Pac-12 Football Championship Game

The Pac-12 Football Championship Game is an annual college football game held by the Pac-12 Conference to determine the season's conference champion. The game pits the champion of the North Division against the champion of the South Division. The inaugural game was held during the 2011 season.[3]

Pac-12 Conference Football Championship Game
Conference Football Championship
Championship Game Logo
SportFootball
ConferencePac-12 Conference
Played2011–present
Last contest2020
Current championOregon
Most championshipsOregon (4)
TV partner(s)Fox (2011, even years)
ESPN/ABC (odd years)
Sponsors
76 (2016–present)[1]
Host stadiums
– North division
– South division
– Championship Game site

The game is scheduled to be played in Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada through 2022.[4] In 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the game will be hosted at the home stadium of the division winner with the better conference record, which is the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. From 2014 to 2019, the game was played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.[2] The first three editions were also held at the home stadium of the division winner with the better conference record: Autzen Stadium in 2011, Stanford Stadium in 2012, and Sun Devil Stadium in 2013. The game is usually held on the first Friday following the conclusion of the regular season.

The winner of the game is awarded the Pac-12 Conference's automatic berth in the Rose Bowl Game, unless the team is selected to play in the College Football Playoff (CFP), or in seasons where the Rose Bowl hosts a CFP semifinal.

Television broadcast rights to the game are shared by Fox Sports in even years and ESPN in most odd years, with ESPN carrying the 2019 edition over-the-air on ABC. ESPN Radio holds the radio rights.[5]

History
See also: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment: Pac-10

In 2011, the Pacific-10 Conference added Colorado and Utah, bringing the membership total to 12 teams and becoming the Pac-12. Consequently, the conference split into two six-team divisions and created an annual conference championship game.

In the first season of the newly expanded Pac-12 in 2011, USC finished first in the South Division with a 7–2 conference record but was ineligible to play in postseason games due to NCAA sanctions. UCLA (5–4) represented the South Division in the inaugural Pac-12 Football Championship Game as its second-place team.[6] Oregon represented the North Division and defeated UCLA to become the conference's first football champion to be determined by a championship game.

Through the 2019 season, 9 of the 12 conference members have appeared in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game. All six teams of the South Division have made at least one appearance, while only Oregon, Stanford, and Washington have represented the North Division. The North Division representatives won the first six contests and have a 9–1 overall record in the series through the 2020 season.

Broadcast rights to the game are held by ESPN and Fox Sports on a 12-year deal that began in 2012, where the rights alternate between ESPN in odd years and Fox in even years. Fox broadcast the inaugural game in 2011.[7][8]

Team selection criteria

Division standings are based on each team's overall conference record. In the event that two teams finish in a tie for first place, the championship game berth goes to the winner of the season's head-to-head contest between the two teams. If three or more teams are tied, the following tiebreakers are used to determine the division champion:[9]

  • The following procedures will only be used to eliminate all but two teams, at which point the two-team tie-breaking procedure, head-to-head result, will be applied.
  1. Head-to-head (best record in games among the tied teams).
  2. Record in games played within the division.
  3. Record against the next highest placed team in the division (based on record in all Conference games, both divisional and cross-divisional), proceeding through the division.
  4. Record in common Conference games.
  5. Highest ranking in the SportSource Analytics poll entering the final weekend of the regular season.

Home/away designation

The designated "home" and "away" teams are selected using a similar procedure:[9]

  • The division champion with the best conference record is designated as the home team. If the two teams are tied, the following criteria are considered.
  1. Head-to-head result, if applicable
  2. Record against the next highest placed common opponent in the conference (based on the record in all conference games), proceeding through the conference
  3. Record in common conference games
  4. Highest ranking in the SportSource Analytics poll following the final weekend of regular season games
  5. Coin toss

Results

Results by year

Below are the results from all Pac-12 Football Championship Games played. The winning team appears in bold font, on a background of their primary team color. Rankings are from the AP Poll released prior to the game.

Year North Division South Division Site Date Attendance MVP Ref.
2011 No. 8 Oregon Ducks 49 UCLA Bruins 31 Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR December 2 59,376 RB LaMichael James, Oregon [10]
2012 No. 8 Stanford Cardinal 27 No. 17 UCLA Bruins 24 Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA November 30 31,622 QB Kevin Hogan, Stanford [11]
2013 No. 7 Stanford Cardinal 38 No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils 14 Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ December 7 69,535 RB Tyler Gaffney, Stanford [12]
2014 No. 3 Oregon Ducks 51 No. 8 Arizona Wildcats 13 Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, CA December 5 45,618 QB Marcus Mariota, Oregon [13]
2015 No. 7 Stanford Cardinal 41 No. 24 USC Trojans 22 December 5 58,476 RB Christian McCaffrey, Stanford [14]
2016 No. 4 Washington Huskies 41 No. 9 Colorado Buffaloes 10 December 2 47,118 S Taylor Rapp, Washington [15]
2017 No. 14 Stanford Cardinal 28 No. 11 USC Trojans 31 December 1 48,031 QB Sam Darnold, USC [16]
2018 No. 11 Washington Huskies 10 No. 17 Utah Utes 3 November 30 35,134 CB Byron Murphy, Washington [17]
2019 No. 13 Oregon Ducks 37 No. 5 Utah Utes 15 December 6 38,679 RB CJ Verdell, Oregon [18]
2020 Oregon Ducks^ 31 No. 13 USC Trojans 24 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA December 18 0 DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon [19]
In 2011, UCLA, the second-place team in the South Division, played in place of USC, who was ineligible to participate due to NCAA sanctions.
^ In 2020, Oregon represented the North Division due to COVID-19 issues in Washington's program.

Results by team
Appearances School Wins Losses Pct. Titles Runners-up
4 [[Oregon Ducks football|Oregon]] 4 0 1.000 2011, 2014, 2019, 2020  
4 [[Stanford Cardinal football|Stanford]] 3 1 .750 2012, 2013, 2015 2017
3 [[USC Trojans football|USC]] 1 2 .333 2017 2015, 2020
2 [[Washington Huskies football|Washington]] 2 0 1.000 2016, 2018  
2 [[UCLA Bruins football|UCLA]] 0 2 .000   2011, 2012
2 [[Utah Utes football|Utah]] 0 2 .000   2018, 2019
1 [[Arizona Wildcats football|Arizona]] 0 1 .000   2014
1 [[Arizona State Sun Devils football|Arizona State]] 0 1 .000   2013
1 [[Colorado Buffaloes football|Colorado]] 0 1 .000   2016

California, Oregon State and Washington State have not appeared in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game.

Site selection criteria

During its first three years, the site of the Pac-12 Championship Game was the home stadium of the division champion with the superior overall conference record. In the event that the two division champions were tied, the head-to-head record would be used as the tiebreaker. If the two teams did not meet during the season, a BCS component was to be used.

After three years of the home-hosting model, the Pac-12 announced a three-year deal to host the game at the neutral site of Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.[20] In 2017, the Pac-12 announced it would keep the game at Levi's Stadium through 2019 with an option for 2020.[21]

On July 24, 2019, it was announced that Allegiant Stadium, then under the working name Las Vegas Stadium, would host the Pac-12 Championship Game starting in 2020.[22]

On October 3, 2020, the Pac-12 announced that the 2020 Pac-12 Championship Game would revert to the original home-hosting model due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the 2021 game starting the two-year run at Allegiant Stadium.[23]

Game records

Team Record, Team vs. Opponent Year
Most points scored 51, Oregon vs. Arizona 2014
Most points scored (losing team) 31, UCLA vs. Oregon 2011
Most points scored (both teams) 80, Oregon vs. UCLA 2011
Fewest points allowed 3, Washington vs. Utah 2018
Largest margin of victory 38, Oregon vs. Arizona 2014
Total yards 627, Oregon vs. Arizona 2014
Rushing yards 352, Oregon vs. UCLA 2011
Passing yards 326, Oregon vs. Arizona 2014
First downs 31, Oregon vs. Arizona 2014
Fewest yards allowed 188, Washington vs. Utah 2018
Fewest rushing yards allowed 38, Oregon vs. USC 2020
Fewest passing yards allowed 81, Washington vs. Colorado 2016
Individual Record, Player, Team vs. Opponent Year
All-purpose yards461, Christian McCaffrey, Stanford vs. USC2015
Touchdowns (passing and scoring)5, Marcus Mariota, Oregon vs. Arizona2014
Touchdowns (scoring) 3, CJ Verdell, Oregon vs. Utah;

Marcus Mariota, Oregon vs. Arizona;

