Greg McElroy expects Washington to win the Pac-12 in 2023

There are high expectations for the Pac-12 this season with many believing it will be as difficult as it has been in recent seasons.

There’s Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley at USC looking to make a second-year leap into the College Football Playoff. There’s back-to-back Pac-12 champion Utah headlined by a returning Cameron Rising. There’s potential Heisman candidate Bo Nix leading the charge at Oregon. There’s a 10-win Oregon State team that added former five-star quarterback recruit DJ Uiagalelei in the offseason. There’s a UCLA program that has built momentum over the last two seasons under Chip Kelly.

But there’s one team in the conference that ESPN analyst Greg McElroy likes the best in 2023, and that is Washington. Not only does McElroy ranked the team eighth in his preseason top 25, but he also has the Huskies winning the Pac-12 title.

“I think Washington wins the Pac-12 this year,” McElroy said on an episode of his Always College Football with Greg McElroy podcast. “I really believe that. I know they don’t have the best quarterback in the league. But I do think quarterback plus weapons, there is no team in the Pac-12 that has better weapons than Washington. You think about the defensive mind that they have on that side of the ball in Bralen Trice.”

Dynamic quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is considered one of best quarterbacks in the country. The southpaw threw for 4,641 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 65.3% of his passes.

On3 ranked the Washington signal-caller him in May as the No. 11 overall player in college football for the 2023 season, behind only two quarterbacks in Williams and North Carolina star Drake Maye.

Bralen Trice ranked 20th on the list, giving the Huskies two players in the top 20. Other than Washington, only two other teams had at least two players ranked in the top 20 heading into the 2023 season. Penn State had three top-20 players in offensive tackle Olu Fashanu, cornerback Kalen King and linebacker Abdul Carter. Duke had two top-20 players in offensive tackle Graham Barton and defensive lineman Dewayne Carter,

“It’s the same reason why everybody loved Alabama at times last year,” McElroy said. “Like you got a Will Anderson, Bryce Young — I’m not comparing Michael Penix to Bryce Young. I’m not comparing Bralen Trice to Will Anderson. They went one and three in the draft for a reason. I get that. But they’re pretty close. They’re pretty close, and they are two guys that need to be acknowledged, especially if Penix can grow the way I’m anticipating him growing this year.”