There is a lot of football still to be played in the month of November, but it's not to early to start dreaming of great match-ups in the Pac-12 Championship game. As it stands right now, it looks like the Oregon Ducks and the Arizona State Sun Devils will be challenging for the crown in the Pac-12. I, for one, would not be disappointed in that scenario playing out.
For one, they are the two hottest teams in the conference. They are winning the games they are supposed to win and stepping up and winning games that have a higher quality opponents. For example, the Ducks step up and beat a very talented Michigan State team in the third game of the season at home. I still think that the Ducks win that game even if the game was in East Lansing. The Ducks also go down to Pasadena and beat the hell out of the Bruins. That game was a showcase for the Ducks star quarterback Marcus Mariotta. He beat the Bruins threw the air and with his legs combining for four touchdowns in that game. It was a Heisman type of game for him. Finally, they got rid of the Stanford curse. The Cardinal had bullied the Ducks the last couple of years, but Mariotta was not going to let his team lose a third game in a row. They showed Stanford who was the better team this year. Game was not even close. So for right now, the Ducks and their fans are starting to whisper about a trip to Santa Clara for the conference championship.
The Devils are doing things a little more unconventional. Winning with a back-up quarterback, a Hail Merry pass, win in overtime, and winning with their defense. They started this run with their back-up quarterback, Mike Bercovici. What did this kid do? All he did was lead the Devils to wins over USC, which was won on the Hail Merry at the end of the game, Colorado, and a thrashing of Stanford. They showed the Cardinal that speed can beat brawn. That was the game everybody stood up and took notice of the Sun Devils because of the impressive nature of the win. Bercovici was throwing for 300 and 400 yard games as a replacement for Taylor Kelly. Against Utah, they grind out a win in overtime despite giving up a lot of yards on the ground to the Utes, and finally, they are winning with this flying around, in your face kind of defense. The defense took passes to the end zone this past weekend against a highly touted and ranked Notre Dame team. Very impressive defense in Tempe right now.
The thing that builds up this match up is that these two teams do not play each other during the regular season. Both teams have speed at the skill positions and on defense. I would give an edge to the Ducks at the quarterback position because Marcus Mariotta is simply that good. He may be the first quarterback off the board in May's NFL Draft. The O-Line for both is a wash to me because there have been injuries and both teams are getting players back slowly to shore up the offensive line. Defensively, I like the Devils. They are flying around, smacking people in the face with a little attitude. Coaches always say to football players: "Go play with bad intentions." That is what the ASU defense is playing like. The Sun Devils have bad intentions when they step on the field.
In the end, I see the Ducks winning by like a touchdown or field goal. I think Mariotta makes a big difference. However, I could also see the Devils winning by the same amount. I'll go with the Ducks if this match up happens, but this would be an unbelievable match up to watch. Here is to hoping that we get a game the whole Pac-12 would want to watch.
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