Pac-12 football schedule and TV guide for Week 3

#USC has this weekend off, so kick back and enjoy the other #Pac12 football games on the slate. We have all the information.

The Week 3 schedule for the 2023 college football season is not particularly electric or amazing. This is one of those weeks in which interesting games are going to emerge from unexpected sources. The weeks when everything seems chalky and predictable are often the weeks when all heck breaks loose, but the magic in all of this is that you don’t know which game will create the unexpected chaos.

One obvious note about the Week 3 schedule in college football is that USC won’t be part of it. The Trojans will rest up for the challenging, demanding nine-week gauntlet they are about to enter. That’s right: USC will play on nine straight weekends from September 23 through November 18. The Trojans will need to conserve their energy and be as efficient as they reasonably can if they want to reach the Pac-12 Championship Game and contend for the College Football Playoff.

This weekend, USC will kick back, relax, and watch other teams play college football. You can, too.

Here’s the full Pac-12 schedule for you, complete with network assignments and game announcers:

The case for Washington as USC’s biggest football game of 2023

.@Ducks_Wire’s @Donald_Smalley makes the argument that the #Huskies are USC’s most important opponent this season.

Oregon fans don’t like Washington, but they certainly respect the Huskies and what they have achieved in a short time under coach Kalen DeBoer.

Washington’s win in Autzen Stadium a year ago certainly made it impossible for the Ducks to ignore their bitter Seattle rivals. Washington-Oregon in mid-October will be one of the showcase games on the 2023 Pac-12 schedule.

Ducks Wire writer and analyst Donald Smalley made the case that Washington is USC’s biggest game this year:

“For the Pac-12 favorite and College Football Playoff contender, one could say every game is the most important. But the game before coming to Autzen on Nov. 11 is a home contest against a very good Huskies team that could get out of the Coliseum with a win.

The Trojans have to avoid that at all costs. They want to be undefeated and have all the confidence in the world when they have the showdown in Eugene. A loss just the week before could erase any playoff appearance and deflate USC. Every game in college football is a ‘must-win,’ but for USC, beating Washington is the biggest must-win on its schedule.”

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UCLA 2023 football schedule has Bruins feeling optimistic

The UCLA Bruins have one of the more favorable Pac-12 schedules in 2023: no Oregon and no Washington.

The UCLA Bruins are still recovering from a heartbreaking Sun Bowl loss to Pittsburgh. On top of that, Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Zach Charbonnet will leave massive holes on offense, although Kent State QB Collin Shclee and five-star recruit Dante Moore make things easier.

When the 2023 Pac-12 schedule was released, the Bruins must have felt great about their slate, especially after USC got hit hard by the schedule makers in the Trojans’ final season in the conference.

The Bruins don’t face either Oregon or Washington in 2023, so that helps (h/t Jon Wilner of The Mercury News).

“The Bruins once again have a schedule built for success with a low-stress non-conference lineup — Michigan was supposed to visit the Rose Bowl but canceled — and favorable intra-league matchups,” Wilner wrote. “UCLA has a bye to recover from visiting Utah, doesn’t play Oregon or Washington and faces the Arizona schools and Cal down the stretch (along with USC).”

So, there you have it. The end of the season is a breeze, except for the game against USC, and the Bruins don’t have Washington or Oregon on the slate.

This is an easier schedule for Chip Kelly, and the Bruins have a chance to finish out the Pac-12 era with a strong season before moving to the Big Ten.

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Oregon Ducks blogger and podcast host agrees with us: USC got the short end of the stick

Think we’re overreacting to the #Pac12FB schedule? @Ducks_Wire editor and Sco-Ing Long Oregon podcast host @ZacharyCNeel thinks USC fans have a right to be angry.

File this one under “His words, not mine.”

We have stated our case, making the argument that USC was uniquely disadvantaged by the 2023 Pac-12 football schedule. Surely, everyone else in the Pac-12 media ecosystem thinks we’re just whining and bellyaching on our way out the door to the Big Ten.

Or maybe not!

Not so fast, my friend!

Ducks Wire editor Zachary Neel has offered his analysis of every team’s Pac-12 football schedule for 2023. You can read Zach’s incisive, thoughtful piece and judge for yourself. We encourage you to follow Zach and his team at Ducks Wire for complete coverage of Oregon football and Oregon athletics.

Zach, who — full disclosure — invited Trojans Wire onto his new podcast earlier this week, has thought about the claim that USC was given a uniquely bad break by the Pac-12 on its way out the door.

Zach wrestled with the facts. He considered all the angles.

Here’s what he had to say:

“What became clear during that exercise, and in listening to the narrative built over the past week, is that the USC Trojan fans are not happy with how things played out in the schedule-making process.

“I think their anger is justified, as well.”

Zach continues a little later in his piece, noting that USC plays Notre Dame, Utah, Washington and Oregon in a five-week stretch:

“If you compare that stretch of five games for USC to the toughest stretch of games on Oregon’s schedule — Week 7 at Washington, Week 8 vs. Washington State, and Week 9 at Utah — it’s clear which option I’d rather have. On top of that, the Ducks also get to play Utah the week after the Utes play USC, and USC the week after the Trojans play Washington. That’s not nothing.”

His words, not mine.

An Oregon blogger and podcast host agrees with Trojans Wire. It’s not just us. Others outside our USC-centric orbit agree.

Be sure to listen to Zach’s new Oregon podcast, Sco-Ing Long. Continue to follow his work at Ducks Wire all year long.

