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Predicted Pac-12 order of finish revealed, USC picked to win conference title

On3-Social-Profile_GRAYby:On3 Staff Report•07/20/23

The Pac-12 Media Days will begin on Friday, with the league’s players and coaches set to meet with reporters to discuss the upcoming season. Ahead of that, the predicted order of finish in the Pac-12 has been released.

USC is being picked to win the conference, despite the fact that Utah is the two-time defending conference champion.

The Trojans, led by reigning Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Caleb Williams, received the overwhelming majority of the first-place votes, getting 25 of 36. Utah received six first-place votes, while Washington received four and Oregon received one.

Washington, then Utah, then Oregon were picked to finish behind USC.

Each can make a somewhat compelling case that they could challenge the Trojans for the top spot in the league standings this fall. All three will likely speak to that at Pac-12 Media Days.

Washington managed to win 11 games last season, dropping only a pair of one-possession games on the road at UCLA and Arizona State in the middle of the season. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. returns as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate, as does star receiver Rome Odunze.

That duo should form one of the most prolific connections in the conference, if not the nation.

Utah is in a bit of a different spot, returning a good chunk of its roster including star quarterback Cameron Rising. But Rising is recovering from a major knee injury and might not be fully available at the start of the season.

Oregon, meanwhile, returns an excellent dual-threat quarterback prospect in Bo Nix. He’s a talented veteran who has been through it all and should help power the Ducks this fall.

One other thing of note in the projected order of finish in the conference?

Colorado was not picked to finish last, with new coach Deion Sanders set to take over after flushing much of the roster via the NCAA transfer portal (though he’ll miss Pac-12 Media Days). The Buffaloes were picked to finish just ahead of Stanford at the bottom of the standings.

You can view the complete predicted order of finish in the conference ahead of the Pac-12 Media Days below.

Pac-12 Predicted Order of Finish 2023

  1. USC (25) – 413
  2. Washington (4) – 367
  3. Utah (6) – 359
  4. Oregon (1) – 344
  5. Oregon State – 309
  6. UCLA – 248
  7. Washington State – 186
  8. Arizona – 176
  9. California – 132
  10. Arizona State – 122
  11. Colorado – 98
  12. Stanford – 54