PAC-12 Football Betting Preview: Picks, Predictions, Over/Unders and Dark Horses

Our College Football previews go out west for the conference of champions.

The PAC-12 has changes at the top with the likes of USC, Oregon and Washington all ushering in new head coaches. These three will be chasing Utah, who tore through the conference last year behind a resurgent offense that found their quarterback mid-season with Cameron Rising.

There are plenty of contenders in the PAC-12 as Lincoln Riley joined the USC staff and brought former five-star recruit Caleb Williams with him to Los Angeles. Can they knock off Utah in the PAC-12 South?

Let's set the table for the conference in 2022.

2022 PAC-12 Football Win Totals

• Arizona: 2.5 (Over -165/Under +140)
• Arizona State: 5.5 (Over -155/Under +130)
• California: 5.5 (Over +100/Under -120)
• Colorado: 3.5 (Over +145/Under -170)
• Oregon: 8.5 (Over -130/Under +105)
• Oregon State: 5.5 (Over -180/Under +155)
• Stanford: 4.5 (Over +120/Under -140)
• UCLA: 8.5 (Over -115/Under -105)
• USC: 9.5 (Over -130/Under +110)
• Utah: 8.5 (Over -160/Under +135)
• Washington: 7.5 (Over -125/Under +105)
• Washington State: 5.5 (Over +105/Under -125)

*Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

2022 PAC-12 Football Championship Odds

• Arizona: +25000
• Arizona State: +2500
• California: +6000
• Colorado: +25000
• Oregon: +280
• Oregon State: +2500
• Stanford: +9000
• UCLA: +900
• USC: +220
• Utah: +250
• Washington: +1400
• Washington State: +4500

PAC-12 Conference Championship Favorite: Utah +250

USC has the shortest odds, but we will break down Utah as the preseason favorite considering they are the defending champions and have less questions to answer on the roster.

The offense took a serious step forward after going to Rising early in what looked like a down season. He finished the game against San Diego State, a triple overtime loss, that had the Utes at 1-2 on the year. But Rising and the Utes finished the season 9-2 and their first PAC-12 title.

Overall, Rising had a 20:5 TD:INT ratio and the offense placed inside the top 20 in success rate. It wasn't just Rising though, the offensive line was stellar and the team rushed for 5.62 yards per carry, one of the best marks in the country.

Leading rusher Tavion Thomas is back and the Utes bring back four full time starters on the line despite losing their most impactful one in center Nick Ford. I expect the offense to be elite once again (don't sleep on Rising getting Heisman Trophy mentions during the season).

The defense has a few more questions, but in year 18 in Salt Lake City, Kyle Whittingham has plenty of talent to recreate a defense that had 42 sacks last season. Keep an eye on PAC-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year Junior Tafua to star for this Utes D.

Utah has a favorable draw to get back to the conference title game by hosting USC. They do go to UCLA and Oregon, but the team is projected to be favored in every home game. A tricky spot at Washington State on a Thursday night is negated with the Utes having a bye the week before. Overall, the team shapes up to be favored in all but one game (at Oregon) this season.

With a ton of questions for the other contenders such as the Trojans, Oregon and Washington who each have new coaches, Utah is the clear favorite.

PAC-12 Dark Horse: Washington State (+4500)

If you want to get wild, here you go.

Jack Dickert took over for Nick Rolovich during last season and got the Cougars to bowl eligibility, going 3-2 to close the season despite turmoil amongst the team and school. Now, Washington State is taking a page out of the Western Kentucky playbook from last season, importing a prolific FCS offense into their own and try to catch lightning in a bottle.

In his first full season as head coach, Dickert hired Incarnate Word head coach Eric Morris to be the offensive coordinator. Morris brought his quarterback Cameron Ward with him to reignite the Wazzu offense that was right around the national average in 2021.

Ward was dynamite in his 2021 campaign with the program, passing for 4,648 yards, completing 65% of his passes with a gaudy 47:10 TD:INT ratio.

Yes, there aren't a lot of holdovers from last season's team, just 10 starters combined, but this is a bet that Ward can take this team to the next level with his big play capability.

It won't be that easy for the Cougs, who have to go to USC, but they do draw Oregon, Utah and Washington in Pullman.

If you are looking to fade the top of the PAC-12, I suggest looking to the North division. USC and Utah both occupy the South while Washington and Oregon each have first year coaches taking over and their season may be more likely to going sideways in the first season of a new regime.

PAC-12 Championship Pick: Utah over Oregon

While Wazzu is my dark horse pick, the Ducks are accurately priced as the favorite coming out of the North Division, setting up a rematch of the 2022 title game, a 38-10 Utes win.

The Ducks are transitioning from Mario Cristobal, who took the Miami job, to former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning. The team snagged Bo Nix in the transfer portal, but do lose two of their most impactful running backs in Travis Dye and C.J. Verdell.

However, I expect Nix and a running back group headlined by the likes of transfers Mar'Keise Irving (Minnesota) and Noah Whittington (Western Kentucky) as well as top recruit Jordan James to excel behind a loaded offensive line that paved the way for more than five yards per carry last season.

For any questions on offense, the defense should be set around Lanning who brought in a handful of transfers to offset some turnover and has a foundational piece in linebacker Noah Sewell, who had 114 tackles and four sacks last season.

The Ducks have as favorable of a PAC-12 schedule, hosting their three toughest opponents in UCLA, Washington and Utah. Even if the team may not be as elite as projected in the past, the schedule breaks their way for Lanning to get to the title game in year No. 1.

We'll see if they execute as I give Utah a substantial leg up on Oregon heading into the year with Rising at quarterback.

Track all of Reed's bets at Betstamp HERE!