The word usual is an adjective that means habitually or typically occurring or done and also customary. This year’s Pac-12 Championship game will not be of the usual, as the #9 Colorado Buffaloes (10-2) take on #4 Washington Huskies (11-1).
No, neither Oregon, Stanford or USC will be in the conference title game as a champion and that’s a first since 2008. Change is good as both these teams come ranked in the top ten. Washington could potentially sneak into the college football playoffs if the Big Ten doesn’t get two teams into the four-team playoff contention.
Despite the lack of strength in their schedule, the Huskies look to be the favorite to take the Pac-12 title especially since the North are 5-0 in league title games since 2011. As for the Buffaloes, they haven’t had a winning record since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. It’s safe to say both teams want this.
Colorado comes into this championship game with a well-balanced veteran team and a Pac-12 Coach of the Year, Mike MacIntyre. MacIntyre has taken this team from a 1-8 to 8-1 conference play in just one season, which says a lot and is the reason for their current success. The Buffaloes’ defense is ranked 13th nationally in total defense and scoring defense. Two highlighted players to look out for are cornerback Chidobe Awuzie and safety Tedric Thompson.
Awuzie has 54 tackles, 10 pass deflections and nine career sacks with four coming this season alone. Thompson has tied his school record for most interceptions in a season totaling at seven. The offense averages 34.8 points per game with the help of quarterback Sefo Liufau who has motivated this offense.
Liufau has thrown for 2,150 yards completing over 60 percent of his passes with only three interceptions. He even adds 483 rushing yards to his totals in the season. The head coach of the Huskies, Chris Petersen, knows Liufau is someone you must keep your eye on.
“They [Colorado] keep their offense in third and manageable situations and then they spread you out and he keeps it,” Petersen said. “He’s tough and big and strong. He’ll put his pads down, and you look up and he’s got three yards or he’s got four yards by tough running.”
Colorado’s only two losses were both in games where Liufau didn’t play due to injury, USC, and Michigan.
The Huskies are ranked third nationally in scoring averaging 44.8 points per game. They lead the conference in touchdowns and points scored. At the helm is the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Jake Browning, who has 40 touchdown passes this season. Wide receivers John Ross and Dante Pettis have combined 30 of his 40 scoring touchdowns, 16 for Ross and 14 for Pettis.
MacIntyre talked about the offensive dominance of the Huskies and what they offer.
“Their quarterback [Browning] is extremely accurate, he said. “Myles Gaskins and John Ross are just so fast and explosive, Pettis catches everything and their offensive line is good. I’d call it a precise, efficient offense with big-play capabilities.”
Washington’s defense has also allowed the fewest rushing yards of any team in their conference adding 16 interceptions tied for 10th in the country.
Two teams not normally talked about especially for a conference title will meet Friday night in Santa Clara, California to decide the Pac-12 champion. Of course as mentioned before they’re not the “usual” that you would expect in games like this, but then again change is always good.
