Category: PAC-12

Oregon remains heavy FPI favorite in Pac-12 heading into Week 7

The Oregon Ducks are still the heavy favorite to win the Pac-12 according to ESPN’s FPI.

The Oregon Ducks remain the heavy favorite to win the Pac-12 according to ESPN’s FPI.

The Ducks, 5-0 on the season own the sixth-best FPI in the country, three spots ahead of the Washington Huskies, the only other Pac-12 program within the top 10. While Washington is also in the top 10, the Ducks’ chances to win the conference are at nearly 50%, sitting at 47.8%. Their chances of making the College Football Playoffs are similar at 40%.

This weekend will be a pivotal matchup in the Pac-12 race with the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies meeting in Seattle. The winner of the matchup between the top 10 programs will allow one program to gain the inside track to get to the Pac-12 title game. ESPN’s matchup predictor gives Oregon a 54.8% chance to win on Saturday.

The Southern California Trojans sit at No. 3 in the conference and 13th nationally but own just a 19.6% chance to win the conference. Lincoln Riley’s program has narrowly avoided being upset in each of the last two weeks. Oregon State, Utah, and UCLA all have chances above 1% according to the model to win the conference.

Here’s how ESPN’s FPI views the rest of the Pac-12’s programs entering week seven of the season.

RANK TEAM W-L CONF W-L FPI WIN CONF. % MAKE PLAYOFF %
No. 1 Oregon 5-0 2-0 24.0 (6) 47.8% 40.0%
No. 2 Washington 5-0 2-0 20.3 (9) 25.7% 22.1%
No. 3 USC 5-0 4-0 17.7 (13) 19.6% 9.3%
No. 4 Oregon State 4-1 2-1 13.2 (20) 4.4% 0.7%
No. 5 Utah 4-1 1-1 10.1 (26) 1.1% 0.1%
No. 6 UCLA 3-1 1-1 8.9 (30) 1.0% 0.1%
No.7 Washington State 4-0 1-1 5.7 (41) 0.3% 0.0%
No. 8 California 3-2 1-2 4.0 (46) 0.0% 0.0%
No. 9 Arizona 3-2 1-2 3.9 (47) 0.1% 0.0%
No. 10 Colorado 3-2 1-2 -0.1 (64) 0.0% 0.0%
No. 11 Arizona State 1-4 0-3 -7.1 (98) 0.0% 0.0%
No. 12 Stanford 1-4 0-3 -10.1 (105) 0.0% 0.0%

 

Arizona Wildcats, UCLA Bruins dominate Pac-12’s top performers in Week 6

College Sports Wire takes a look at the top performers in the Pac-12 from Week 6

It was a small slate of action in the Pac-12 this past weekend, with just four games taking place. That being said, it was an exciting four-game slate, all four games featuring intense action.

The headline game of the weekend was USC surviving an upset attempt by the Arizona Wildcats, using three overtimes and a Caleb Williams two-point conversion to win 43-41. UCLA, a few weeks removed from a missed upset opportunity over the Utah Utes, didn’t miss a second time, beating No. 13 Washington State 25-17.

Oregon State and Cal had an unexpected shootout with the Beavers coming out on top in Berkley 52-40, while Colorado avoided losing their third straight game with a 27-24 win over Arizona State.

Here are Week 6’s top performers from the Pac-12.

Dan Lanning, Kyle Whittingham are the Pac-12’s highest paid coaches

Oregon head football coach Dan Lanning is the Pac-12’s highest paid coach for the 2023 season

The highest-paid head coach in the Pac-12 according to the the USA TODAY Sports coaches salary database is Oregon’s Dan Lanning. The second-year head coach is making $6.6 million to lead the Ducks and has the highest-known buyout in the conference at $44.3 million.

The second highest-paid coach in the conference may be a surprise to some as it is Utah’s Kyle Whittingham. The 63-year-old Whittingham has been the head coach in Salt Lake City since 2005 and has led the Utes to back-to-back conference championships while owning a career 158-75 record.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders is the fourth highest-paid coach in the Pac-12 in his first year with the program, making $5.5 million this season. He notably has quite a low buyout at just $18.3 million.

