Arizona Wildcats vs. Oregon Ducks Complete Pac-12 Title Game Preview

Muhammad Ali once said, “If you lose a big fight, it will worry you all of your life. It will plague you—until you get your revenge.”

The second-ranked Oregon Ducks (11-1, 8-1) have lost two consecutive battles to the Arizona Wildcats (10-2, 7-2). Now, with the Pac-12 title and more on the line, the Ducks have a chance at revenge.

Not only will the Ducks and Wildcats be meeting for the third time in the last 13 months, they’ll be playing in a third state. The Ducks are hoping that California brings them a little bit of luck and that the third time is a charm against Arizona.

There are a multitude of reasons why Oregon has been unable to overcome Arizona over the past two seasons.

Yes, injuries to quarterback Marcus Mariota in 2013 and to left tackle Jake Fisher in 2014 played a part in each loss. However, Rich Rodriguez and his coaching staff deserve a ton of credit for out-coaching Mark Helfrich and company.

Helfrich has been the head coach at Oregon for 25 games. His overall record of 22-3 is absolutely spectacular. However, Helfrich is 22-1 against teams not coached by Rodriguez. He’s 0-2 against the former Michigan and West Virginia head coach.

There’s no doubt that the Oregon players and coaches want to score a huge win over the team that has handed them their past two losses.

Those losses obviously still sting. However, the Ducks are playing for something bigger: a Heisman Trophy, a birth in the College Football Playoff and a shot at a national title.

With a win over the Wildcats, by any score, the Ducks will likely secure a spot in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, and Mariota will have clinched the first Heisman Trophy in school history.

Everything is at stake come Friday night in Santa Clara. All of the chips are on the table. There’s no going back.

Here’s what you need to know:

Date: Friday, Dec. 5

Time: 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET

Place: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

TV: FOX

Line: Oregon (-14), according to Odds Shark

Preview

Bleacher Report breaks down the Pac-12 Championship game between Oregon and Arizona. 

Oregon Keys to Victory

Steve Dykes/Associated Press

Win the Line of Scrimmage

While injuries have certainly contributed to Oregon’s failures against Arizona, it has been the lack of success at the line of scrimmage that has really held the Ducks back.

Offensively, Oregon’s offensive line has struggled with injuries all season. However, it has looked solid over the past seven weeks since Fisher returned to the lineup. The Ducks will need to keep Mariota upright and give him time to make plays with both his arm and legs.

Defensively, the Ducks have allowed Arizona to rush for an average of 258 yards per game in their previous two meetings. Oregon ranks No. 56 in the country in rushing defense, and the Wildcats rank No. 44 in rushing offense.

On paper, this should be a relatively even matchup; however, the Wildcats have had success on the ground against Oregon and will look to exploit that matchup once again.

Arizona has two very talented running backs in Nick Wilson and Terris Jones-Grigsby. While Wilson has done most of the damage out of the backfield this season, it was Jones-Grigsby who tore up the Ducks in October when he gained 210 total yards and scored a touchdown.

Oregon's defensive linemen will have a big challenge on their hands as they prepare to face Arizona's massive offensive line. 

“Huge on the edges, huge tackles," Helfrich said in his Pac-12 Championship teleconference. "I don't know what those guys are listed as, but they're ginormous. And they can move. They do a great job with the run-pass stuff.”

Oregon will need to win at the point of attack on both sides of the ball in order to finally take down Arizona.

Play Like a Champion

This may be Notre Dame’s philosophy, but the Ducks would be wise to steal that phrase for the Pac-12 title game.

The Ducks are significantly better than Arizona statistically speaking. The Ducks have the edge in terms of points per game, points allowed per game, turnover margin and total yards per game.

However, they’ve struggled to put up points against the Wildcats and have yet to find a way to stop them defensively. Over the past two seasons, the Ducks have averaged a paltry 20 points per game against Arizona and have allowed the Wildcats to score 36.5 points per game.

In order to finally take down the Wildcats, the Ducks have to embrace the fact that they are the better team and should be able to impose their will on a team that has struggled against squads like UCLA and Washington—teams that the Ducks absolutely dominated.

Oregon is a legitimate national championship contender. The Ducks need to prove to themselves and to the college football world that they can get it done on the big stage in front of a national audience.

In short, the Ducks need to play like champions.

Arizona Keys to Victory

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Scare Oregon Early

The Wildcats have almost no chance of beating the Ducks if they fall behind and have to go score-for-score with Oregon’s offense. However, if Arizona can jump on the Ducks early and get up by a score or two, they’ll have a chance.

Imagine this: Arizona receives the opening kickoff and drives 75 yards in seven plays for a touchdown. Oregon gets stopped on its subsequent drive. Arizona then drives down the field again and kicks a field goal. Score is 10-0 Wildcats.

That’s a nightmare scenario for the Ducks. Not only do the Ducks have no interest in having to play catch-up, but the memories of the past two years will also come flooding back.

In 2013, the Wildcats jumped all over the Ducks and were up 28-9 at half. In 2014, despite being down 7-3 at half, Arizona jumped on top of the Ducks in the third quarter and held a 10-point lead heading into the fourth.

Arizona certainly has the weapons to score early and often against a Ducks defense that ranks No. 89 in total yards allowed this season. The Wildcats have weapons at every position and rank No. 20 in scoring offense and No. 22 in total offense.

If the Wildcats can scare the Ducks early, they may be able to pull out another huge upset and get themselves into the College Football Playoff conversation.

Get to Mariota

Arizona’s offense is going to score points against Oregon’s defense. However, if the Wildcats are unable to stop Mariota and company, there’s almost no shot that they can beat the Ducks for a second time this fall.

In order to slow down Oregon’s offense, the Wildcats are going to need to consistently put pressure on Mariota and make him beat them from the pocket.

In the game on Oct. 2, the Ducks were without Fisher, and the offensive line featured a true freshman in Tyrell Crosby and a walk-on in Matt Pierson.

Arizona’s defense, led by Scooby Wright III, was able to sack Mariota five times and force two turnovers. On the season, the Ducks offense has only committed seven turnovers.

The injury bug has bitten Oregon’s offensive line multiple times this season, but it is almost completely healthy now.

Though the Ducks may be without center Hroniss Grasu for the fifth straight game—he’s still using a scooter to get around, according to Brianna Amaranthus of CSNNW.com—they’ll have the services of Fisher and tackle Andre Yruretagoyena this time around.

If Arizona can force the Ducks offense into long third-down situations by sacking Mariota, it will have a chance to win. More importantly, the Wildcats must keep Mariota from beating them with his legs.

Oregon Players to Watch

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

Royce Freeman

While Mariota is the best player in the country and the reason the Ducks have a chance to win a national title, the emergence of Royce Freeman has been equally as important to Oregon’s success this season.

Freeman, a true freshman, wasn’t truly Oregon’s featured back until after the Arizona game. In that matchup, Freeman rushed for 85 yards on 19 carries. Since then, the young running back has been nothing short of brilliant.

In the past seven games, Freeman has rushed for 807 yards and has scored 12 touchdowns. He’s rushed for 98 or more yards in every single game and has brought a bruising style to Oregon’s “blur” offense, something that has lacked in previous seasons.

Oregon is going to be facing a defense that has stifled it over the past two seasons. Arizona’s 3-3-5 defense forces opposing offenses to beat the Wildcats up the middle, as they’re very fast on the perimeter and are well-equipped to make open-field tackles.

Without tight end Pharaoh Brown, the Ducks will be forced to rely heavily on Freeman’s ability to run through the tackles and get to the second level. Look for Freeman to be a huge part of Oregon’s game plan early on and to have another huge day.

DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead

Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez is an offensive mastermind who essentially invented the read-option.

