2023 Pac-12 Conference football season

The 2023 Pac-12 Conference football season was the 45th season of Pac-12 football taking place during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 26, 2023, and ended with the 2023 Pac-12 Championship Game on December 1, 2023, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada.

The Pac-12 is a Power Five conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, and the Southeastern Conference.

The 2023 season was the second since the conference expanded to 12 teams in 2011 in which Pac-12 teams are not split into divisions. It was the final season with Arizona, Arizona State, California, Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, and Washington who all left to join the Big 12 (Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado & Utah), ACC (California and Stanford) and Big Ten (Oregon, UCLA, USC & Washington) following the 2023–24 academic year.

On August 27, Arizona State announced a self imposed 2023 bowl game ban due to recruiting violations from the 2020 season.

Previous season
The Utah Utes defeated the USC Trojans 47–24 in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game.

Seven teams participated in bowl games, finishing with a record of 3–4. Oregon State defeated Florida 30–3 in the Las Vegas Bowl. Washington State lost to Fresno State 29–6 in the Los Angeles Bowl. Oregon defeated North Carolina 28–27 in the Holiday Bowl. Washington defeated Texas 27–20 in the Alamo Bowl. UCLA lost to Pitt 37–35 in the Sun Bowl. USC lost to Tulane 46–45 in the Cotton Bowl. Utah lost to Penn State 35–21 in the Rose Bowl.

Preseason
2023 Pac-12 Spring Football and number of signees on signing day:


 * Arizona – 22
 * Arizona State – 17
 * California – 10
 * Colorado – 18
 * Oregon – 27
 * Oregon State – 18
 * Stanford – 16
 * UCLA – 14
 * USC – 20
 * Utah – 20
 * Washington – 20
 * Washington State – 22

Pac-12 Media Days
The Pac-12 conducted its 2023 Pac-12 media day on July 21, 2023, at Resorts World Las Vegas in Las Vegas, NV.

The teams, representatives and times(PST) in respective order were as follows:


 * Pac-12 Commissioner – George Kliavkoff 8 a.m.
 * Executive Associate Commissioner of Football Operations – Merton Hanks 8:20 a.m.
 * Utah Athletic Director and Chair of the Pac-12 Athletics Directors Committee – Mark Harlan 8:20 a.m.

Notes:

† Coach Deion Sanders was not in attendance due to a medical issue, Colorado Defensive Coordinator Charles Kelly attended instead.

Preseason Media polls
The preseason polls was released on July 20, 2023. Since 1992, the credentialed media has gotten the preseason champion correct just five times. Only nine times has the preseason pick even made it to the Pac-12 title game. Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.

All−American Teams
Sources:

Preseason All Pac-12
Sources:

First Team

Second Team

All Pac–12 Honorable Mention (received votes from four or more members of the media):
 * Arizona: Justin Flowe (LB), Tyler Loop (PK), Tetairoa McMillan (WR), Kyle Ostendorp (P) Jonah Savaiinaea (OL), Michael Wiley (RB)
 * Arizona State: Jalin Conyers (TE), Cameron Skattebo (RB), Ro Torrence (DB), Slater Zellers (AP)
 * California: Matthew Cindric (OL), Jeremiah Earby (DB), Jeremiah Hunter (WR), Brett Johnson (DL), Patrick McMorris (DB), Sioape Vatikani (OL), Lachlan Wilson (P)
 * Colorado: Jimmy Horn Jr. (RS), Travis Hunter (WR), Mark Vassett (P)
 * Oregon: Jeffrey Bassa (LB), Trikweze Bridges (DB), Jordan Burch (DL), Josh Conerly Jr. (OL), Ajani Cornelius (OL), Terrance Ferguson (TE), Troy Franklin (WR), Jackson Powers-Johnson (OL), Bo Nix (QB), Nikko Reed (DB)
 * Oregon State: Eason Mascarenas-Arnold (LB), Heneli Bloomfield (OL), Ryan Cooper (DB), Jesiah Irish (AP), James Rawls (DL)
 * Stanford: David Bailey (LB)
 * UCLA: Duke Clemens (OL), Garrett DiGiorgio (OL)
 * USC: Bear Alexander (DL), Kyon Barrs (DL), Raleek Brown (RS), Austin Jones (RB), Shane Lee (LB), Christian Roland-Wallace (DB)
 * Utah: JaTravis Broughton (DB), Jonah Elliss (DL), Michael Mokofisi (OL), Zemaiah Vaughn (DB)
 * Washington: Jaden Green (AP), Roger Rosengarten (OL), Alphonzo Tuputala (LB), Asa Turner (DB), Edefuan Ulofoshio (LB)
 * Washington State: Jaden Hicks (DB), Dean Janikowski (PK), Nakia Watson (RB)

Coaching changes
There was three coaching changes before the 2023 season. On November 27, 2022, Arizona State hired Kenny Dillingham as the 26th head coach in team history. On December 3, 2022, Colorado hired Deion Sanders as the 28th head coach in team history On December 11, 2022, Stanford hired Troy Taylor as the 35th head coach in program history. On November 25, following a loss to in-state rival Oregon and before their bowl game appearance, Johnathan Smith accepted the head coaching position at Michigan State, he finished his career at Oregon State with a record of 34–35.

Coaches
Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2023 season

''Note:
 * † Jonathan Smith coached the first twelve games as head coach at Oregon State in 2023, going 8–4. He finished his career at Oregon State with a 34–35 record.

Schedules
All times Pacific time.

† denotes Homecoming game

Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for weeks 1 through 9. Rankings from Week 10 until the end of the Season reflect those of the College Football Playoff Rankings.

Regular season
The regular season began on August 26, 2023, and ended on December 1, 2023.

Pac-12 Championship Game
The Pac-12 Championship Game, its thirteenth and final championship game, was played on December 1, 2023, at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. Starting in 2022, the conference had no divisions, and the two teams with the highest conference winning percentage faced off in the championship game.

Bowl games
For the 2020–2025 bowl cycle, The Pac-12 will have annually seven appearances in the following bowls: Rose Bowl (unless they are selected for playoffs filled by a Pac-12 team if champion is in the playoffs), LA Bowl, Las Vegas Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Holiday Bowl, and Sun Bowl. The Pac-12 teams will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of Power Five conferences in the final College Football Playoff rankings. The Pac-12 champion are also eligible for the College Football Playoff if they're among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking. On August 27, Arizona State announced a self imposed 2023 bowl game ban due to recruiting violations from the 2020 season, making them ineligible for post season play.

Rankings are from CFB Rankings. All times Pacific Time Zone. Pac-12 teams shown in bold. †CFP semifinal game ‡CFP National Championship Game

Selection of teams

 * Bowl eligible (8): Arizona, California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington
 * Bowl-ineligible (4): Arizona State, Colorado, Stanford, Washington State

Head to head matchups
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

Updated with the results of all games through the 2023 season.

Pac-12 records vs Other Conferences
2023–2024 records against non-conference foes:

Regular season

Post Season

Pac-12 vs Power Five matchups
The following games include Pac-12 teams competing against Power Five conference teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC, plus independent Notre Dame (an ACC member in non-football sports). All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.

Pac-12 vs Group of Five matchups
The following games include Pac-12 teams competing against teams from the American, C-USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt.

Pac-12 vs FCS matchups
The Football Championship Subdivision comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs.

Note:† Denotes Neutral Site Game

Pac-12 individual awards
In November 2023, the Pac-12 Conference released their Pac-12 Conference football individual awards and All-Conference Honors at the end of their final season.

All-conference teams
The following players earned All-Pac-12 honors. Any teams showing (_) following their name are indicating the number of All-Pac-12 Conference Honors awarded to that university for 1st team and 2nd team respectively.

Source:

First Team

Second Team

Notes:
 * RS = Return specialist
 * AP/ST = All-purpose/special teams player (not a kicker or returner)
 * † Two-time first team selection;
 * ‡ Three-time first team selection

Honorable mentions
 * ARIZONA: RB Jonah Coleman, So.; WR Jacob Cowing, Sr.; DB Tacario Davis, So.; TE Tanner McLachlan, R-Sr.; DB Ephesians Prysock, So.; OL Jonah Savaiinaea, So.; DB Treydan Stukes Jr.; DL Taylor Upshaw, Gr.
 * ARIZONA STATE: RS Elijhah Badger, R-Jr.; OL Leif Fautanu, R-Jr.; DL Dashaun Mallory, Gr.; RB Cam Skattebo Jr.
 * CALIFORNIA: LB David Reese, R-Sr.; DB Craig Woodson, R-Jr.
 * Colorado: QB Shedeur Sanders, Jr.; DB Shilo Sanders, Gr.; P Mark Vassett Jr.
 * OREGON: DL Jordan Burch, Jr.; OL Josh Conerly Jr., So.; OL Ajani Cornelius, Jr.; DB Tysheem Johnson Jr.; WR Tez Johnson, Jr.; OL Steven Jones Sr.;
 * OREGON STATE: DB Akili Arnold, R-Jr.; DB Ryan Cooper Jr. Sr.; WR Anthony Gould, R-Jr.; AP/ST Jesiah Irish, R-Sr.; K Atticus Sappington, R-So.
 * STANFORD: WR Elic Ayomanor, So.; DB Alaka'i Gilman Sr.; LB Tristan Sinclair, 5th; TE Benjamin Yurosek, Sr.
 * UCLA: DB Kenny Churchwell III, R-Sr.; DB Alex Johnson, R-Sr.; TE Moliki Matavao Jr.; LB Kain Medrano Sr.; DL Gabriel Murphy, R-Jr.; DL Grayson Murphy, R-Jr.
 * USC: DL Bear Alexander, So.; AP/ST Zachariah Branch, Fr.; DL Solomon Byrd, R-Sr.; OL Justin Dedich, R-Sr.; RB MarShawn Lloyd, R-Jr.; OL Jonah Monheim, R-Jr.; TE Lake McRee, R-So.; WR Tahj Washington, R-Sr.
 * UTAH: OL Keaton Bills Jr.; OL Michael Mokofisi, So.; DB Zemaiah Vaughn Jr.
 * WASHINGTON: LB Carson Bruener Jr.; TE Devin Culp Sr.; DB Dominique Hampton Sr.; OL Roger Rosengarten, So.; DL Zion Tupuola-Fetui, Sr.; TE Jack Westover Sr.
 * WASHINGTON STATE: DB Jaden Hicks, R-So.; DL Ron Stone Jr., R-Sr.; WR Lincoln Victor, Sr.; QB Cameron Ward, Jr.

All-Americans
Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. College Football All-American consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.

Fourth Team:

List of All American Teams

 * American Football Coaches Association All-America Team
 * Associated Press All-America Team
 * CBS Sports All-America Team
 * The Athletic All-America Team
 * FOX All-America Team
 * Sports Illustrated All-America Team
 * USA Today All-America Team
 * Walter Camp All-America Team
 * Writers Association of America All-America Team
 * The Sporting News College Football All-America Team
 * ESPN All-America Team
 * PFF College All-America Team
 * Athlon Sports College Football's Postseason All-America Team
 * Phil Steele's Postseason All-American Team
 * All-American College Football Team and Individual Honors

National Awards
2023 College Football Award Winners

Home game attendance
Bold – At or Exceed capacity †Season High

NFL draft
The NFL draft will be held at Campus Martius Park in Detroit, MI. The Following list includes all Pac–12 Players in the draft.