Tyler Gaffney, Stanford vs. Arizona State

LaMichael James, Oregon vs. UCLA

 2019

2014

2013

2011

Rushing attempts
Rushing yards219, LaMichael James, Oregon vs. UCLA2011
Rushing touchdowns3, CJ Verdell, Oregon vs. Utah;

Marcus Mariota, Oregon vs. Arizona;

Tyler Gaffney, Stanford vs. Arizona State;

LaMichael James, Oregon vs. UCLA

 2019

2014

2013

2011

Passing yards325, Sam Darnold, USC vs. Stanford2017
Passing touchdowns3, Darron Thomas, Oregon vs. UCLA2011
Receptions11, JuJu Smith-Schuster, USC vs. Stanford2015
Receiving yards146, Michael Pittman Jr., USC vs. Stanford2017
Receiving touchdowns2, Nelson Rosario, UCLA vs. Oregon
2, Kaden Smith, Stanford vs. USC		2011
2017
Tackles19, Kenneth Olugbode, Colorado vs. Washington2016
Sacks2.5, Kayvon Thibodeaux, Oregon vs. Utah2019
Interceptions2, Jamal Hill, Oregon vs. USC
2, Byron Murphy, Washington vs. Utah
Taylor Rapp, Washington vs. Colorado		 2020

2018

2016

Long plays Record, Player, Team vs. opponent Year
Touchdown run70, CJ Verdell, Oregon vs. Utah2019
Touchdown pass65, Taylor Kelly to D. J. Foster, Arizona State vs. Stanford2013
Kickoff return48, Phillip Lindsay, Colorado vs. Washington;

Anthony Julmisse, Colorado vs. Washington

 2016
Punt return31, Christian McCaffrey, Stanford vs. USC2015
Interception return80, Ed Reynolds, Stanford vs. UCLA2012
Fumble return
Punt62, Tristan Vizcaino, Washington vs. Colorado2016
Field goal53, Matt Gay, Utah vs. Washington2018

See also

References
  1. "Pac-12 names 76® as the presenting sponsor of its Football Championship Game" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. October 3, 2016.
  2. Fischer, Bryan (May 14, 2014). "Pac-12 to move football championship game to Levi's Stadium". NFL. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  3. "Additional Pac-12 2011 Football Telecast Windows Announced". Pacific-10 Conference. June 1, 2011. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  4. "Pac-12 approves 2020 football schedule & for fall sports". Allegiant Stadium. July 31, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  5. Chozet, Tara (August 31, 2016). "ESPN Radio's 2016-17 Regular College Football Schedule Kicks off with Two Top-25 Matchups" (Press release). ESPN MediaZone.
  6. Miller, Ted (November 26, 2011). "What do we call UCLA?". ESPN. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  7. "Fox Sports To Televise Inaugural Pac-12 Football Championship Game". Pacific-10 Conference. January 6, 2011. Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  8. "Pac-12 Announces Landmark Media Rights Deal With ESPN, Fox Sports Media Group". Pacific-10 Conference. May 4, 2011. Archived from the original on June 21, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  9. "Pac-12 Football Championship Game tiebreaker explanation" (Press release). Pac-12 Network Newsroom. June 9, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
  10. "UCLA vs. Oregon - Game Summary - December 2, 2011 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  11. "UCLA vs. Stanford - Game Summary - November 30, 2012 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  12. "Stanford vs. Arizona State - Game Summary - December 7, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  13. "Arizona vs. Oregon - Game Summary - December 5, 2014 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  14. "USC vs. Stanford - Game Summary - December 5, 2015 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  15. "Colorado vs. Washington - Game Summary - December 2, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  16. "Stanford vs. USC - Game Summary - December 1, 2017 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  17. "Utah vs. Washington - Game Summary - November 30, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  18. "Utah vs. Oregon - Game Summary - December 9, 2019 - ESPN". ESPN.com.
  19. "Oregon holds off USC late, grabs Pac-12 title with 31-24 win". ESPN.com. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  20. Wilner, Jon (May 19, 2014). "Pac-12 football: The title game moves to Levi's Stadium". Bay Area News Group.
  21. "Pac-12 announces agreement with Levi's Stadium to continue hosting Football Championship Game" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. July 26, 2017.
  22. Bolch, Ben (July 24, 2019). "The Pac-12's football championship game is headed for Las Vegas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  23. "Pac-12 announces 2020 football schedule | Pac-12". pac-12.com. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
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