Not a whole lot of shakeup in Week 12, not counting the No.7 Minnesota Gophers getting taken down, 23-19 by a tough Iowa Hawkeyes team, and the previously undefeated Baylor Bears squad dropping a 25-point lead to lose in the final moments to Jalen Hurts and the Oklahoma Sooners.
The college football odds for the Oregon Ducks against the Arizona Wildcats were huge; a 27.5 point spread. But the Oregon Ducks managed to cover that number and continue to make their case as a one-loss team that deserves some serious consideration for the No. 4 spot and a ticket to the College Football Playoffs.
So what do the Ducks have to do to make it to the post-postseason? With this win, the Ducks are now guaranteed the Pac-12 Title Game, likely against Utah. And the CFP committee has already said that because of conference strength, they will give preference to a one-loss Pac-12 champion over the Big 10. On top of this, it gets a little easier for the Ducks because of the unfortunate news regarding Tual Tagovoilova. Alabama’s star QB is out for the season – tanking NFL teams GMs and owners are all crying right now because tanking for Tua is now a worthless venture.
At this point, the Ducks are the only team in the Pac-12 who are undefeated in-conference. So what’s next for U of O? The Ducks have Arizona State next week and then finish the season out with the Civil War. We have to give a quick shout out to the Beavers for edging out the Arizona State Sun Devils.
With the way the Ducks are tracking, they will finish the regular season undefeated in the Pac-12 and face the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 Title Game. If they can win-out against one of the toughest defenses in Division I ball, the Ducks are likely to get the nod for the playoffs.
Could Arizona State or the Beavers Play Upsetter?
Oregon State bounced back after producing the worst offensive numbers in 26 years. This just goes to show how sorry the Arizona State defense is performing. So, it’s highly doubtful that Arizona State will play the role of upsetter. Especially with the fact that the Ducks defense now has six games holding teams to 10 points or fewer. The Sun Devils are not going to be able to get into a shootout with Justin Herbert and the Ducks offense with the way the Ducks D is playing.
As far as the Beavers are concerned, you never know. The Civil War is a rivalry game of rivalry games, but the Beavers have to come down the road to Autzen so the outlook is not so good for them in this situation. That said, they are No. 2 in the Pac-12 North and will be coming down to Eugene hungry for a win over their in-state rivals.
