The Pac-12 is dead but the 2023 season stands to be an epic denouement for the storied conference

Friday was a landmark day in college football. Once the dust settled on a whirlwind of conflicting sources and scoops, the Big Ten and Big 12 had essentially aligned to kill the Pac-12. 

Oh, the (sad) irony. 

Colorado was already off to the Big 12, and by evening’s end, so was Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Oregon and Washington collected big checks (although notably partial revenue shares) to join UCLA and USC heading to the Midwest in 2024 to find future rivals in Rutgers, Indiana and Illinois. 

I kid. 

Still, what happened Friday was no laughing matter. It was all very predictable and understandable, but that doesn’t make it any less crappy. The Pac-12, even with many of its hoity-toity schools, is a storied league that’s been around since World War I. 

And in essentially the same time it takes to fly from New York City to Berlin the league was mortally wounded.

Blame Larry Scott, or George Kliavkoff for a dereliction of leadership and incompetent management. Blame the Big Ten for making a *wink, wink* handshake only to be Littlefinger all along. Blame the TV networks, which are actually the ones holding all the power in college football. 

It ultimately doesn’t matter who was at fault in the past. The now is 108-year conference is gone. 

But let’s not bury the dead just yet!

In a grand farewell to the Pac-12 this fall, the 2023 season just might be the quintessential denouement for the once proud conference. 

The SEC is the best league in college football, and the conference has a couple of national championship contenders in Georgia, Alabama and LSU. The Big Ten has some of the biggest brands and its own triumvirate capable of snagging two of the four spots in the College Football Playoff. 

And yet, the Pac-12, which hasn’t made the CFP field since 2016, will be the most interesting and entertaining conference in the sport this fall now.

So let’s enjoy the fireworks.

In the same year the conference was sold for parts and is set to become extinct, the league will have its greatest influence on college football since the heyday of Pete Carroll’s USC Trojans.

Can Lincoln Riley and USC return to national prominence? Are Oregon or Washington ready to emerge as national contenders? Can Utah win the league three straight years before exiting? How will Deion Sanders and Kenny Dillingham fair in Year 1? Is UCLA primed for a darkhorse run to the Rose Bowl after signing 5-star quarterback Dante Moore and landing a slew of impact transfers? Could three Pac-12 quarterbacks (Caleb Williams, Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr.) be represented in New York as Heisman Trophy finalists? 

Oregon State fans are howling right now because I didn’t include the Beavers among the conference’s title contenders, but as many as six schools have paths to 10-win seasons. We also get the final year of Pac-12 After Dark — perhaps even with a little Primetime sizzle from Deion. 

Even though the ADs at Oregon and Washington said all the right things about maintaining their in-state rivalries, suddenly the Civil War and Apple Cup carry a lot more weight in 2023. 

The point is there are storylines galore for the Pac-12. 

And they couldn’t get a suitable media rights deal?

Alas, like the famed forebears of the Big East and the Southwest Conference, the Pac-12 is being put to pasture, so let’s enjoy what could be one helluva last ride with the league this fall.