Southern California was the dominant program in the Pac-12 in the first half of the 2000s. Oregon ascended to prominence in the late 2000s, and lately Stanford has asserted its will over the league.
That’s not to say, however, that the Pac-12 is a league with one giant and eleven dwarves. In fact, the league might be at its deepest point yet. There is a lot of coaching talent that has come to the league lately (thanks to new media rights deals) and those coaches have certainly taken advantage of the fertile recruiting grounds that some of the schools are located in.
If you live in the Mountain or Pacific Time zones, Pac-12 football is definitely becoming appointment viewing on Saturday evenings. But which teams have schedules that are worth spending your quality time viewing? Let’s see, from most difficult to easiest, what the ranking of the schedules looks like.
1) California – Yes, the Golden Bears are playing their entire non-conference schedule at home in their (still relatively) shiny new digs. But two of those opponents are Northwestern, a 10 win team from last season and Ohio State, who went undefeated last year at 12-0. Also, Cal has five road games in conference, with four of those road tests being Oregon, UCLA, Washington and Stanford. Spike Dykes first year at the helm in Berkeley will not be an easy one.
2) UCLA – The Bruins had a great start to last season, the first under Jim Mora. UCLA staggered a bit at the end, however, losing three of their final four games (two to Stanford). The pieces are in place to take another run at the South Division title, but it will require surviving a bit of a gauntlet. UCLA faces a triumvirate of teams that start with “N” (Nevada, at Nebraska, New Mexico State) and then faces four tough conference foes on the road (at Oregon, at Stanford, at Arizona, at USC).
3) USC – Yes, Hawai’i is not a great team, and Boston College isn’t either, but undertaking that extra game due to the Hawai’i trip should count for something. Instead of facing a FCS squad for that extra game, the Trojans actually decided to play a tough Mountain West team in Utah State. The Notre Dame trip should be challenging as well. In conference play, the Trojans do miss Washington and Oregon, and host Stanford and UCLA. But with a still thin roster due to probation, losing that extra bye week that other teams in the league will get might make a difference down the stretch.
4) Oregon State – The Beavers are sometimes overlooked by the media, but they finished with nine wins last season and could have had 11 wins, with close losses to Stanford and Washington on the negative side of the ledger. This year, a non-conference schedule that features a couple of winnable games (Hawai’i and at San Diego State) that could get the Beavers off to a fast start. Oregon State should watch out for Eastern Washington, however, in that season opener. The back half of the schedule is a bit brutal, however. If the Beavers are going to contend for a division title, they will have to go through games against Stanford, USC and Washington at home mixed in with road trips to Arizona State and Oregon.
5) Arizona State – The Sun Devils will play two home non-conference games (Sacramento State, Wisconsin) and one neutral site game against Notre Dame in Cowboys Stadium. In conference, the Sun Devils have four road games, including UCLA and Stanford. Arizona State hosts Southern Cal, Washington and Arizona and misses Oregon.
6) Utah – The Utes will not leave the State of Utah for a non-conference game, as they host Utah State and Weber State and travel to Provo to face BYU. Utah only has four conference road games (two of which are Southern Cal and Oregon) and hosts Stanford, UCLA and Arizona State.
7) Stanford – The Cardinal seemed to head to another level when Kevin Hogan took over as starting quarterback in the back half of the season. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the momentum going with the schedule. Stanford hosts traditional regional rival San Jose State University to open their season, and then travels across the country to play at Army in a Noon Eastern Time kickoff the following week. In conference, the Cardinal host Arizona State, Washington, UCLA and Oregon, skip Arizona and travel to USC.
8) Oregon – The Ducks are under new stewardship with former head coach Chip Kelly off to the NFL. The schedule, while featuring three teams from the Southeast (at Virginia, home against Tennessee and Nicholls State), is not overwhelming in the non-conference. In conference play, Oregon travels to Washington and Stanford, hosts UCLA and skips Arizona State and Southern Cal.
9) Washington – The Huskies will open a new look Husky Stadium with a game against Boise State, then hit the road to face Illinois. FCS opponent Idaho State rounds out the non-conference schedule. In league, the Huskies host Arizona and Oregon, travel to Stanford, Arizona State and UCLA and skip USC.
10) Colorado – A program that was in decline for a number of years seemed to crater last season with a 1-11 abomination. With a new head coach in Mike Macintyre and a new direction at hand, it will be interesting to see how much growth the Buffaloes can make in one offseason. The season opening neutral site game against archrival Colorado State will be hard-hitting. After facing FCS opponent Central Arkansas, the Buffs will have a chance to exact revenge against Fresno State, a program that whipped them last season 69-14. In conference, Colorado travels to Arizona State, UCLA and Washington and hosts Oregon and Southern Cal. Stanford is not on the schedule.
11) Washington State – The Cougars have struggled for a long time, although there were flashes (albeit brief) in Mike Leach’s first season on the Palouse. Year two opens with a trip to SEC country to face an Auburn squad in a bit of transition, and then features home games against FCS squad Southern Utah University and geographic rival Idaho. In conference, Wazzu will face USC, Arizona and Oregon on the road and host Arizona State and Stanford while missing UCLA. Bowl eligibility might not happen, but an improvement on 3-9 is in the cards.
12) Arizona – So the Wildcats are playing five conference road games. That much is true. And they are traveling for a non-conference game. But it’s a trip to face UNLV—not exactly an impossible mission. The rest of the non-conference (Northern Arizona, UTSA) doesn’t exactly strike fear into many teams’ hearts. Conference play does feature trips to Southern Cal and Washington. But the Wildcats don’t have to face Stanford at all and get Oregon and UCLA at home in Tucson. Arizona definitely has a chance to improve on last season’s 8-5 overall record in Rich Rodriguez’s second year.
