The 2023 Pac-12 football season appears destined to be remembered as a supernova: an instance of an institution reaching its fullest form before violently burning out.
With the looming departure of 10 of its 12 members to the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12, seemingly every team in the conference has brought its A-game. Even its lower-division teams have shown flashes—take Stanford's comeback win over Colorado Friday night—and Washington's triumph over Oregon on Saturday was a national game of the year contender.
The state of play on the West Coast led USC coach Lincoln Riley to make a bold claim after the Trojans' 48–20 loss to Notre Dame Saturday evening: that the Pac-12 was the best league in the nation.
