Tonight, No. 5 Oregon and No. 3 Washington will square off in the Pac-12 Championship. The winner of this game will almost certainly clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Washington enters this Friday’s conference title game with a perfect 12-0 record. With a second win over Oregon, the CFP selection committee would have to either keep Washington at No. 3 or bump the program up a spot. There’s no way the Huskies would fall outside of the top four.
Oregon, on the other hand, has an 11-1 record thus far. That only loss was on the road against Washington. If the Ducks avenge that loss to the Huskies, they should – at the very least – move up to the No. 4 spot in the CFP rankings.
It’s also important to note the Pac-12 has been awfully competitive this season. Both the Ducks and Huskies have notable wins all over their résume.
(6) Oregon will face (4) Washington in the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday, Dec. 1.
📺: ABC at 8:00pm ET / 5:00pm PT pic.twitter.com/VfgXKNUhY5
— FBSchedules.com (@FBSchedules) November 25, 2023
The Pac-12 Championship could very well come down to which quarterback has the ball last. Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. have been outstanding this season, so we shouldn’t expect that to change now.
Oddsmakers have Oregon as a 9.5-point favorite for this matchup. Washington could use that betting line as fuel, albeit the chance to play for a spot in the CFP should provide more than enough motivation.
Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.