Pac-12 Recap: Oregon Reigns as Stanford, Utah and Arizona State Sprint to Finish Line

The Oregon Ducks are back-to-back champions as Stanford provided perhaps the best #Pac12AfterDark game of the year.

The Pac-12’s regular season concluded in the most appropriate fashion: a sloppy championship game upset on Friday night, followed by as much chaotic beauty that could be crammed into an abridged Saturday slate.

The Oregon Ducks are your 2020 champions, retaining their crown by knocking off previously unbeaten USC at the Coliseum. Saturday provided a suitable coda, with three entertaining matchups to give fans something to miss ahead of a long offseason. Once more, with feeling: Let’s recap all that went down in Pac-12 country.

Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

Team of the week: In many ways, Oregon is the most fitting champion the league could have this season. The Ducks this year have looked at times disinterested and often self-destructive, but rose to the occasion after outside influences forced North champion Washington out of the title game. Playing against another flawed team in USC, Oregon made fewer mistakes, won the battle in the trenches and staved off a last-gasp comeback effort from the Trojans en route to a 31–24 win. The Ducks’ offense didn’t have its best game, but the defense harassed Kedon Slovis all night and completely removed USC’s rushing attack from the equation. With four combined interceptions and 168 penalty yards, it wasn’t a pretty game by any means. But Oregon fans likely won’t mind one bit how aesthetically pleasing their back-to-back conference championships were.

Game of the week: It seemed Utah’s remarkable second-half comeback win over Washington State—in which the Utes ended the game on a 38–0 run to win, 45–28—was destined to claim this spot. But then UCLA-Stanford completely went off the rails in one of the wildest games of the season, with the Cardinal pulling out a 48–47 win in double overtime.

Stanford led, 20–3, at halftime and had knocked UCLA quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson out of the game when the Bruins mounted their comeback. UCLA ripped off 31 unanswered points behind backup Chase Griffin and led, 34–20, with just over five minutes left in the game. Stanford drew within a touchdown with 2:34 left, then failed to recover an onside kick. But a botched handoff gave the Cardinal the ball back with 1:38 left, and Davis Mills found Simi Fehoko on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 18 seconds left to send the game to overtime.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports

After trading scores in the first overtime, Stanford took a 48–41 lead in the second OT. UCLA scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-18 and opted to go for two and the win, but the Cardinal defense held strong. Stanford ended the season on a four-game winning streak, with all four wins coming on the road. Colorado’s Karl Dorrell might have a firm grip on coach of the year honors after exceeding expectations in his first year, but David Shaw showed why he’s among the most respected coaches in the country.

.@stephenherron_ seals the deal. pic.twitter.com/0kTh7Wn7JC

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) December 20, 2020

Highlight of the week: For a while, it looked as if USC was running its late-game theatrics script to a tee. Slovis had driven the Trojans to the Oregon 38-yard line with just under three minutes to play. After being flushed to the right because of the Ducks’ pressure, Slovis seemingly tried to throw the ball away when safety Jamal Hill pulled off some sideline acrobatics to haul in the game-sealing interception.

Oregon's Jamal Hill with an incredible interception (his 2nd of the game) late in the 4th quarter vs USC. pic.twitter.com/CNMADWyf8b

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 19, 2020

Replay review overturned the call on the field of an incomplete pass. USC got the ball back deep in its own territory with under 30 seconds left, but Oregon’s overwhelming pass rush prevented Slovis from getting a Hail Mary attempt off. Hill had five tackles and two interceptions and made plays all night for the Ducks, but he saved his best for when Oregon needed it most.

#Pac12AfterDark moment of the week: “Do not be afraid when the stars collide towards the darkness, because sometimes the most beautiful things begin in chaos.” Robert M. Drake

Offensive players of the week: Fehoko was unguardable late in Saturday night’s game, torching the UCLA secondary for 230 yards on 16 catches with three touchdowns. That set a new school record for most catches in a single game—not bad for a player who hadn’t scored a touchdown all season coming into the game.

Also worth mentioning is Utah running back Ty Jordan, who capped an impressive freshman season with 154 yards and three touchdowns against Washington State. Arizona State’s Rachaad White racked up 158 yards and two scores in the Sun Devils’ 46–33 win over Oregon State, and UCLA’s Griffin threw four touchdowns coming on in relief of the injured Thompson-Robinson.

Defensive players of the week: Utah’s comeback was spurred by its opportunistic defense, and no player embodied that more than freshman cornerback Clark Phillips III. Phillips turned the Cougars over three times, with two fumble recoveries and a pick-six in the fourth quarter that sealed the win for the Utes.

Icing on the cake. Clark Phillips III with the pick six on his birthday! What a second half performance by this team!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/Un7IReDSZZ

— Utah Athletics (@utahathletics) December 19, 2020

Linebacker Devin Lloyd also wreaked havoc in the Washington State backfield, with 10 tackles, one sack and four tackles for loss. Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux was similarly disruptive against USC, with five tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss to earn Pac-12 championship game MVP honors.

Special teams player of the week: Arizona State’s potent rushing attack didn’t need any help from Oregon State on Saturday night, but the Sun Devils were given great field position on their second scoring drive thanks to a blocked punt by Will Shaffer that gave the offense a short field.

The Sun Devils ran for 375 yards and six touchdowns against the Beavers, though they might have cracked the 400-yard mark were it not for the blocked punt. Herm Edwards probably doesn’t mind.

Dan Fouts “Can’t hold anything back” play of the week: May we all be grateful to Oregon State for giving us so much in 2020: Jermar Jefferson; the win over Oregon in what was certainly a leading candidate for game of the year; and finally this wonderfully inventive trick play to convert a fourth-and-1 late in the third quarter.

Thank you Oregon State, for being bold enough to do what I feel would have a success rate of 90%+ if done more often.

In 4th and extremely short with a stacked box, trick play or even play action feels like a gimme.
pic.twitter.com/62J1iTZJUJ

— Logan Booker (@LoganMBooker) December 20, 2020

Oregon State was already out of contention for a bowl game, so credit Jonathan Smith for embracing the last-game-of-the-season mentality. Mr. Coach Klein and Bobby Boucher would be proud.

Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports

Bic picture: What a difference two weeks make. On Dec. 5, Oregon was 3–2 coming off close losses to unranked Oregon State and Cal. Now, the Ducks are back-to-back conference champions and owners of the nation’s No. 6 recruiting class. Add that to head coach Mario Cristobal’s recent contract extension, and the future is looking pretty bright in Eugene. Oregon has won the Pac-12 in six of the last 12 seasons, and is the only team in the conference to win a game in the College Football Playoff. A New Year’s Six bowl awaits, but regardless of the outcome, expectations will be sky-high entering 2021.

Lookahead: As the list of teams opting out of bowl games continues to grow, only two bowl-eligible teams have not opted out from the Pac-12: Oregon and Colorado. Oregon will face Iowa State in the Fiesta Bowl, while the Buffaloes are headed to the Alamo Bowl against former Big 12 rival Texas. With Saturday’s news that the Rose Bowl—one of the sites for the CFP semifinals—is being moved to Texas, some have pushed for the Pac-12 to try and swap in the Rose Bowl for the Fiesta Bowl. Pulling that off seems unlikely, but for fans of the conference gearing up to watch their teams in bowl season, it’s best to keep a close eye on the schedule: blink and you might miss it.