Pac-12 Championship Game: Inaugural Pac-12 Title Game Will Be a Laugher

If only Reggie Bush had exercised a little more control in his time at USC. If he had, the very first Pac-12 Championship Game would feature an epic showdown between the Oregon Ducks and the USC Trojans.

Instead, it's going to feature a not-so-epic showdown between the Ducks and the UCLA Bruins. Even UCLA realizes it doesn't belong, as making it to the conference championship wasn't enough to save Rick Neuheisel's job.

Of course, you naturally have to entertain notions of what it would be like if UCLA actually won this game. The Bruins would be the Pac-12 champions and would take their rightful place in the Rose Bowl against the Big Ten champ.

Miraculously, UCLA football would be relevant again.

Mind = blown.

Thankfully, we don't have to worry about this. This Friday's game, which will be played in the thunderous confines of Oregon's Autzen Stadium, is going to be a laugher. The Ducks have everything they need to blow the Bruins to smithereens, and they're going to do just that.

In the event that you're just now catching wind of Oregon's awesomeness, I assure you it's quite real. Head coach Chip Kelly is a cyborg sent from the future to draw uber-complicated Xs and Os, and he has a host of high-speed Terminators to do his bidding. Running back LaMichael James is a playmaker, and the same is true of fellow running back Kenjon Barner and quarterback Darron Thomas.

Put it all together, and you have the No. 3 scoring offense in the country. The scary part is that 2011 has actually been a down year compared to what the Ducks were able to do in 2010.

The Bruins have virtually no hope of keeping pace with the Ducks. Their offense is at best mediocre, and they don't pose much of a threat defensively. They were able to score some good wins here and there, but were largely helpless against the better teams in the Pac-12. 

Case in point, when we last saw the Bruins, they were losing to USC 50-0. The message the Trojans were sending was loud and clear.

The Ducks are going to send a message of their own on Friday night. They've won two straight conference titles, and are about to win their third. Given the way Oregon keeps bringing in talent, more titles could very well be on the way.

No matter what comes next for Oregon, Pac-12 titles aren't going to come much easier than this. The Ducks merely have to do their thing on Friday night, and they will punch their ticket to the Rose Bowl.

I would offer some words of warning, but that would be a useless gesture. Oregon is going to win this game, and it's not going to be close.