Who is winning the Pac-12? What will the order of finish be? Who is making a bowl game?
These will be my record predictions for the Pac-12. I will list every game for the predictions, but the primary takeaway should be the final record. We will also compare my predictions to the over/under win total for each team to see how the betting public feels about the Pac-12.
Predictions for the bottom half of the Pac-12 can be found here.
*Odds listed refer to O/U win totals taken from DraftKings at the time of writing
6th – UCLA – O/U win total: 8.5
Coastal Carolina – W
At San Diego State – L
NC Central – W
At Utah – L
Bye
Washington State – W
At Oregon State – L
At Stanford – W
Colorado – W
At Arizona – L
Arizona State – W
USC – L
California – W
I was kind of shocked to see their win total set at 8.5. They lost a great QB in DTR and a phenomenal RB in Zach Charbonnet; both are in the NFL now. Chip Kelly has made this a transfer portal team, so year to year they are used to a lot of turn over I guess. They have almost no home field advantage, but I have them losing on the road quite a bit.
Missing Washington and Oregon could be huge if they are better than I expect.
Record: 7-5 (5-4)
Pick: Under 8.5
5th – Utah – O/U win total: 8.5
Florida (Thursday) – W
At Baylor – W
Weber State – W
UCLA (HC) – W
At Oregon State (Friday) – L
Bye
California – W
At USC – L
Oregon – W
Arizona State – W
At Washington – L
At Arizona – W
Colorado – W
Everyone is disrespecting Utah, including me.
Back-to-back Pac-12 champions, and I have them finishing 5th. Their schedule doesn’t help them much, they play all 5 of the other teams in the top 6 of the conference (Vegas’s top 6, not mine). I have them going 2-3 in that grouping, they will need to go at least 3-2 to have a shot at the title game.
Watch out for that week 1 Florida game too. Utah QB, Cam Rising, is coming off an injury, and Florida won this matchup last year.
Record: 9-3 (6-3)
Pick: Over 8.5
T-2nd – Oregon State – O/U win total: 8.5
At San Jose State (Sunday) – W
UC Davis – W
San Diego State – W
At Washington State – L
Utah (Friday) – W
At California – W
UCLA – W
Bye
At Arizona – W
At Colorado – W
Stanford – W
Washington – W
At Oregon (Friday) – L
I think Oregon State is being slept on.
This team won 10 games in 2022 and got better heading into 2023. The passing game was non-existent last year. This year they brought in Clemson transfer QB, DJ Uiagalelei, an instant upgrade.
The only thing better than their team is their schedule. They miss the preseason favorite, USC, and get Washington, UCLA, and Utah at home.
Maybe Oregon State does something special in the last season of the Pac-12.
Record: 10-2 (7-2)
Pick: Over 8.5 – Hammer the Over
T-2nd – Oregon – O/U win total: 9.5
Portland State – W
At Texas Tech – L
Hawaii – W
Colorado – W
At Stanford – W
Bye
At Washington – L
Washington State – W
At Utah – L
California – W
USC – W
At Arizona State – W
Oregon State (Friday) – W
The week 2 game vs Texas Tech is huge, and unfortunately for Oregon, I have the road battle being too much for them to handle. That game is more about their playoff hopes though, it has nothing to do with the Pac-12 race.
With these teams at the top of the Pac-12, it’s a mess. Unless I have really strong feelings, I have the home team winning and the road team losing a lot. That’s especially true with Oregon, who has probably the best home-field advantage in the Pac-12.
Record: 9-3 (7-2)
Pick: Don’t Bet
T-2nd – USC – O/U win total: 10
San Jose State (Week 0) – W
Nevada – W
Stanford – W
Bye
At Arizona State – W
At Colorado – W
Arizona – W
At Notre Dame – W
Utah – W
At California – W
Washington – L
At Oregon – L
UCLA – W
Bye
USC is the favorite to win the Pac-12. And for good reason.
They have the best QB, Caleb Williams, in a conference that is stacked with NFL QBs. The hard part for USC, the schedule is back-loaded. The first half is a joke, and the second half is a gauntlet. After Notre Dame, Utah, and Cal beat up the Trojans, I think they start to crumble.
I also think that the ND game might be trickier than expected. Utah has proven you don’t have to be faster than USC, you just need to be more physical.
Record: 10-2 (7-2)
Pick: Push 10 – Don’t Bet
1st – Washington – O/U win total: 9.5
Boise State – W
Tulsa – W
At Michigan State – W
California – W
At Arizona – W
Bye
Oregon – W
Arizona State – W
At Stanford – W
At USC – W
Utah – W
At Oregon State – L
Washington State – W
My pick for the best team in the Pac-12. The AP poll has them #10, and I think it’s too low. Penix to Odunze will be the highlight of an offense that threw for more yards than USC last year.
The only team they “miss” is UCLA. But, they get Oregon and Utah at home, and I think they will just be better than USC (and USC will be beaten up) in their week 10 game.
Oregon State takes advantage of a banged up Washington team that barely gets by Utah.
And the Apple Cup is the bow on top of a fantastic season full of ranked wins.
Record: 11-1 (8-1)
Pick: Over 9.5
Championship Matchup:
Washington vs…?
There is a three-way tie at 7-2 – Oregon, USC, Oregon State
We have to go a little way down the tie-breaker board to solve this one. It might seem obvious at first glance.
Oregon beat both Oregon State and USC in my predictions.
BUT, the Pac-12 doesn’t use that tiebreaker because USC and Oregon State never played each other. (In the ACC, their rules would have Oregon go to the title game)
The Tie Breaker: Record vs Common Opponents
Common Opponents:
Washington
California
Utah
Colorado
Stanford
Records:
USC (4-1)
Oregon (3-2)
Oregon State (5-0)
Tiebreak Winner: Oregon State
Utah, despite not being in the championship game matters very much in determining who makes it. Flipping where Utah’s wins and losses are impacts who wins this 3-way tie.
Pac-12 Championship Game: Washington vs Oregon State
Champion Pick: Washington (12-1)
Want more Walk On Fan?
Check out our SEC predictions from earlier this week.
This article was written by Cole Tollison and edited by Hayden Breene