2019 Pac-12 Football Championship Game

The 2019 Pac-12 Football Championship Game was a college football game played on Friday, December 6, 2019, at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, to determine the 2019 champion of the Pac-12 Conference.[3] The game featured the North division champions Oregon and the South division champions Utah, and was the conference's ninth championship game. This game was the last to be held at Levi's Stadium before the game moves to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas starting in 2020.[4] With sponsorship by the 76 chain of gas stations, the game was officially called the 2019 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, presented by 76.[5] Oregon won the game and the conference title by a score of 37–15.

2019 Pac-12 Football Championship Game
Conference Championship
Utah Utes Oregon Ducks (11–1) (10–2) 15 37 Head coach:  Kyle Whittingham Head coach:  Mario Cristobal AP Coaches CFP 5 5 5 AP Coaches CFP 13 13 13
1 2 3 4 Total Utah 0 0 15 0 15 Oregon 10 10 3 14 37
Date	December 6, 2019
Season	2019
Stadium	Levi's Stadium
Location	Santa Clara, CA
MVP	CJ Verdell[1]
Favorite	Utah by 6.5[2]
Referee	Steve Strimling
Attendance	38,679
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC ESPN Radio
Announcers	Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Molly McGrath (sideline) (ABC) Sean Kelley (play-by-play), Barrett Jones (analyst), Ian Fitzsimmons (sideline) (ESPN Radio)

2019 Pac-12 Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 5 Oregon x$		8	–	1					12	–	2
California		4	–	5					8	–	5
Washington		4	–	5					8	–	5
Oregon State		4	–	5					5	–	7
Washington State		3	–	6					6	–	7
Stanford		3	–	6					4	–	8
South Division
No. 16 Utah x		8	–	1					11	–	3
USC		7	–	2					8	–	5
Arizona State		4	–	5					8	–	5
UCLA		4	–	5					4	–	8
Colorado		3	–	6					5	–	7
Arizona		2	–	7					4	–	8
Championship: Oregon 37, Utah 15
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The 2018 Pac-12 Football Championship Game featured North Division champion Washington against South Division champion Utah in the conference's 8th edition of the game. The Huskies won in the game's lowest total scoring, 10–3.[6]

Teams

The 2019 Pac–12 Football Championship Game was contested by the Oregon Ducks, North Division champions, and the Utah Utes, South Division Champions. Oregon and Utah had met 32 times previously before this game, with Oregon holding a 22–10 advantage in the series. The two teams did not meet during the 2019 regular season.

Oregon

Oregon clinched its spot in the Championship Game after its November 16 win over Arizona.[7] This was Oregon's third overall appearance in the Championship Game, having won in their prior two appearances. This was Oregon's first appearance in the game since 2014, the year when the Ducks made their way into the first ever College Football Playoff and to the National Championship Game.[8] Oregon had a 10–2 regular season record in 2019, and was 8–1 in Pac-12 play. The Ducks were designated as the home team, based on the two teams' record over the their best common opponent, USC (Oregon won while Utah lost).[9]

Utah

Utah secured its spot in the Championship Game with its November 30 win over Colorado.[10] This was Utah's second appearance in the Championship Game, having also appeared the year prior. Utah entered the game with an 11–1 record, and 8–1 in Pac-12 play.

Game summary

2019 Pac-12 Football Championship Game

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Oregon	10	10	3	14	37
No. 5 Utah	0	0	15	0	15

at Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, California

• Date: Friday, December 6, 2019
• Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST (5:00 p.m. PST)
• Game attendance: 38,679
• Referee: Steve Strimling
• TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Molly McGrath (sideline)
• ESPN game summary

