Every Pac-12 team's biggest question ahead of the 2023 season

Following the conclusion of the college football season, teams around the country have all shifted into improve the roster for next year mode. The Pac-12 is no exception, but it does stand out as the deeper conference in the country.

Why does that matter? Well, just like it was this past season, it will be an absolute bloodbath between over half the schools in the Pac-12 vying for the two spots in the Pac-12 Championship. Not to mention, the conference badly wants to exercise its demons of having not had a playoff appearance since 2017.

Schools like Stanford and Colorado have new coaches hoping to turn around programs that have been stuck in ruts, while others like USC and Oregon are hoping to take that next step to overcome whatever it was that held them back from being a part of the playoff discussion when it really mattered.

Since the season is so far away, many of these needs still have time to be addressed, and also could have been addressed already via the portal or recruiting classes but we just won't know until we see the finished product. As someone who watches the Pac-12 closely, I thought it would be fun to highlight the biggest question around each program.

This could be the impact of a player, coach, or the team as a whole. Let's see what the biggest question around your favorite team is.

Colorado: How quickly can Deion Sanders turn it around?

Snagging Deion Sanders was the biggest move of the off-season by far. We have already seen the impact him being in Boulder has had, as Colorado nabbed their first top-25 recruiting class (No. 19) since 2008 when they hauled in the No. 15 class, and they also have the No. 4 transfer class in the country.

Including the Covid-19 year, the program has had just six winning seasons since 2000, and the past couple seasons have seen the Buffs fall to the depths of the sport. Sanders found instant success at Jackson State, but many around the country believe that the Buffs' difficult schedule will limit them to as many as five wins. Everyone is doubting Sanders in year one, but it will be interesting to see if he can take this team from basement to penthouse quicker than everyone thinks.

Stanford: How much magic can Troy Taylor and the new staff conjure up with all of the turnover?

After David Shaw stepped down, Stanford lost a ton of their starting players to the transfer portal. Troy Taylor and his staff are all well respected, and many believe that Taylor will find success on the farm, but many are skeptical about next season. The Cardinal lost almost the entirety of their starting unit on offense to either the portal or the draft, and lost all of their starting linebackers and all but one player in the two deep in the secondary on defense.

There will be a lot of new faces all over the field, and while Taylor and his defensive staff are all known for doing more with less, the Pac-12 will be extremely tough next year. Stanford has been making some moves in the portal to make up for the lack of experience, but it will still be a tall task for this team to compete next year.

Arizona State: How impactful can their transfer class be?

Arizona State, like the previous two schools, are in the midst of a full rebuild. There seems to be a lot of energy around new head coach Kenny Dillingham, who made it abundantly clear that this alma mater is his dream job. Arizona State brought in an underrated class of transfers that currently ranks as the No. 12 class in the country.

If they can get some legitimate production from a handful of them, this team may be better than people think. They do have a horribly tough schedule that has them at Washington, home against Washington State, at Utah, at UCLA, home against Oregon, before finishing the season out against Arizona. The transfers that should have the biggest impacts are quarterback Drew Pyne (Notre Dame), receivers Troy Omeire (Texas) and Jake Smith (USC), and EDGE Clayton Smith (Oklahoma). If they all perform, this team could make a bowl game.

Cal: Can Justin Wilcox save his job?

In six years at the helm, Justin Wilcox has had just two winning seasons, finishing below .500 the last three seasons. I think it is safe to say that he is coaching for his job in 2023, and he clearly feels that pressure.

The knock on Wilcox's Cal teams are always the lackluster offense that essentially wastes strong defensive performances. They added in a potential star at quarterback in TCU transfer Sam Jackson, and also have one of the best running backs in the country in Jadyn Ott. Wilcox brought in what many consider to be a sneaky good hire at offensive coordinator in Jake Spavital. The former Texas State head coach, and at one point Cal offensive coordinator struggled as a head coach, but has found frequent success as a coordinator, as Spavital has coached 10 quarterbacks who have played in the NFL, including Johnny Manziel, Kyler Murray and Geno Smith. Both units will need to be clicking on cylinders, and I think it may be bowl game or bust for Wilcox.

Arizona: Can Jayden de Laura limit the detrimental plays?

Arizona saw a major improvement from 2021 to 2022 under Jedd Fisch, and a lot of the credit for that can be given to Washington State transfer Jayden de Laura. He finished the season with 3,685 passing yards, 62.5 completion percentage, and 29 total touchdowns, and while he made a lot of big plays, he also had some ones he'd love to have back.

de Laura is a gunslinger, and there's no question about that, but if Arizona is to take another step in 2023, they need him to cut back on the mistakes. 11 of his 13 interceptions came in losses, with three of those losses featuring him throwing two or more picks. He has a tendency to force the issue, but if he is able to limit the times where he tries to make a play happen when there isn't a play there, Arizona can be on the right side of .500 for the first time since 2017.

Washington State: Can Cam Ward take that next step?

At one point there was an argument for this Washington State team to be ranked, but the wheels fell off in the middle of the season following a three game losing streak. I think their quarterback, Cam Ward, has a chance to emerge as one of the best in the conference next season and has already shown he belongs.

