The college football season is set to kickoff Saturday, August 27, and it’s poised to be one of the more exciting seasons in recent memory. For starters, multiple teams have plans to flip conferences, and some old conference rivalries may be played for the last time. Players are on the move more than ever now, and these athletes know that with each play and each big game, they open doors for transfer opportunities and NIL deals. It should be fun, and we have you covered with our Power 5 conference overviews. Here’s our 2022 Pac 12 football preview.
The Pac 12 took a huge gut punch this offseason with the announcement of USC and UCLA planning to join the Big Ten in 2024. It weakened the conference to the point where it looked like a few other schools might look to join the Big 12. Washington and Oregon are the two biggest players that remain in the conference, and if they find a way to take themselves out of the picture, we are looking at a conference that can no longer be considered a Power 5. The Pac 12 needs to show those two schools that they can be competitive, they can be in the College Football Playoff picture, and they can increase their revenue in a future television deal. The time is now for the Pac 12.
Last Year
Who knew that Utah would have a breakout year that would result in an upset and domination of the Oregon Ducks in the Pac 12 Championship Game? Not me. The Utes played in the Rose Bowl and controlled it for the most part against Ohio State, before choking it away in the final minutes. Outside of Utah, there wasn’t much to enjoy from the Pac 12 as USC floundered, the Washington Huskies had a major issue at head coach, the Arizona Wildcats looked like an embarrassment, and the Arizona State Sun Devils have the NCAA breathing down their necks for various alleged violations. It was not great for the Pac 12 during the season and then it got worse once Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for Tinseltown and the Trojans announced their big move.
This Year
USC added Riley and QB Caleb Williams and while it would be fun to imagine them bringing the swagger back to Los Angeles and the conference, it almost serves as a painful reminder that their existence in the former conference of champions will cease to exist sooner rather than later.
Outside of the Trojans, the Ducks will be an interesting team to watch as Mario Cristobal left for the Miami head coach job, and they brought in Georgia’s Dan Lanning. Utah will look to continue a successful campaign from a season ago even though this team has flipped their roster.
As for the other supporting cast of players like ASU, Colorado, Utah, and Washington State, well….it is becoming more difficult to ever predict what these schools will do.
Prediction:
USC is the flashy item in the conference for 2022 but my trust lies in the Ducks who kept many of their key players while making some flashy additions in the transfer portal. Cristobal is a great coach but there is no reason to think that Lanning won’t be. Potential Heisman Candidate: Caleb Williams – USC – QB