There’s one more weekend of Pac-12 football as we know and love, and it’s one to cherish. The most electric conference in college football has plenty of storylines for its last week of 2023, and it’s a virtual guarantee the conference will go out with a bang.
Two Pac-12 starting quarterbacks have the chance to make Heisman statements and keep their teams in playoff contention. While Washington and Oregon control their own destinies, Oregon State and Arizona have the chance to completely throw a wrench in everybody’s season plans as the Wildcats try to end its Cinderella story with an exclamation point.
Here are the Pac-12’s most interesting games and storylines ahead of Week 13.
Seven teams in the Pac-12 have already won six games, meeting qualifications for bowl eligibility and punching a ticket to the postseason. Two other members of the conference could join them with a victory over the weekend.
Teams heading to the postseason:
- Washington Huskies (11-0)
- Oregon Ducks (10-1)
- Arizona Wildcats (8-3)
- Oregon State Beavers (8-3)
- Utah Utes (7-4)
- UCLA Bruins (7-4)
- USC Trojans (7-5)
Teams that could become bowl-eligible this week:
- California Golden Bears (5-6)
- Washington State Cougars (5-6)
Washington State has the chance to do double duty this week. The Cougars beat Colorado 56-14 last week to end a six-game losing streak, and now they have the chance to simultaneously clinch a postseason appearance while also ending Washington’s undefeated season. They’ll need the game of quarterback Cameron Ward’s life to outduel Michael Penix Jr., but there are worse quarterbacks to bet on than ones with a 22:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio who average 7.8 yards per pass and have scored eight rushing touchdowns.
With one week left in the regular season, three quarterbacks still have strong Heisman arguments. Two of them are on the Pac-12’s top teams. Oregon’s Bo Nix is one of the frontrunners for the award. He’s second in the country with 35 passing touchdowns, fourth with 3,539 passing yards, and he’s only thrown two interceptions. He and the Ducks get 8-3 Oregon State at home with a chance to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 title game. Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., who leads the country with 3,695 passing yards, has a strong argument, too. Washington and Oregon boast the two most prolific passing offenses in the country. While the Pac-12 quarterback with the best chance will probably come down to whoever wins the conference, both quarterbacks have the chance to strengthen their argument this Saturday.
Arizona head coach Jedd Fisch deserves to be on every shortlist for coach of the year. Two years after the Wildcats went 1-16 across the 2020-21 seasons, he has his squad sitting No. 17 in the College Football Playoff Rankings after five straight wins, including four victories over ranked opponents. Now, the fairy tale story could have a miraculous ending. If Arizona beats Arizona State and Oregon State upsets Oregon, the Wildcats will get a rematch against Washington in the conference championship game. Regardless of the outcome in Oregon, Arizona seems assured of its second season with nine or more wins since 1998.
| Oregon State at Oregon | 8:30 p.m. ET | FOX |
| Colorado at Utah | 3:00 p.m. ET | Pac-12 Network |
| Arizona at Arizona State | 3:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |
| Washington State at Washington | 4:00 p.m. ET | FOX |
| Notre Dame at Stanford | 7:00 p.m. ET | Pac-12 Network |
| California at UCLA | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN |