Pac-12 football in 2023 might come down to attrition versus location
We published several articles on the 2023 Pac-12 football schedule after it was revealed. We noted that the Pac-12 gave USC a raw deal while catering to Oregon and Washington, the schools the Pac-12 needs to keep happy.
We mentioned how USC has to play Utah the week after the Notre Dame road trip. The Pac-12 didn’t have to make USC play Utah that specific week, but it chose to do so. The Pac-12 is making USC play Washington and Oregon in consecutive weeks. USC is playing games on nine consecutive weekends (Weeks 4-12). Attrition will be a challenge for USC.
However, as rough as the USC schedule is, one thing might save the Trojans: They do get two of their three toughest Pac-12 games at home, versus Utah and Washington. At Oregon is the toughest road game on the conference schedule.
Oregon, by contrast, has two tough roadies on its schedule this year: at Washington and at Utah. Speaking of Utah, the Utes are at USC and at Washington.
USC’s logistical setup is brutal, but the home-road splits (which are rotation-based and therefore were not conscious discretionary choices by the Pac-12) might save the Trojans this year.
We talked more about this at The Voice of College Football:
