Pac-12 football leading the nation in early 2023 preseason rankings
As 2023 Pac-12 Football Media Day approaches, set for July 21 in Las Vegas with coverage across Pac-12 Network, the Conference heads into the coming season with strong momentum off the heels of a memorable 2022 campaign and numerous notable returnees. Evidence of that momentum was further strengthened following the league's 2023 Spring Football showcases with several top media outlets placing Pac-12 programs across their early Preseason Top 25 rankings.
In total, USC, Washington, Oregon, Utah and Oregon State currently find themselves as consensus preseason Top 25 team across ESPN, The Athletic, USA Today, Sporting News, CBS Sports & NCAA.com, while UCLA also receives Top 25 praise from The Athletic, Sporting News and CBS Sports.
Each of the source rankings are linked at the top of the columns, sorted by an average ranking across these outlets:
| School | ESPN | The Athletic | USA Today | Sporting News | CBS Sports | NCAA.com | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC | 4 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 7.5 |
| Washington | 12 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 8.7 |
| Oregon | 15 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 13.5 |
| Utah | 14 | 12 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 13.8 |
| Oregon State | 17 | 13 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 16.5 |
| UCLA | -- | 25 | -- | 24 | 21 | -- | -- |
In terms of total number of teams appearing in updated Top 25 rankings by conferences, the Pac-12 leads the way across all of college football by total average across these media outlets:
| Conference | ESPN | The Athletic | USA Today | Sporting News | CBS Sports | NCAA.com | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pac-12 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5.5 |
| SEC | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5.3 |
| Big Ten | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Big 12 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4.2 |
| ACC | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Others & Independent | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2.5 |
The 2023 Pac-12 football season kicks off in Week Zero with San Jose State at USC on Saturday, August 26 and the full-slate for the Pac-12 starting the following week. Prior to the season's kickoff, the league will hold its 2023 Pac-12 Football Media Day on Friday, July 21, moving its location to Las Vegas for the first time.