Pac-12 Championship trend points to Washington in rematch with Oregon
Pac-12 Championship games have featured a rematch of a regular-season contest eight other times in the game’s history.
Friday night’s battle between No. 3 Washington and No. 5 Oregon will be the ninth such rematch. And history says UW will win it.
The Pac-12’s research group noted in its game notes for the week that, in the previous eight rematches, the team that won the first matchup was 7-1 in the title game.
Washington beat the Ducks 36-33 in Seattle on Oct. 14. And though UW has won every game since to enter the title game with a 12-0 record, the Huskies are a 9.5- or 10-point underdog in the rematch.
Interestingly, the only team to win the rematch in the Pac-12 title game was Oregon.
On a Thursday night in 2014, Oregon lost to Arizona at home 31-24 in its fifth game of the season. Two months later, the Ducks blasted Arizona in the Pac-12 title game, 51-13.
Washington will be making its third-ever appearance in the Pac-12 Championship Game. It won both of its previous games in 2016 and 2018.
Oregon will be making its sixth appearance — the most among league teams. The Ducks are 4-1 in the title game.
Kickoff from Allegiant Stadium is set for 5 p.m. PT on ABC.