Pac-12, at a glance.
Top 10 by power rating — 2026 season, through the latest games.
Team
Record
Power
Home Conferences FBS 2026 season
The weekly grind · 2026
Pac-12
Two Conferences in One
Boise State holds the Pac-12 lead heading into this week's games.
Pac-12 looks stronger on team quality than on season resume, which makes it a dangerous future-facing league.
#5Overall
#5In FBS
+20.8Conference strength
+25.2Upper strength
8Teams
1Top-25 teams
Power snapshot
Projected 2026 standing
Two Conferences in One
Oregon went 13-2 in 2025 and holds the Pac-12's highest SP+ rating (#6 nationally) entering 2026. Meanwhile, Colorado went 3-9 with a recruiting class ranked #37 — the conference's largest coaching gap (-76). UCLA finished 3-9 with a #46 class (-73 gap). The Pac-12 has a genuine national title contender at the top and a credibility crisis at the bottom, with almost nothing in between.
1 top-25 team.
The depth argument for this conference rests on how many credible opponents are clustered behind the leader. The gap between the top and bottom is narrow — a sign of genuine parity.
Where things stand right now.
Boise State holds the Pac-12 lead heading into this week's games.
The ContenderOregon Is the Pac-12’s Case for National Relevance
Oregon went 13-2 in 2025 with a recruiting class ranked #5 nationally — the only Pac-12 program that can claim elite talent AND elite results. Their SP+ rating of #6 puts them in the conversation with Georgia, Ohio State, and the conference’s strongest programs nationally. If the Pac-12 is going to earn CFP credibility, Oregon is the argument. Whether the conference’s bottom tier holds them back in the committee room is the one thing they can’t control.
Why it matters →
The Coaching StoryUtah Went 11-2 With the 40th Recruiting Class
Utah’s coaching premium is +31: a #40 recruiting class produced an 11-2 season and an SP+ ranking of #9 nationally. Kyle Whittingham’s program has operated this way for a decade — winning more games than their talent should allow, competing in January, and never landing a top-20 recruiting class. If Utah beats Oregon in 2026, they become the Pac-12’s most interesting program.
Why it matters →
The QuestionColorado Recruited at #37. They Went 3-9.
Colorado’s coaching gap is -76: a #37 recruiting class produced a 3-9 season and an SP+ ranking of #113. That’s the Pac-12’s worst ratio of talent to results — and among the worst in FBS. UCLA runs a similar problem (-73 gap, 3-9). Stanford went 4-8 with a #56 class (-48). The Pac-12’s bottom tier is recruiting Power Four talent and losing like a Group of Five program, which is its own kind of crisis.
Why it matters →Active arcs
Active5wk ago
Boise State Enters AP Poll After Dominant Road Win Over Western Michigan
Can Boise State sustain its momentum following this strong start to the 2026 season?
Boise State
Developing9mo ago
Washington State vs. Kansas State (Sep 12, 2026) Live Score - ESPN
How will Colorado State's roster moves impact their performance against Boise State?
Texas StateColorado State
Developing4wk ago
San Diego State football faces mumps outbreak ahead of Pac-12 opener against Tex
How will the mumps outbreak affect San Diego State's performance in their Pac-12 opener?
San Diego State
Developing4wk ago
Kirby Moore Takes Over Play-Calling at Washington State
Will Kirby Moore’s switch to play-calling improve Washington State’s struggling offense?
Washington State
Developing4wk ago
Fresno State Earns First Pac-12 Win With 26-6 Upset Over Washington State
Can Fresno State sustain its defensive dominance in future Pac-12 matchups?
Washington StateFresno State
Fan pulse
17% positive
48% neutral
35% negative
Boise State
1,247
↓ negative
Oregon State
391
→ neutral
Texas State
289
↓ negative
Washington State
238
↓ negative
San Diego State
175
↓ negative
Utah State
173
→ neutral
Fan confidence by FBS percentile
Where each Pac-12 program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 31st percentile. The label is the band (Bullish, Leaning, Mixed, Souring); the number after it is the change in percentile points since the prior week.
Most volatile: San Diego State
Fan confidence has swung 87 percentile points in the last 8 weeks — currently at the 1st percentile nationally.
The coaching premium
Recruiting class rank vs. SP+ performance — where coaches add or subtract value
Above line = coaching premium
Below line = underperforming
Gap = recruiting rank minus SP+ rank
Positive gap means the coaching staff won more than the recruiting class predicted. Data: Pac-12 teams, 8 programs.
