College Football Best Bets: Pac-12 Odds for Its Final Season as We Know It

The Pac 12 conference received a massive blow last weekend. The majority of its schools have announced they’re moving conferences. As of now, there will be only four teams in the conference following 2023: Cal, Oregon State, Stanford, and Washington State. 2023 might be the final year of the Pac-12 Conference. Let’s look at the latest odds of what could be a historic season for West Coast college football.

Just two years ago, USC football was in the midst of a slump. After finishing 4-8, the Trojans were searching for a new head coach. Enter Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma. Riley also brought along quarterback Caleb Williams. In their first season together, USC won 11 games and Williams took home the Heisman Trophy. Many experts believe the junior quarterback will be the 1st overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

With Riley at the helm and Williams back under center, USC is the favorite to win the Pac-12 before it sets up shop in the Big Ten. The Trojans’ best odds can be found at FanDuel Sportsbook and BetMGM Sportsbook at +200. Even though they may seem high, we recommend taking these odds.

It only took one year for USC to have an explosive offense, averaging over 40 points-per-game in 2022. The biggest weakness for the Trojans last season was undoubtedly defense. This has been the bugaboo for Coach Riley’s teams dating back to his time with the Sooners. The Trojans gave up about 28 points per game, which ranked in the bottom half of the Pac-12.

USC added several players in the transfer portal to help fix the unit. Bear Alexander from Georgia, Anthony Lucas from Texas A&M, and Jack Sullivan from Purdue should bolster the defensive line. The Trojans also landed coveted linebacker Mason Cobb who had 96 tackles for Oklahoma St. last season. Cornerback Christian Roland-Wallace from Arizona was also brought in to help the secondary. In total, that’s potentially five new starters. With an improved defense, USC should take home the Pac-12 championship in 2023.

On paper, Oregon has one of the strongest rosters in the Pac-12 headed into 2023. The Ducks lost six players in the 2023 NFL Draft, headlined by cornerback Christian Gonzelez, who went 17th overall to the New England Patriots. Oregon recovered with the third strongest transfer class in the conference.

Oregon’s over/under for 2023 is 9.5 wins with the best odds coming from BetMGM Sportsbook at +110 on the over. We advise taking the under on this win total.

Much of the Ducks’ success will rely on senior quarterback Bo Nix. The Auburn transfer took a massive step forward in 2022 throwing for a career high 3,593 yards and 29 touchdowns. Nix also completed a personal best 71.9% of his passes. The question is simple. Can Nix carry over last year’s success to this season? 

Oregon’s opening schedule is: Portland St., at Texas Tech, Hawaii, Colorado, and at Stanford. It’s highly possible the Ducks win all five to start the year. Their toughest test is probably going to be in Week 2 at the Red Raiders. However, upsets happen. One loss in those first five contests could sink Oregon’s season — especially with Washington, Utah, USC, and Oregon St. remaining on its schedule. We believe Nix will regress slightly and the Ducks won’t start 5-0. As a result, Oregon will have under 9.5 wins in 2023.

Take a guess as to who has the best transfer class in the country heading into 2023. Alabama? Georgia? Florida St.? Nope. It’s none other than Colorado, a school that’s won five combined games the last two seasons. The main reason why is its new head coach, Deion Sanders. Before coming over, the Hall of Fame cornerback led Jackson St. to a 27-5 record the past three seasons.

Colorado’s over/under for 2023 is 3.5 wins with +126 odds to bet the over at Fanduel Sportsbook. We believe Colorado will surprise in 2023, so we recommend taking the over.

When Sanders accepted the head coaching role at Colorado, he took many players he coached at Jackson St with him. This includes cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes roster has been completely overhauled. Their lineup is primarily made up of transfers. The culture has been changed completely. Don’t expect Colorado to be a powerhouse right away, but over 3.5 wins seems highly possible. Then it’s off to the Big 12 in 2024.