Oregon Ducks Crush Arizona For Pac 12 Title
06 Dec, 2014
Marcus Mariota made a strong final impression in his bid for the Heisman Trophy, and No. 3 Oregon left no doubt about whether the Pac-12 champions will get a chance to play for the national title.
About the only question now is who the Ducks will face next.
Mariota threw for 303 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a career-high three scores, and Oregon all but assured itself a spot in the first College Football Playoff by overwhelming eighth-ranked Arizona 51-13 in the Pac-12 title game Friday night.
“There are a bunch of big smiles, and I’m proud of that,” Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said.
The Ducks (12-1) entered the week ranked second in the playoff standings and are expected to land in the Rose Bowl for the semifinals. Alabama (11-1) is No. 1 and TCU (10-1) is third followed by Florida State (12-0), Ohio State (11-1), Baylor (10-1) and Arizona (10-3), which is now just hoping to make a Jan. 1 bowl.
Oregon outgained Arizona 617 yards to 224. The Ducks ran for 301 yards and held the Wildcats to 111 on the ground.
“This is a huge accomplishment for us,” said Mariota, who won game MVP honors. “Now we need to continue to improve and get better for whoever comes next.”
The victory avenged Oregon’s only loss this season – a 31-24 setback to Arizona on Oct. 2 in Eugene – and a 42-16 loss in Tucson last year that kept the Ducks out of the conference championship game.
AP
Image AP
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