2022 Pac-12 Football Championship Game
| 2022 Pac-12 Football Championship Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conference championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 2, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Allegiant Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Paradise, NV | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | QB Cameron Rising, Utah | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | USC by 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Chris Coyte | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 61,195 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | Fox ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Fox: Jason Benetti, Brock Huard and Allison Williams ESPN Radio: Marc Kestecher, Kelly Stouffer and Ian Fitzsimmons | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 USC y | 8 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10 Utah y$ | 7 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Washington | 7 | – | 2 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Oregon | 7 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Oregon State | 6 | – | 3 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 UCLA | 6 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 4 | – | 5 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 3 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 2 | – | 7 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State† | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 1 | – | 8 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colorado | 1 | – | 8 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Utah 47, USC 24 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2022 Pac-12 Football Championship Game was a college football game played on December 2, 2022, at Allegiant Stadium in the Las Vegas-area community of Paradise, Nevada. It was the 12th edition of the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, and determined the champion of the Pac-12 Conference for the 2022 season. The game began at 5:00 p.m. PST and aired on Fox.[1] The contest featured the USC Trojans, the team with the best conference record, and the Utah Utes, the team with the second best conference record. Sponsored by gas station chain 76, the game will officially be known as the 2022 Pac-12 Football Championship Game presented by 76.[2]
This was the first Pac-12 Football Championship Game to not feature the champions of the North and South Division. The Pac-12 got rid of its divisions following the NCAA Division 1 Council's ruling that conferences could determine the teams participating in its championship game.[3] Utah became the third team in the Conference Championship era to repeat at Pac 12 champions.
Previous season
The 2021 Pac-12 Championship Game featured Oregon against Utah. In the championship game, Utah was victorious by a score of 38-10, winning its first Pac-12 championship.
Teams
USC Trojans
The Trojans clinched a spot in the championship game following its defeat of UCLA on November 19.[4]
Utah Utes
Going into the final week of the conference season (weekend of November 26), the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies and Utah Utes were in contention to face USC in the championship game.[5]
Oregon lost 38–34 at Oregon State, leaving the Ducks dependent on a Washington State win to make the title game. Utah, which remained alive going into Saturday's games thanks to UCLA defeating California 35–28 on November 25, defeated Colorado 63–21, eliminating Washington from contention and putting the Utes in position to advance to the title game with a Washington win. With Washington’s 51–33 win over Washington State, Utah clinched the second spot to the game. Utah won its first back-to-back conference championship since 2003-2004.
Game summary
Scoring summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 11 Utes | 3 | 14 | 7 | 23 | 47 |
| No. 4 Trojans | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
at Allegiant Stadium • Paradise, Nevada
- Date: December 2, 2022
- Game time: 5:00 p.m. PST
- Game attendance: 61,195
- Referee: Chris Coyte
- TV announcers (FOX): Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, Allison Williams
| Game information |
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Impact
The loss turned to be crushing to the trojans, because they were given their 2nd loss of the season, which resulted in the end of their playoff hopes.
The loss opened the door for the 4th ranked spot to be overtaken by Ohio state (11-1), who despite not making their own conference championship, clinched a spot in the CFP.
USC dropped to #10 in the final CFP rankings and had to settle for a Cotton Bowl matchup with Tulane.
Statistics
Team statistics
| Statistic | No. 11 Utah | No. 4 USC |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 25 | 19 |
| First downs rushing | 11 | 5 |
| First downs passing | 12 | 14 |
| First downs penalty | 2 | 0 |
| Third down efficiency | 5 of 11 | 1 of 12 |
| Fourth down efficiency | 1 of 1 | 3 of 5 |
| Total plays–net yards | 69–533 | 68–419 |
| Rushing attempts–net yards | 35–223 | 27–56 |
| Yards per rush | 6.4 | 2.1 |
| Yards passing | 310 | 363 |
| Pass completions–attempts | 22–34 | 28–41 |
| Interceptions thrown | 1–29 | 0–0 |
| Punt returns–total yards | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Kickoff returns–total yards | 0–0 | 5–82 |
| Punts–total yardage | 3–131 | 4–166 |
| Fumbles–lost | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Penalties–yards | 5–45 | 4–39 |
| Time of possession | 29:49 | 30:11 |
See also
References
- ^ "Pac-12 returns to Las Vegas and Allegiant Stadium for the 2022 Football Championship Game, presented by 76®". Pac-12 Conference. November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ "Pac-12 extends and expands major sponsorship with 76®". Pac-12 Conference. January 21, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2021.
- ^ "Pac-12 scraps divisions after NCAA Division I Council votes to eliminate requirements for FBS conference title games". espn.com. May 18, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ "Caleb Williams wills USC to thrilling 48-45 win over UCLA; Trojans clinch Pac-12 title game berth". si.com. November 19, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
- ^ "Laying out the updated Pac-12 Championship Game matchup scenarios after Week 12". usatoday.com. November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.