Arizona Wildcats Win Territorial Cup, Pac-12 South

In one of the most anticipated Territorial Cup games ever played and the biggest football game ever played at Arizona Stadium, the #11 Arizona Wildcats came out on top by a final score of 42-35. The victory gives Rich Rod his first taste of the Territorial Cup since arriving to Tucson. With the help of Stanford, Arizona will now represent the Pac-12 South in the Pac-12 Championship Game vs #2 Oregon this Friday in Santa Clara, California.

Yes, Arizona will be playing the same Oregon Ducks team they beat earlier in the season in Eugene, which put Arizona in the limelight.In this game, Arizona doesn’t have much to lose, the analysts’s will all pick against Arizona, just as they have been all season long. Oregon is the one that is playing to hold on to their National Championship lives. To most “experts”, Arizona shouldn’t even be in this position, as the Wildcats had less than a 5% of clinching the Pac-12 South, about a week ago.

A few things have changed since the two teams faced off. Although Arizona matches up well against Oregon with the sheer speed and system, it’ll be hard to beat a team three times in two seasons. Arizona’s defense has arguably performed better in each and every game this season and Anu should be feeling a little better with an entire week off. But this time Oregon’s o-line should be much healthier and angrier than before.

But this game will certainly tell us a lot about both programs. Is Rich Rod a mastermind coach, exploiting match ups? Or is Oregon going to drop another big game late in the season? For most Oregon fans, Arizona is probably the last team they wanted to see coming out of the Pac-12 South, with UCLA, Arizona State and even USC being better options to matchup against. The pressure is all on you, Oregon.

If Arizona wins, there’s a slight chance that they slide into the College Football Playoff. Arizona currently holds what the committees calls “the best win in college football”, against the #2 team in the country, 21 point underdogs, on the road. Beating that team twice in one season would definitely grab the attention of the committee. Oregon still has to play Oregon State in the Civil War later today, giving Arizona an extra day of scouting and rest.