Pac-12 nonconference record through Week 3: 29 wins, 5 losses
There are two nonconference games left in the 2023 Pac-12 college football season. They both involve Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish play their annual games against USC (October 14) and Stanford (November 25). Other than those two games, Pac-12 teams have completed their nonconference run and will spend the next nine Saturdays playing each other as the race to Las Vegas begins.
How well did the Pac-12 do in nonconference action? How about a 29-5 record — is that good? It seems pretty good.
Digging into the details, it gets even better.
Three of the five losses came from the two teams in full-on rebuilds this year, Arizona State and Stanford. Both schools are in total transition mode under first-year head coaches, with good recruiting classes coming in 2024.
The only other two noncon losses for the Pac-12: Arizona at Mississippi State in overtime, in a game where the Wildcats were nine-point underdogs; and Cal outplaying Auburn but missing three field goals in a 14-10 loss. The Pac-12 performed better than expected in those two games but didn’t get the ideal result.
The other eight teams in the conference all went unbeaten, with Oregon (Texas Tech), Utah (Baylor), and Washington (Michigan State) beating Power Five opponents on the road.
It was a majestic three-week ride for the Pac-12 in nonconference play. Now the conference will begin to beat up itself, hopefully not too much for playoff purposes.
Catch all of Ducks Wire’s Pac-12 team previews for the 2023 season:
Arizona — Arizona State — California — Colorado — Oregon State — Stanford — UCLA — USC — Utah — Washington — Washington State
