Oregon States an Emphatic Case for the No. 1 Ranking in College Football Playoff

At halftime of the Pac-12 Championship Game, Oregon had two fewer points than Arizona—the nation’s No. 7 team coming in—had total yards. If only Aidan Schneider, the Ducks’ kicker, hadn't pushed that second-quarter field goal just right of the upright.

Oh, what could have been. 

Playing in front of a less-than-capacity crowd in less-than-ideal conditions on a less-than-ideal playing surface, Oregon took on an entirely different identity Friday night, pulverizing Arizona 51-13 at Levi's Stadium. The score was familiar in many ways, but the path to arrive there was unique for this particular program.

This was done with defense, first and foremost, which should terrify the teams still hoping to take care of their own business. Forget about just making the Top Four—that part’s a given for the Ducks after an eye-popping, perception-alerting performance. Suddenly the No. 1 seed is very much up for debate. 

Alabama, you're up.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Oregon showed flashes of its former self eventually, as you knew it would. But before it resumed breaking scoreboards with its soon-to-be-Heisman quarterback, it revealed to the football world it was capable of thriving in an ugly football game, a side the Ducks haven’t shown much of in recent years. 

At one point early in the second half, when Oregon added a touchdown to its 23-0 first-half lead and all but sealed the win, the total yardage for each team looked like some sort of remarkable glitch.

Oregon 429, Arizona 44.

It was correct, although this was a different kind of dissection. For a while, the nation’s most impressive high-octane offense struggled to find its footing, both literally and figuratively.

Quarterback Marcus Mariota missed on more than a handful of throws in the first half, and the offense was unable to take advantage of quality field position throughout.

The penalties mounted, the play-calling was conservative and halftime couldn’t have come soon enough. Everything looked out of sync for the Ducks, and yet, the game felt completely out of reach for Arizona. 

The forgotten piece of this team—the defense—put forth its most dominant performance of the year. The pass rush was fierce, and the Ducks’ front seven didn’t budge as Arizona tried to do anything to establish a rhythm. By the end of the evening, Rich Rodriguez had used three quarterbacks.

The Arizona coach said plenty without saying much following the game. After all, what else can be said? 

"

RichRod: "That wasn't a good night. Next."

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 6, 2014"

The neon machine then became fully operational in the second half, and Mariota returned to his same, ridiculous self before being pulled with more than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. There was no need for him to take another snap; the damage had been done. 

Despite the slow start, Mariota finished with 313 yards passing, 33 yards rushing and five touchdowns. Royce Freeman, the team’s freshman running back, totaled 114 yards on 21 carries.

Oregon got its revenge over the only team to top it this season. By beating Arizona, the Ducks secured a Pac-12 Championship, a Heisman (it’s coming) and a spot in the College Football Playoff. 

Now with the obvious and necessary out of the way, Oregon will wait and see if its performance was enough to jump from No. 2—the place it has gotten comfy at in recent weeks—to No. 1.

Since losing to Arizona back in early October, the Ducks have outscored their opponents 384-176. Even more convincing than the array of statistics working in their favor, however, is the teams they came against.

"

#Oregon's faced 4 Top 20 teams this year. #Ducks won all four by an average victory margin of 23 ppg.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 6, 2014"

Friday night reminded us of many things we already knew. The offense is spectacular, the quarterback is special and the system still works brilliantly. It also showcased that Oregon is much more than its star player, a narrative that has been tough to quiet. This, more than anything, could prove to be most valuable in the not-too-distant future.

Regardless of where the Ducks finish when the dust has settled and each team has concluded its schedule, the statement was made. The selection committee now has a new talking point to mull over beyond solving this pesky No. 4-seed conundrum. Hopefully the members of this group stayed up for the second half.

Whether its dominating, complete performance over Arizona is enough to put Oregon on the top of the playoff mountain, above Alabama, it pales in comparison to what matters most. This is not a team—regardless of seed—you want to play come New Year's.