Ranking the Pac-12 teams by 2023 strength of schedule

Next football season will be the end of the Pac-12 as we know it, but that doesn't mean that it will not be an entertaining year. There are five, maybe even six programs in the conference that have a legitimate chance at winning the Pac-12, and also have some sort of chance at a playoff run.

While we truly never know how things will shake up until they actually begin to happen, one thing that can help be a guide or at least a factor to consider when pondering how good a team can be, is their strength of schedule. Some programs may have easier paths to victory, while others will go through an absolute gauntlet and by the end of the season just be grateful they made a bowl game.

Due to how deep the Pac-12 is this next season, a handful of members found themselves with some of the toughest schedules in the country based on opponents win percentage from this past year. College football inside Phil Steele ranked every FBS program from 1-133 based on how difficult their schedule was, and the Pac-12 is home to three of the top-20 toughest schedules.

While you may think it's the Utah or USC's of the world embarking on these tough outings, it is actually the programs that finished towards the bottom with the highest peak to climb. Here is where every Pac-12 program strength of schedule ranks based off of their opponent's win percentage from this last season.

12. Washington State

National Rank: No. 113

Opponent Win %: 46.6%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 5

11. USC

National Rank: No. 98

Opponent Win %: 49.3%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 6

10. Oregon

National Rank: No. 97

Opponent Win %: 49.3%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 6

9. UCLA

National Rank: No. 71

Opponent Win %: 52.6%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 7

8. Oregon State

National Rank: No. 63

Opponent Win %: 53.3%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 8

7. Arizona

National Rank: No. 61

Opponent Win %: 53.9%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 7

6. Washington

National Rank: No. 55

Opponent Win %: 54.2%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 6

5. Utah

National Rank: No. 37

Opponent Win %: 56.2%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 6

4. Colorado

National Rank: No. 29

Opponent Win %: 56.8%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 7

3. Arizona State

National Rank: No. 20

Opponent Win %: 58.4%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 8

2. Stanford

National Rank: No. 15

Opponent Win %: 59.7%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 8

1. Cal

National Rank: No. 12

Opponent Win %: 60.0%

Opponents that finished above .500 in 2022: 9