Pac-12 Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2023

Pac-12 coaches anonymously scout opposing teams for the 2023 college football season.

Author:
Athlon Sports
Jul 27, 2023 11:15 AM EDT

In this story:

Washington State Cougars

Oregon Ducks

Oregon State Beavers

Arizona Wildcats

Arizona State Sun Devils

Stanford Cardinal

California Golden Bears

Colorado Buffaloes

College Football

It's not easy getting college football coaches to honestly comment on another coach, player or team. Most coaches don't want to give opposing teams bulletin board material, which is why there is a lot of coach speak or overused cliches used during the year.

In order to get an accurate assessment of teams heading into 2023, Athlon asked coaches in the Pac-12 to talk anonymously about their opponents.

Note: These scouting reports come directly from coaching staffs and do not necessarily reflect the views of Athlon's editorial staff.

Pac-12 Coaches Talk Anonymously About Conference Foes for 2023

Arizona

“They’re going to be a really solid team moving forward. They have one of the smartest, most experienced staffs, and they’ve been given a lot of room to build it right. They’ve signed some defensive players from out of state who might be better than any of the starters they had last year."

"From what we know, they’re building a pretty solid NIL system to compete with ASU, but they’re trying to stay pretty low-profile and make it more about culture."

"This is maybe the most lopsided team in the league. The offense has an identity, and they’ve got some really talented pieces. It seems like nobody outside of the West Coast knows about the QB [Jayden de Laura] because they had a losing record. But the defense is just laughable."

"Credit them for not just flooding the portal. I think that shows the school is OK with them taking their time.”

Arizona State

“Things got so sideways under Herm [Edwards] that it’s going to take some time to put it back together."

"It wouldn’t be shocking if things were a little messy to start with while they try to turn over the roster and maybe push some of the Herm guys out. Definitely good to play them early."

"Kenny [Dillingham] is a perfect fit, but the staff seems a little too Arizona focused. It’s definitely a lot of his buddies. They’re gonna be great in recruiting, I think they’re going all-in on in-state players to rebuild the core roster. Then [freshman QB Jaden] Rashada is what they want to do for branding, making noise in NIL and pushing their national profile with those five-star guys."

"What will be interesting to watch is how an ASU guy handles the ASU problems. It’s one of the easiest places to recruit to in the country and one of the hardest to stay eligible as a football player.”

California

“Justin [Wilcox] is probably in his final year here. It feels really make-it-or-break-it for his run. It’s just such an impossible place to build a Power 5 program. This school actively makes it hard on coaches. They don’t seem to care about winning.

"Wilcox and [DC Peter] Sirmon are good at what they do; this could be a good, defensive-minded program."

"The school might not have support, but you can’t blame them for his hires on OC. [Former OC Bill] Musgrave was a bad move, and it set them back even further. They don’t have skill-position talent the level of the league, and it’s hard to qualify them when they do commit."

"Spav [new OC Jake Spavital] is a good move. He knows the limitations there, and he had some success with [former Cal head coach] Sonny [Dykes], but you still need players."

"If they fire Wilcox, he’ll be one of the most sought-after coordinators in the country. No one holds Cal against you. Just look at Sonny.”

Colorado

“It feels like a lose-lose for Colorado with Prime [head coach Deion Sanders]. Either he’s gonna be really good really fast and leave for another gig, which, looking at that roster doesn’t seem possible. The alternative is that they’re gonna be bad, and they’ll end up firing him in a big circus."

"It’s all hard to tell. It’s hard to separate the hype from reality. They’re in on the portal, but they’re also preaching this old-school, ‘work hard to earn everything’ mentality to their roster."

"[OC] Sean [Lewis] is a fantastic offensive coach, and they can really be good."

"Jackson State was so good because they could get FBS-level guys and beat on FCS rosters. That won’t happen here. They’re not a good roster right now. How does he handle losing big? We haven’t seen that.”

Oregon

“There will be lots of eyes on them this year. They could win the conference just as easily as they could fall back to an eight-win team if they can’t stop good offenses."

"They’re [head coach] Dan [Lanning’s] now, so it was [former head coach] Mario [Cristobal’s] roster, so was it Mario’s [former head coach Mario Cristobal’s] roster or his coaching last year?"

"[QB Bo] Nix works really well for them, and the kid’s been through hell. Now he has another coordinator? He’s a great leader, great poise, he’ll end up OK."

"If that defense can improve, they’re going to be a legit conference contender."

"They’re still holding their own nationally in recruiting; that’s why [Lanning] got the job. He really picked up where Mario was and is making it his own."

"It will be interesting to see how they hold up as a West Coast brand once the L.A. schools leave for the Big Ten. It might backfire a little bit and help the Ducks.”

