Washington coach underscores the value of playing in the Pac-12’s culminating game

Following the completion of the Pac-12 Championship game between the No. 3 Washington Huskies and the No. 5 Oregon Ducks, we will officially bid adieu to the conference. 

While it’ll likely get lost in the mix of a game that has College Football Playoff ramifications, it’s a bittersweet ending to a once proud conference that’ll be left in the dust due to realignment.

Friday’s matchup between Washington and Oregon will feature a rematch between a 12-0 Huskies team and an 11-1 Ducks team. That lone came in Seattle earlier this season, as Oregon’s Camden Lewis missed a 36-yard, game-tying field goal as time expired. 

While Oregon enters the neutral site matchup as touchdown favorites, it was Washington that was able to run the table — in the regular season at least — in the final season of the Pac-12. And for that, Huskies head coach Kalen DeBoer is very proud of his team.

“I mean, I think, even just this season, you know, us doing what we’ve done, where we’ve ran the table and won every game — I wasn’t aware until I think even Saturday that, under the Pac-12, we were the only ones to win every game and be undefeated. So I’m proud of that, our guys should be proud of that,” DeBoer said, via On3.

A win over Oregon would not only likely guarantee Washington a spot in the CFP, but would see the Huskies go out of the Pac-12 as a winner, after serving as a charter member since 1915. Though, Oregon which has also served as a charter member for over a century, will also be leaving the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten. So, it’s not the last time these two teams will face off against one other, but rather the last time in the conference, after dark.

“And so, you know, that’s not the goal. The goal is to win a conference championship and continue to move on. So you know, it’s just been a great year of football in the Pac-12,” DeBoer added.

That, it has. And Friday’s game will likely serve as a reminder of that.

[On3]