It has officially been 10 seasons now since the Pac-10/12 last won a national championship and making that fact even tougher is that the conference has come very, very close to grabbing one numerous times in that span. Thinking about this dark national spotlight time this week, I put together a Top 10 of the best Pac-12 teams of this era that just missed out.
1. 2005 USC (12-1 8-0 #2 in final poll, lost BCS Championship to Texas)
The team that Matt Leinart came back for was absolutely loaded and it showed as the Trojans ran the regular season table with Reggie Bush winning the Heisman and held the number one ranking throughout the season.
What went wrong? The Trojans lost maybe the best BCS Championship Game of all time by three points to Vince Young and Texas due to an epic performance by Young.
What if there had been a Playoff? The Trojans get a good Ohio State team as a four seed and probably beat them by 10-14 points. This sets up the final with Texas which, in a matchup that I think they win more than they lose if they play it numerous times, but since they did actually play it, I have to still give the nod to Texas.
2. 2008 USC (12-1 8-1 #3 in final poll, beat Penn State in Rose Bowl)
The last of Pete Carroll's great USC team was led by Mark Sanchez and maybe the best linebacker unit to ever play in the Pac-12 of Brian Cushing, Clay Matthews and Rey Maualuga. They may not have been quite as good as the earlier Carroll USC teams, but there may not have been a more talented Pac-12 team since.
What went wrong? The Trojans got tripped up in the Pete Carroll snake pit of Corvallis in a tight 21-27 loss where they could not run the ball and got passed over by fellow one-loss Florida and Oklahoma teams for a shot at the title.
What if there had been a Playoff? It would be a very, very tough call, but I think USC would miss out on the Playoff behind Florida, Oklahoma, Alabama and Texas because they had the worst loss and a lack of great wins in a very weak Pac-12.
3. 2012 Oregon (12-1 8-1 #2 in final poll, beat Kansas State in Fiesta Bowl)
This was the best Chip Kelly/Mark Helfrich Duck team for my money even though they did not make the championship game as the 2010 and 2014 did. For combination of scheme effectiveness, coaching and talent, I think 2012 was the perfect storm for the Ducks.
What happened? The Ducks got taken down 17-14 in overtime by a Stanford team that put together an amazing defensive performance and got revenge on the Ducks after they basically knocked them out of the national championship two years running. The Ducks then missed out on the BCS Championship game being behind an undefeated Notre Dame team and a one-loss Alabama team.
What if there had been a Playoff? I think Oregon grabs the third seed in the Playoff and gets a very tough Alabama team in the first round. A very tough match-up for the Ducks, I think they can hang with the Tide, but struggle to run the ball and stop the run and put too much on a freshman Marcus Mariota, losing by a couple scores.
4. 2010 Oregon (12-1 9-0 #3 in final poll, lost to Auburn in BCS Championship Game)
The true liftoff of the Chip Kelly Ducks, the 2010 edition pretty much blew out every team they faced in the regular season except for one strange game at Cal. This edition may not have had as much talent or depth as later versions, but had maybe the perfect back for their system in LaMichael James, a scheme that opponents had scene very little of before and a little more grit.
What happened? The Ducks got as close as they ever have to a national championship, tying Auburn in the final minutes of the BCS Championship Game before losing 22-19 on a field goal.
What if there had been a Playoff? It would have been very interesting for Pac-12 fans. I think the Ducks get the second seed behind Auburn and Stanford ends up with the third seed setting up Pac-12 rematch in the semifinal. The best Stanford team in history led by Andrew Luck would be tempting to take in a rematch but the 2010-11 Stanford teams lacked the speed, depth and experience against Oregon on their defense to beat the Ducks. Oregon then faces Auburn in a championship game that I think they would lose 8/9 times out of 10.
5. 2014 Oregon (13-2 8-1 #2 in final poll, beat Florida State in Rose Bowl and lost to Ohio State in championship)
The latest and greatest, these Ducks were by far the best they have been at quarterback with a junior Heisman winner in Mariota and extremely talented at running back, receiver and along the offensive line. They fought devastating injuries and still lost just one game in the regular season while dominating everyone they played down the stretch.
What happened? The Ducks got ran over by Ohio State in the championship game.
What if there HAD NOT been a Playoff? Alabama and Florida State play for the national championship. Oy!
6. 2011 Oregon (12-2 8-1 #4 in final poll, beat Wisconsin in Rose Bowl)
Just another great Oregon Chip Kelly team that returned a ton of pieces from the 2010 team that came four points away from a national championship and kept things rolling over Pac-12 teams.
What happened? Oregon opened up the season with a loss to a tough LSU team in Arlington, but was getting back into position for a shot at the BCS Championship Game in November before Matt Barkley and a red-hot USC team upset them in Autzen.
7. 2010 Stanford (12-1 8-1 #4 in final poll, beat Virginia Tech in Orange Bowl)
The best of the Jim Harbaugh/David Shaw era Cardinal team was led by Luck and a bullying offensive line and defense that became a juggernaut as the season went on.
What happened? The Cardinal ran into a red hot Duck team that blazed past them with speedy runs and the cards did not fall to get a one-loss team into the BCS Championship.
What if there had been a Playoff? See what I put for 2010 Oregon.
8. 2006 USC (11-2 7-2 #4 in final poll, beat Michigan in Rose Bowl)
The beginning of the end of the elite USC teams under Pete Carroll, this Trojan group had some growing pains, lost a couple of games, struggled early against some weaker conference foes and lacked a bit of the star power of the earlier days but still had a roster any Pac-12 coach right now would trade for.
What happened? The Trojans got shocked by two points in Corvallis in October, but had themselves right back in line for a BCS Championship Game shot before getting shocked again by four points by UCLA to close the regular season.
9. 2011 Stanford (11-2 8-1 #7 in final poll, lost to Oklahoma State in Fiesta Bowl)
Andrew Luck's final Stanford team continued Harbaugh's powerful battering ram in the hands of David Shaw with the same recipe and a little more experience and talent.
What happened? Oregon ran away from Stanford in a November showdown and not enough dominoes fell in Stanford's favor to get them into the BCS Championship Game.
What if there was a Playoff? This would be a very interesting scenario. I believe the Cardinal would have gotten in as the four seed and faced off with undefeated LSU in the first round. I am tempted to pick Stanford, but I think LSU would have won a grind it out affair.
10. 2007 USC (11-2 7-2 #3 in final poll, beat Illinois in Rose Bowl)
A frustrating USC team that had loads of talent, but lost a couple of games and seemed to have lost their edge, but still a Top 5 team.
What happened? The Trojans suffered maybe the biggest upset in Pac-12 history when Harbaugh's Stanford took down USC in The Coliseum and then cemented not winning a national championship when they lost a seven point game to an Oregon team that was becoming unstoppable.
Special case - 2007 Oregon
I feel like I have to mention Oregon in the first year of Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator because they very much appeared on their way to a BCS Championship Game with Dennis Dixon as a Heisman favorite before Dixon went down with an injury. The Ducks lost an early season game to Cal before they got humming, but LSU ended up winning the national championship with two losses and, had Dixon not gone down, I have to think that the Ducks at least would have had a great chance to get to the championship game.
Honorable Mention
2012 Stanford
2013 Oregon
2013 Stanford
2009 Oregon
2008 Oregon
FAQs
The next big domino in college football realignment has fallen, as USC and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten in 2024. OFFICIAL: USC will join the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
Which Pac-12 teams to Big 10? ›
The next big domino in college football realignment has fallen, as USC and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 and join the Big Ten in 2024. OFFICIAL: USC will join the Big Ten Conference in 2024.
Who has the most wins in Pac-12 football history? ›
USC has the most wins and the best all-time win percentage of any team in the Pac-12.
...
All-Time Pac-12 Conference Football W-L Records.
1: Oregon Ducks. The Oregon Ducks thought for sure they would be the No.
What are the Big Ten teams? ›
Is Arizona leaving Pac-12? ›
The presidents of Arizona State University and the University of Arizona went on the record Tuesday reaffirming their current commitment to the Pac-12 amid the conference's unfinished media rights negotiations.
What is the biggest rivalry in the Pac-12? ›
List of Pac-12 Conference football rivalry games
| Rivalry | Nickname | Meetings |
|---|
| Arizona–Arizona State | Duel in the Desert | 95 |
|---|
| Colorado–Utah | Rumble in the Rockies | 68 |
| Oregon–Oregon State | − | 125 |
| Oregon–Washington | Border War | 114 |
5 more rowsPassing Yards
| Rk | Player | Yds |
|---|
| 1 | Luke Falk* | 14481 |
| 2 | Sean Mannion* | 13600 |
| 3 | Matt Barkley* | 12327 |
| 4 | Jake Browning* | 12296 |
46 more rowsSix different Pac-12 institutions have combined to win 16 NCAA titles in men's basketball, with UCLA holding the record for most national championships in the sport at 11, which includes a streak of seven in a row from 1967-1973.
Football
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD |
|---|
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD |
|---|
| 1 | Georgia (63) | 15-0 |
| 2 | TCU | 13-2 |
| 3 | Michigan | 13-1 |
22 more rowsJan 9, 2023
The California Golden Bears football program represents the University of California, Berkeley in college football as a member of the Pac-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium and is coached by Justin Wilcox.
Who leads Pac-12 football? ›
PACIFIC-12
| PACIFIC-12 | PF |
|---|
| 1 | USC | 579 |
| 2 | Washington | 516 |
| 3 | Oregon | 504 |
| 4 | Utah | 541 |
8 more rowsIt is based in the Chicago area in Rosemont, Illinois. For many decades the conference consisted of 10 prominent universities (which accounts for its name). As of 2014, it consists of 14 member institutions and 2 affiliate institutions, with 2 new member institutions scheduled to join in 2024.
What is the hardest Big 10 school to get into? ›
Northwestern University
An outlier in terms of student population and acceptance rate, Northwestern is the only private university in the Big 10. The school has by far the lowest acceptance rate and the highest level of prestige among the Big 10 schools.
How many Pac 12 schools are there? ›
Member schools
The Pac-12 has twelve full member institutions. Football used to be the only sport where the conference is split into two divisions, the North Division and the South Division.
What will the Big 12 look like in 2023? ›
The 2023 season will be the first season for the Big 12 to have 14 members, with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF joining the conference. It will also be the last season for founding conference members Oklahoma and Texas, which leave for the Southeastern Conference prior to the start of the 2024 season.
Will Oregon leave the Pac-12? ›
RealDawg.com has learned that a time “Around Memorial Day” is when there will be an official announcement that both the University of Washington and the University of Oregon are leaving the Pac-12 Conference for the B1G Conference. The move won't occur until 2024 or 2025.
Who is moving out of the Pac-12? ›
With USC and UCLA leaving for the Big Ten in 2024, Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff has to work swiftly to keep his struggling conference alive.
Why would UCLA leave Pac-12? ›
The financial boon awaiting UCLA with the Big Ten, coupled with its athletes playing on a more visible stage, spurred the decision to leave the Pac-12.
The Kings and Ducks are rivals due to geographic proximity. The two teams are situated in the same metropolitan area and share a television market. The rivalry started with the Ducks' inaugural season in 1993–94 and has since continued. The Kings' first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals came in 1993.
Who are the jazz biggest rival? ›
Jazz–Rockets rivalry
| First meeting | October 30, 1974 Rockets 113, Jazz 100 |
| Latest meeting | January 5, 2023 Jazz 131, Rockets 114 |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Statistics |
|---|
| Meetings total | 263 |
8 more rowsDon Shula holds the current records for regular season wins at 328. Bill Belichick holds the record for postseason wins at 31. Belichick is also the active leader in regular season wins, with 298.
Who is the most winning college coach in history? ›
Coaches with 200 career wins
| Rank | Name | Wins |
|---|
| 1 | John Gagliardi† | 489 |
| 2 | Joe Paterno† | 409 |
| 3 | Eddie Robinson† | 408 |
| 4 | Bobby Bowden† | 377 |
49 more rowsThe Pac-12 and Big Ten each have three Black head coaches, while the ACC has two. In the Big 12, Baylor's Dave Aranda is Mexican American.
Who has the most 600 yard passing games? ›
No quarterback has thrown for 600 yards in a league game during regulation, but Tom Brady was the first player to total 600 or more yards passing over four consecutive quarters.
Who has the most 350 yard passing games? ›
Drew Brees had the most games with 350+ passing yards, with 63 games.
Who has the most 400 yard passing games? ›
Drew Brees had the most games with 400+ passing yards, with 16 games.
Has Colorado ever won the Pac-12? ›
577 winning percentage) as of the 2022 season. Colorado won the 1990 National Championship.
...
| Colorado Buffaloes football |
|---|
| Bowl record | 12–17 (.414) |
| Claimed national titles | 1 (1990) |
| Conference titles | 26 |
| Division titles | 5 (4 Big 12 North) (1 Pac-12 South) |
23 more rowsYale — 18
Yale football has one of the most impressive resumes in the sport, with two of the first three Heisman winners, 100 All-Americans, 28 Hall of Fame inductees, and 18 national championships recognized by the NCAA — the most all time.
The last time a member of the Big Ten won a collegiate basketball national championship was in 2000 when the Michigan State Spartans knocked off the Florida Gators in Indianapolis.
Who are the top 4 in college football? ›
College Football Playoff Rankings
Football
| Rank | Team | YPG |
|---|
| Rank | Team | YPG |
|---|
| 1 | Air Force | 254.4 |
| 2 | Iowa | 270.8 |
| 3 | Illinois | 273.5 |
29 more rowsJan 18, 2023
College Football Rankings
California: San Francisco 49ers
California has multiple NFL teams, but the state's favorite is the 49ers.
Which Pac-12 team is known as the Sun Devils? ›
Sun Devils Drop Final Pac-12 Game of 2023 - Arizona State University Athletics.
Has Cal football ever won a national championship? ›
California has won five (1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1937) national championships from NCAA-designated major selectors. California claims all five of these national championships.
How many Pac-12 players are in the NFL? ›
Pac-12 well represented in NFL Playoffs, 117 total players with 70 on active rosters.
What does Pac-12 stand for? ›
Pacific-12 Conference, byname Pac-12, West Coast American collegiate athletic association that grew out of several earlier versions, the first of which, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), was founded in 1915.
How many Big 12 teams are there? ›
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports.
A desire for stability in athletics was the primary motivation that led the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to leave the Big 12 to join the Big Ten. At the time of the University' s decision to join the Big Ten, the Big 12 was extremely unstable in terms of its membership.
Is Big 10 or Big 12 better? ›
The Big 12 blows the Big Ten out of the water in terms of actual rankings. Probably the most impressive aspect of their rankings is that they manage to have 7 of their 10 teams in the top 30 while the Big Ten finds only three of their teams in that category.
Will Big 10 be renamed? ›
Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany says the league's famous name will never change -- no matter how many programs it adds.
What is the #1 hardest school to get into? ›
Niche, a ranking and review site, recently published its list of the “2023 Hardest Colleges to Get Into.” Using data from the U.S. Department of Education on various colleges' acceptance rates and SAT/ACT scores, they found, unsurprisingly, Harvard University to be the most difficult college to get into.
What is the smallest Big 10 school? ›
Undergraduate Enrollment: Northwestern University is obviously the smallest of the schools in the Big Ten while The Ohio State University is the largest.
What is the oldest Big Ten school? ›
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference.
...
Members.
| Institution | University of Iowa |
|---|
| Location | Iowa City, Iowa |
|---|
| Founded | 1847 |
|---|
| Joined Conference | 1899 (Athletics 1900) |
|---|
| Affiliation | Public |
|---|
13 more columnsThe Pac-12 is full of some of the top schools in the nation, with your Stanford's and Cal Berkley's ranking among the best in the best nationwide. The go-to place for university rankings when it comes to academics is U.S. News and World Report, and they recently put out their university rankings for 2022-23.
Who owns the Pac-12 network? ›
The Pac-12 Network (P12N), sometimes referred to as Pac-12 Networks, is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Pac-12 Conference.
What does Big 10 stand for? ›
The Big Ten universities are the Universities of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, MINNESOTA, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, along with Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, and Rutgers.
Is Oregon and Washington going to the Big 10? ›
Oregon and Washington have been vetted and cleared to join the Big Ten, but departure from the Pac-12 is far from imminent. Until the Pac-12 secures and reveals their media rights deal, which is expected at some point this summer, rumors about the league's demise will continue to crop up.
Those four schools are Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado. The desire to expand further comes after the bombshell that Texas and Oklahoma, the league's two biggest brands by far, announced they will leave the conference and join the SEC ahead of the 2024 football season.
Who will be in Big 12 in 2023? ›
BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will come aboard in 2023, and, as far as anyone knows, Texas and Oklahoma will remain in the league through the 2025-26 academic year.
What 2 teams are being added to Pac-10? ›
The Pac-10 capped its expansion push at 12 by adding Utah on Wednesday, setting the stage for Arizona to join the Utes and Colorado in a southern division along with ASU and the Los Angeles schools.
Will Oregon get a NFL team? ›
Portland's emphasis on local, mom-and-pop enterprises means there aren't too many big corporations nearby ready to fit the bill for a sponsored stadium deal. In order for an NFL team to land in the city, they'd need the support of Portlandians through a vote, which is unlikely to go well for the league.
Why did Maryland move to Big 10? ›
First, why did Maryland make the move? The Maryland Terrapins jumped at the chance to join the Big Ten primarily for the financial windfall it will provide and to improve the struggling football program, although the administration says the Big Ten research consortium was a major factor.
Has Penn State always been in the Big 10? ›
The Penn State Nittany Lions team represents the Pennsylvania State University in college football. The Nittany Lions compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference, which they joined in 1993 after playing as an Independent from 1892 to 1992.
What teams should be added to the Pac-12? ›
Here are the four programs I think are worth considering adding for the two final spots assuming San Diego State and SMU are already locking down two.
- Fresno State. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports. ...
- UNLV. Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports. ...
- Boise State. Mark J. ...
- Tulane. Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports.
Record-tying 7 Pac-12 women's basketball teams selected for 2023 NCAA Tournament. SAN FRANCISCO - A league record-tying seven Pac-12 women's basketball teams are headed to the 2023 NCAA Tournament, with Arizona, Colorado, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington State chosen to represent the Conference in March Madness ...
What will the Big 12 look like in 2024? ›
The Big 12 will spend one year as a 14-team conference before dropping down to 12 teams for 2024-25. Texas and Oklahoma are set to join the SEC in July 2024, according to a statement released by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
Is Big 12 going away? ›
Oklahoma and Texas have agreed in principle to pay the Big 12 a total of $100 million to join the SEC in 2024, a year earlier than they had originally intended, the conference announced Thursday night.
Oklahoma and Texas are getting out of their deal with the Big 12 a year earlier than expected in 2024.
What Pac-10 teams are joining the Big 10? ›
Pac-12 powerhouses UCLA, USC joining Big Ten Conference in 2024. Southern California and UCLA will leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, the schools officially announced via press releases Thursday evening.
What two teams are leaving the Pac-12? ›
USC and UCLA announced in June that they were leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten in 2024, leading to speculation that other schools, namely Washington and Oregon, could soon follow.
Who will join the Pac-10? ›
Super Conference Update: Pac-10 Will Expand With Six Teams from Big 12. Although it has not been confirmed, there are reports that the Pac-10 has, or is, prepared to officially invite the following teams to join their ranks: Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Colorado.
