Looking back, the Pac-12, and Oregon in particular, would have done better, perception wise, had they stuck with the decision not to play. When the decision to play was made, it was largely seen as as a too little, too late attempt to copy the B1G, with only 7 games.
The Pac-12 had trouble getting in to the Playoffs in a regular season, everybody knew they didn't have any chance at all in this one. But the Pac-12, in the dark as never before, went on, with games being canceled, making the season even shorter.
When it finally ended up, Oregon was left standing on top of the North. It was fun to see the Ducks play their best game of the season against the Trojans and win the conference championship for the second year in a row. Unfortunately now, it put the Ducks in the Fiesta Bowl, against an Iowa State team, excited to be in its first NY6 Game. We all knew what happened in that one.
So, since they played, we and the Ducks might as well make the best of it. Wilner and Washington can laugh all they want, Oregon won the championship, the players got some experience, and the Ducks can go for the 3-peat in 2021!