Joel Klatt declares Pac-12 as the deepest conference in the country

Fox Sports college football pundit Joel Klatt believes the Pac-12 is head-to-toe the best conference in the country, and he credits the tremendous quarterback play.

After Week 1 and Week 0, the Pac-12 is a combined 13-0 thanks to some remarkable QB performances throughout the league to start the year. In Joel Klatt’s eyes, such talent under center across the conference makes the Pac-12 a force to be reckoned with.

“So far in the 2023 season the Pac-12 is the deepest conference in the country, period,” he declared on The Joel Klatt Show this week. “There is no if’s and’s or but’s about it. And all you have to do is look at the quarterback play,” he added.

This isn’t about having clear national title contenders, because Klatt isn’t sure the Pac-12 has one. But rather, they have 5-6 really strong football teams, even if none of them match up with the Georgia’s and Michigan’s of the world.

“Now, the teams are good. Listen, this is where everyone’s like, ‘oh my goodness, it’s not the SEC.’ No, I didn’t say best. I didn’t say the top-end. I said deepest. This is this this is not an argument, this is a fact: right now, up to this point, the Pac-12 is 13-0 so far. They’re undefeated. We haven’t seen 13-0 ever in college football out of a conference.

“And the depth of this conference is amazing. Now, can any of these teams beat any of the three Big Ten teams? I’m not sure. Can they beat Florida State? Not sure. Can they beat Alabama or Georgia? Not sure. In fact, I don’t have any of them like ranked up in that echelon. You know, maybe Washington or USC, we’ll see. But as far as deepest, there’s no question that this is the deepest conference.”

Klatt then circled back to his love for the quarterbacks out west.

“What I love about this conference is the quarterback play. Think of being a defensive coordinator in the Pac-12 and you’re having to get ready for these quarterbacks. Now I just took a stab at like ranking up to like eight and I know that there’s more guys in here. I’ll go over it right now.”

Below, you can see the list of great QBs in the Pac-12 that Klatt listed off in order, starting with the reigning Heisman winner…

1. Caleb Williams | USC
2. Michael Penix | Washignton
3. Bo Nix | Oregon
4. Shedeur Sanders | Colorado
5. Cam Rising | Utah
6. DJ Uiagalelei | Oregon State
7. Cameron Ward | Washington State
8. Dante Moore | UCLA

“I mean, they’re rolling eight deep, nine deep in this conference — easily six deep,” says Klatt. “Caleb Williams is gonna be the top pick favorite in the Heisman Trophy. That’s ridiculous.”

Such a ridiculous level of talent at the most important position on the football field has Joel Klatt incredibly bullish on the Pac-12 and its depth.