Ranking Pac-12 and Big 12 football teams together after Week 1
Now that we have played a full college football weekend (minus the Clemson-Duke game on Monday night), every college football fan wants to see some rankings and discuss them. Rankings can and do take on various forms and iterations. There are national rankings, Heisman rankings, hot seat rankings, and team rankings.
What’s less conventional — and more interesting — about this 2023 season is that a lot of schools will switch conferences next year, in 2024. Because of all these switches, it is irresistible to look at conferences in different combinations.
In this article, we’ll rank not just the Pac-12, and not just the Big 12, but the two conferences together.
Of course you want to know how Utah and Colorado compare to Oklahoma and Texas. Of course you want to know how Arizona and Arizona State compare to Texas Tech and West Virginia.
Here are our combined Big 12 and Pac-12 rankings, involving all schools currently in both conferences:
BAYLOR
Baylor losing as a four-touchdown favorite at home to Texas State was the worst loss of any Big 12 team in Week 1. Baylor is a better team than Arizona State, but in a rankings list defined by week-to-week results, Baylor is and should be last on this list.
TEXAS TECH
Texas Tech’s loss to Wyoming was a very discouraging event — not as bad as Baylor’s loss, but still a big downer for a team which entered this season with a lot of optimism.
TCU
TCU looked really bad against Colorado. Yes, Deion Sanders and Company deserve all the credit in the world for outplaying the Horned Frogs, but TCU delivered a brutal performance on so many levels. This team might be worse than we thought.
WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia should be a bottom-tier Big 12 team at the end of the season. The reason why the Mountaineers are ranked ahead of Baylor, Texas Tech, and TCU is that their loss came to a higher-caliber opponent, No. 7 Penn State. That’s the only reason WVU isn’t ranked last or next to last.
ARIZONA STATE
Arizona State is the lowest-ranked team in the Pac-12. The Sun Devils barely beat Southern Utah of the FCS. Among all the Pac-12 and Big 12 teams which won in Week 1, no win was less impressive than ASU’s victory.
OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State played an FCS opponent and failed to score 28 points. The Cowboys won, but they’re low on the list. Notably, they face Arizona State in their next game.
ARIZONA
Arizona played an FCS opponent but won more easily than Oklahoma State did.
KANSAS
The Jayhawks beat an FCS team. Schools which played FCS teams will not be ranked very high on this list.
IOWA STATE
Iowa State defeated an FCS opponent.
CINCINNATI
The Bearcats beat an FCS opponent. That limits their ranking, even though they might be a better team than a lot of schools placed above them after Week 1.
KANSAS STATE
Kansas State is the defending Big 12 champion and a better team than a lot of schools placed higher on this list. However — wait for it — KSU played an FCS opponent. The Wildcats will have to wait for a top-tier placement in these rankings.
STANFORD
Stanford played well against Hawaii, but it caught the Rainbow Warriors on a short week. That limits the value of that win.
BYU
BYU’s defense was awesome but its offense brutal against Sam Houston, an FBS newcomer. It’s hard to evaluate a team when the two sides of the ball are either perfect (defense) or abysmal (offense).
HOUSTON
Houston, similar to BYU, was great on defense and not great on offense in Week 1. We will see how the Cougars — the Houston Cougars — evolve. (The BYU Cougars count, too.)
CAL
Cal is not a better team than Kansas State or some of the other teams listed thus far, but it played a better game in Week 1 against a non-FCS opponent, North Texas. Cal went wild in a surprising blowout. That earns a slightly higher ranking than some of the higher-profile teams on this combined list of Pac-12 and Big 12 teams.
WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State easily handled Colorado State. That’s good. Colorado State, though, isn’t particularly good. WSU can only rise so much.
TEXAS
Texas didn’t look fantastic against Rice, but the game still wasn’t a squeaker. We’ll learn a lot more about the Longhorns against Alabama.
UCLA
UCLA didn’t beat its opponent as convincingly as Washington State did, but Coastal Carolina should be better than the Colorado State team WSU defeated. Coastal is definitely better than the North Texas team Cal crushed.
OREGON
The Ducks beat an FCS opponent, Portland State. Why are they higher than a few teams which defeated FBS opponents? Good question.
The answer: Oregon scored 81 points and won by over 70. A margin of victory that high counts for a few higher spots in the rankings.
USC
The Trojans are going to be tough to beat this year, but strictly in terms of the teams they’ve beaten, they haven’t accomplished much. Neither San Jose State nor Nevada will be particularly good in 2023.
OREGON STATE
The Beavers looked slightly better against San Jose State than USC did. That’s why they’re higher than the Trojans.
UCF
UCF looked very strong, but its opponent — Kent State — might not be especially formidable.
UTAH
Florida might not be very good, but Utah still won comfortably with a backup quarterback and Cam Rising watching in street clothes. That is a solid achievement for the Utes.
OKLAHOMA
The Sooners were flawless in Week 1, but Arkansas State looked horrible. The Sooners can’t be No. 1 due to the quality of their opponent. They can’t control that, but it’s relevant.
WASHINGTON
Washington drilling Boise State was a more impressive result than anyone else on this list … except for one:
COLORADO
Colorado’s win at TCU was a phenomenal achievement in so many ways and on so many levels. No program from the Big 12 or Pac-12 accomplished more this past weekend.