Two Pac-12 head coaches’ salaries are not available in the USA TODAY database. Those two head coaches are Southern California’s Lincoln Riley and Stanford’s Troy Taylor. While there are limited details about Riley’s contract known, it is likely that his salary would not just make him the highest-paid head coach in the Pac-12 by a large margin but also one of the highest-paid head coaches in all of college football.

Check out the full listing for Pac-12 head coaches.

Head Coach Team FBS Rank Salary (millions) Buyout (millions)
Dan Lanning Oregon 19 $6.6 $44.3
Kyle Whittingham Utah 23 $6.3 $12.2
Chip Kelly UCLA 27 $5.9 $8.7
Deion Sanders Colorado 32 $5.5 $18.3
Jonathan Smith Oregon State 37 $4.8 $17.5
Justin Wilcox California 40 $4.4 $20.7
Kalen DeBoer Washington 44 $4.2 $32.2
Kenny Dillingham Arizona State 52 $3.8 $15.8
Jedd Fisch Arizona 54 $2.8 $9.1
Jake Dickert Washington State 61 $2.7 $3.7
Lincoln Riley Southern California – – –
Troy Taylor Stanford – – –

Contact/Follow us at the College Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of College Sports news, notes, and opinions.

Pac-12 FPI: Oregon holds strong lead over rest of conference

ESPN’s FPI is very high on the Oregon Ducks entering Week 6 of the college football season

After five weeks of the 2023 college football season, ESPN’s FPI is very high on the Oregon Ducks, giving Dan Lanning’s program a nearly 40% chance to win the conference and a 20% chance to make the College Football Playoffs.

Oregon’s FPI of 23.8 ranks sixth best in the country and is only one of two Pac-12 teams to be ranked in the top 10. Also ranked inside the top 10 nationally is the Washington Huskies, who is ranked ninth nationally with a 21.2% chance to win the conference and an 8.8% chance to make the CFP.

USC is off to a 5-0 start, including 3-0 in conference play, and has the 12th best FPI nationally but just a 13.8% chance to win the conference and just a 5.7% chance to make the CFP according to the FPI.

The only other program ranked inside the FPI’s top 25 is the Oregon State Beavers who are 4-1 and are coming off an upset win over the Utah Utes last Friday. The Beavers alongside Washington State notably still do not know their fate for the 2024 season and beyond when it comes to conference affiliation.

Here’s how ESPN’s FPI views the rest of the Pac-12’s programs entering week six of the season.

TEAM W-L CONF W-L FPI WIN CONF. % Make Playoff %
Oregon 5-0 2-0 23.8 (6) 39.9% 19.7%
Washington 5-0 2-0 19.9 (9) 21.2% 8.8%
USC 5-0 3-0 19.3 (12) 13.8% 5.7%
Oregon State 4-1 1-1 12.8 (20) 0.5% 0.1%
Utah 4-1 1-1 10.3 (26) 0.2% 0.1%
UCLA 3-1 0-1 9.6 (29) 0.1% 0
Washington State 4-0 1-0 6.4 (39) 0.2% 0
California 3-2 1-1 4.5 (43) 0 0
Arizona 3-2 1-1 1.9 (54) 0 0
Colorado 3-2 0-2 0.3 (60) 0 0
Arizona State 1-4 0-2 -7.4 (98) 0 0
Stanford 1-4 0-3 -10.3 (105) 0 0

 

Pac-12 Football: Michael Penix Jr stays on top in QBR race after Week 5

Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. continues to lead the Pac-12 QBR race

The 2023 college football season is nearing the halfway point of the college football season, meaning the award races and statistical races both within conferences and nationally are heating up including the Pac-12 QBR race.

At the top of the QBR rankings is Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. who has been phenomenal to start the season. USC’s Caleb Williams and Washington State’s Cameron Ward are in striking distance of Penix as the college football season heads toward its second half.

But where does Oregon’s Box Nix, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Oregon State’s D.J. Uiagalelei, or UCLA’s Dante Moore fall in the rankings? With Week 6 in the Pac-12 set to get underway on Friday night, College Sports Wire looks at how the Pac-12’s quarterbacks rank based on ESPN’s QBR metric.

