The games which will shape the 2022 Pac-12 football season

If you’re a USC fan, you don’t need to think long and hard about the biggest games of the 2022 Pac-12 season or the 2022 college football season: Utah, Notre Dame, UCLA, Oregon State.

What about the rest of the Pac-12?

Whether it’s Trojans Wire or Jon Wilner at the Wilner Hotline (some of these games are our picks, some of these games are his), it’s worth looking at the games which will define the Pac-12 season and shape the campaign for the various schools in the conference. Everyone’s definition of a big game will vary, especially since a big game for USC will be different in stakes and enormity from a big game for Arizona. USC-Arizona obviously isn’t a big game, and no one would seriously suggest that it is. The same could be said for Utah-Arizona State or Oregon-California.

Let’s be honest: Which games feel a little bit different? Which games seem to carry a little more weight or could be a little tricky, if not both? Let’s consider the most important games of the 2022 college football season throughout the Pac-12 Conference:

WEEK 1: UTAH-FLORIDA

Jul 29, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Utah Utes coach Kyle Whittingham speaks during Pac-12 Media Day at Novo Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

WEEK 1: OREGON-GEORGIA

Dec 7, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart talks to defensive coordinator Dan Lanning against the LSU Tigers in the third quarter in the 2019 SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

WEEK 1: BOISE STATE-OREGON STATE

Jul 29, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oregon State Beavers coach Jonathan Smith speaks during Pac-12 Media Day at Novo Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

WEEK 2: WASHINGTON STATE-WISCONSIN

Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst, right, and defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard…