Pac-12 Title Just Ducky for Oregon

Marcus Mariota is pretty damn good, but he wasn't the key factor in this game.

That honor belongs to the trenchmen.

While Oregon's high-profile quarterback and his fellow hands dudes were struggling to get on the same page, the Duck o-line kept giving them time and the d-line kept giving it back to them until everything eventually fell into place.

The continued hammering ultimately wore down Arizona.

Much was made of Oregon's banged-up o-line when the Wildcats upset them in the first go-round. This time, Jake Fisher was back and brutally effective, but ironically, center and team mainstay Hroniss Grasu was still out with an injury suffered against Utah.

However, Coach Mark Helfrich and staff weren't going to make the same mistake twice. A better though-out adjustment had been implemented. Veteran left guard Hamani Stevens shifted over one spot and assumed the signal-calling for blocking assignments, and redshirt freshmen Doug Brenner and Jake Pisarcik -- son of the former Giant QB -- adequate bridged the gap between center and Fisher.

Rich Rodriguez has only been in Tucson for three seasons -- Nebraska must've stolen Arizona's hiring strategy -- and is effectively still rebuilding the Wildcat program. Ironically, he hasn't had time to accumulate the roster depth it takes to stop an offense that mirrors his own.

So, one Featured Four favorite secured its bracket spot and most likely earned the closer-to-home venue of the Rose Bowl, where they smashed UCLA earlier this season.

The mad dash for the other three spots begins in mere hours. Hard chalk remains expected, but is hardly assured.