Game information

First Quarter (8:00) ORE – CJ Verdell 3 yard rush, Camden Lewis kick (Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 3:43; Oregon 7–0) (4:17) ORE – Camden Lewis 23 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 56 yards, 2:43; Oregon 10–0) Second Quarter (11:02) ORE – Justin Herbert 45 yard pass to Johnny Johnson III, Camden Lewis kick (Drive: 3 plays, 70 yards, 1:10; Oregon 17–0) (4:56) ORE – Camden Lewis 30 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 57 yards, 4:03; Oregon 20–0) Third Quarter (10:52) UTAH – Tyler Huntley 24 yard pass to Zack Moss, Jadon Redding kick (Drive: 6 plays, 53 yards, 2:27; Oregon 20–7) (4:56) ORE – Camden Lewis 25 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 43 yards, 2:49; Oregon 23–7) (1:13) UTAH – Tyler Huntley 25 yard pass to Samson Nacua, 2-point pass good (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:43; Oregon 23–15) Fourth Quarter (7:09) ORE – CJ Verdell 70 yard rush, Camden Lewis kick (Drive: 5 plays, 90 yards, 2:19; Oregon 30–15) (2:33) ORE – CJ Verdell 31 yard rush, Camden Lewis kick (Drive: 2 plays, 35 yards, 0:49; Oregon 37–15)

Statistics

Statistics ORE UTAH First downs 19 18 Plays–yards 67–432 64–309 Rushes–yards 41–239 35–116 Passing yards 193 193 Passing: Comp–Att–Int 14–26–0 17–29–2 Time of possession 29:20 30:40

Team Category Player Statistics Oregon Passing Justin Herbert 14/26, 193 yards, 1 TD Rushing CJ Verdell 18 carries, 208 yards, 3 TD Receiving Johnny Johnson III 6 receptions, 87 yards, 1 TD Utah Passing Tyler Huntley 17/29, 193 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT Rushing Zack Moss 19 carries, 113 yards Receiving Zack Moss 4 receptions, 57 yards

Utah received the opening kickoff, but their first drive ended in a turnover on downs at the Oregon 33 yard line. Oregon scored on their first possession with a three-yard run by CJ Verdell. They took a 10–0 lead on the next possession with a 23-yard field goal by Camden Lewis. Early in the second quarter, the Ducks extended the lead with a 45-yard touchdown pass from Justin Herbert to Johnny Johnson III. Camden Lewis converted another field goal, from 30 yards out, to make the score 20–0 Oregon at half-time.

Oregon received the second half kickoff, but was forced to punt after a three-and-out. On Utah's first possession, they scored their first points of the day via a 24-yard touchdown pass from Tyler Huntley to Zack Moss. Oregon added three points with a 25-yard field goal by Lewis. Late in the third quarter, Utah scored again with a 25-yard touchdown pass from Huntley to Samson Nacua, and converted a two-point conversion from Huntley to Nacua to make the score 23–15. In the fourth quarter, Oregon put the game out of reach with two long touchdown runs by CJ Verdell, the first a 70-yard run, and the second a 31-yard run. Oregon wound down the remaining seconds to win by a score of 37–15.[11]

CJ Verdell ran for 208 yards and three touchdowns and was named game MVP.[1]

Aftermath

Oregon, who had been ranked 13th heading into the game, moved up to sixth in the final College Football Playoff rankings, and received a bid to the Rose Bowl against Big Ten runner-up Wisconsin, where they won 28–27. Utah moved down from fifth to 11th and received a bid to play Texas in the Alamo Bowl, where they lost 10–38.

References

1. Allen, Trevor (December 6, 2019). "Trench Play Cost Utah Pac-12 Championship". KSL Sports.
2. "Utah vs. Oregon - Game Summary - December 6, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
3. "Pac-12 Football Championship Game". Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
4. Bolch, Ben (July 24, 2019). "The Pac-12's football championship game is headed for Las Vegas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
5. "Pac-12 Networks on site at Levi's® Stadium for pre and postgame coverage of 2019 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, presented by 76, between No. 5 Utah and No. 13 Oregon". pac-12.com. December 3, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
6. "No. 10 Washington beats No. 17 Utah 10-3 for Pac-12 title". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 30, 2018.
7. Martini, Pete (November 16, 2019). "Oregon Ducks clinch Pac-12 North, but how good is their case for the playoff?". Statesman Journal.
8. Thorburn, Ryan. "Oregon Ducks football clinches Pac-12 North Division with win over Arizona Wildcats". The Register-Guard. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
9. "Pac-12 Football Championship Game tiebreaker explanation". Pac-12.com. August 26, 2017.
10. "Utah clinches Pac-12 South, will meet Oregon in Pac-12 Football Championship Game". pac-12.com. November 30, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
11. "No. 13 Oregon ends No. 5 Utah's playoff hopes with 37-15 win". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 6, 2019.