His running backs this year, Wilson and Jones-Grigsby, have been phenomenal in his system, as has quarterback Anu Solomon. However, everything starts up front for the Wildcats.

Arizona’s offensive line is one of the biggest in the country, and the Ducks have had a hard time competing at the line of scrimmage over the past couple of seasons.

This time around, the Ducks will need big performances from their two athletic defensive linemen: DeForest Buckner and Arik Armstead. Both Buckner and Armstead are massive and will be able to compete with Arizona’s gargantuan line.

Oregon will be hard-pressed to finally take down the Wildcats if it's unable to stop Arizona’s rushing attack and put pressure on Solomon in the backfield.

Arizona Players to Watch

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Scooby Wright III

While the Ducks quarterback may be the Heisman favorite, the Wildcats have a Heisman contender of their own. His name is Scooby. His name alone is deserving of an award.

Don’t get it twisted, though, Wright doesn’t just have a cool first name, the kid’s got game. In fact, both Stewart Mandel and Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports have Wright in the top five of their Heisman ballots right now.

On the season, Wright has amassed 139 tackles (No. 4 nationally), 28 tackles for loss (No. 1), 14 sacks (No. 3) and has forced six fumbles (No. 1). Quite simply, Wright has been the best defensive player in the country this season, and it’s not particularly close.

While Arizona’s defense isn’t particularly great—it ranks No. 96 in total defense—Wright has shut down opposing offenses almost single-handedly and has made big play after big play.

Oregon fans will remember Wright’s best play of the season—his strip-sack of Mariota on Oregon’s final drive in October. That game was Wright’s coming-out party, and he’s only gotten better as the season's gone along.

Wright is this year's version of Manti Te’o, sans the catfishing scandal. He’s the type of defender that gives opposing offensive coordinators nightmares.

Nick Wilson

Oregon fans will remember Arizona freshman running back Nick Wilson very well. Wilson, who is Arizona’s featured back, scampered up and down the field against the Ducks and scored three touchdowns in Arizona’s 31-24 win.

On the season, Wilson has rushed for 1,263 yards and has scored 16 touchdowns. For all of the attention Royce Freeman has gotten at Oregon, Wilson may actually be having a better season for the Wildcats.

If the Wildcats are going to beat the Ducks, they’re going to need another big game from the running backs. While Arizona can make some plays down the field with Anu Solomon at quarterback, it is Arizona’s running game that sets the Wildcats apart.

Arizona needs to control the game and limit the amount of possessions it gives to Oregon’s offense. While the Ducks don’t care about time of possession, they do care about the number of possessions they have.

If Arizona is able to run the ball effectively and limit its turnovers, it’ll be able to give the Ducks a run for their money and may be able to pull the upset for the third consecutive time.

What They're Saying

STEVE DYKES/Associated Press

Jason Quick of The Oregonian points out that there's a stark difference between Mark Helfrich's record against Arizona and the rest of college football.

"

The setbacks, the gut punches ... they go on and on.

Yet, so have the Ducks' big wins.

Arizona?

A formidable opponent, no doubt, especially considering coach Mark Helfrich is 0-2 against the Wildcats and 22-1 against the rest of college football.

But nothing now seems too big for Helfrich and his coaching staff. They have climbed a mountain of adversity.

"

Fox Sports' 13-member panel has the Ducks ranked No. 1 in its latest "Fox Four." According to Petros Papadakis, the Ducks should be atop the rankings due to their ability to control a game, something the College Football Playoff committee values:

"

The reason I keep the one-loss Ducks ahead of one-loss Alabama is based on a phrase playoff chairman Jeff Long uses every week in his stale media rounds: game control. The Ducks have controlled more games than the Crimson Tide. Oregon makes short work of every opponent. The interesting twist this coming Friday in the Pac-12 title game in is that Oregon is playing Arizona for the third time in a third state just over a year. Even more interesting is how Zona's 3-3-5 amoeba defense has smothered the Ducks in the first two games. If the Ducks lose to Arizona on Friday, they would certainly drop out of playoff contention.

