2023 Pac-12 Football Conference Preview
The Pac-12 is falling apart. Over half of the conference has agreed to play football in different conferences over the next few years, leaving questions swirling. But while we still have a full conference to cover, we will do so. Our first conference preview took a look at the SEC, which you can find here. In this article, we will be doing a deep dive into the Pac-12, breaking down the rankings of teams and giving a preview of the season for each school. Let’s talk about it.
Rankings
- 1. USC
- 2. Utah
- 3. Oregon
- 4. Washington
- 5. Oregon State
- 6. UCLA
- 7. Washington State
- 8. Cal
- 9. Arizona
- 10. Colorado
- 11. Arizona State
- 12. Stanford
With USC, what is there to say? They are led by last year’s Heisman winner and potential No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams. This team would have been a playoff team last season had it not been for a resilient Utah squad. The Trojans return 17 starters from a year ago and boast a bounty of incoming freshmen who are ready to make a difference now, most notably Zachariah Branch, who has all the tools to be a game-changer from day one. The only knock on this USC team is that their defense has always been their weakness, so it will be all about the offense in 2023.
The two through four spots in my Pac-12 preview could’ve gone any which way. In the end, I am leaning toward the Utah Utes. Cam Rising knows how to get the best out of his guys on the field, showing he has a true winner inside of him. I think the Utes have an advantage in the fact that they have five Pac-12 home games this year, and are 19-0 at home the last three seasons. USC and Washington on the road are tough sledding for sure.
Once again, another toss-up. My first instinct was to lean on which quarterback I trust more, which would be Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., but I believe Oregon is the more well-rounded school. Bo Nix has had a career revival in Oregon, after transferring from Auburn ahead of the 2022 season. The Ducks return 16 starters from a year ago and their strength of schedule drastically decreased from a season ago. Oregon, like Utah, has five conference games at home but also plays Washington and Utah on the road.
I like this Washington Huskies team a lot entering 2023. They finished last season 11-2, with their biggest win coming on the road at Oregon, escaping with a three-point victory. I briefly touched on it before, but I am also a believer in Penix, who could be a sneaky option to go No. 1 overall with a fantastic season in 2023. Washington’s schedule is much tougher than it was a year ago, but with a very solid defense to go with a powerful offense, they just might improve from last season.
Ranking the Oregon State Beavers No. 5 in my Pac-12 preview should not be viewed as a slight to the school, as I believe they are on the come up. Everything is coming up right for Oregon State. They won ten games a year ago with below-average quarterback play, and if the incoming D.J. Uiagalelei can find his Clemson form, the sky is the limit. The Beavers don’t play USC this year and get Utah, UCLA, and Washington at home this year, where they are 12-1 over the last two seasons. I can’t buy in this year, but they can possibly win the Pac-12 in 2024.
UCLA will look to replace some talent lost from a year ago, most notably at quarterback. The belief was that Ethan Garbers would take over the starting job, but Dante Moore, the team’s five-star incoming freshman, could very easily win the job. The Bruins went 9-4 last year, and I believe they could be around that range again in 2023. I might not be 100 percent sold on this UCLA team just solely based on the number of positions they need to replace on offense, but this can be a dangerous team in another year or two.
Washington State finished the year 7-6 last year and my instinct was to put them in that range again this year, but their schedule did go their way a bit. The Cougars avoid both USC and Utah, two of their first three weeks are against Colorado State and Northern Colorado, and have very winnable road games against Arizona State and Cal. Going on the road against Washington and Oregon will be brutal, though.
The schedule makers did Cal zero favors. They have the ninth-hardest schedule in all of college football this year, and face all six of the top teams in the conference. However, the Golden Bears are returning 17 starters from a year ago, including a running back-receiver tandem that almost combined for 2,000 yards a year ago in Jaydn Ott and Jeremiah Hunter. This Cal team had some close losses last year, and maybe if they can flip one or two of those into wins this year in out-of-conference play, they could sneak into a bowl game.
My Pac-12 preview takes us to the Arizona Wildcats, who will have to climb a steep hill to become bowl eligible in 2023. They do return Jayden de Laura at quarterback … and that’s really about it. They only have four home conference games this year, unfortunately, three of those are Oregon State, Utah, and Washington. Mississippi State on the road won’t be easy but is winnable, followed by UTEP and Stanford means the Wildcats could start fast. They will need some home upsets to get to six wins.
Deion Sanders joining the Colorado Buffaloes will make them relevant again, but they will need some time. The amount of transfers into Boulder is more talent than they have seen up the hill in more than a decade, but can they put it together early? They have very winnable games against Nebraska, Colorado State, Arizona State, Stanford, and Arizona. However, they do face Utah and Oregon on the road. The Sept. 30 matchup with USC in Boulder will arguably be the biggest game in recent memory for the Buffs.
Arizona State is confusing. This team was not very good last year, finishing the year 3-9, but had a great win over Washington. The Sun Devils have some things going in their favor, as they are returning eight starters on offense, and even with only five returning on defense, that unit should be better than they were a year ago. This school is in the beginning stages of a rebuild, but they seem to be off on the right foot.
Long gone are the days of Stanford being an elite college football school. Nothing is pointing in their favor entering 2023: only returning six starters from a year ago, a new quarterback, a new coach and their historically bad defense from a year ago might actually be worse. The Cardinal finished last season allowing 450 yards a game, and I genuinely believe they should be in the running for worst among all power five conferences. This is not a very good time to be a Stanford fan.
This has been our Pac-12 Football Conference preview! Think your school is ranked too low? Believe a school is being overrated? Let me know in the comments below!
