The 2023 Pac-12 Conference football season was the 45th and final season of

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

football taking place during the

2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season is the 154th season of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at its highest level of competition, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). ...

. The season began on August 26, 2023, and ended with the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1, 2023, at

Allegiant Stadium Allegiant Stadium is a domed stadium located in Paradise, Nevada. It is the home stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL), the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Rebels college football team, the Las Ve ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the 2020 census, making it the fif ...

. The Pac-12 is a

Power Five Conference The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiate ...

under the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual postseason knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), the highest level ...

format along with the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, and the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. The 2023 season was the second since the conference expanded to 12 teams in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

in which Pac-12 teams are not split into divisions. It was the final season with

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, Arizona State,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

who will be leaving to join the Big 12 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado & Utah),

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

(California and Stanford) and

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

(Oregon, UCLA, USC & Washington) following the 2023–24 academic year. On August 27, Arizona State announced a self imposed 2023 bowl game ban due to recruiting violations from the 2020 season.

Previous season

The Utah Utes defeated the USC Trojans 47–24 in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game. Seven teams participated in bowl games, finishing with a record of 3–4. Oregon State defeated

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

30–3 in the Las Vegas Bowl.

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

lost to Fresno State 29–6 in the Los Angeles Bowl.

defeated

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

28–27 in the Holiday Bowl.

defeated

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

27–20 in the Alamo Bowl.

lost to Pitt 37–35 in the Sun Bowl.

lost to Tulane 46–45 in the Cotton Bowl.

lost to

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

35–21 in the Rose Bowl.

Preseason

2023 Pac-12 Spring Football and number of signees on signing day: *Arizona – 22 *Arizona State – 17 *California – 10 *Colorado – 18 *Oregon – 27 *Oregon State – 18 *Stanford – 16 *UCLA – 14 *USC – 20 *Utah – 20 *Washington – 20 *Washington State – 22

Recruiting classes

Pac-12 Media Days

The Pac-12 conducted its 2023 Pac-12 media day on July 21, 2023, at

Resorts World Las Vegas Resorts World Las Vegas is a resort, mall, and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada, United States. The property had been the site of the Stardust Resort and Casino until 2007, when Boyd Gaming demolished the resort to develop its ...

Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

. The teams, representatives and times('' PST'') in respective order were as follows: * Pac-12 Commissioner –

George Kliavkoff George Kliavkoff (born 1967) is an American college athletic administrator. He is the commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference, a position he has held since 2021. Kliavkoff has a diverse professional background in the sports and entertainment lands ...

8 a.m. * Executive Associate Commissioner of Football Operations –

Merton Hanks Merton Edward Hanks (born March 12, 1968) is a former American football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons during the 1990s. He is currently a Senior Associate Commissioner for the Pac-12. College care ...

8:20 a.m. * Utah Athletic Director and Chair of the Pac-12 Athletics Directors Committee – Mark Harlan 8:20 a.m. ''Notes:'' † Coach

Deion Sanders Deion Luwynn Sanders Sr. (born August 9, 1967) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder. Nicknamed "Prime Time", he played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons ...

was not in attendance due to a medical issue, Colorado Defensive Coordinator Charles Kelly attended instead.

Preseason Media polls

The preseason polls was released on July 20, 2023. Since 1992, the credentialed media has gotten the preseason champion correct just five times. Only nine times has the preseason pick even made it to the Pac-12 title game. Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.

Preseason awards

All−American Teams

''Sources:''

Individual awards

Preseason All Pac-12

Sources: First Team Second Team All Pac–12 Honorable Mention (received votes from four or more members of the media): *Arizona: Justin Flowe (LB), Tyler Loop (PK), Tetairoa McMillan (WR), Kyle Ostendorp (P) Jonah Savaiinaea (OL), Michael Wiley (RB) *Arizona State: Jalin Conyers (TE), Cameron Skattebo (RB), Ro Torrence (DB), Slater Zellers (AP) *California: Matthew Cindric (OL), Jeremiah Earby (DB), Jeremiah Hunter (WR), Brett Johnson (DL), Patrick McMorris (DB), Sioape Vatikani (OL), Lachlan Wilson (P) *Colorado: Jimmy Horn (RS), Travis Hunter (WR), Mark Vassett (P) *Oregon: Jeffrey Bassa (LB), Trikweze Bridges (DB), Jordan Burch (DL), Josh Conerly Jr. (OL), Ajani Cornelius (OL),

Terrance Ferguson Terrance Eugene Ferguson Jr. (born May 17, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the GTK Gliwice of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He completed high school at Advanced Preparatory International in Dallas, Texas, where he wa ...

(TE), Troy Franklin (WR),

Jackson Powers-Johnson Jackson James Powers-Johnson (born January 23, 2003) is an American Football Guard for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oregon, winning the 2023 Rimington Trophy as the top center in the F ...

(OL),

Bo Nix Bo Nix (born February 25, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. Nix played with the Auburn Tigers from 2019 to 2021 before transferring to Oregon in 2022. High school career Nix was born on February 25, 2000, in Arka ...