Oregon State

“Maybe the best development program in the entire conference when you consider the limitations and what they’re up against."

"The head guy [head coach Jonathan Smith] truly is the program. They’re all pulling the same direction, same goals. They’re big on culture because they have to fall back on that in the development process. You’re talking about a place that’s going to take three years to get guys ready, and that’s not common anymore."

"DJ [Uiagalelei] is the best QB Smith has had since he got there as head coach. That position hasn’t been their strongest, so they could really open it up and be creative on that side of the ball."

"No one is expecting them to win 10 games again, which is exactly how they want it. They’re probably the quietest returning double-digit win team in all of college football.”

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Stanford

“David [Shaw] stepping down is really the end of an era, and it’s really hard to see how they’re going to get back to that level of New Year’s Six bowls when the system is almost set up against them. They can’t really portal guys in because of admissions, and they don’t seem interested in the NIL game, at least not seriously."

"[Troy] Taylor is an offensive-minded guy, and they need a complete reworking. It was just a slow decline of the old Stanford system when they couldn’t get those generational guys at running back or quarterback."

"Taylor doesn’t have any kind of background with the recruiting struggles. He knows the immediate area, but that doesn’t really work at this program. You have to fight for guys years before other schools and keep on them to qualify. This is one of the hardest jobs in the country now.”

UCLA

“Maybe it’s a hot take, but if they keep building, they’re going to become what Stanford was a few years back. They’re not USC, and I think they’re figuring out how to be something else in L.A. It’s a strong academic school that still wants to be successful in football, and if you can find that balance, you can do something special."

"They’re a really solid roster, and they have some really nice pieces, but the big thing we’re all watching is what they’re like with DTR [Dorian Thompson-Robinson] being gone. The QB position in that offense is really centered around decision-making. You have to move fast and be smart."

"Defensively, they’ve been mediocre, but they’re recruiting better."

"It’s interesting they’ve turned over the DC job a few times; it doesn’t seem like they’ve found what they want the culture to be on that side of the ball.”

USC

“It’s a strange case where this is the most talented team in the league for sure, but I don’t know a lot of coaches who would pick these guys over Utah after playing a full season. So there’s still that stigma that they’re the sports car that can break down on you."

"They will be lightning on offense; adding [offensive assistant] Kliff [Kingsbury] to the QB room is having another head coach."

"On defense, they’re still really susceptible, and you can push them around."

"I think they kept [Alex] Grinch because he’s a great culture guy and a big motivator, and he can recruit. But they haven’t added enough to where the perception has changed."

"You can run on their front seven; you can beat them up."

"They’re a step behind Utah and maybe Washington as far as a complete team. Offensively, though? They might be the best team in the country.”

Utah

“Certainly the toughest team in the conference, maybe the toughest in the nation. Physically, they want to dominate you every game. They challenge you, and they believe they can whip anybody they play."

"They have great tight ends and great defensive guys that you can kind of lose track of, just really solid role players who develop really nicely. They recruit their state extremely well, and sometimes they’re able to get mature guys coming off of mission work to help the locker-room tone."

"This is also the toughest place to play in the league, I think this is a lot more difficult than Oregon."

"If Cam [Rising] isn’t hurt in that game [the Rose Bowl], they could’ve hung with Penn State."

"If this team had different helmets, I think they’d get a lot more consideration for the playoff and a lot more respect nationally.”

Washington

“If the division format was still around, I’d give a slight edge to the Huskies over Oregon in the old North. [Michael] Penix [Jr.] is back, and he’s a legit star. They have a slew of receivers, a great backfield with the new transfers and two good lines."

"It’s easy to say, ‘Oh, everything went right,’ but it’s really just about recruiting and knowing how to manage. Kalen [DeBoer] knows offense, and he went out and found a star. The rest of it was about doing less than Jimmy [Lake] did. Lake was a first-time head coach and a micromanager. The roster was never the problem, and the kids wanted to win. This staff just had to take a step back and change the energy, and they’re right back to what you’d expect from these guys.”

Washington State

“It’s gonna be a pretty standard Wazzu season; they’re a mid-tier team with a shaky roster who will go out and beat someone they’re not supposed to, and then probably drop a game they shouldn’t. This is basically the same roster going through three coordinator changes in three years. That’s not good."

"[OC Ben] Arbuckle is a good hire for them; he’s going to put them back in that pass-heavy system where they’ll look at lot like those [Mike] Leach teams. They can hide their deficiencies when they can pass aggressively."

"The quarterback [Cameron Ward] got a lot of hype, but he was a work in progress. If they can get him comfortable enough early, they’ll look like a middle-of-the-road Leach team. Worst-case scenario is the personnel isn’t there and they’re going full rebuild.”