Pac-12 has early chance to get a head start on lofty rebuild goals

The Pac-12 has lofty goals as it enters Year 1 of a major reconstruction. Thanks to a daunting early-season schedule, it can quickly meet them.

Last month, the conference formally introduced the Boise State Broncos, Colorado State Rams, Fresno State Bulldogs, San Diego State Aztecs, Texas State Bobcats and Utah State Aggies as football members, joining two longstanding Pac-12 programs, the Oregon State Beavers and Washington State Cougars.

In an article published on Wednesday, ESPN college football reporter Kyle Bonagura spoke with commissioner Teresa Gould and others in the Pac-12 about their aims for the once-storied conference, and they made clear their intentions.

"Now," Bonagura wrote, "the new Pac-12 wants to be viewed as the strongest conference outside the sport's four richest leagues, compete regularly for College Football Playoff access ... and convince fans, recruits and the rest of college sports that this version of the conference matters."

Difficult Week 1 schedule allows Pac-12 to quickly establish itself

When introducing its added members, the Pac-12 shared several numbers spanning the 2021-25 seasons to support their claim, including:

• Their eight members have a .537 combined win percentage, fourth-best among FBS conferences, only trailing the SEC (.612), Big Ten (.591) and Big 12 (.554).
• Six of the eight programs had a winning record during that span.
• Six teams have been ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
• Five teams have been ranked in the CFP top 25.

That's all very nice, but the conference isn't going to force its way into the playoff by winning in the court of public opinion. (That only works for the SEC.) Rather, the former "Conference of Champions" must prove itself on the field, which it has a chance to do early.

Five members play on the road against AP-ranked, power-conference opponents in Week 1, raising the stakes considerably for the first weekend of September.

Fresno State plays No. 14 USC Trojans on Friday, Sep. 4, while Oregon State completes a home-and-home with No. 23 Houston Cougars the following day. Last year, Houston won in Corvallis, 27-24.

Boise State gets the No. 2 Oregon Ducks, which it is 3-1 against all-time, the lone loss coming in 2024, 37-34, while Texas State and the No. 5 Texas Longhorns meet for only the second time and first since 1930.

Washington State wraps the conference-wide gauntlet on Sunday with the Apple Cup against No. 17 Washington Huskies.

All five Pac-12 teams are three-touchdown underdogs, and if any can pull off an upset, it would be an impressive achievement. But losses could still be informative. Context matters. If games are close and a handful of teams fall on late scores or in overtime, that may signal the conference is in "a tier of its own," as it describes itself as.

In time, the reconfigured Pac-12 can emerge as the clear fifth-best football conference, potentially helping when the playoff committee determines which conference champion gets the fifth automatic bid. But first impressions are hard to shake. And the one the Pac-12 leaves could linger all season.