As we end the 2010’s and enter the 2020’s, it’s time to look back and rank the Pac 12 teams as a whole. This might be subjective to some, but I’ll try being fair. You’ll also get a little background on why they are at their spot, their best season, and best player.
12: Oregon State Beavers
A program that has been stuck in a blizzard and who’s trying to get themselves out. The Beavers for the better part were irrelevant during the 2010’s only going to two bowl games during that time. Those bowl seasons were in 2012 and 2013.
Best Season: 2012
Result: Alamo Bowl Loss 27-31
Best Player: Brandin Cooks
11: California Golden Bears
Another program that has been a laughing stock of the PAC-12, barely being able to win. One thing that Cal is known for though is being able to pull off a shocking upset. We saw this last year against UW and in 2017 against Washington State.
Best Season: 2015
Result: Armed Forces Champs 55-35
Best Player: Jared Goff
10: Colorado Buffaloes
A team that made this conference the PAC-12. Colorado, for the most part has been a team that opponents looked forward to playing because it was a comfortable victory. Even though Colorado had one season playing in the PAC-12 title, that isn’t enough to put them higher.
Best Season: 2016
Result: Alamo Bowl Loss 8-38
Best Player: Patrick Lindsay
9: Arizona Wildcats
Arizona went on a streak for a few years, where they were one of the top teams in their division. This is a program that has always given UW nightmares because they didn’t allow UW to win easy. They have had a few tough seasons the past few years and that’s why they are this low.
Best Season: 2014
Result: Fiesta Bowl Loss 30-38
Best Player: Scooby Wright
8: Arizona State Sun Devils
A program that could continuously win games, but it was always the same number of wins. This program could win the games they weren’t supposed to and loss the games they should have one. They did make a big splash two years ago when they hired Herm Edwards to be their head coach, who has made them improve overall as a program.
Best Season: 2013
Result: Holiday Bowl Loss 23-37
Best Player: Will Sutton
7: Washington State Cougars
Wazzu landing here is a perfect spot, even though they’ve been on a tear the last few years. The reason why they aren’t higher is having a few ugly seasons in the early years.
Best Season 2018
Result: Alamo Bowl Champ 28-26
Best Player: Luke Falk
6: UCLA Bruins
A once-dominant program had up and down years during the 2010s. One key thing that keeps them high was being able to defeat their rival USC. I know they been down for the past few years, and that’s why they get dropped this low.
Best Season: 2014
Result: Alamo Bowl Champs 40-35
Best Player: Myles Jack
5: Utah Utes
The other team that made this conference change its original name. Utah has been a tough team to decipher because they were either playing like they were unstoppable or getting blown out. The Utes for the better part of the last three seasons have been on a tear, especially the last two seasons losing in the PAC 12 title.
Best Season: 2019
Result: Alamo Bowl TBD
Best Player: Devontae Booker
4: USC Trojans
USC was struck with a postseason ban for two years, with those years being 2010 and 2011. USC did look like they’d be back in 2012, but that wasn’t the case, and they have a few more tough seasons. They finally struck gold though in 2016, when Sam Darnold took over as QB and led USC to back to back Rose Bowls.
Best Season: 2016
Result: Rose Bowl Champs 52-49
Best player: Sam Darnold
3: Washington Huskies
A once-dominant program slowly found there groove again this last decade. With multiple bowl game appearances, but most importantly, going to three straight years of being in the New Year Six games. UW finally earned back the term “Bow down to Washington.”
Best Season: 2016
Result: Peach Bowl Loss 7-24
Best Player: Myles Gaskin
2: Stanford Cardinal
A program that was known for giving Oregon nightmares and kept them from winning three straight conference titles. Stanford was regularly getting mentioned in the hunt for the National Title hunt.
Best Season:2010
Result: Orange Bowl Champs 40-12
Best Player: Andrew Luck or Christian McCaffrey
1: Oregon Ducks
With two national title appearances, winning the 2011-2012 Rose Bowl, and winning the 2012-2013 Fiesta bowl during the 2010s, it’s hard not to put the Ducks at this spot. You could argue with their downfall during the 2016-2017 season could knock them from the number one spot, but that isn’t the case.
Best Season: 2010
Result: BCS Championship loss 19-22
Marcus Mariota
