College football has been in the news for a whole bunch of reasons recently because the game is changing right before our eyes. But that won’t stop us from breaking down the biggest conferences and the best teams as we embark on another year of the great sport we all love and know. No amount of conference realignment or NIL money can take away our passion for the game. Here is our 2023 Pac-12 football preview.
Savor it. I guess that’s all we really can say about the Pac 12 as its death nears after the departure of Arizona State, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Washington, and Oregon over the last few weeks. Of course, those teams are exiting the conference are on the heels of USC and UCLA doing the same thing earlier.
It’s a sad reality and one that could have been easily preventable had Pac-12 presidents and the commissioner not been so blinded by bad TV deals and being overly cocky over the last decade. You have to feel for Washington State, Oregon State, Stanford, and Cal. I imagine that tensions are going to run extremely high this season. Everyone wants to end the conference at the top and I would assume some of the guiltier parties who helped the destruction of the league are going to hear it from opposing fanbases that simply won’t accept what has happened to its beloved conference.
Last Year
Utah, who has been the most consistent conference in recent years, dominated yet again, taking down USC twice. Once during the regular season and then again in the conference championship which paved the way to another title. The Utes won it all, but USC had to feel good about getting back to prominence thanks to Lincoln Riley and his Heisman quarterback Caleb Williams who followed him over from Oklahoma. Oregon had an impressive season with Dan Lanning taking over for Mario Cristobal and another team that rose up the ranks was Oregon State who should be even more improved this year thanks to a successful stint in the transfer portal.
What to Watch
I am excited to watch Arizona State this season under Kenny Dillingham who replaces the incompetent Herm Edwards. Dillingham was responsible for the offensive firepower a season ago at Oregon and has reignited the fan base in Tempe and made it his mission to take recruiting to the next level.
The other school I am waiting to put together a complete season from start to finish is UCLA. They’ve been on the cusp a few times but for a Chip Kelly led team, they haven’t done enough to push themselves over the edge entirely.
Heisman Candidates
Bo Nix and Caleb Williams will lead the way this time around with Nix putting up video game numbers at Oregon last season while Williams will be defending the Heisman trophy this year.
Prediction
USC was so incredibly active in the transfer portal last season, and they put down the roots for a new, successful program. I’ll back them this season.