The Pac-12 Conference Championship Game Preview

The Big Ten isn't the only conference with a fancy new championship game. The Pac-12 is hosting their first title game this weekend as well. Oregon is looking to become the Pac-12 champ for the third year in a row, while UCLA is just hoping not to get blown off the field for the second week in a row. Pac-12 rules dictates that the team with the better conference record hosts the title game, so this year the Ducks will host the game in Eugene, Oregon.

Who's Playing?
UCLA Bruins 6-6 (5-4) @ #9 Oregon Ducks 10-2 (8-1)

What's at Stake?
The title of first Pac-12 Champion and a trip to the Rose Bowl.

Where is it?
Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Oregon

When is it?
Friday, December 2 at 8 PM on FOX

How they Got Here:
UCLA:

Sept. 3rd - L @ Houston 38-34
Sept. 10th - W vs. San Jose State 27-17
Sept. 17th - L vs. Texas 49-20
Sept. 24th - W @ Oregon State 27-19
Oct. 1st - L @ Stanford 45-19
Oct. 8th - W vs. Washington State 28-25
Oct. 20th - L @ Arizona 48-12
Oct. 29th - W vs. Cal 31-14
Nov. 5th - W vs. Arizona State 29-28
Nov. 12th - L @ Utah 31-6
Nov. 19th - W vs. Colorado 45-6
Nov. 26th - L @ USC 50-0

UCLA has had an up and down season. They were pretty close to not being bowl eligible at all. They have a good rushing game with RB Johnathan Franklin rushing for 912 yards and 5 TDs, RB Derrick Coleman rushing for 643 yards and 11 TDs. QB Kevin Price added 424 rushing yards of his own, yet only 1463 passing yards and 8 TDs to 7 INTs (see? There are worse QBs than Matt McGloin out there). WR Nelson Rosario broke 1000 yards receiving and finished the year with 1008 yards and 2 TDs. The Bruins scoring offense and defense ranked 88th and 87th respectively.

Oregon:

Sept. 3rd - L vs. LSU 40-27
Sept. 10th - W vs. Nevada 59-20
Sept. 17th - W vs. Missouri State 56-7
Sept. 24th - W @ Arizona 56-31
Oct. 6th - W vs. Cal 43-15
Oct. 15th - W vs. Arizona State 41-27
Oct. 22nd - W @ Colorado 45-2
Oct. 29th - W vs. Washington State 43-28
Nov. 5th - W @ Washington 34-17
Nov. 12th - W @ Stanford 53-30
Nov. 19th - L vs. USC 38-35
Nov. 26th - W vs. Oregon State 49-21

Oregon had one of the most prolific offenses in the nation this year, finishing 3rd in scoring offense and 6th in total offense. The offense is driven by Oregon's zone-read system. LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner combined for 2257 yards rushing and 25 TDs. They led the Ducks to 291 yards on the ground per game. If defenses didn't have enough to worry about with the Ducks' running game, QB Darron Thomas threw for 2274 yards and 27 TDs to only 5 INTs. Thomas spread the ball around pretty evenly and 4 Oregon WRs registered over 300 yards receiving, and 9 different players caught a TD.

So Who's Going to Win?
UCLA is lucky to be playing in this game. If UCLA keeps it close for a quarter, it'll be a success for them. UCLA's defense isn't good enough to slow down the Blur Offense, and their offense is too anemic to keep up. If Oregon loses this game, it'll easily be the upset of the year.

Prediction: Oregon - 59 UCLA - 20

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