Online college football betting is now just days away with the season getting underway this week. The PAC-12 is typically one of the strongest conferences in the nation and there are certainly some teams to keep an eye on once again, led by USC (+185), which is not only the favorite in this conference but also a contender in the 2022-23 NCAA Football National Championship futures. Utah, the defending champs, is at +215 odds to repeat in the Pac-12. Keep reading for the PAC-12 picks.
Before we get into the odds and analysis, make sure to check out our reviews of the top online sportsbooks.
PAC-12 Odds
 | Odds |
|---|---|
| USC | +185 |
| Utah | +215 |
| Oregon | +285 |
| UCLA | +1000 |
| Washington | +1600 |
| Oregon State | +3300 |
| Washington State | +3300 |
| Arizona State | +5000 |
| California | +5000 |
| Stanford | +5000 |
| Colorado | +15000 |
| Arizona | +25000 |
USC
The Trojans are a legitimate dark horse to win a National Championship and a deserving favorite in the PAC-12 picks. USC made some major changes this offseason, bringing in former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley to run the program and he also brought 5-star quarterback Caleb Williams with him from the Sooners. Williams had a breakout campaign in 2021, stealing the starting job from Spencer Rattler and throwing for 1,900 yards and 21 touchdowns. He's now the main man at USC and potentially even a Heisman candidate if he can show out again. Also, wide receiver Mario Williams left OU and brought his talents to Southern California. He's expected to be one of Caleb Williams' top targets. There's no shortage of other transfers, either. Travis Dye and Austin Jones come from other PAC-12 programs. Brendan Rice, Jordan Addison, and Terrell Bynum, important pieces of the WR room, are all transfers, too. Riley has a lot of talent at his disposal and it would frankly be a disappointment if they didn't win the conference.
Utah
How can you count out the champions in the PAC-12 picks? The Utes took down Oregon in the PAC-12 title game then lost a 48-45 heartbreaker to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. They finished with a 10-4 record overall last season while going 8-1 in conference play. Utah has been historically good for the last few years, winning a minimum of nine games in six of the last eight seasons. The standout player is quarterback Cameron Rising, who was brilliant in 2021. He went 9-2 as a starter last year and took the QB1 job from Charlie Brewer. Defensively, the Utes also added a couple of notable transfers in Mohamoud Diabate and Lander Barton, two solid linebackers. Kyle Whittingham's group has a tough opening game this weekend against the Florida Gators, but they truly have an NFL-caliber quarterback leading the way and no shortage of weapons on both sides of the ball. October 15th's meeting with USC will prove to be massive for their fate this season, too
Oregon
Dan Lanning takes over in Eugene in his first year as head coach and he'll be pleased with how Oregon is set up. They return 14 starters from last season's roster that ultimately won the PAC-12 North and lost to Utah in the title game. Most notably, the Ducks bring back a total of five players from their offensive line, which is huge. Bo Nix and Ty Thompson will battle it out for QB1 and both guys are more than capable of making an impact from the get-go. There is no shortage of weapons both in the backfield and out wide. Byron Cardwell and Sean Dollars at RB, while Kris Hutson, Troy Franklin, and Dont’e Thornton downfield. Lanning should also make this defense a whole lot better, despite losing Kavyon Thibodeaux to the NFL. Noah Sewell and Brandon Dorlus should fit in nicely to fill the void left by the former Ducks star.
Final Pick
I really do think you'll see a USC vs Utah championship game. Both teams are extremely talented all-around, but the question is, who will come out on top? The Trojans have hired a coach in Lincoln Riley who is a proven winner from his Oklahoma days and he's attracted a ton of talent to join forces with him at USC. This group is special and it's going to be their time to win a PAC-12 title for the first time since 2017. It'll be Utah/USC fluctuating between first and second in the conference all year long. In the end though, the favorites will get it done in the PAC-12 picks. All the transfer activity is about to pay off.
