The Best Pac-12 Games to Watch Each Week This College Football Season

College football finally returns for the 2022 season at the start of September. Here's a week-by-week lineup of the best Pac-12 games to watch this fall.

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Week 1: Utah at Florida

Sept. 3, 7 p.m., ESPN

There are two huge nonconferences matchups for the Pac-12 happening in Week 1. Utah travels to Florida to face the Gators for the first game of its season, while Oregon and Georgia face off at a neutral site in Jacksonville. For now, Pac-12 fans are going to want to focus on the Utah game. The Utes are one of the top-ranked teams heading into the season and arguably have the best shot at being a playoff contender by the end of the season. With a veteran quarterback and core group, Kyle Whittingham’s squad is the one to watch in the first week. (Nonetheless, if you disagree, head over to SI’s SEC Guide to read about Oregon vs. Georgia). 

Week 2: USC at Stanford

Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m., ABC

Pac-12 fans should be excited to see transfer Caleb Williams get the start under center for USC in Week 2. After earning the starting spot at Oklahoma in his freshman year, there is no doubt that Williams arrives at USC with the expectation of being the Trojans’ lead play-caller. Though Stanford is no longer one of the teams expected to be in contention for the conference title, it should still be an interesting game to watch, especially with Lincoln Riley (the same coach that Williams played under as a freshman) making his debut as USC coach this season.

Week 3: Cal at Notre Dame

Sept. 17, 2:30 p.m., TBD

Notre Dame is playing a few Pac-12 teams this season, with games against Cal, Stanford and USC scheduled for 2022. The Fighting Irish will be an interesting team to watch this year after they were widely recognized as one of the teams first out of the College Football Playoffs in ’21. Plus, they return a number of starters, four of whom made Pro Football Focus’ list of top-10 returners by position. Cal, on the other hand, has only nine returning starters total after losing three of its core receiving group and its starting quarterback. If the Golden Bears are able to make something of their depleted roster this season, this will be the game to prove that.

Week 4: USC at Oregon State

Sept. 24, TBD

Despite USC leading the matchups between these two teams 63–12, Oregon State upset the Trojans last year with a 45–27 win, its first against the team in Los Angeles since 1960. Quarterback Chance Nolan was a key factor in the win, though he will fight for his starting spot again in 2022 with two other Beaver quarterbacks returning from injuries that kept them sidelined last year. Looking ahead at this season, the game against Oregon State is likely a must-win for USC if it hopes to contend for the Pac-12 South.

Week 5: Stanford at Oregon

Oct. 1, TBD

One of Stanford’s only big wins of the 2021 season was in overtime against Oregon in Week 5. Following that, though, the Cardinal went on to lose all remaining seven games on their schedule, totaling their worst record since ’06. Stanford’s quarterback Tanner McKee is a bright spot on the roster, but he struggled in the second half of the season last year. If he’s able to get back to his full potential, the Cardinal may have a shot at repeating an Oregon upset.

Week 6: Utah at UCLA

Oct. 8, TBD

Last time Utah played the Rose Bowl, quarterback Cam Rising left the game with a concussion after nearly leading the team to a win over Ohio State. This year, the Utes will face UCLA on the road for what should be a good indicator of how the Pac-12 South will shake out later in the season.

Week 7: USC at Utah

Oct. 15, TBD

In addition to Oregon and Utah, USC is the other team that is slated to make a run for the conference championship and maybe even the playoffs. One issue that will determine where the Trojans are at this point in the season is Caleb Williams’s health; he suffered a hand injury last year but was able to bounce back quickly and remained the starter for the Sooners. If he is ruled out for USC at any point in the season, the most likely quarterback option behind him is Miller Moss, a redshirt freshman who saw the field in two games last year as a backup.

Week 8: UCLA at Oregon

Oct. 22, TBD

UCLA will be coming off a bye to face Oregon in Week 8. The first game before that for UCLA will have been Utah, so the Bruins are getting two of the hardest opponents in the Pac-12 (essentially) in back-to-back matchups. Oregon has won the last three matchups between the two teams, dating back to 2018 in what was Chip Kelly’s first season at UCLA. Kelly came to UCLA from the NFL, but he also served as the coach at Oregon for four seasons before that.

Week 9: Utah at Washington State

Oct. 27, TBD

Though Washington State is not often considered one of the top programs in the Pac-12, it is a consistently good program—one that has been to six bowl games in the last seven years. Transfer quarterback Cameron Ward joins the Cougars along with former UIW coach Eric Morris, who will start at offensive coordinator this season.

Week 10: Cal at USC

Nov. 5, TBD

The year 2020 was the first time since 1933 that Cal did not play both UCLA and USC in a season. Last year, Cal played both of the Los Angeles schools, and lost to UCLA just one week before beating USC. This year, however, the order is reversed, and the Golden Bears will face arguably the harder of the two teams first when they travel to USC in Week 10. The win in ’21 was one of just two over the Trojans in 18 years. A win would prove last year’s was not a fluke.

Week 11: Washington at Oregon

Nov. 12, TBD

This rivalry is known amongst the college football landscape for its intensity (aka the fan bases despise each other), but it is also a key indicator for the Pac-12 North as Oregon hopes to make another run at the conference title this year. Washington fired both its head coach and offensive coordinator after a disappointing season last year, with former Fresno State coach Kalen DeBoer coming in as the replacement. DeBoer led a strong offense with the Bulldogs, and if he can bring that to the Huskies, they might have a shot at contending for the division.

Week 12: USC at UCLA

Nov. 29, TBD

The natural decision in Week 12 is to watch the two Los Angeles teams battle. Not only does USC have more potential this year with Lincoln Riley and Caleb Williams, but the pressure is also on for UCLA coach Chip Kelly. Expectations were high for Kelly coming into UCLA, but he has fallen short in the past few years with the exception of a few big wins (like the win over LSU last year, which turned out not to be as significant as fans thought after LSU fell off across the course of the season). However, UCLA made a statement last year when it beat USC 62–33.

Utah and Oregon will also face off this week in what could be a preview of the Pac-12 championship game—but that’s only if both teams live up to expectations this season. For now, teams should mark this Los Angeles showdown on their calendar for Week 12.

Week 13: Oregon at Oregon State

Nov. 26, TBD

This in-state rivalry is normally fairly lopsided given Oregon’s recent dominance (the Ducks have won 12 of the last 14 matchups), but this year could look differently as Oregon State has begun to take its place as a contender in the Pac-12. Though the Ducks will be hard to beat, this matchup could be a key opportunity for the Beavers to prove they are able to keep up with bigger programs.