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Coach Prime faces the pain: Deion Sanders’ 2023 Colorado football schedule is absolutely brutal

Colorado will be fun to watch with Deion Sanders as the head coach. However, the schedule is tough. Welcome to the big leagues, Coach Prime.

The Colorado Buffaloes went 1-11 last year and fired Karl Dorrell. However, the hire of Deion Sanders has brought this program into a different world of possibility and potential.

The Buffs have landed a ton of transfer portal players and high-ranked recruits, and they will be a must-watch for a lot of games.

The schedule is brutal for Colorado, and Jack Carlough of Buffaloes Wire gave a look at the schedule after it was released on Wednesday.

It includes an opener against TCU and a pair of brutal back-to-back Pac-12 games with Oregon and USC.

Here’s the slate for Coach Prime’s first year in the FBS.

Comparing Utah’s 2023 football schedule to USC

Can Utah three-peat? The #Pac12 gave the Utes a few really rough schedule elements, similar to USC. A Friday night game at Oregon State is very Larry Scott-ish.

The 2023 Pac-12 football schedule was released on Wednesday morning on the Pac-12 Network.

It will be the final year with USC and UCLA in the conference before the LA schools make the move to the Big Ten.

The Utah Utes are the back-to-back Pac-12 champions, and their schedule has some notable difficulties shared by USC and not shared by Oregon.

Can Utah three-peat in the Pac-12 with Cam Rising returning for one more year at quarterback?

Here is a look at the dates and opponents for Utah in 2023, including a trip to Southern California to face USC in a Pac-12 title game rematch on October 21, one week before they host the Oregon Ducks. That’s part of the profoundly rough road the Utes have:

Comparing Washington’s 2023 football schedule to USC

The Washington Huskies weren’t given the full red-carpet treatment Oregon received. How does their schedule compare with USC’s slate?

The Washington Huskies had a terrific year in Kalen DeBoer’s first season as head coach.

On top of that, QB Michael Penix Jr. is back and should be a popular pick among the Heisman Trophy candidates.

The Pac-12’s 2023 football schedule was officially released on Wednesday morning on the Pac-12 Network.

Washington did not have USC on the schedule last season, but this year the Huskies have the Trojans, Utah, and Oregon.

The Apple Cup is the final game of the season, and the nonconference slate isn’t very easy for the Huskies.

Here is a look at the opponents and dates for Washington in 2023. It’s an interesting comparison with USC on several levels:

Comparing Oregon’s 2023 football schedule to USC

When you look at Oregon’s 2023 football schedule, you can easily see how it is far more manageable than USC’s. This is not a particularly complicated reality.

Pac-12 schedule release day was exciting.

The 2023 football schedule was officially released on Wednesday morning in a Pac-12 Network exclusive, and there are plenty of eye-popping games, including the Trojans facing Colorado in Deion Sanders’ first Pac-12 home game. 

We already examined the USC Trojans schedule, and it includes a brutal end to the season despite having an off week before the Pac-12 title game.

Zachary Neel of Ducks Wire listed the schedule for Oregon, and yes, the Ducks face USC this time around — in Eugene.

Here is a look at the Ducks’ schedule for Dan Lanning’s second season with the program. You will see the many ways in which this schedule is easier than USC’s, which is no accident or idle coincidence:

Pac-12 predictably does USC no favors with schedule: Trojans play Utah one week after Notre Dame

You didn’t think the #Pac12 would make this final football schedule convenient for #USC, did you? This was very predictable. Trojan fans won’t miss this conference.

The 2023 Pac-12 football season is set to be another strong one.

The Utah Utes won the Pac-12 once again this season but lost in the Rose Bowl, and Cam Rising decided to return for one more season.

Caleb Williams, the Heisman Trophy winner, is back for the USC Trojans and is a leading contender to win the award again. USC will fight for a College Football Playoff spot after a frustrating Pac-12 title game loss to Utah followed by a crushing Cotton Bowl loss to Tulane.

The Pac-12 schedule has been officially released on Wednesday. Pac-12 insider John Canzano mentioned some interesting scheduling notes.

Then came the actual schedule release on Wednesday. The Trojans learned that Utah would be one week after the Notre Dame game. The Trojans certainly wanted to not have to play an elite Pac-12 team either the week before or the week after the Notre Dame game. Predictably, the Pac-12 sent USC out the door — in its final season as a conference member — with an extra-difficult scheduling arrangement. USC hosts Utah one week after the Notre Dame game.

You didn’t think the Pac-12 would make life convenient for USC, did you?

Here are various other observations to make about the Pac-12 schedule:

2023 USC Trojans football schedule

The full 2023 #USC football schedule has been released. We have every opponent and every date, plus some other notes.

The Pac-12 2023 football schedule has been released, and this is the final one that will include the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins before they move to the Big Ten.

We knew, thanks to some schedule leaks in advance of the Wednesday release, that USC would visit the Oregon Ducks in Eugene on November 11, 2023. We knew that USC would get an off week in both Week 3 (September 16) and Week 13 (November 25). The Trojans, if they are able to make the Pac-12 Championship Game, would get a week of rest before that game. USC’s chief competitors for the Pac-12 title would all be playing that weekend, so the Trojans know that if they can return to the Pac-12 title game, they will likely be favored.

The obvious point of difficulty for the Trojans in their pursuit of the College Football Playoff is the fact that they have to visit Notre Dame in the middle of October. Even if USC wins that game, it will face a physical challenge in the weeks following the Notre Dame game. Utah is the week after the Notre Dame game. The depth of this team will be sorely tested from mid-October through early November.

Here is the full USC football schedule for 2023, shown below: