Where Colorado stands among Pac-12 schools in PFF ELO rankings heading into 2023
The Pac-12 Conference will be fun to watch on the football field this season in the final year with USC and UCLA. The Colorado Buffaloes, Stanford Cardinal and Arizona State Sun Devils all got new head coaches.
Pro Football Focus (subscription required) dropped its ELO rankings, which combines grades for each team’s offensive, defensive and special teams output for all 131 FBS teams, and we examined just the Pac-12.
Buffs fans may not like where Colorado is ranked, but let’s not forget that this team went 1-11 last year and has a brand-new roster and coaching staff. Take a look at where Colorado ranks among Pac-12 schools:
102: STANFORD CARDINAL
Stanford saw David Shaw leave the program, surprisingly. Troy Taylor did well at Sacramento State, but he has an uphill battle and it might take a while for things to get fixed in Palo Alto.
96: COLORADO BUFFALOES
The Buffs are the biggest question mark in the Pac-12. Deion Sanders is a magnificent hire and the roster has more talent than it has in years, but the question is, can they put it all together and make it gel in the first year?
88: CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS
The Golden Bears were able to add some players in the transfer portal, including TCU QB Sam Jackson. Can they avoid last place in the Pac-12?
80: ARIZONA WILDCATS
Jedd Fisch inherited a tough situation in the desert when he was hired. However, this could very well be the year the Wildcats make it back to a bowl game.
73: ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS
The Sun Devils got rid of Herm Edwards (finally) and hired Kenny Dillingham. The transfer portal worked well for them, and Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne is set for a big year.
57: WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS
The Cougars are happy that Jake Dickert is their head coach, and Cam Ward is a terrific talent at the quarterback position. They lost the LA Bowl to Fresno State in ugly fashion last season, but there is a lot of hope this year for the Cougars.
38: UCLA BRUINS
The Bruins saw Dorian Thomson-Robinson and Zach Charbonnet leave for the NFL, but they landed Dante Moore and then Collin Schlee at the QB position. Can the Bruins make some noise in their final year in the Pac-12?
30: OREGON STATE BEAVERS
The Beavers added Clemson transfer QB DJ Uiagalelei and even if his recent play at Clemson was a bit underwhelming, that’s a massive upgrade compared to their quarterbacks of recent years.
21: WASHINGTON HUSKIES
The Huskies are going to be a popular pick to make a run for the Pac-12 title, and Michael Penix Jr. is a Heisman Trophy candidate. Kalen DeBoer made the right move after making his name known at Fresno State.
15: UTAH UTES
Can the Utes three-peat in the Pac-12? Cam Rising is back, but Dalton Kincaid is a big hole for the Utes to fill.
12: OREGON DUCKS
Dan Lanning wasted no time winning games in Eugene in his first season, and Bo Nix is back and ready to make himself a first-round NFL draft pick.
10: USC TROJANS
Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams and now Arizona transfer WR Dorian Singer. The Trojans lost players to the NFL but added big names on both sides of the ball in the transfer portal. If the defense and Alex Grinch can improve, the Trojans are going to the College Football Playoff.
