2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game

The 2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game (branded as the Pac-12 Football Championship Game presented by 76 for sponsorship reasons)[2] was a college football game played on Friday, December 18, 2020, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to determine the 2020 champion of the Pac-12 Conference.[3] The game featured the North division's then second place Oregon and the South division champions USC, and is the conference's tenth championship game. Washington, the North division champion, was unable to participate due to having insufficient players available.[4]

2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game
Conference championship
Oregon Ducks USC Trojans
(3–2) (5–0)
31 24
Head coach: 
Mario Cristobal		 Head coach: 
Clay Helton
APCoachesCFP
131313
1234 Total
Oregon 14773 31
USC 7737 24
DateDecember 18, 2020
Season2020
StadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
LocationLos Angeles, CA
MVPKayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon
FavoriteUSC by 3
RefereeChris Coyte
Attendance1
United States TV coverage
NetworkFox
ESPN Radio
AnnouncersFox: Joe Davis (play-by-play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst)
ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley (play-by-play) and Barrett Jones (analyst)
2020 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
North Division
Washington x  3 –1     3 –1  
Stanford  4 –2     4 –2  
Oregon y$  3 –2     4 –3  
California  1 –3     1 –3  
Washington State  1 –3     1 –3  
Oregon State  2 –5     2 –5  
South Division
No. 21 USC xy  5 –0     5 –1  
Colorado  3 –1     4 –2  
Utah  3 –2     3 –2  
Arizona State  2 –2     2 –2  
UCLA  3 –4     3 –4  
Arizona  0 –5     0 –5  
Championship: Oregon 31, USC 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
  • Note: Due to COVID-19, the Pac-12 suspended the season on August 11, but later decided to begin play on November 6. In addition to the title game on December 18, the conference seeded all remaining teams for a game during that weekend.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll.

This game was originally to be held at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, as part of a new two-year deal. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the game was pulled from Las Vegas,[5] and was instead hosted at the home stadium of USC.[3]

Previous season

The 2019 Pac-12 Football Championship Game featured North Division champion Oregon against South Division champion Utah in the conference's 9th edition of the game. The Ducks won, 37–15.[6]

Teams

The 2020 Pac–12 Football Championship Game featured the Oregon Ducks, then second place in the North Division, and the USC Trojans, South Division champions. Oregon and USC had met 61 times previously before this game, with USC holding a 38–21–1 advantage in the series.[7] The two teams did not meet during the 2020 regular season.

Oregon
Main article: 2020 Oregon Ducks football team

Oregon was selected to represent the North Division after division winner Washington did not have the minimum number of scholarship players available to participate in the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] The week before, Washington had to cancel its game against Oregon for the same reason.[8] This marks Oregon's fourth overall appearance in the Pac-12 championship game, having won in all three of their prior appearances. The Ducks are the defending Pac-12 champions, having defeated Utah in the 2019 title game. Oregon enters the contest with a 3–2 record.

USC
Main article: 2020 USC Trojans football team

USC secured its spot in the game with its December 13 win over UCLA.[9] This is USC's third appearance in the championship game, having last appeared the 2017 game. USC entered the game with an 5–0 record in the regular season and in Pac-12 play. The Trojans were designated as the home team, based on their better overall record.

Game summary
2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game presented by 76
1 2 34Total
Oregon 14 7 7331
No. 13 USC 7 7 3724

at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA

  • Date: Friday, December 18, 2020
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. EST (5:00 p.m. PST)
  • Game weather: Temperature: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind: NW at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) • Weather: Sunny, Clear, Humidity at 51%
  • Game attendance: 1 (Behind closed doors)
  • Referee: Chris Coyte
  • TV announcers (Fox): Joe Davis (play-by-play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst)
Game information
First quarter
  • (13:49) ORE – Jaylon Redd 2 yard pass from Anthony Brown, Henry Katleman kick (Drive: 3 plays, 9 yards, 0:46; Oregon 7–0)
  • (7:14) ORE – Hunter Kampmoyer 14 yard pass from Tyler Shough, Henry Katleman kick (Drive: 3 plays, 32 yards, 1:25; Oregon 14–0)
  • (0:50) USC – Amon-Ra St. Brown 47 yard pass from Kedon Slovis, Parker Lewis kick (Drive: 7 plays, 87 yards, 2:46; Oregon 14–7)
Second quarter
  • (9:45) ORE – DJ Johnson 16 yard pass from Tyler Shough, Henry Katleman kick (Drive: 4 plays, 41 yards, 1:53; Oregon 21–7)
  • (4:35) USC – Markese Stepp 1 yard rush, Parker Lewis kick (Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 5:04; Oregon 21–14)
Third quarter
  • (7:20) ORE – Travis Dye 4 yard pass from Tyler Shough, Henry Katleman kick (Drive: 14 plays, 83 yards, 7:40; Oregon 28–14)
  • (2:28) USC – Parker Lewis 21 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 76 yards, 4:44; Oregon 28–17)
Fourth quarter
  • (10:26) ORE – Henry Katleman 40 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 58 yards, 6:00; Oregon 31–17)
  • (6:16) USC – Bru McCoy 4 yard pass from Kedon Slovis, Parker Lewis kick (Drive: 12 plays, 60 yards, 4:02; Oregon 31–24)

Statistics
StatisticsOREUSC
First downs1625
Plays–yards60–24380–358
Rushes–yards41–13528–38
Passing yards108320
Passing: Comp–Att–Int11–19–128–52–3
Time of possession30:4629:14
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
OregonPassingTyler Shough8/15, 91 yards 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingTravis Dye11 carries, 55 yards
ReceivingDJ Johnson2 receptions, 27 yards, 1 TD
USCPassingKedon Slovis28/52, 320 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
RushingStephen Carr12 carries, 40 yards
ReceivingBru McCoy6 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD

See also

References
  1. Pac-12 Conference. "Pac-12 announces resumption of football, basketball & winter sports seasons". Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  2. "Pac-12 extends and expands major sponsorship with 76® | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Today the Pac-12 and 76® announced a multi-year extension of the Conference's football title game presenting sponsorship. With the announcement, the leading retail gas brand will continue as presenting sponsor of the Pac-12 Football Championship Game through the 2023 event.
  3. "Washington to face USC in 2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, presented by 76". Pac-12 Conference. Retrieved December 12, 2020. The Conference title game will take place as a home-hosted model this season with USC earning the home game for United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
  4. "Pac-12 statement on Washington at USC Pac-12 Football Championship Game". Pac 12 Conference. December 14, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020. This decision was made under the Pac-12’s football game cancellation policy and Football Championship Game policy due to Washington neither having the minimum 53 scholarship student-athletes available for the game nor the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes at a position group, in each case as a result of a number of positive football student-athlete COVID-19 cases and resulting isolation of additional football student-athletes under contact tracing protocols.
  5. Seeman, Matthew (July 31, 2020). "Pac-12 pulls 2020 football championship out of Las Vegas". News 3 Las Vegas. Sinclair Broadcast Group. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  6. "No. 13 Oregon ends No. 5 Utah's playoff hopes with 37-15 win". ESPN.com. Associated Press. December 6, 2019.
  7. "Oregon Football 2019 Game Notes - Game 9 - at USC" (PDF). University of Oregon. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  8. "Pac-12 statement regarding Washington at Oregon football game | Pac-12". pac-12.com. After consultation with Washington, the Pac-12 Conference announced the game involving Washington at Oregon scheduled for Saturday, December 12 has been cancelled. This decision was made under the Pac-12’s football game cancellation policy due to Washington not having the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes available for the game due to a number of positive football student-athlete COVID-19 cases and resulting isolation of additional football student-athletes under contact tracing protocols. Under Conference policy, the game will be declared a no contest.
  9. "6-Points: USC 43, UCLA 38". December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
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