Quarterback Team QBR Last Week’s QBR (Ranking)
Michael Penix Jr Washington 91.6 93.7 (No. 1)
Caleb Williams USC 88.5 91.9  (No. 3)
Cameron Ward Washington State 86.4 86.4 (No. 2)
Bo Nix Oregon 81.6 80.6  (No. 4)
DJ Uiagalelei Oregon State 80.1 78.1 (No. 5)
Shedeur Sanders Colorado 72.3 75.1 (No. 6)
Dante Moore UCLA 49.5 52.3 (No. 9)
Jayden de Laura Arizona 47.5 48.8 (No. 10)
Nate Johnson Utah 45.7 59.3 (No. 7)
Ashton Daniels Stanford 43.9 43.6 (No. 11)
Sam Jackson V Cal 32.1 43.5 (No. 12)
Justin Lamson Stanford 20.7 39.5 (No. 11)

Contact/Follow us at the College Wire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of College Sports news, notes, and opinions.

Pac-12 Football: Washington State vs UCLA is the Pac-12’s Week 6 game of the week

College Sports Wire ranks the Pac-12’s small slate of games for Week 6

It is a very small week of games in the Pac-12 this weekend with just four games scheduled. It is one of two weeks this season in which the conference will have scheduled slates of just four games alongside Week 8.

Off this week in the Pac-12 are the Oregon Ducks, Washington Huskies, Stanford Cardinal, and Utah Utes. Leaving Pac-12 fans and the country to watch Arizona vs. USC, Colorado vs. Arizona State, Oregon State vs. California, and Washington State vs. UCLA.

College Sports Wire ranks those four games below.

College football’s top performers in the Pac-12 during Week 5

College Sports Wire takes a look at the Pac-12’s top peformers in Week 5

It was a small slate of games in Week 5 of the 2023 college football season for the Pac-12 with just five games on the docket.

In those five games, there was only one “upset” on the weekend as Oregon State defeated Utah 21-7 on Friday night. However, that was upset by ranking only with the Beavers entering the game as a field-goal favorite.

The Washington Huskies had their first scare close game of the season in a 31-24 win over Arizona. USC’s offense was able to save the day in a 48-41 win over Colorado while Oregon dominated Stanford 42-6. Finally, Cal defeated Arizona State 24-21.

Below, College Sports Wire looks at some of the top performers from this weekend’s matchups.

Pac-12 Football: Utah – Oregon State set for Friday night showdown in small Week 5 slate

College Sports Wire looks at the top games in the Pac-12 for week 5?

After a fun week of action in Week 4 of the college football season for the Pac-12, it is shaping up to be a bit of a quieter week in Week Five.

Only five games are being played in the Pac-12 this week in college football. The slate starts strong with the Utah Utes traveling to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers on Friday night.

On Saturday, it’s an early start for the Pac-12 with Caleb Williams, Lincoln Riley, and the USC Trojans traveling to Boulder to take on Deion Sanders’s Colorado Buffaloes. Throughout the rest of Saturday, Arizona State will take on California, Oregon will hit the road to face Stanford, and Washington will travel to Tuscon for a matchup against Arizona.

Below, College Sports Wire ranks each of the Pac-12’s five games this weekend.

College football’s top performers in the Pac-12 during Week 4

Who was the Pac-12’s top standouts in week 4?

Week 4 of the 2023 college football season brought the first week full of conference action in the Pac-12.

It was a week full of non-stop action with quite a few close, thrilling games in the process.

The only blowouts of the week came courtesy of the Washington Huskies defeating the Cal Golden Bears 59-32 while the Oregon Ducks derailed the Colorado Buffaloes hype train in Eugene 42-6.

But outside those two matchups, USC survived a potential upset scare from Arizona State 42-28, Utah outlasted UCLA 14-7, Washington State pulled out a narrow victory over Oregon State 38-35 and Arizona State defeated Stanford 21-20.

Here are the top performers out of the Pac-12 in Week 4.

Pac-12 Football: Michael Penix Jr, Caleb Williams lead Pac-12 QBR race after week 3

There is a new leader in the Pac-12 QBR race entering week 4

The Pac-12 QBR race is shaping up to be a heated battle between two of the best quarterbacks in the country. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Southern California’s Caleb Williams are not the top two quarterbacks in the conference but two of the best quarterbacks in the entire country.

Notably, in the QBR race, three of the Pac-12’s quarterbacks are currently ranked in the top 10 in the nation. The most of any conference in college football after three weeks.

As we put the finishing touches on previewing week four, here is how the quarterbacks of the Pac-12 rank based on ESPN’s QBR metric.