With Fall Camp starting it’s time for everyone to make predictions for how the season will go.  We’ve already gone through the bottom 6 and here’s the prediction for the top 6.

As I said in the bottom 6, this is probably going to be completely ruined after the first week.  Rice is going to beat USC or something and ruin my entire prediction, but if that is how it goes, so be it. I for one love chaos. With that said, here are the top six teams of the Pac-12 for 2022:

6th Place: Washington State Cougars 7-5 (5-4)

Ok ok hear me out. I know they have lots of hype with Cam Ward and a new head coach, and this may be my bias showing… but I just don’t see it. The team is one of their best in a while, but I just don’t think they will be able to compete with their tough schedule. They play the 2 best South teams, face Oregon State in Corvallis, I just don’t think it happens. Cam Ward will be dominant in the system but that doesn’t mean the team is gonna play well enough to win the Pac.

Wins: I’m not going to show their wins and save the Apple Cup and their Oregon game for when we reach those teams.

5th Place: Oregon State Beavers 8-4 (6-3)

Oregon State is a rising star and I think they may show the world just how good they are this year. Johnathan Smith has done a great job developing players and this is the first year in a long time I could see them competing for a Pac-12 title, but they come up just short behind the top 2 teams. This season will do numbers for Oregon States possible relevance and give them a bit of a name going into future seasons. The future looks bright for Beaver fans!

Wins: vs Boise State, vs Montana State, vs USC, @ Stanford, vs Wazzu, vs Colorado, vs Cal, @ ASU

4th Place: Washington Huskies 9-3 (7-2)

Now this is probably a bit biased because I have UW hitting their predicted ceiling, but looking at the team, and after only losing a few players to the NFL or graduation, the future looks bright for UW. With a competent Offense system I could see UW competing for a Pac 12 Championship right now but I think, with a new head coach, and some inexperience, I think UW ends at a respectful 2nd place in the North, a win against Wazzu and hopefully a planted flag in Martin Stadium.

Wins: vs Kent State, vs Portland State, vs Stanford, @ UCLA, vs Arizona, vs Oregon State, vs Colorado, @ Washington State

3rd Place: Oregon Ducks 9-3 (7-2) (tiebreaker over UW)

Oregon hired a great coach. There’s no denying that. Dan Lanning can coach defense with the best of them. He will help Oregon a lot after a season full of ups and downs last year. I do think, similar to DeBoer, you see Oregon lose a game or two they shouldn’t. This team looks good on all sides of the ball. Bo Nix should do well in a weaker Pac-12. How Oregon does probably resides on Bo Nix’s shoulders, and I think he can carry them well enough to the Pac 12 Championship game.

Wins: vs EWU, vs BYU, vs Stanford, @Arizona, vs UCLA, @ Cal, @ Colorado, vs UW, @ Oregon State

2nd Place: USC Trojans 9-3 (7-2)

Probably the most shocking hire of the carousel this offseason was the hiring of Lincoln Riley, and it seemingly is already paying dividends. They signed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation and THE best transfer class. This team is stacked at skill positions. The thing that will lose them games will be their Defensive and Offensive Line which is why I have them eventually losing to Utah, the number 1 team in the Pac-12.

Wins: vs Rice, @Stanford, vs Fresno State, vs ASU, vs Wazzu, @ Arizona, vs Cal, vs Colorado, @ UCLA

1st Place: Utah Utes 11-1 (9-0)

Simply put, I don’t think anyone will be able to get the best of Utah in the Pac-12. They return a lot of their team and they signed a solid recruiting class and transfer class. This team is poised to do big things. I think they lose off the bat to Florida but after that they will have an 11 game win streak going into the Pac-12 title game against Oregon. This team is good, the question is are they CFP good?

Wins: Everyone but Florida

Thanks for checking this out, obviously this is just my opinion so don’t get angry at me and keep up to date with all things Husky at realdawghuskies.com!