Oregon claims Pac-12 title and first College Football Playoff spot

The first ticket to the College Football Playoff has been punched.

Oregon, which was ranked No. 2 in the playoff rankings, humiliated Arizona 51-13 in the Pac-12 championship game to claim its place in history as one of the top four teams to make the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Now, the Ducks will have to wait out Saturday’s games to learn where it will be seeded.

However, Friday’s performance should play well for the Ducks, especially after they settled down late in the second quarter and into the second half following a start that included three field goal attempts.

The Oregon offense started to roll behind quarterback Marcus Mariota, who might have sealed a Heisman win with 346 total yands and five total touchdowns, but it was the Oregon defense that really opened eyes. It limited Arizona to 25 total yards on 25 plays in the first half and knocked starting quarterback Anu Solomon out of the game.

The second half wasn’t much better for the Wildcats, who needed a busted coverage touchdown pass to Cayleb Jones to score its only points of the game. Otherwise, the Wildcats were stifled all evening.

Oregon ultimately outgained Arizona 627-199.

Oregon’s dominance was the antithesis of the types of games these two teams had played in their recent histories. Arizona won the last two contests with a strong defense that forced the Ducks into turnovers. That Wildcat defense was present early in the game, but as the offense continued to go three-and-out, the defense started to wear down and Oregon capitalized.

Not sure this win will give Oregon enough juice to jump No. 1 Alabama without help, but it certainly creates some conversation. Overall, Alabama has played the tougher schedule, but Oregon was able to avenge its only loss.

In the end, all that matters for Oregon is that it’s in. After stumbling a bit in each of the past few seasons and missing out on national championship opportunities, the Ducks are finally back to the top of the college football heap. Now, it’s a matter of what it does with the opportunity.

For more Oregon news, visit DuckSportsAuthority.com.

For more Arizona news, visit GOAZCats.com.

- - - - - - -

Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday

And don’t forget to keep up with all of Graham’s thoughts, witty comments and college football discussions on Facebook