(QB), Nikko Reed (DB) *Oregon State: Eason Mascarenas-Arnold (LB), Heneli Bloomfield (OL), Ryan Cooper (DB), Jesiah Irish (AP), James Rawls (DL) *Stanford:

David Bailey David Royston Bailey (born 2 January 1938) is an English photographer and director, most widely known for his fashion photography and portraiture, and role in shaping the image of the Swinging Sixties. Early life David Bailey was born at Wh ...

(LB) *UCLA: Duke Clemens (OL), Garrett DiGiorgio (OL) *USC: Bear Alexander (DL), Kyon Barrs (DL), Raleek Brown (RS), Austin Jones (RB), Shane Lee (LB), Christian Roland-Wallace (DB) *Utah: JaTravis Broughton (DB),

Jonah Elliss Jonah Elliss (born April 3, 2003) is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Utah Utes. He is the son of former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Luther Elliss and ...

(DL), Michael Mokofisi (OL), Zemaiah Vaughn (DB) *Washington: Jaden Green (AP), Roger Rosengarten (OL), Alphonzo Tuputala (LB),

Asa Turner Asa Turner (June 11, 1799 – December 12, 1885) was an American minister. Turner, son of Asa and Abigail (Baldwin) Turner, was born in Templeton, Mass., June 11, 1799. On being converted, at a mature age, he turned his steps towards Yale Coll ...

(DB), Edefuan Ulofoshio (LB) *Washington State: Jaden Hicks (DB), Dean Janikowski (PK), Nakia Watson (RB)

Head coaches

Coaching changes

There was three coaching changes before the 2023 season. On November 27, 2022, Arizona State hired

Kenny Dillingham Kenny Dillingham (born April 28, 1990) is an American football coach who is currently the head coach at Arizona State University. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Oregon, Florida State University, Auburn ...

as the 26th head coach in team history. On December 3, 2022, Colorado hired

as the 28th head coach in team history On December 11, 2022, Stanford hired Troy Taylor as the 35th head coach in program history. On November 25, following a loss to in-state rival Oregon and before their bowl game appearance, Johnathan Smith accepted the head coaching position at

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

, he finished his career at Oregon State with a record of 34–35.

Coaches

''Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2023 season'' ''Note: * ''† Jonathan Smith coached the first twelve games as head coach at Oregon State in 2023, going 8–4. He finished his career at Oregon State with a 34–35 record.''

Rankings

Schedules

All times Pacific time. † denotes Homecoming game Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for weeks 1 through 9. Rankings from Week 10 until the end of the Season reflect those of the College Football Playoff Rankings.

Regular season

The regular season began on August 26, 2023, and ended on December 1, 2023.

Week 0

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Pac-12 Championship Game

The Pac-12 Championship Game, its thirteenth and final championship game, was played on December 1, 2023, at

. Starting in 2022, the conference had no divisions, and the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage faced off in the championship game.

Postseason

Bowl games

For the 2020–2025 bowl cycle, The Pac-12 will have annually seven appearances in the following bowls: Rose Bowl (unless they are selected for playoffs filled by a Pac-12 team if champion is in the playoffs), LA Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl,

Alamo Bowl The Alamo Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually since 1993 in the Alamodome in San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. Since 2010 it matches the second choice team from the Pac-12 Conference and ...

, Holiday Bowl, and

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

. The Pac-12 teams will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of Power Five conferences in the final College Football Playoff rankings. The Pac-12 champion are also eligible for the

if they're among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking. On August 27, Arizona State announced a self imposed 2023 bowl game ban due to recruiting violations from the 2020 season, making them ineligible for post season play. Rankings are from CFB Rankings. All times

Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00) ...

. Pac-12 teams shown in bold.
†CFP semifinal game
‡CFP National Championship Game

Selection of teams

*Bowl eligible (8): Arizona, California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington *Bowl-ineligible (4): Arizona State, Colorado, Stanford, Washington State

Head to head matchups

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. ''Updated with the results of all games through the 2023 season.''

Pac-12 records vs Other Conferences

2023–2024 records against non-conference foes: Regular season Post Season

Pac-12 vs Power Five matchups

The following games include

teams competing against

Power Five conference The Power Five conferences are the five most prominent and highest-earning athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of NCAA Division I, the highest level of collegiate ...

teams from the

, Big 12, and SEC, plus

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Notre Dame (an ACC member in non-football sports). All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.

Pac-12 vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include Pac-12 teams competing against teams from the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, C-USA, MAC,

Mountain West The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...

Sun Belt The Sun Belt is a region of the United States generally considered to stretch across the Southeast and Southwest. Another rough definition of the region is the area south of the 36th parallel. Several climates can be found in the region — des ...

Pac-12 vs FCS matchups

The

Football Championship Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athleti ...

comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs. ''Note:† Denotes Neutral Site Game''

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Totals per school

Pac-12 individual awards

In November 2023, the Pac-12 Conference released their

Pac-12 Conference football individual awards Coaches of the Pac-12 Conference bestow the following awards at the end of each football season. The conference was founded in its current form as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959, but traces its roots to the Pacific Coast Co ...

and All-Conference Honors at the end of their final season.

