, 7th), completion percentage (68.6%, 7th), … OK, you get the point. Well, speaking of points, here’s one more – points responsible for (288, 1st).
Whether he wins the Heisman Trophy remains to be seen. But he’s likely the front-runner and will be present in New York City for the announcement on Dec. 13.
2. The Game Has College Football Playoff Implications
The College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy. (Getty)
The latest College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night, and it has Oregon at No. 2 and Arizona at No. 7.
This much we know: If Oregon wins Friday night, the Ducks are in the CFP Final Four.
Now, if Arizona beats Oregon, things will get interesting. First of all, the Ducks will likely drop out of the coveted top 4. And then discussion for the Wildcats’ semifinal inclusion will certainly ramp up.
But right now Arizona is on the outside looking in. The ‘Cats need to win Friday and likely get some help in order to jump a few teams and crack the committee’s favorite four.
But that’s why they play the games.
We’ll know the semifinal matchups when the final rankings are released Dec. 7. And then we can discuss those and, of course, who got snubbed until we are blue in the face. Which I intend to do.
3. Arizona Has Been Responsible For Oregon’s Last 2 Losses
Over its past 15 games, Oregon is 13-2. Both losses came at the hands of Arizona. I already talked about the first matchup this season. That victory put Arizona at 5-0 and 2-0 in conference play. You can see the highlights above.
Back on Nov. 23, 2013, in Tucson, the unranked Wildcats put a damper on Oregon’s BCS title hopes with a 42-16 pasting of the then-No. 5 Ducks. Those game highlights are below.
Can the ‘Cats make it 3 straight?
4. The Game Will Feature Two of Nation’s Top Freshmen Running Backs
Arizona’s Nick Wilson and Oregon’s Royce Freeman are both only a year out of high school, but they are each major contributors to their offenses. They lead the Wildcats and Ducks in rushing, respectively.
Wilson has 1,263 yards on 204 carries (6.2 average) with 15 touchdowns. He’s added another score on 12 receptions. Wilson has 7 100-yard games, including a season-high 218 yards two weeks ago in a 42-10 win over Utah. He is averaging 163 yards with 8 total touchdowns over his past 4 games, all Arizona wins. Wilson did not play in the Wildcats’ 28-26 loss to USC on Oct. 11.
Freeman, who was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, has put up 1,185 yards on 209 carries (5.7 average) and 16 scores. He has another touchdown on 13 catches. Freeman’s best game came in a 45-20 win over Washington, when he set season-highs in yards (169), carries (29) and touchdowns (4). He’s had 5 100-yard games.
5. Rich Rodriguez Has Resurrected His Career at Arizona
(Getty)
When Rich Rodriguez was hired as Arizona’s 30th head coach on Nov. 22, 2011, he was coming to Tucson after 3 lackluster years at Michigan. Rodriguez, who is in his 21st season as a head coach, went 15-22 with the Wolverines after going 60-26 in 7 seasons at West Virginia.
Arizona took a chance and Rich Rod has responded. The 51-year-old went 8-5 with a bowl win in each of his first 2 seasons and has the Wildcats at 10-2 and playing for the conference championship this year. Rodriguez, who is 2-1 against Oregon, was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year on Tuesday.
On the other side of the field will be Mark Helfrich, 41. The 2nd-year coach is 21-3 at Oregon. And, again, two of those losses have come to Rodriguez.
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Pac-12 Championship Game: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know