Ducks 51 Arizona 13 What idiot put this game on a neutral field 800 miles from one school and over 500 from the other? On a Friday (work) night? In Santa Clara with the worst traffic jams in the state? The stadium was empty. What did they expect? The Ducks are in the Final 4 and Marcus Mariota won the Heisman.
I watched that game and thanked God we do not have to play Oregon. I have never seen a team play at that pace.
I went to bed at halftime, knowing who would win. Question: How did AZ manage to score 13 points? Their offense was non-existent in the first half.
Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott is responsible for the championship game being held at Levi's Stadium this year, JO'Co. I'm sure the intent (in addition to money) was to give the game more of a bowl game atmosphere for better publicity. I expect the reason a lot of fans didn't go was because fans of both teams knew another, potentially bigger game was on the horizon. Since the Pac-12 South went down to the final week, Arizona fans weren't able to get airfare, lodging and rental cars at advance-purchase rates. They will be for our bowl game. Sid, Arizona scored the first TD on a busted coverage and the last one as time expired. I'm glad we didn't put up a goose (duck?) egg, but as you saw, Arizona's offense was shut down by Oregon.
Championship games in the B12 were pretty successful at Neutral sites, can't say that all of them were sellouts but the crowds were always very good. SEC Championship game, I think, has always been a sellout. ACC championship game has for the most part been an embarassment, crowd shots frequently show around 30-% of capacity at most of the ones I have seen. Didn't the Pac12 start out as having it at the home field of the highest ranked team? I seem to remember a game at Stanford where even Stanford fans didn't show up. The Friday night I guess was a TV move, but maybe over time a neutral site will catch on and the attendance will grow. Levi Stadium is a great venue.
My brothers and I were able to get tickets to the ACC Championship game a couple of years ago in Charlotte at cost. I think it was FSU vs Va. Tech but I'm not sure.
Thanks, Rick.. I hope you don't think I was dissing AZ. I like the team. I was just saying it was obvious that Oregon was taking it to AZ. Plus, it was after 11:00 EST, my bedtime. :lol:
:idea: :!: - Oregon left no doubts out here, that's for sure. - Arizona will be a contender as long as Rich Rod is there. Tucson is his briar patch. His recruiting is wonderful. Arizona is the fastest growing state with a passion for HS football and he raids California on one side and Texas on the other. He cherry picks JUCOs and hides select players in them the way USC and UCLA do. He seems to know exactly what he's doing. - I hope the 12Pac returns to home fields for championship games. Also, I think that playing on Friday night; in an area of the state with almost no available hotel rooms; while the high school playoffs are still going; on a work night; is a recipe for empty stadiums...
a good many of the SEC blogs have been mocking the Pac12 for the pathetic turnout for the championship game. You can explain the reasons, and even make a solid comparison like... "what if the SECCG was Friday at 7 in St Louis?" But they won't listen. If you're explaining, you're losing. We need to do better in terms of placement of the game.
I'm confused. I've read complaints about the location of the game as a reason for lack of attendance. I understand the Friday night scheduling as a legitimate reason, but where would be a better location?
I had no problem with the highest ranked team hosting. The Pac12 is so huge, in terms of area, that it's fairly unreasonable to ask a team from the deep Southwest and a team from the PacNoWest to meet somewhere in the middle on a Friday evening. I mean, I think the neutral site thing works better if you have the game on Saturday. If you're married to the Friday date, which it seems they are, then it just isn't very travel friendly. I really don't think bad weather matters to the teams in the PacNoWest. But think about it.. you're a student, or just a fan/alumni, you're working Friday and your team will be kicking off by the time you get home. It just doesn't work out that well, even if you take a half day. The whole thing just seems rushed and not thought out at all.
:idea: Venues might include the Rose Bowl down here or Oregon up there, but consider this: If Arizona and Washington play on a neutral field that's located half way between the two schools, the stadium would be 1,200 miles from BOTH schools... BTW- last year's 12Pac Championship game was at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona with a crowd of 69,000+.
Totally agree with Corey. No chance I make the game on Friday, but I could on Saturday. To me that's the whole stor on bad attendance. (And I'm an SEC guy, so we're not all PAC haters) 8)
I agree with Scott. It seems that the attendance problem is due more to the scheduling and not so much to the location.
You gotta remember, these whores are all grubbing for the TV dollars. They're all trying to grab their own piece of the pie. I think the Pac12 thought they were getting dicked over (they were) and so they tried to strike out and create their own thing. Like I said, it seems rushed. If you're going to use Friday, then I'm fine with on campus. If they go Saturday, they'd have much better travel time/attendance, but then you'd be dividing up the TV audience which is pretty well established for that day.
Agree with Jo Co's comment re distance. The B10 title game's location in Indy is accessible by car in 1 day for most of the B10 schools. Plus, they have been lucky so far since the fan base of the teams that have played in the game-OSU, Neb, MSU, Wis-travel well.
I wouldn't think that at all, Sid. The thought the game was decided was in the back of my mind, too, but I held out hope until I saw the back-up QB, Scroggins, go onto the field in the second half. A lot of this has already been written, but until this season the championship game was awarded to the school with the best conference record, and it should return to that after the three-year run at Levi's Stadium is over. College football should be about college students and the local fans that support the team, and given how spread out the Pac is, I think it's the best choice. Doing so rewards the school with the best record and it puts money into the community that supports that school. I'd also play the game on Saturday because it allows for more fans to travel to the game and also benefits the fine college football tradition of tailgating. I don't mean that in jest, either. A great deal of school/team loyalty can come from the tailgating experience.
Rick, your assessment makes perfect sense, given the enormous geographical spread of the conference. Also, most school locations are blessed with good weather at this time of year vs. the midwest and east cost, so the Saturday scheduling and the tailgating should be taken advantage of. My earlier thoughts were based on the erroneous comparison of the Big10 to your conference. Geographically, I see now that's an apples-oranges comparison. Perhaps after 3 years of low attendance, the powers that be will come to their senses and go back the the way it used to be.