This weekend, after the Pac-12 Championship Game concludes between Oregon and Washington in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium, there will undoubtedly be jubilant celebration for the victor. But there's also likely to be a sense of grief and sadness as the Pac-12 takes its final breath as we know it.
Originally founded as the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) in 1915, the league has gone through a few iterations. Its principal members were founded by the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU) in 1959 after the PCC disbanded. It has previously been known by the names Big Five, Big Six, Pacific-8, and Pacific-10 before adopting the Pac-12 moniker in 2011 when it added Colorado and Utah. The league therefore had representation in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.
The Pac-12 became known as one of the illustrious Power-Five conferences by 2011, otherwise known as the highest level of competition in the sport along with the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC. But as the sport rapidly changed over the last half-decade, the Pac-12 struggled. Other conferences, like the SEC and Big Ten, became the major players in the sport because they chose to adapt by addition. That was mainly due to television networks handing out massive deals but asking for greater competition in return.
The SEC went out and grabbed Texas and Oklahoma, while the Big Ten snatched up USC and UCLA initially, then later Oregon and Washington as the Pac-12 failed to reach a resourceful television deal with a network. Quickly, Colorado, Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Stanford, and Utah all left not far behind the others, either for the Big 12 or ACC, leaving only Oregon State and Washington State standing there in an empty room by themselves, like Will Smith on the season finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The irony behind all this is that the 2023 season for the Pac-12 may have been one of its more competitive and entertaining seasons in the conference's history. That's why it's so hard to say goodbye now. But if we have to, let's look at the defining moments in the conference's last season.
Deion Sanders and Colorado Football's hot start
With as much talk as there was about USC and Caleb Williams coming into the season, Deion Sanders and Colorado football quickly changed the narrative of not just the Pac-12 conference, but the entire sport when they started off 3-0. Throughout the first half of the season, Sanders and the Buffaloes were a massive television ratings draw. Colorado was drawing an average of almost nine million viewers in their first four games, totaling over 35 million viewers in that span, according to Sports Media Watch. Their games against Colorado State, during a 10 p.m. timeslot on the East Coast, drew 9.30 million viewers, with the following week's game against Oregon drawing 10.03 million.
Unfortunately for Sanders and Colorado, reality eventually began to sink in, with the Buffaloes only winning one more game the entire season, finishing 4-8 overall and 1-8 in the Pac-12, last place.
USC football ends final season on sour note
Entering the preseason as the No. 6 team in the country, USC football concluded their regular season with a 7-5 record, landing in the sixth position in the Pac-12 conference. Lincoln Riley's Trojans, led by quarterback Caleb Williams, were expected to be the powerhouses of the conference in 2023. However, they quickly fizzled out after a promising 6-0 start, revealing themselves to be more like fool's gold. They struggled to match up against meaningful competition and failed to secure a victory against any ranked teams.
In contrast to the previous season, where they at least contended for the conference title, their final season in the Pac-12 finds them watching from home on conference championship weekend.
The Pac-12 had most ranked opponents in AP Poll at one time
By Week 4 of the college football AP poll rankings, the Pac-12 had the most ranked opponents of any conference in the country with eight: No. 5 USC, No. 8 Washington, No. 10 Oregon, No. 11 Utah, No. 14 Oregon State, No. 19 Colorado, No. 21 Washington State, and No. 22 UCLA. By Week 5, they had four in the top-10.
The Pac-12 had multiple Heisman Trophy candidates
What made the Pac-12 stand out so prominently this season was the amount of great quarterback play. Not only did last year's returning Heisman Trophy winner return in Caleb Williams, but you also had the likes of Oregon State's DJ Uiagalelei, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., and Oregon's Bo Nix.
Williams still had a productive season compared to almost any other quarterback in the nation, but when USC floundered and lost meaningful games, his Heisman repeat hopes were lost as well.
Penix quickly became the favorite after the Huskies' thrilling top-10 win over the Ducks earlier in the season, but Nix has been on a tear since their meeting, becoming the latest favorite. Penix has since cooled down, yet Washington football has kept winning, leading to their much-anticipated rematch in the Pac-12 title game.
The Pac-12 Championship Game is the first meeting between top-5 opponents
For the first time in the history of the Pac-12, the championship game, which has only been played since 2011, will be a meeting between top-5 opponents when No. 3 Washington faces No. 5 Oregon. That makes this weekend's game in Las Vegas a de facto College Football Playoff elimination game.
With a Huskies win, that most assuredly keeps them in the top-4 or higher. The question becomes: what if Oregon, with one loss, beats Washington? Most would believe that immediately puts the Ducks in the top-4, but that will be up for the committee to decide with potentially other viable teams in the mix. However, it's more than likely that the Pac-12, albeit in its finale, will make its return to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2016.
The Pac-12 has eight bowl eligible teams, with four ranked in CFP
In its final season, the Pac-12 will be sending eight teams bowling, with Oregon State, Washington, Utah, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Arizona, and Cal all earning six wins or better. Although the conference's greatest accomplishment will be that they four teams still ranked in the CFP rankings, with Washington and Oregon in the top-5.
The Pac-12 could have multiple Head Coach of the Year candidates
You need not look too far if you're looking to cast votes for who is deserving of head coach of the year. The problem would be you'd have to pick between a couple. Dan Lanning has done a remarkable job in Year 2 at Oregon, getting the Ducks into the conference final title game. His counterpart, Washington's Kalen DeBoer, also deserves recognition for getting the Huskies in the game, along with making his team the first team in over a decade to go undefeated in the regular season. But there's also Jonathan Smith, now Oregon State's former head coach, who left for Michigan State but got the Beavers to 8-4.
Farewell, Pac-12
As we bid farewell to the Conference of Champions, it is undeniably bittersweet. While most teams are heading off to other conferences, promising a higher level of competition and top-tier matchups, there will be a void that many never thought would become a reality. A storied conference is now left in the dust, with historic rivalries tampered and the era of late-night viewings of Pac-12 After Dark coming to an end.
Farewell, Pac-12. Just as we grew to truly appreciate you, you had to cease to be.
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