I think the difference between them being a middle of the pack team and one of the teams with a legitimate chance to win the conference is whether or not Ward can go from really good to great. This isn't a knock on him, but if he can have more performances like the one he had against Oregon and less like the one against USC, this team could be scary.

UCLA: Who is the heir to Dorian Thompson-Robinson's throne?

A fifth year was the charm for Dorian Thompson-Robinson. He had career highs in completion percentage (69.6%), passing yards (3,154), passing touchdowns (27), and rushing touchdowns (9). He was able to limit the bad plays that took UCLA out of games in years prior, and led the team to its first nine win season since 2014.

Replacing that production and leadership is a big ask, but Chip Kelly has three or four quality choices. Ethan Garbers, Justyn Martin, Kent State transfer Collin Schlee, and of course five-star Dante Moore will all be vying for the chance to start, so it will be interesting to see who wins the job and whether or not the success from this season can be continued.

Oregon State: Is DJ Uiagalelei the missing ingredient?

Oregon State shocked the country this past season, and even finished the year in the top-15. The Beavers had the defense and the skill players on offense, but the thing they lacked the most, was consistently good quarterback play.

They addressed that need in a major way in the transfer portal landing former five-star and No. 2 overall recruit, DJ Uiagalelei out of Clemson. He improved immensely from the 2021 to the 2022 season, but when it came down to it, Clemson had another five-star waiting in the wings that was playing better. Uiagalelei has a chance to develop more as a passer, while also rely on a strong run game to compliment him. If he can be a consistent passer, and Oregon State can still be strong on defense despite losing some key talent, the Beavers could win the conference and be in the playoff discussion.

Utah: Will it be their year?

Prior to the 2022 season, the Utes were viewed as a team that had a strong chance to make the playoff and even started the year ranked as the No. 7 team. A last second loss to Florida in Week 1 and losses to Oregon and UCLA snatched those playoff hopes.

They did win the Pac-12, which meant beating USC twice, but they have yet to show that as a program they can take that next step. In order to do that in 2023 they need to win the games they are supposed to, and not come up short against the other good teams in the conference. Their first two games have them playing Florida and Baylor, both of whom could be vulnerable, so it could provide some confidence moving forward. They benefit from returning Cam Rising at quarterback and finding a star at running back in Ja'Quinden Jackson who is a former quarterback. This could very well be their best chance to make the playoff, and who knows how much longer that window can stay open.

Oregon: Will the off-season success translate into in-season success?

Dan Lanning may have had the best off-season in the country from an all around perspective. Oregon brought in a great recruiting class, and they all also brought in some talented transfers. To say the Ducks were one of the hottest teams the past month or so would be an understatement.

They landed key transfers to bolster the offensive line, brought in more weapons on offense, and some much needed playmakers on defense. Bo Nix is running it back, and while I almost wanted to make the question be what will the offensive look like without Dillingham, new OC Will Stein had a ton of success while at UTSA. The Roadrunners' offense ranked No. 9 nationally in total offense at 486.1 yards per game, No. 12 in scoring offense at 38.7 points per game, and No. 12 in passing offense with 308.6 yards per game. With the two Los Angeles schools leaving, the Pac-12 will need a "face" and Oregon is certainly looking like it could be them, but what will determine that is whether or not they can succeed on the field as much as they have off of it.

Washington: Will they survive November?

The Huskies burst onto the scene this past season thanks to the electric play of southpaw signal caller, Michael Penix. He and all of his weapons from a year ago, who ended up as one of the most prolific offenses in the sport will be back, and they are looking for vengeance. A two week stretch that saw them drop games against UCLA and Arizona State derailed their chance to make the Pac-12 Championship, and also shot down any hope of making the playoff.

They finished the season with a strong win over Texas in the Alamo Bowl, and many have them poised to contend next season. However, following the recent schedule release, I am deeply concerned when looking at their November slate. They will be visiting USC, hosting Utah, visiting Oregon State, and of course playing their rival Washington State to close it out. There is a chance that all of those teams are ranked, are at the very minimum three of them will be with two or maybe all three vying for a conference title and playoff spot. If they can go unscathed in that stretch, this team will surely have the resume for the playoff, but that is a huge "if". No one should envy that schedule, but the Huskies do have the right players to do it. A best case scenario is winning all four, while a worst case is dropping three of the four.

USC: Was keeping Alex Grinch the right move?

This one will be the difference between USC contending for a national championship or not. Lincoln Riley decided to stick with his guy following an embarrassing collapse in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane, and despite USC being one of the worst tackling teams in the country.

The Trojans ranked No. 106 in total defense, and like Lincoln Riley led teams of the past their weakness wasn't teams slowing down their offense, but more so their defense collapsing and allowing teams back in it. In all three of their losses this past season, they led by double digits at one point. That is simply inexcusable, and while some people will give Grinch the benefit of the doubt due to lack of depth on that side of the ball, something needs to change. The Trojans brought in six transfers on the defensive side of the ball, and will need improvements from that unit. This is make or break for Grinch, who at one point was viewed as a head coaching candidate elsewhere.