Washington improved to 13-0 and likely locked up a College Football Playoff berth in a thrilling win.
Ari Wasserman and The Athletic College Football Staff
December 2, 2023 at 9:15 AM EST
(Photo: Brian Rothmuller / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Pac-12 championship scores
2022: Utah 47, USC 24
2021: Utah 38, Oregon 10
2020: Oregon 31, USC 24
2019: Oregon 37, Utah 15
2018: Washington 10, Utah 3
2017: USC 31, Stanford 28
2016: Washington 41, Colorado 10
2015: Stanford 41, USC 22
2014: Oregon 51, Arizona 13
2013: Stanford 38, Arizona State 14
2012: Stanford 27, UCLA 24
2011: Oregon 49, UCLA 31
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A few moments away
The Oregon and Washington fans are showing out.
Who’s your pick?
Oregon, 35-21. The Ducks are playing as well as anyone in the country, and they should have one the first meeting with Washington. Oregon won’t make the same mistakes it made in that game.
Washington's stats to know
USA Today
Offense
Points per game: 38.0
Yards per game: 468.1
Yards per play: 7.3
Defense
Points per game: 23.0
Yards per game: 399.8
Yards per play: 5.5
What a season
Bo Nix has had a Heisman Trophy-type season.
Most interesting matchup to watch?
Oregon’s defensive front against Washington’s offensive line. If the Huskies’ group up front can keep Michael Penix Jr.’s jersey clean, Washington has a real shot to beat Oregon again. If not, it looks like a Ducks revenge win.
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The coaches
Dan Lanning is 21-4 in his second season at Oregon (and second season overall as a head coach). Kalen DeBoer is 23-2 in his second season at Washington and 102-11 overall as a head coach. He also has served as the head coach at Sioux Falls and Fresno State.
Clutch all season
Michael Penix carries his regular-season momentum into tonight's matchup.
LSU takes its Heisman campaign to the Pac-12 championship
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix is the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy, according to the betting odds from BetMGM. But LSU's Jayden Daniels is a close second — and the campaign is on full display in Las Vegas, where the Pac-12 championship will be played tonight.
LSU revealed earlier that it put Daniels on a billboard in Vegas as the program promotes his Heisman candidacy. Daniels, who leads the nation in quarterback rating (208.01) and passing touchdowns (40), will not play another game between now and the Dec. 9 Heisman ceremony, while Friday's game is the last chance for Nix — who leads the country in passing yards per game (325.5) and is second in QB rating (189.82) — to state his case.
Nix also held a narrow lead over Daniels in The Athletic's Heisman straw poll, with Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in third.
GO FURTHER
Heisman straw poll: Oregon’s Bo Nix holds narrow lead over LSU’s Jayden Daniels
Who's going to win?
The trendlines for these two teams have been moving in opposite directions since playing one another, and Oregon is primed to take advantage of some of Washington’s vulnerabilities. I expect similar fireworks in this game – and I recognize that Rome Odunze can turn this prediction upside down at a moment's notice – but give me the Ducks, in a 38-28 win.
Until Saturday Championship Game predictions
Ari Wasserman, David Ubben and Kennington Smith III previewed the biggest games of college football rivalry week on the Until Saturday podcast. The duo made picks against the spread for Georgia vs. Alabama, Oregon vs. Washington, Florida State vs. Louisville and more.
Below is an edited, abridged version of their discussion on all 10 conference title games. The full episode includes discussion on Michigan (-23.5) vs. Iowa, Texas (-14.5) vs. Oklahoma State, SMU at Tulane (-3.5), Boise State (-2.5) at UNLV, Toledo (-7.5) vs. Miami (Ohio), New Mexico State at Liberty (-10.5) and Appalachian State at Troy (-6.5).
GO FURTHER
Until Saturday Championship Game predictions: Georgia-Alabama, Washington-Oregon and more
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Most interesting matchup to watch?
USA Today
The flow of this game will be decided by the same factor as the first game – Washington’s defensive line against Oregon’s offensive line. Washington’s defensive tackles Faatui Tuitele and Tuli Letuligasenoa have helped the defensive interior the past few weeks, but dealing with Oregon’s run game is a different proposition. If the Huskies can stymie the run game, that opens up more opportunities for star edge rusher Braelan Trice to get after Bo Nix, and applying pressure is the best way to keep Oregon’s offense from taking chances downfield.
Where the 8 contenders stand heading into the final week
We almost had a chaotic Week 13, but the main contenders all survived (sorry, Louisville) and we are left with the same eight contenders that we’ve had for the past month. Seven of those eight teams play this weekend, including contenders facing each other in the Pac-12 (Washington vs. Oregon rematch) and the SEC (Georgia vs. Alabama). There are a lot of different combinations of results that will decide which four teams get into the College Football Playoff and my projection model has plotted out how likely it is for each team to make the field of four and win the national title.
GO FURTHER
College Football Playoff projected chances: Where the 8 contenders stand heading into the final week
What is Washington’s key tonight?
USA Today
Someone other than Rome Odunze has to break out in this game because I’m expecting Oregon’s defense to exhaust all options to surround him with extra defenders. This offense has been showing some signs of slippage for several weeks, but the last two games against Oregon State and Washington State were real red flags.
Odunze had 14 of Penix’s 31 completions, 226 of Penix’s 364 passing yards and all four touchdowns. RB Dillon Johnson has finally found some rhythm in the running game, and the defense has made the necessary stops to eke out wins. If Odunze is the only viable option, though, Washington is extremely vulnerable in this game.
Championship Game projected scores, best bet and CFP scenario probabilities
It’s the final college football Saturday of the season, which means we have 10 conference championship games on tap this week. Beyond conference titles, all four College Football Playoff spots are up for grabs.
My model has projected point differentials and point totals for all 10 games. The model takes in past performance, returning talent and recruiting rankings. We then compare the model’s projections to the BetMGM lines for extra context.
GO FURTHER
College football Championship Game projected scores, best bet and CFP scenario probabilities
Who will win?
34-21, Oregon. Nobody is playing better football in the country right now than the Ducks. They nearly won at Husky Stadium earlier this year and have since been the better of these two CFP contenders. Bo Nix cements his Heisman Trophy in Las Vegas.
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Matchup to watch tonight?
Oregon’s defense vs. Washington’s defense. I know those units cannot be on the same field at the same time, but which one is going to show up and get stops in big moments? Oregon’s defense ranks No. 15 nationally in total defense (306.9 yards allowed per game) and Washington is all the way down at No. 96 (399.6). But stats be damned. Can the Huskies find ways to get off the field and keep this a one-score game in the fourth quarter to create a situation in which it has thrived all year?
The series
Washington leads 62-48-5, including a 36-33 win in October. Friday's game will be the first time they have met in Las Vegas.
Washington has won the past two meetings after Oregon won 15 of the previous 17.
Oregon won the first-ever meeting 43-0 in 1900.
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