Power Ranking the Old Pac-12 (Final Edition)

[David Marsh]

Just for funsies I have decided to do one last power ranking of the Pac-12, well the old Pac-12. Going forward I don't think I will do it again because we'll be moving further away from the Pac-12 era. And I don't care about the Scrap-12. So here we go... 

 

1. Oregon (13-0) - Nothing to say here... Oregon is the clear cut favorite in ANY conference right now.  

 

2. Arizona State (11-2) - Won the Big 12 but that in itself isn't massive as the Big 12 isn't that great of a conference. However, I do firmly believe that ASU would be everyone below them on this list. I think they would lose by a couple scores to Oregon though. 

 

3. Colorado (9-3) - Colorado has some star power and some offensive firepower. Their defense had its moments but they were certainly beatable but they'd probably beat a majority of the teams below them because if the game gets into a shootout that plays into Colorado's hand. 

 

4. Washington (6-6) - Washington above Washington State when they lost in week 3? Yes, because week 3 was a long time ago and if that game were to be replayed I think Washington wins. Washington is a 6-6 team and was awful playing away from home and was beaten up pretty bad by the B1G and that style of play. However, against former Pac-12 schools the Huskies were 2-1. That one being getting demolished by Oregon. 

 

5. USC (6-6) - Better than their record but in truth finishing games matters. They probably would have faired better against Pac-12 competition but they aren't in the Pac-12 anymore, as they killed it. 

 

6. UCLA (5-7) - Started out real bad but by the end of the season UCLA was looking pretty decent. They were running the ball well and their passing game wasn't great but was good enough to beat several B1G opponents. 

 

7. Washington State (8-4) - Why is Washington State above Oregon State when they lost to them? Body of work, Washington State was the more consistent team throughout the year. They were even ranked for a few weeks before they fell apart. However, by the end of the year the Beavers were healthy enough to knock them off but it was that middle section of the year that gives WSU the edge over the Pac-2 Champs the Beavers. 

 

8. Cal (6-6) - The biggest disappointment by far. This team should have been so much more than their record but they just fell flat of it all. 

 

9. Oregon State (5-7) - OSU spent most of the year being horribly injured with a first year head coach. Their style of play was a grinding offense with a solid defense which resulted in low scoring games. But if they got boat raced they stood no chance. 

 

10. Utah (5-7) - Cam Rising never returned to form and suffered an injury. Utah doesn't have a backup quarterback good enough to really pull them through the season and they fell woefully short of expectations. 

 

11. Stanford (3-9) - Stanford is still bad. Cristobal should be thankful he didn't have to play Stanford this year or he'd have another loss. 

 

12. Arizona (4-7) - A bad team at the bottom of the Big 12. Not much to say other than Stanford is in the same place in the ACC but Stanford still feels there is some fight in them and Arizona looked like they just gave up in their last game. 

 

This year outside of Oregon the Old Pac-12 would be a pretty sad and sorry conference. If this conference still existed Oregon would probably be the three seed in this year's playoff and would still be undefeated but not battle tested. The rest of the conference would be incredibly bad but probably chaotically fun to watch. 

[Charles Fischer]

Wowsa, what a drop-off after No. 3!

 

I guess the ol' Pac-12 would have been "Top-Heavy" this year the way the B1G usually is.

 

Thanks David!

 

[30Duck]

The Ducks SOS would have been better if the Huskies hadn't lost to WSU and Rutgers. 

[Steven A]

The Ducks SOS would have been better if the Huskies hadn't lost to WSU and Rutgers. 

 

So worth it!

[David Marsh]

On 12/9/2024 at 3:48 PM, Charles Fischer said:

Wowsa, what a drop-off after No. 3!

I think there is a massive drop off between 1 and 2 and basically a cliff between 2 and everyone else. 

 

If I tier system it I think it looks like this. 

 

Tier 1: Oregon 

Tier 2: Arizona State 

Tier 3: Colorado, Washington, USC, UCLA, WSU, Cal, OSU and Utah

Tier 4: Stanford and Arizona 

 

There would be four tiers this year. That's how big the disparity between programs would have been.. kinda bonkers. 

[Jon Sousa]

If the LA schools would not have destroyed the PAC, it would still be together. Everything would be different than it is today (almost).

 

Jonathan Smith would still be at OSU. They just finished the stadium and he had every reason to stay. He may have qualified for the playoff if the PAC was still together.

 

DeBoer would have gone to Alabama and Fisch would be at Washington. Washington would be be about where it is.

 

Dilly's team would be as good as it is, but they wouldn't have made the playoffs this year because the PAC12 would be stronger than the Big 12. ASU may have made 3rd place in the PAC and that would not do.

 

USC might have won a couple more games in the PAC... but maybe not. USC and Colorado would have probably been fighting it out for 4th place.

 

The Ducks would be 13-0 and maybe the only undefeated team in the country, since anOSU lost to Michigan. As the only undefeated team, they would have still gotten the top seed --- unfortunately.

 

[David Marsh]

On 12/9/2024 at 7:05 PM, Jon Sousa said:

The Ducks would be 13-0 and maybe the only undefeated team in the country, since anOSU lost to Michigan. As the only undefeated team, they would have still gotten the top seed --- unfortunately.

I agree that ASU would not be in the playoffs. They wouldn't be in the playoff if they weren't conference champs. 

 

Though undefeated Oregon in the Pac-12 I have a difficult time seeing as a No.1 or 2 seed over Ohio State/Penn State with q loss or even 2 loss SEC champ Georgia. 

 

The West Coast just isn't that respected when it comes to football. Especially if the rest of the conference looks like a hot mess of canabalism which it typically would be. 

 

My 3rd tier would be a hot mess. 

 

As for Jonathan Smith and the Beavers this year... They'd be better for sure. Maybe even good enough to break into my tier 2 but I kinda doubt they'd get a playoff spot as an at large because the the Pac-12 wouldn't be respected enough to be worthy of it.