Stanford Cardinal Show They Have Already Moved Past The Luck Spotlight, As They Seek Rose Bowl Bert.
Stanford, Calif. (Sporting Alert) — No. 8 Stanford and No. 16 UCLA will tonight play for the PAC-12 Championship title with both teams looking for a Rose Bowl berth.
The meeting will be the second in succession between the two teams, following the Cardinal’s smashing 35-17 victory over the Bruins a week ago in Pasadena, CA, setting up the rare back-to-back match-ups in the same season.
In fact, Stanford and UCLA are the first teams in college football history to play in their regular season finale and followed that up the next week with a conference championship game rematch.
The Cardinal have found its way in the challenging college football league this year, following the departure of Andrew Luck and they come into the game as the Pac-12 North Division winner with an 8-1 conference record and 10-2 overall.
”I remember when nobody was giving us a look down at the Pac-12 media day,” fifth-year senior linebacker Chase Thomas said ahead of the game.
”I told them, ‘It was the same thing when Toby (Gerhart) left. It was the same thing when (Jim) Harbaugh left. It was the same thing when Andrew left.’ I guess people out there just don’t get it.'”
”They don’t understand what type of guys we have on this team,” he added. “The kind of coaches we have. We’re not going away.
“We’re not a one-person team. We never have been. So people can think what they want. We know this team is going to be around for a while.”
The UCLA Bruins, which topped the Pac-12 South Division at 6-3 come into the contest with a (9-3) overall record, good enough beat out preseason No. 1 Southern California to capture the South Division title.
UCLA are in its second Pac-12 Football Championship Game.
GAME NOTE
Pac-12 Football Championship Game
No. 8/9 Stanford Cardinal (10-2 • 8-1 Pac-12)
No. 17/16 UCLA Bruins (9-3 • 6-3 Pac-12)
November 30, 2012 • 5 p.m. (PT)
Stanford Stadium (50,000) • Stanford, Calif.
