College Football Betting: Pac-12 Conference Preview

With Week 1 of the 2023 college football season a little over a month away, so it’s a great time to look at the latest odds for the Pac-12 conference.

2023 Pac-12 Conference Odds

Here are the updated odds for which team will win the Pac-12 Championship Game this upcoming season, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

USC (+210)
Oregon (+300)
Washington (+340)
Utah (+500)
Oregon State (+1200)
UCLA (+1400)
Washington State (+4000)
California (+6000)
Arizona (+8000)
Arizona State (+9000)
Colorado (+10000)
Stanford (+15000)

USC’s Caleb Williams, Lincoln Riley Looking to Punch Ticket to CFP

The Trojans are the favorites (+210) to win the Pac-12 Championship Game this season after a rough end to the 2022 season. USC started off last season 6-0 before suffering their first loss Oct. 15 on the road against Utah (43-42). After that crushing one-point defeat to the Utes, the Trojans rattled off five-straight wins to end the regular season. However, USC’s CFP dreams came to a crashing halt as they got destroyed by the Utes 47-27 in the Pac-12 title game.

USC finished the 2022 season with a 47-46 loss to Tulane in the Cotton Bowl, leaving fans wondering what could’ve been. However, it’s a brand new year for the Trojans and another year of Caleb Williams, which makes them a threat to win the Pac-12 over reigning back-to-back champ Utah and puts them in the national title convo.

Williams had an outstanding year under Lincoln Riley, throwing for 4,537 yards, 42 touchdowns and five interceptions en route to winning the Heisman trophy. He also had 382 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground, making Williams one of the premier dual-threat QBs in the nation. Williams is the favorite to win the Heisman again this season. But he would probably trade that for a Pac-12 championship and CFP berth. For USC to accomplish both feats, they must be better on defense, which was an issue last season. The Trojans allowed 29.2 points per game (94th in the country) and 264.1 passing yards per game (20th in the country). When the defense allows almost 30 ppg, it doesn’t matter if the offense averaged 41.4 points per game.

Therefore, if the Trojans’ defense gets its act together, they will be a force to be reckoned with this season. However, will it be enough to take down Utah, Oregon and Washington? We’ll see as the Trojans will play all three teams this season.

Can the Utes Win a Third Straight Pac-12 Title?

The Utes are surprisingly not one of the favorites to win the Pac-12 this year, despite winning the last two titles in dominating fashion. Utah is +500 to take home the crown, which is fourth-best behind USC, Oregon (+300), and Washington (+340). The Utes’ title hopes rest on the shoulders of QB Cameron Rising, who suffered a leg injury in the Rose Bowl.

Rising completed 64.7% of his passes for 3,034 yards, 26 touchdowns, and eight interceptions last season for Utah. Head coach Kyle Whittingham sounded cautiously optimistic about Rising being ready for game one in April. If Rising can play, the Utes could be a great value play at 5/1 odds.

Utah has a solid running game led by Ja’Quinden Jackson, who recorded 531 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022. The Utes also have another great tight end that will be on NFL radars in Brant Kuithe, who only played in four games last season because of injury but should have an expanded role with Dalton Kincaid heading to the NFL. Finally, on defense, Whittingham always has his guys ready to go, as the Utes were ranked 29th in the country in opponent turnovers per game (1.7). Utah has a brutal schedule this year as they’ll play USC, Washington, and Oregon in October and November. They will also play Florida at home and go on the road to play Baylor in the first two weeks of the regular season.

Oregon, Washington Among Contenders to Win Pac-12 Title Game

Outside of USC, there’s a lot of buzz surrounding the Ducks and Huskies, who have the second- and third-best odds this season to win the Pac-12. Both teams are leaning on veteran QBs in Bo Nix (Oregon) and Michael Penix Jr. (Washington), who have seen it all and played well in their new environments last season. Nix completed a career-high 71.9% of his passes for 3,593 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

The Auburn transfer also recorded 510 rushing yards and 14 TDs, paving the way for him to be a Heisman contender this season. For the Ducks to hit the 10-win mark again, they need Nix to play at his absolute best under center because the schedule gets tough for Oregon in October.

As for Penix, he looked excellent in his first season at the University of Washington. The veteran quarterback was finally healthy and shined weekly, making the Huskies a contender in the Pac-12. The Tampa, Florida native completed 65.3% of his passes for 4,641 yards, 31 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. Penix also led the Huskies to their first 11-plus win season since 2016 (12-2). If Penix can build off what he did last season with Kalen DeBoer, the Huskies could ruin the Trojans and Utes’ dreams of winning a Pac-12 title.

What Will Coach Prime Do in Colorado?

Finally, there are a lot of intriguing storylines in the Pac-12, as we can talk about a ton of teams and what to expect from them this season. However, one team that will garner a lot of attention in 2023 is the Colorado Buffaloes.

The Buffaloes are ushering in the Deion Sanders era, after Prime had an impressive run at Jackson State that saw him win back-to-back SWAC titles and make consecutive appearances in the Cricket Celebration Bowl. Coach Prime made a lot of noise in the offseason as he overhauled the entire roster, bringing in 42 transfers, including Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders from Jackson State. In a conference with multiple great quarterbacks, Sanders is being left out of that convo despite his incredible two-year performance at Jackson State. Colorado has a lot to prove after going 1-11 last season under Karl Dorrell and Mike Sanford, but if there’s a person for the job, it’s Coach Prime.

Best Bets for the Pac-12 Conference

For bettors looking for a couple of best bets to place before the regular season kicks off, they should take Oregon State over 8.5 wins (+130, FanDuel Sportsbook) and Utah over 8.5 wins (+120, DraftKings Sportsbook).

The Beavers made a ton of noise last season, when they went 10-3 (6-3 in Pac-12 play). Oregon State ended the regular season on a three-game winning streak and defeated Florida 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl. The Beavers had an excellent defense last season, which allowed 20 points per game (16th in the country). In the offseason, Oregon State bolstered its offense with the addition of former Clemson QB D.J. Uiagalelei. Uiagalelei had a solid 2022 season with the Tigers, throwing for 2,521 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The 6-foot-4 QB also ran for 545 yards and seven touchdowns. If Uiagalelei can improve his completion percentage (61.7%) from 2022, the Beavers should be in the thick of the Pac-12 race.