Pac-12 spring football overreactions: USC makes CFP title game, Travis Hunter shines at Colorado

With spring football over in the Pac-12, the clock is ticking on the conference’s final days with its full, 12-team form. With UCLA and USC departing for the Big Ten next summer, both teams look to make a splash in their own ‘Last Dance’ in the conference.

The collection of starting quarterback play in the Pac-12 should be its best in years. There’s a wealth of returners at the position, including Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. New blood also joins the fold in UCLA’s Dante Moore and Arizona State’s Jaden Rashada, both of whom are pushing for starting jobs. 

The Pac-12 hasn’t reached the College Football Playoff since Washington in 2016. Last year, USC was on the doorstep of breaking that drought before falling to Utah in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Could this be the season the Trojans break that streak? Here are some overreactions heading into the fall that may come to fruition.

Wildcats fall short of the postseason once again: The Wildcats were one of the most improved teams in college football last season. After going 1-11 in coach Jedd Fisch’s first season in Tucson, the Wildcats went 5-7 in 2022 and just missed out on a bowl game. With Fisch entering his third season, the time is now to take the next step. Arizona picked up a commitment from former Oregon linebacker Justin Flowe but lost one of the top wide receivers in the conference when Dorian Singer transferred to USC. Jayden de Laura returns at quarterback after a solid 2022 campaign, but in a loaded conference, Arizona isn’t able to find six wins to get over that hump. The Wildcats should beat Northern Arizona and UTEP but traveling to Starkville to face Mississippi State in the second game of the season will be a challenge.

Arizona State

RB Cameron Skattebo will be a household name by November: Skattebo is the best running back in college football you probably have never heard of. After a dominant season at Sacramento State, where he rushed for 1,382 yards and seven touchdowns while earning Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year honors, Skattebo entered the transfer portal and signed with the Sun Devils days later. His bruising style of play will create nightmares for opposing teams in the conference. He should head into the fall as the starter for the Sun Devils in the first season of the Kenny Dillingham era. 

Cal

Justin Wilcox is coaching his final season in…