Pac-12 Championship 2012: 10 Things We Learned from Stanford's Win vs. UCLA

The Stanford Cardinal won the 2012 Pac-12 Conference football championship over the UCLA Bruins in a 27-24 battle that went right down to the final minute.

The hometown Cardinal were challenged mightily by the South Division champion Bruins but won thanks to a late touchdown pass from quarterback Kevin Hogan to receiver Drew Terrell.

UCLA outgained Stanford but simply made a few too many mistakes in the contest, which spelled its demise in the end.

Now, Stanford will look forward to a Rose Bowl berth, where it will take on the winner of the Big Ten Conference title game.

Here's what else we learned from Stanford's title-worthy victory.

Stanford Is Going to the Rose Bowl

With its win, Stanford has clenched a berth in the 2013 Rose Bowl and will face the winner of the Big Ten Conference title game.

That game will kickoff at 8:17 p.m. EST on Saturday and will pit the Nebraska Huskers against the Wisconsin Badgers.

In other words, there will be a lot of red in the building for January's Rose Bowl.

The game will be Stanford's third consecutive BCS bowl, as the Cardinal are apparently looking to complete the unofficial BCS Grand Slam—they went to the Fiesta Bowl last season and the Orange Bowl the year before that.

Additionally, it will be the program's fourth consecutive bowl appearance.

The Cardinal Rule the Pac-12

After Stanford's loss at Washington in September, this moment looked like it may be out of reach.

The Cardinal continued on with underwhelming wins against Arizona, Cal and Washington State in league play.

However, close wins would soon become the motto of this team, as six of its nine Pac-12 wins have now come by a touchdown or less.

Ultimately, it was a road overtime victory over the then-No. 2 Oregon Ducks in mid-November that would seal Stanford's fate.

The Cardinal did it with defense all year long, and their second win over UCLA was no different.

Penalties Killed UCLA

UCLA had more than its fair share of chances to win this game, and Stanford even gave it a few more with some penalties of its own.

However, eight penalties for 73 yards were just too much for the Bruins to overcome. 

Of their eight fouls committed, only one resulted in a scoring drive for the Bruins.

These mistakes just killed the offensive rhythm for the Bruins, which put them in a hole against an already tough defensive opponent.

UCLA followed the game plan in almost every other facet, but these mistakes just killed its chances.

Stepfan Taylor New Leading Stanford Rusher

Stepfan Taylor ran for just 76 yards and averaged only 3.2 yards per carry. His performance was greatly overshadowed by a 200-yard day by UCLA's Johnathan Franklin.

However, the Stanford senior still became the new all-time leading rusher in school history in the win.

He has had a great career for the Cardinal, even though his impact was often overshadowed by the guy handing him the ball: Andrew Luck.

"

Congratulations to Stepfan Taylor (@kulabafi) for setting the all-time Stanford rushing record! #gostanford #Pac12FCG

— Stanford University (@Stanford) December 1, 2012"

Johnathan Franklin Leads UCLA in Rushing, All-Purpose Yardage

If UCLA had won, Johnathan Franklin certainly would have been named player of the game.

He was unstoppable all day, even though it wasn't quite enough in the end for the Bruins. He finished with 201 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 11.2 yards per carry.

The performance was enough for him to pass Bruin great Maurice Jones-Drew for the No. 1 all-time spot in school history for all-purpose yardage and to pass Karim Abdul-Jabbar for the top spot at UCLA in rushing.

"

Johnathan Franklin has now passed Maurice Jones-Drew's school record for most all-purpose yards in a career. #UCLAvsSTAN

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 1, 2012"

Brett Hundley Still Growing

Brett Hundley threw one big pick and then almost threw a couple more after that. He looked a bit skittish from that point on and was frustrated by the Stanford defense.

He also made some excellent plays with his legs and beautiful throws to show just how talented he is.

He's still growing as a player and will be very good in the future for UCLA—there's no doubt about that.

Under coach Jim Mora, he'll certainly have the guidance he needs to become a terror for Pac-12 defenses for some time to come.

UCLA Defense Solid

UCLA put together a great defensive performance.

The Bruins not only held Stepfan Taylor under 100 yards rushing, they held Kevin Hogan under 200 yards passing as well.

The Cardinal were just 6-of-15 on the third down, and much of that was thanks to the UCLA pass rush.

If it weren't for one miscommunication in the secondary, UCLA just might have won this game, thanks to a strong defensive effort.

Stanford Not out of Luck

Andrew Luck is gone now from Stanford, and the Cardinal have moved on well.

Not many people believed this team would have what it takes to win the Pac-12 without Luck, but they have done it.

It was thanks to a little luck and a broken coverage from UCLA, but Stanford still brought home the conference crown.

David Shaw proved that he can coach with the best of them, taking over for an NFL coach and beating another former NFL coach in Jim Mora.

UCLA Lacks Go-to Reciever

UCLA had eight different receivers haul in a pass from Brett Hundley on Friday night. 

However, none of them even went over 40 yards receiving.

None of them caught a single touchdown pass.

A few of them showed that they have some playmaking ability, but none broke through as the premier option in the offense.

This would really have helped the freshman quarterback to find more success, and if he is going to blossom in the future, he's going to need a serious elite target to throw to.

Stanford Also Lacks an Elite Reciever

Drew Terrell came up with the play of the game, finding himself wide open for pay dirt and what proved to be the game-deciding touchdown reception.

However, with just four receptions and 70 yards, its hard to call him an elite option.

Stanford's leading receiver in the offense is a tight end, Zach Ertz. As with Hundley, Kevin Hogan could also use a big-time target in his future.

He finished with just 150 yards passing and only three receivers over double-digits.

We know it can't be the senior Terrell who steps forward in the future, so who will be the go-to guy for the Cardinal next year?