Category: PAC-12

Week 4 Preview: Colorado at Oregon among top Pac-12 games

College Sports Wire looks at the top games in the Pac-12 for week 4?

No conference in college football has gotten off to as strong of a start as the Pac-12, with the conference collecting a 30-6 record over the first three weeks of the season.

Now, out of their non-conference schedules, the Pac-12 begins to get into the nitty gritty of their conference schedule. This week is a short schedule of games for the conference, with just six games on the docket.

The two games that did not make the cut for this week’s top games in the conference were Southern California vs. Arizona State and California vs. Washington.

But how do the other four games in the conference rank among each other? College Sports Wire looks at those four remaining games below and how they rank below.

College Football’s top performers in the Pac-12 during Week 3

Who was the Pac-12’s top standouts in week 3?

It was another strong weekend for the Pac-12 in week three. With no conference matchups this past weekend, the conference saw its programs go 9-2. The lone losses of the weekend came from Arizona State and Stanford.

Notable wins over the weekend included Washington dominating Michigan State 41-7 on the road in East Lansing and Colorado erasing a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat rival Colorado State 43-35.

After three weeks of action, the Pac-12’s 12 teams are now a combined 30-6, by far the best combined record for any conference this season. No other conference in the country has less than 11 combined losses this season.

Below, College Sports Wire looks at the top performances in week three across the Pac-12.

Pac-12 Football: DJ Uiagalelei leading the conference in QBR after Week 2

College Sports Wire looks at how the Pac-12 quarterbacks rank according to their QBR after week 2

There is no conference in the country that has a better group of quarterbacks than the Pac-12.

Among the conference’s top quarterbacks include the defending Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams a pair of potential Heisman contenders in Michael Penix Jr and Bo Nix. There’s also Shedeur Sanders, Cameron Ward, and DJ Uiagalelei.

Those six quarterbacks potentially make up six of the best 15 or 20 quarterbacks in the country this season. All six quarterbacks are also living up to their hype on the field this season, leading their teams to a combined record of 13-0.

But how do those six quarterbacks and the rest of the Pac-12’s signal callers rank in QBR this season? College Sports Wire looks at how the conference’s quarterbacks rank after the first two weeks of play in the 2023 college football season.

Week 3 Preview: Washington-Michigan State headlines Pac-12 matchups

College Sports Wire looks at the top four games across the Pac-12 in week 3

The Pac-12 has been the most impressive of the Power Five conferences through two weeks of the 2023 college football season.

This weekend, the conference will look for another signature weekend with favorable matchups across the board. While there are several dull matchups, such as Utah against Weber State, California taking on Idaho, Washington State facing Northern Colorado, and UCLA facing North Carolina Central. There are also quite a few intriguing matchups that should provide several strong storylines to watch closely this weekend.

Those matchups include Washington and Michigan State having a rematch of their matchup in Seattle last fall, as well as Colorado, looking to continue their hot start against another rival.

College Sports Wire looks at the top four games on the week 3 schedule for the Pac-12.

 

College football’s top performers in the Pac-12 during Week 2

Who was the Pac-12’s top performers in week two?

It was another strong showing out of the Pac-12 in week two of the 2023 college football season.

Headlining the week two results across the conference included Colorado, leaving little doubt that their week one win over TCU was a fluke by dominating Nebraska 36-14. Washington State upset No. 19 Wisconsin for a second straight season, while Oregon and Utah traveled to Big 12 country and defeated Baylor and Texas Tech, respectively, in thrilling matchups.

While Arizona, Arizona State, California, and Stanford all walked away with their first losses of the season. The conference has established itself early this season as one of the better conferences in the sport this season, with USC, Washington, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State, and Colorado all ranked in both the AP and US LBM Coaches Polls, while Washington State is ranked in the AP Poll. Unfortunately, the conference’s best season in the playoff era may be coming in its last season of existence.

Nonetheless, College Sports Wire looks at the top performers in week two across the Pac-12.

Week 2 Preview: Nebraska-Colorado leads Pac-12 slate

College Sports Wire looks at five must-watch games in the Pac-12 for college football fans in week 2

After starting 13-0 over week 0 and week 1 of the college football season, the Pac-12 will look to continue its hot start to the 2023 college football season this weekend.

Ironically, the strong start for the conference comes in what will undoubtedly be its final season. Currently, 10 of the conference’s 12 members are set to be in different conferences next fall, with Oregon State and Washington State’s futures being the only ones yet to be decided.

Nonetheless, if the Pac-12 continues its dominant start to the season, it will have to do so despite a challenging slate. Out of this weekend’s 11 games, eight Pac-12 programs will play Power Five conference opponents, while three programs face a Group of Five or FCS opponent.

That being said, the conference is set to take at least one loss in week 2 as the Stanford Cardinal travel to Los Angeles to take on the Southern California Trojans. That game, however, did not make the cut for the top five matchups in the Pac-12 for week 2.

