A Quick Root: Pac 12 title game open thread

With the Frogs still in the center of a national debate about playoff spots, there's no reason at all to be sure that a #3 ranking the week before is going to be enough to assure you of one of the four spots at the table at the end.  The Frogs will have business to take care of tomorrow, so while their energies are directed toward getting prepared for Iowa State and a chance for a Big 12 championship, we need to do what we can to ensure that there will be a place for the Frogs in the playoff by doing what we do best- That's right, rooting.  A concept so beautiful and simple that even our rivals have adopted it (ours was first, should I contact Ken Starr about suing?).  With only one game, we only need to clarify one rule tonight, so here it is.

1.) If a team is ranked above TCU, root against them

The simple constant that has served us well through all of the previous rooting guides, our rock in a tumultuous sea of changing team loyalties and rule changes is the only rule in play tonight.  We want TCU in the playoff with as high a seed as possible, which means any team ranked ahead of the frogs is in the way of achieving that goal.  Once again, this is your chief rooting interest.

Rule 1 game

Arizona @ Oregon (Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California)

The first year of a neutral site for the Pac 12 championship game couldn't have come at a better time, as it gets the Wildcats out of another road trip to unfriendly Autzen stadium.  Outside of two games this year, Oregon has looked pretty unbeatable in Pac 12 play- and fortunately for us, they're not only playing against one of those two teams, but they're playing against the only team that managed to defeat the Ducks this year.  Coach Rich Rodriguez has done a phenomenal job in taking an also-ran program and turning it into a championship contender in just three years- imagine what he could have done if he'd been able to bring Jeff Casteel with him to Michigan- and they're worthy contenders to be the first Pac-12 South team to win the conference (would you have believed that if we'd said it when the Pac 12 was formed?  Not USC or UCLA, but Arizona?),  The mitigating factor of Arizona's win- that it came when Oregon's offensive line was fairly decimated- is mixed with the advantage of not having to play in Autzen- one of college football's most intimidating stadiums- so I'm not really sure what to expect from this game.  Will Heisman frontrunner Marcus Mariota struggle once more against the Wildcats and leave the door open for Melvin Gordon (or darkhorse Trevone Boykin) to claim the award, or will he rally in his second faceoff with Scooby Wright and the unique 3-3-5 of Arizona and cement his status?  This will be a big one for TCU in many respects, so root for Arizona with everything you've got.  Bear down, Arizona!

With that you've got everything you need to enjoy the night's action- The Pac 12 hasn't had a lot of compelling matchups in its championship game, but either Oregon will put itself into the playoff or Arizona will state its case to be the first alternate if a few of the frontrunners go down on the Saturday to follow.  It should be a great one.  Feel free to discuss the game at your leisure here, or just talk about what you've enjoyed most from this season.  One more night before the stressfest begins, let's enjoy it- and as always, get rooting.