The Pac-12 has not had a member win the National Championship in quite some time. Washington and Oregon made trips to the Playoffs in recent years, but they came up short. USC won multiple national titles earlier in this century, and Washington shared one with Miami back in 1991, but this once toughest conference has come up short ever since Vince Young scored the winning touchdown for Texas against USC in 2005.
The Trojans might have won an additional national title in this century had the four team playoffs been in existence in 2002. While unbeated Ohio State and unbeaten Miami played a memorable championship game, it was USC that was clearly the best team in the nation at the end of the year. The Trojans went 11-2, and 12 of the 13 teams on their schedule went to bowls. The Tojans split the title with LSU in 2003 and won the title outright in 2004. They went 38-2 in a three-year period losing only to Young and Texas and Aaron Rodgers and Cal. Since that time, 11 of the last 12 national champions have come from South of the Mason-Dixon Line. Can this be the year the Pac-12 breaks through with another national champion?
USC and Washington both appear to be contenders for playoff bid during the preseason. In today’s college football world, the quarterback is just as vital as the position in the NFL. The Trojans and Huskies both have top 5 signal callers directing their attacks. Sam Darnold took over a 1-3 Trojan team and guided USC to nine consecutive victories. Washington’s Jake Browning led the Huskies to the Playoff semi-finals, before UW bowed out against Alabama.
There are three other teams with the type of quality QB that can lead a school to a conference championship. Washington State’s Luke Falk is now a senior, and when QB’s under Mike Leach’s tutelage reach their fourth year in the program, they tend to lead the conference and the nation in total offense. Look for WSU to continue to advance forward from the surprise 2016 season.
Josh Rosen leads the UCLA offense, but like so many past Bruin quarterbacks, injuries have sort of derailed his career. A healthy Rosen is capable of leading the Bruins to a record reversal or better in Westwood. A 4- 8 disappointment in 2016, led Coach Jim Mora, Jr. to overhaul his assistant coaching corps.
Oregon is another team that disappointed in 2016. It cost Mark Helfrich his job. Enter new coach Willie Taggart, who turned around programs at Western Kentucky and South Florida. At his two prior stops, Taggart’s first editions have taken their lumps learning to play his style of ball, but he did not have a quarterback with the talent of Justin Herbert at either past school. Look for the Ducks to turn things around quickly and become bowl-eligible again this season. Give Taggart three years, and Oregon will be challenging for the Pac-12 North title again.
Here is how the Pac-12 Media voted in the preseason.
| Pac-12 North Division | ||||
| # | Team | 1st Pl. | Total | Champ. |
| 1 | Washington | 49 | 309 | 22 |
| 2 | Stanford | 1 | 247 | 0 |
| 3 | Washington St. | 1 | 206 | 0 |
| 4 | Oregon | 1 | 163 | 1 |
| 5 | Oregon St. | 0 | 101 | 0 |
| 6 | California | 0 | 64 | 0 |
| Pac-12 South Division | ||||
| # | Team | 1st Pl. | Total | Champ. |
| 1 | USC | 49 | 309 | 28 |
| 2 | Utah | 1 | 220 | 1 |
| 3 | UCLA | 1 | 209 | 0 |
| 4 | Colorado | 1 | 182 | 0 |
| 5 | Arizona St. | 0 | 109 | 0 |
| 6 | Arizona | 0 | 61 | 0 |
The PiRate, Mean, and Bias Ratings agree on the division leaders, but our ratings show a different order to start the season. Bear in mind that our ratings factor depth and other factors that could help a team improve (or decline) in the ratings more than another team with the same results, based on this factor. USC is one of those teams that has a chance to improve more than average, so by late November, the Trojans could be rated higher than Washington, even if both teams go 11-1 and face off in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
| Pac-12 Conference | ||||
| North Division | ||||
| Team | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average |
| Washington | 129.3 | 125.1 | 130.3 | 128.2 |
| Washington St. | 119.4 | 116.1 | 118.6 | 118.0 |
| Stanford | 118.5 | 116.2 | 117.1 | 117.3 |
| Oregon | 110.6 | 107.2 | 109.6 | 109.1 |
| Oregon St. | 102.5 | 101.7 | 101.1 | 101.8 |
| California | 97.8 | 95.3 | 95.7 | 96.3 |
| South Division | ||||
| Team | PiRate | Mean | Bias | Average |
| U S C | 120.4 | 120.1 | 120.8 | 120.4 |
| Colorado | 114.1 | 111.5 | 111.8 | 112.4 |
| U C L A | 108.6 | 107.7 | 108.0 | 108.1 |
| Utah | 105.4 | 108.1 | 105.6 | 106.4 |
| Arizona St. | 103.7 | 103.7 | 102.5 | 103.3 |
| Arizona | 98.3 | 97.1 | 95.9 | 97.1 |
| Pac-12 Averages | 110.7 | 109.1 | 109.8 | 109.9 |
And, here are our not-so-scientific predictions for won-loss and bowl projections.
| Pac-12 Conference Projected Standings | |||
| North Division | |||
| Team | Conference | Overall | Bowl |
| Washington | 9-0 | 12-1 | Fiesta |
| Washington St. | 7-2 | 10-2 | Alamo |
| Stanford | 6-3 | 9-3 | Holiday |
| Oregon | 5-4 | 8-4 | Foster Farms |
| Oregon St. | 2-7 | 4-8 | |
| California | 1-8 | 2-10 | |
| South Division | |||
| Team | Conference | Overall | Bowl |
| USC | 7-2 | 11-2 | PLAYOFFS |
| Utah | 5-4 | 8-4 | Sun |
| UCLA | 5-4 | 7-5 | Las Vegas |
| Colorado | 4-5 | 7-5 | Cactus |
| Arizona St. | 1-8 | 3-9 | |
| Arizona | 1-8 | 3-9 | |
| USC to win Pac-12 Championship Game | |||
Coming Tomorrow: The Atlantic Coast Conference–Does Florida State deserve its lofty preseason rating? How much will Clemson suffer without Deshaun Watson, Mike Williams, and Wayne Gallman? Can Louisville challenge the two behemoths? Is there a dark horse team lurking, maybe North Carolina State? In the Coastal, can any team finish better than 6-2 in league play, or will there be a major logjam with four or five teams contending for the division flag?
The Pi-Rate Ratings 