Below, College Sports Wire looks at the Pac-12’s top five games for week 2.

College football’s top performers in the Pac-12 during Week 1

Plenty of Colorado mentions in Week 1’s top performers for the Pac-12.

Plenty of eyeballs will be on the Pac-12 this season. Especially given the fact that it will be the last for 10 of the 12 teams. Only Oregon State and Washington State are without a conference home in 2024.

Despite the realignment side of things, there are some of the best quarterbacks in the country playing out West. Caleb Williams (USC Trojans), Michael Penix Jr (Washington Huskies), and Bo Nix (Oregon Ducks) just to name a few. But one shouldn’t sleep on Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, who led the way in this week’s top performers of the Pac-12.

Check out who else made the cut.

Week 1 Preview: Pac-12 Games to watch

College Sports Wire looks at four Pac-12 games to watch in week one

In week zero, the USC Trojans got their 2023 season underway with a 56-28 victory over San Jose State. Starting this Thursday, the rest of the Pac-12 will be getting their seasons underway.

It will mark the beginning of what will likely be the final college football season for the Pac-12 as eight of 12 member institutions are slated to move to new conferences next July.

It should be an intriguing race in the Pac-12, with USC, Oregon, and Washington looking like potential Pac-12 contenders. Could Utah complete a three-peat before leaving for the Big 12? Perhaps a school like Oregon State, one of the four current remaining institutions in the conference, could provide a shocker and win it themselves.

All that remains to be seen, and there are plenty of storylines to track in the conference beyond its title race. Below, College Sports Wire looks at four Week 1 matchups that provide notable storylines for college football fans to follow this weekend.

Pac-12 takes No. 2 spot in conference power rankings

Surprisingly the Pac-12 is viewed as the No. 2 conference according to one major outlet.

Conference bragging rights have habitually belonged to the SEC, who have won every national championship since 2019. They have also staked claim to nine of the last 13 champions since 2010. If you go back to 2006, that number increases to 13 of the last 17. The SEC has owned the sport.

The claim for second-best conference can go to the Big Ten or ACC but should the Pac-12 have an argument heading into the 2023 season?

According to CBS Sports’ conference power rankings, Barrett Salee has the Pac-12 in the No. 2 spot. That is interesting since the conference is essentially gone after the season. Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington are all Big Ten bound for 2024. The Big Ten checked in at No. 3 on the list. The corner schools will likewise head to greener pastures as they join the No. 5 Big 12.

This might come as a shock to people on the East Coast, but the Pac-12 is loaded and may be the most entertaining league to watch in 2023. The conference boasts at least four teams that have a legitimate shot at making the CFP: No. 6 USC, No. 10 Washington, No. 14 Utah and No. 15 Oregon. Can any of them actually win it? Probably not. But the conference’s depth is as strong as it has been in more than a decade. When you throw in No. 18 Oregon State and a well-coached UCLA squad, “Pac-12 After Dark” is going to be must-see TV in 2023.

As Sallee points out, the Pac-12 is loaded. If you need proof just look at the collection of quarterbacks that will be playing out west. The unfortunate part is the first game of the year features USC taking on San Jose State. No one in the nation will be able to watch the game that will be broadcasted on the Pac-12 Network.

Regardless of their bleak future, fans should tune in for Pac-12 games whenever they are nationally televised.

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Pac-12 to present TV rights deal to remaining league members

As the conference looks to survive conference realignment, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff is ready to present a media deal to the remaining conference members.

In hopes of helping stabilize the conference, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff is ready to present a television rights deal to the Pac-12’s remaining league members within the next two days, Stewart Mandel of The Athletic and John Canzano, a college football insider out of Oregon has reported.

The presentation will come less than a week after the Pac-12 saw the University of Colorado announce its departure for the Big 12 following the 2023-2024 academic calendar. Additionally, the Arizona Board of Regents has scheduled a 3:30 meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

While it is unclear what the meeting is in regard to, the timing of the meeting, along with rumors of the Big 12 also targeting Arizona and Arizona State, which the Arizona Board of Regents oversees, make it at least notable.

During the Pac-12 media day on July 21, Kliavkoff told the media, “The longer we wait for the media deal, the better our options get” when it comes to the conference’s television rights deal. The conference has been in discussions regarding its media rights for over a year after the Pac-12 board of directors initially approved the conference to begin negotiations last summer. 

Any potential media day will be necessary for the Pac-12 when it comes to looking at conference expansion. With Colorado’s upcoming departure, the conference is set to be down to just nine schools in 2024, as Southern California and UCLA are leaving for the Big Ten.

It is unclear what the Pac-12’s potential media deal would entail at the current time, but it will undoubtedly play an important part in determining the future landscape of college football.