"

Mariota is going to win the Heisman Trophy, so says Sports Illustrated's Lindsay Schnell:

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1. Marcus Mariota is going to win the Heisman

Early in the second quarter, Mariota hit Byron Marshall perfectly in stride for a 77-yard touchdown play. Marshall shook off an Oregon State defender on his way to the end zone, but credit goes to Mariota for a flawless throw. That’s the best way to describe his play for most of the night, and most of the season: flawless. He finished 19-of-25 passing for 367 yards and added 39 yards rushing with six total touchdowns. As the best player in college football, Mariota has all but wrapped up the Heisman, almost regardless of what happens next week in the Pac-12 title game. Oregon’s rematch with Arizona in the Pac-12 title game -- more on that in a second -- is about style points for the junior, who has 9,445 passing yards, 2,064 rushing yards, 120 total touchdowns and just 12 interceptions in his collegiate career. He’s the best quarterback to ever come through Eugene and arguably the best player in program history.

"

John Canzano of The Oregonian believes that Mariota is making a mockery of the Heisman Trophy race: 

"

All that absurdity was topped by the performance of Ducks star quarterback, Marcus Mariota, however. All he did was complete 19 of 25 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns. He ran for two other scores. And since we're on the subject of total and complete mockeries -- Marcus Mariota won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday in a blowout.

Saturday was a big-stage day in which the Heisman candidates were called upon to perform. Particularly those who are in a race for the playoff. Mariota did just that. And it happened to come on the same field on which Terry Baker won a Heisman Trophy 52 years before for Oregon State.

The Heisman ballots are due before Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. PST, and unless the voters want to make a total sham of the ballot, the player on the very top has to be Mariota. I have a vote and the only question anymore is who to list at No. 2 and 3.

"

CollegeFootballTalk's Brent Sobleski believes the Ducks should also be ranked No. 1 after Alabama's flaws were exposed against Auburn:

"

The College Football Playoff committee uses each week as an opportunity to reassess its entire rankings.

This week the Oregon Ducks should enter the conversation to be ranked No. 1 overall.

While a 47-19 victory during the Civil War against the Oregon State Beavers isn’t exactly a major resume builder, cracks were revealed in the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide’s exterior during this year’s vision of the Iron Bowl.

Alabama dug deep and earned an impressive 55-44 victory against the No. 15 Auburn Tigers. But the Crimson Tide was exposed in areas where the Ducks excel.

"

Prediction

Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

The best thing to happen to the 2014 Oregon Ducks was losing to Arizona on Oct. 2. Over the past couple of seasons, the Ducks have had numerous shots to win the national title, only to fall to an opponent late in the season (cough, cough, Stanford).

What the Ducks have rarely done is drop a game early in the season to a conference opponent. Well, it happened this year, and look at the results.

Oregon has not only won its past seven games, it has done so in dominant fashion. The Ducks have put up 543.8 yards and 47.5 points per game since the loss to Arizona and have blown out opponents by an average of 24.4 points per game.

Quite simply, the Ducks have been the best football team in the country since their loss to Arizona.

Revenge is a phenomenal motivator. The Ducks knew they needed to prove themselves to the world and to themselves after their second consecutive loss to Arizona. They’ve done just that and are now in a position to win a national title.

Everything now comes full circle as the Ducks have one last chance to make an enormous statement against an incredibly talented and underrated Arizona team.

There’s no doubt that the Ducks will struggle a bit against Wright and the 3-3-5 defense. Oregon will also likely have trouble completely stopping Arizona’s high-octane offense.

However, the Ducks have more talent, more motivation and the best player in the entire country: Marcus Mariota.

The Wildcats may have won the past two battles, but it is the Ducks who will win the war.

Oregon 42, Arizona 31

Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise stated. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.

Jason Gold is Bleacher Report’s lead Oregon writer. Follow Jason on Twitter @TheSportsGuy33.