All-conference teams

The following players earned All-Pac-12 honors. Any teams showing (_) following their name are indicating the number of All-Pac-12 Conference Honors awarded to that university for 1st team and 2nd team respectively. ''Source:'' First Team Second Team ''Notes:'' * RS = Return Specialist * AP/ST = All-Purpose/Special Teams Player (not a kicker or returner) * † Two-time first team selection; * ‡ Three-time first team selection Honorable mentions *ARIZONA: RB Jonah Coleman, So.; WR

Jacob Cowing Jacob Cowing (born February 4, 2001) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Wildcats. He previously played at UTEP. Early life and high school Cowing grew up in Maricopa, Arizona and attended Maricopa High School. As a senior, he ...

, Sr.; DB Tacario Davis, So.; TE Tanner McLachlan, R-Sr.; DB Ephesians Prysock, So.; OL Jonah Savaiinaea, So.; DB Treydan Stukes Jr.; DL Taylor Upshaw, Gr. *ARIZONA STATE: RS Elijhah Badger, R-Jr.; OL Leif Fautanu, R-Jr.; DL Dashaun Mallory, Gr.; RB Cam Skattebo Jr. *CALIFORNIA: LB David Reese, R-Sr.; DB Craig Woodson, R-Jr. *Colorado: QB

Shedeur Sanders Shedeur Sanders (born February 7, 2002) is an American football quarterback who currently plays for the Colorado Buffaloes. He previously played at Jackson State. Sanders is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback and University of Colo ...

, Jr.; DB

Shilo Sanders Shilo D. Sanders (born February 9, 2000) is an American football safety for the Colorado Buffaloes. He previously played for the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Jackson State Tigers. Sanders is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback and ...

, Gr.; P Mark Vassett Jr. *OREGON: DL

Jordan Burch Jordan Isaiah Askew-Burch (born October 10, 2001) is an American football defensive end for the Oregon Ducks. He previously played for the South Carolina Gamecocks. Early years Burch attended the Hammond School in Columbia, South Carolina. He w ...

, Jr.; OL Josh Conerly Jr., So.; OL Ajani Cornelius, Jr.; DB Tysheem Johnson Jr.; WR Tez Johnson, Jr.; OL Steven Jones Sr.; *OREGON STATE: DB Akili Arnold, R-Jr.; DB Ryan Cooper Jr. Sr.; WR Anthony Gould, R-Jr.; AP/ST Jesiah Irish, R-Sr.; K Atticus Sappington, R-So. *STANFORD: WR Elic Ayomanor, So.; DB Alaka'i Gilman Sr.; LB Tristan Sinclair, 5th; TE Benjamin Yurosek, Sr. *UCLA: DB Kenny Churchwell III, R-Sr.; DB Alex Johnson, R-Sr.; TE Moliki Matavao Jr.; LB Kain Medrano Sr.; DL Gabriel Murphy, R-Jr.; DL Grayson Murphy, R-Jr. *USC: DL Bear Alexander, So.; AP/ST Zachariah Branch, Fr.; DL Solomon Byrd, R-Sr.; OL Justin Dedich, R-Sr.; RB Marshawn Lloyd, R-Jr.; OL Jonah Monheim, R-Jr.; TE Lake McRee, R-So.; WR Tahj Washington, R-Sr. *UTAH: OL Keaton Bills Jr.; OL Michael Mokofisi, So.; DB Zemaiah Vaughn Jr. *WASHINGTON: LB Carson Bruener Jr.; TE Devin Culp Sr.; DB Dominique Hampton Sr.; OL Roger Rosengarten, So.; DL

Zion Tupuola-Fetui Zion Tupuola-Fetui (born July 3, 2000) is an American football linebacker for the Washington Huskies football, Washington Huskies. Early years Tupuola-Fetui attended Pearl City High School (Hawaii), Pearl City High School in Pearl City, Hawai'i ...

, Sr.; TE Jack Westover Sr. *WASHINGTON STATE: DB Jaden Hicks, R-So.; DL Ron Stone Jr., R-Sr.; WR Lincoln Victor, Sr.; QB Cameron Ward, Jr.

All-Americans

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of

Division I-FBS NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. College Football All-American consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, ''TSN'', and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American. Fourth Team: *

List of All American Teams

American Football Coaches Association All-America Team

Associated Press All-America TeamCBS Sports All-America TeamThe Athletic All-America TeamFOX All-America TeamSports Illustrated All-America TeamUSA Today All-America TeamWalter Camp All-America TeamWriters Association of America All-America TeamThe Sporting News College Football All-America TeamESPN All-America TeamPFF College All-America TeamAthlon Sports College Football's Postseason All-America Team

Phil Steele's Postseason All-American TeamAll-American College Football Team and Individual Honors

National Awards

''2023 College Football Award Winners''

Home game attendance

Bold – At or Exceed capacity
†Season High

NFL draft

The

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

will be held at Campus Martius Park in

Detroit, MI Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the ...