Home Conferences FBS 2026 season

VERDICT BEGINS · 2026

Pac-12

Two Conferences in One

The 2026 Pac-12 season is underway — Boise State holds the early power lead, but the picture is still open.

Pac-12 reads like a weekly gauntlet. The middle of the league is strong enough that contenders do not get many breathers.

#4overall

#4in FBS

+20.2RR50

+23.0upper strength

8teams

0top-25 teams

Pac-12, at a glance.

Top 10 by power rating — 2026 season, through the latest games.

Team Power Record RR50

Boise State

1-1 +23.5

Texas State

0-2 +23.2

Washington State

0-2 +22.0

San Diego State

1-1 +21.6

Utah State

0-2 +20.2

Fresno State

1-1 +20.1

Oregon State

0-2 +19.4

Colorado State

2-0 +17.2

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.

0 top-25 teams.

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.

The 2026 Pac-12 season is underway — Boise State holds the early power lead, but the picture is still open.

Tools Matchup Simulator Compare Teams Playoff Forecast Style map Head to head Power map

The Contender

Oregon 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 Story

Utah 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 Question

Colorado 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 our read

Active1wk ago

Memphis' Jaylin Carter leads 4-TD rout over Arkansas State

Can Arkansas State recover from a strong opening loss?

Boise State

Active7mo ago

Washington State vs. Kansas State (Sep 12, 2026) Live Score - ESPN

Can Colorado State overcome its personnel changes to compete with Boise State?

Texas StateColorado State

Active1wk ago

Fresno State Begins 2026 Season Against No. 14 USC in Pac-12 Opener

Can Fresno State's young team compete with a ranked USC squad in their first game of the season?

Fresno State

Developing1wk ago

Arch Manning Recounts Viral Tunnel Tumble Before Texas State Game

Will Arch Manning's pregame mishap affect his performance against Texas State?

Texas State

Developing3mo ago

Oregon and Oregon State schedule four future football games

How will these teams perform in their renewed rivalry?

Oregon State

All arcs →

Fan pulse Last 30 days · 3,181 mentions

21% positive 45% neutral 34% negative

Boise State

1,156

↓ negative

Washington State

626

↓ negative

Oregon State

444

→ neutral

San Diego State

217

→ neutral

Fresno State

203

→ neutral

Texas State

197

↓ negative

Fan confidence — FBS percentile

Where each Pac-12 program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 46th percentile.

Bullish+5

Bullish–

Leaning+2

Leaning–

Mixed–

Souring-9

Souring-7

Souring-25

⚡

Most volatile: Texas State

Fan confidence has swung 58 percentile points in the last 8 weeks — currently at the 3rd 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. Stature tag = interim Zeitgeist calibration (medium confidence).

#	Team	Record	RR50	Resume
1	Boise State Power Program III#25	1-1	+23.5	+92.8
2	Texas State Regional Program III#101	0-2	+23.2	+39.8
3	Washington State Regional Program I#80	0-2	+22.0	+18.0
4	San Diego State Regional Program I#77	1-1	+21.6	+23.8
5	Utah State Regional Program III#102	0-2	+20.2	+31.1
6	Fresno State National Program III#62	1-1	+20.1	+51.6
7	Oregon State Regional Program I#85	0-2	+19.4	+66.9
8	Colorado State Regional Program IV#120	2-0	+17.2	+93.4

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	4–3	+2.6	4.0	2	13	37	66	88	98	✓
2	Texas State	4–3	+2.3	4.0	2	12	35	65	87	97	✓
Challengers
3	San Diego State	4–3	+0.7	3.7	1	8	27	56	82	95	99
4	Washington State	4–3	+1.1	3.6	1	7	26	54	81	95	99
The Field
5	Utah State	3–4	-0.7	3.3		4	18	44	73	92	99
6	Fresno State	3–4	-0.8	3.3		4	18	43	73	92	99
Rebuilding
7	Oregon State	3–4	-1.5	3.3		4	18	43	72	92	99
8	Colorado State	3–4	-3.7	2.8		2	9	28	57	84	97

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	Big plays	Defense	Pace	Pass rate	Identity
Boise State	+0.28	42.9%	+1.23	-0.17	70.0	40.7%	Balanced
Texas State	+0.16	44.3%	+1.07	-0.35	75.0	39.3%	Defense is the problem
Washington State	-0.08	28.3%	+1.10	-0.13	53.0	42.4%	Grind-it-out
San Diego State	+0.07	38.4%	+0.95	-0.08	59.5	32.8%	No explosive plays
Utah State	+0.04	36.9%	+1.43	-0.04	73.0	50.0%	Can't sustain drives
Fresno State	+0.03	35.0%	+1.25	-0.14	53.5	42.1%	Grind-it-out
Oregon State	+0.23	35.1%	+1.70	-0.25	72.0	69.4%	Big-play offense
Colorado State	+0.40	48.9%	+1.51	-0.06	68.0	52.2%	Big-play offense

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 Index Scores, 2025 season.

#	Player	Team	National
1	Caleb FranclLB	Washington State	#60 of 583
2	Bryson LambIDL	Washington State	#62 of 330
3	Trent WalkerWR	Oregon State	#75 of 485
4	Parker McKennaLB	Washington State	#134 of 583
5	Jaheim PattersonS	Oregon State	#115 of 544
6	Isaac TerrellEDGE	Washington State	#109 of 420
7	Josh MeredithWR	Washington State	#96 of 485
8	Skyler ThomasS	Oregon State	#125 of 544
9	Buddha PeletiEDGE	Washington State	#166 of 420
10	Colby HumphreyCB	Washington State	#144 of 364

Where Pac-12 stands nationally

Conference strength by RR50 (round-robin adjusted power).

1 SEC SEC

+22.8

2 B10 Big Ten

+21.7

3 IND FBS Independents

+20.4

4 P12 Pac-12

+20.2

5 B12 Big 12

+19.5

6 ACC ACC

+19.2

7 AAC American Athletic

+17.3

8 SB Sun Belt

+17.0

9 CUSA Conference USA

+16.6

10 MAC Mid-American

+16.2