Standings
2026 season, in progress — sorted by power rating. The tag beside a team is its long-run program standing.
| # | Team | Record | Power | Resume |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Boise StatePower Program III#23
|
7-1 | +28.7 | +99.1 |
| 2 |
Texas StateRegional Program III#93
|
4-4 | +25.1 | +81.3 |
| 3 |
Oregon StateRegional Program I#73
|
5-3 | +23.9 | +91.0 |
| 4 |
Fresno StateNational Program III#61▲
|
5-3 | +22.3 | +87.1 |
| 5 |
Utah StateRegional Program III#99
|
3-5 | +20.9 | +60.0 |
| 6 |
San Diego StateRegional Program I#80
|
4-5 | +17.6 | +43.0 |
| 7 |
Washington StateRegional Program I#82
|
1-8 | +17.2 | +33.4 |
| 8 |
Colorado StateRegional Program IV#117
|
3-5 | +15.2 | +71.2 |
Projected standings · Pac-12 · 2026
Win projection
Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.
| # | Team | W-L | Pwr | Avg | ≥7 | ≥6 | ≥5 | ≥4 | ≥3 | ≥2 | ≥1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Favorites | |||||||||||
| 1 | Boise State | 5-2 | +7.3 | 4.8 | 7 | 31 | 63 | 87 | 97 | ✓ | ✓ |
| 2 | Texas State | 4-3 | +3.7 | 4.2 | 2 | 15 | 42 | 72 | 92 | 99 | ✓ |
| Challengers | |||||||||||
| 3 | Oregon State | 4-3 | +2.5 | 4.0 | 2 | 12 | 36 | 66 | 88 | 98 | ✓ |
| 4 | Fresno State | 4-3 | +1.0 | 3.6 | 1 | 7 | 25 | 54 | 81 | 95 | 99 |
| The field | |||||||||||
| 5 | Utah State | 3-4 | −0.4 | 3.4 | 4 | 19 | 46 | 75 | 93 | 99 | |
| 6 | San Diego State | 3-4 | −3.7 | 2.9 | 2 | 10 | 31 | 61 | 87 | 98 | |
| Rebuilding | |||||||||||
| 7 | Washington State | 3-4 | −4.2 | 2.7 | 1 | 8 | 25 | 55 | 83 | 97 | |
| 8 | Colorado State | 2-5 | −6.1 | 2.4 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 44 | 75 | 95 | |
How they play
Six advanced-stat dimensions per team, ranked against all 134 FBS programs, 2026 season. Every column reads higher-is-better. Click a column to sort.
ScoringConvertsBig playsDefensePacePass rate
| Team | Scoring | Converts | Defense | Identity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boise State | +0.31 | 47.1% | −0.06 | Balanced |
| Texas State | +0.27 | 48.7% | −0.12 | High-tempo |
| Oregon State | +0.30 | 49.2% | −0.07 | Efficient offense |
| Fresno State | +0.11 | 39.2% | −0.03 | Balanced |
| Utah State | +0.02 | 36.5% | −0.04 | Can't sustain drives |
| San Diego State | +0.00 | 36.8% | −0.14 | Can't sustain drives |
| Washington State | −0.05 | 35.5% | −0.10 | Can't sustain drives |
| Colorado State | +0.22 | 45.5% | −0.31 | Defense is the problem |
Identity is the single dimension where a team is most above or below the FBS average (pace, defense, big plays, or converting drives) — "Balanced" means nothing stands out either way. CFBD 2026 advanced stats, excludes garbage time.
Top players
Pac-12's highest CFB Zeitgeist Scores, 2026 season so far.
| # | Player | Team | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesse LegreeWR | Oregon State | #3 of 465 |
| 2 | Carson TujagueIDL | Utah State | #2 of 300 |
| 3 | Dylan RileyRB | Boise State | #4 of 330 |
| 4 | Carl NesmithLB | Utah State | #10 of 567 |
| 5 | Takari HickleLB | Oregon State | #14 of 567 |
| 6 | Torrance Burgess Jr.RB | Texas State | #7 of 330 |
| 7 | Jirah LeaupepeteleIDL | Washington State | #15 of 300 |
| 8 | Tyree MorrisIDL | Utah State | #18 of 300 |
| 9 | Mike LindsayCB | San Diego State | #23 of 344 |
| 10 | Brevin HamblinS | Utah State | #22 of 537 |
Where Pac-12 stands nationally
Conference strength, as a round-robin adjusted power rating.
1
SEC
SEC
+24.4
2
B10
Big Ten
+23.3
3
IND
FBS Independents
+21.7
4
B12
Big 12
+21.5
5
P12
Pac-12
+20.8
6
ACC
ACC
+20.5
7
AAC
American Athletic
+18.3
8
SB
Sun Belt
+17.3
9
MW
Mountain West
+16.5
10
CUSA
Conference USA
+16.4
The Pac-12 (today’s league) in History
- The Pac-12 postpones football for the year, then reverses and decides to playAug 11, 2020
- Oregon's Mario Cristobal takes the Miami job on the day Miami fires Manny DiazCoach change · Dec 6, 2021
- Oregon hires Georgia's Dan Lanning to replace Mario CristobalCoach change · Dec 11, 2021
Realignment, in order, in History; The 2023 Pac-12 is in the Atlas