The 2018 Pac-12 Conference football season represented the 40th season of Pac-12 football that took place during the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 30, 2018, and ended with 2018 Pac-12 Championship Game on November 30 at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The Pac-12 was a Power Five conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12 Conference, the Big Ten Conference, and the Southeastern Conference. The 2018 season was the Pac-12's eighth for the twelve teams divided into two divisions of six each, named North and South.
Preseason 2018 Pac-12 Spring Football and number of signees on signing day:
North Division California – 21 Oregon – 22 Oregon State – 20 Stanford – 15 Washington – 21 Washington State – 26
South Division Arizona – 21 Arizona State – 21 Colorado – 21 UCLA – 28 USC – 18 Utah – 20
Recruiting classes + Rankings Team ESPN Rivals Scout & 24/7SigneesArizona63545821Arizona State47363621California50444222Colorado42515321Oregon17131324Oregon State 65676725Stanford38573915UCLA19191927USC73418Utah45383423Washington15151421Washington State44464527
Pac-12 Media Days The Pac-12 conducted its annual media days at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, – The Loews Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, CA on July 25. The event commenced with a speech by Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, and all 12 teams sent their head coaches and two selected players to speak with members of the media. The event along with all speakers and interviews were broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. The teams and representatives in respective order were as follows:
Pac-12 Commissioner – Larry Scott California – Justin Wilcox (HC), Patrick Laird (RB) & Jordan Kunaszyk (LB) Stanford – David Shaw (HC), J. J. Arcega-Whiteside (WR) & Alijah Holder (CB) Washington State – Mike Leach (HC), Kyle Sweet (WR/P) & Jalen Thompson (S) Washington – Chris Petersen (HC), Jake Browning (QB) & Jojo McIntosh (DB) Oregon State – Jonathan Smith (HC), Blake Brandel (OL) & Kee Whetzel (LB) Oregon – Mario Cristobal (HC), Justin Herbert (QB) & Jalen Jelks (DL) Pac-12 Commissioner – Larry Scott (Q&A) UCLA – Chip Kelly (HC), Theo Howard (WR) & Josh Woods (LB) Colorado – Mike MacIntyre (HC), Rick Gamboa (LB) & Steven Montez (QB) Arizona State – Herm Edwards (HC), N'Keal Harry (WR) & Manny Wilkins (QB) Arizona – Kevin Sumlin (HC), Khalil Tate (QB) & Colin Schooler (LB) Utah – Kyle Whittingham (HC), Chase Hansen (LB) & Lo Falemaka (OL) USC – Clay Helton (HC), Cameron Smith (LB) & Porter Gustin (LB) Pac-12 VP of Officiating – David Coleman (Q&A on 2018 football playing rule changes)
Preseason media polls The Pac-12 Media Days concluded with its annual preseason media polls on July 25, 2018. Since 1992, the credentialed media has gotten the preseason champion correct just five times. Only eight times has the preseason pick even made it to the Pac-12 title game. Below are the results of the media poll with total points received next to each school and first-place votes in parentheses.
Pac-12 Champion Voting Washington (37) USC (2) Oregon (1) Stanford (1) UCLA (1)
North Division Washington (40) – 249 Stanford (1) – 198 Oregon (1) – 178 California – 108 Washington State – 98 Oregon State – 45
South Division USC (22) – 225 Utah (14) – 209 Arizona (3) – 178 UCLA (2) – 116 Colorado (1) – 80 Arizona State – 72
First place votes in ()
References:
Head coaches
Coaching changes There were five coaching changes following the 2018 season including Kevin Sumlin with Arizona, Herm Edwards with Arizona State, Mario Cristobal with Oregon, Johnathan Smith with Oregon State & Chip Kelly with UCLA.
Coaches Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school Pac-12 recordArizona Kevin Sumlin 1 86–43 () 0–0 () 0–0 ()Arizona State Herm Edwards 1 0–0 () 0–0 () 0–0 ()California Justin Wilcox 2 5–7 () 5–7 () 2–7 ()Colorado Mike MacIntyre 6 40–59 () 25–38 () 12–33 ()Oregon Mario Cristobal 1 27–48 () 0–1 () 0–0 ()Oregon State Jonathan Smith 1 0–0 () 0–0 () 0–0 ()Stanford David Shaw 8 73–22 () 73–22 () 49–14 ()UCLA Chip Kelly 1 46–7 () 0–0 () 33–3 ()USC Clay Helton 5 27–10 () 27–10 () 20–4 ()Utah Kyle Whittingham 14 111–56 () 111–56 () 28–35 ()Washington Chris Petersen 5 129–29 () 37–17 () 23–13 ()Washington State Mike Leach 7 122–81 () 38–38 () 26–28 ()
Rankings
Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 FinalArizonaWildcats AP RV C RV CFP Not released Arizona StateSun Devils AP 23 RV RV RV RV C 25 RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released CaliforniaGolden Bears AP RV 24 RV RV C RV RV RV RV CFP Not released ColoradoBuffaloes AP RV RV RV 21 19 RV C RV RV RV 22 18 25 RV CFP Not released OregonDucks AP 24 23 20 20 19 18 17 12 19 RV RV RV RV RVC RV RV 23 19 20 18 17 11 21 RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Oregon StateBeavers AP C CFP Not released StanfordCardinal AP 13 10 9 7 7 14 RV RV 24 RV RV RV RV RV RVC 13 9 9 7 7 14 24 24 23 RV RV RV RVCFP Not released UCLABruins AP C CFP Not released USCTrojans AP 15 17 22 RV C 15 12 21 RV RV RV CFP Not released UtahUtes AP RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 16 RV 21 18 17 20 RVC RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 24 16 24 19 17 17 19 RVCFP Not released 15 19 17 17 17 WashingtonHuskies AP 6 9 10 10т 11 10 7 15 15 RV 20 17 16 10 9 13C 6 11 12 12 11 10 7 14 13 19 18 17 16 11 9 13CFP Not released 25 18 16 11 9 Washington StateCougars AP RV RV RV RV RV 25 14 10 10 8 7 12 12 10C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 15 11 9 9 7 13 13 10CFP Not released 8 8 8 8 13 13
Increase in ranking Decrease in ranking Not ranked previous week Selected for College Football Playoff Number of first place votes Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Schedules Index to colors and formattingPac-12 member wonPac-12 member lostPac-12 teams in bold All times Pacific time. Pac-12 teams in bold.
Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for that week.
Regular season
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Date Bye Week September 22 California Colorado UCLA Utah
Week 5
Week 6
Date Bye Week October 6 Oregon USC
Week 7
Date Bye Week October 13 Arizona State Oregon State Stanford Washington State
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Date Bye Week November 10 Arizona No. 20 Washington
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14 The Stanford–California football game was moved from November 17 to December 1 due to poor air quality from wildfires in the Bay Area.
Pac-12 Championship Game
The championship game was played on Friday November 30, 2018. It featured the teams with the best conference records from each division, the North (Washington) and the South (Utah). This was the eighth championship game.
Pac-12 vs other conferences Pac-12 vs Power Five matchups This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Notre Dame and SEC) that the Pac-12 plays in the non-conference games. Although the NCAA does not consider BYU a "Power Five" school, the Pac-12 considers games against BYU as satisfying its "Power Five" scheduling requirement. All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.
Date Visitor Home Site Significance Score September 1 BYUArizonaArizona Stadium • Tucson, Arizona L 14–48September 1Oregon StateNo. 5 Ohio StateOhio Stadium • Columbus, OhioL 31–77 September 1 No. 6 WashingtonNo. 9 AuburnMercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta L 16–21 September 1 North CarolinaCaliforniaCalifornia Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California W 24–17 September 8 No. 15 Michigan StateArizona StateSun Devil Stadium • Tempe, Arizona W 16–13 September 8 UCLANo. 6 OklahomaGaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, Oklahoma L 21–49 September 8 ColoradoNebraskaMemorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska Colorado–Nebraska football rivalry W 33–28 September 8 CaliforniaBYULaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, Utah W 21–18September 15No. 22 USCTexasDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TexasL 14–37September 29No. 20 BYUNo. 11 WashingtonHusky Stadium • SeattleW 35–7 September 29 No. 7 StanfordNo. 8 Notre DameNotre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IndianaLegends TrophyL 17–38November 24BYUNo. 18 UtahRice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake CityHoly WarW 35–27November 24Notre DameUSCLA Memorial Coliseum • Los AngelesJeweled ShillelaghL 17–24
Records against other conferences 2018 records against non-conference foes as of November 26, 2018:
Regular Season
Power 5 ConferencesRecordACC1–0Big Ten2–1Big 120–2BYU/Notre Dame3–3SEC0–1Power 5 Total6–7Other FBS ConferencesRecordAmerican0–2C-USA1–0Independents (Excluding BYU and Notre Dame)0–0MAC2–0Mountain West6–3Sun Belt0–0Other FBS Total9–5FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision9–0Total Non-Conference Record24–12
Post Season
Power Conferences 5RecordACC1–0Big Ten1–2Big 121–1 Power 5 Total3–3Other FBS ConferencesRecord Mountain West0–1 Other FBS Total0–1Total Bowl Record3–4
Postseason Bowl games Legend Pac-12 win Pac-12 loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (PST)Pac-12 teamOpponentScoreAttendanceLas Vegas BowlDecember 15Sam Boyd Stadium • Las Vegas, NVABC12:30 p.m.Arizona StateNo. 19 Fresno State20–3137,146Cheez-It BowlDecember 26Chase Field • Phoenix, AZESPN6:00 p.m.CaliforniaTCU7–1033,121Alamo BowlDecember 28Alamodome • San Antonio, TXESPN6:00 p.m.No. 12 Washington StateNo. 25 Iowa State28–2660,675Sun BowlDecember 31Sun Bowl • El Paso, TXCBS11:00 a.m.StanfordPittsburgh14–1340,680Redbox BowlDecember 31Levi's Stadium • Santa Clara, CAFOX12:00 p.m.OregonMichigan State7–630,212Holiday BowlDecember 31SDCCU Stadium • San Diego, CAFS14:00 p.m.No. 20 UtahNorthwestern20–3147,007New Year's Six BowlRose BowlJanuary 1Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CAESPN2:00 p.m.No. 9 WashingtonNo. 5 Ohio State23–2891,853
Rankings are from AP Poll. All times Pacific Time Zone.
Selection of teams: Bowl-eligible: Arizona State, California, Oregon, Stanford, Utah, Washington, Washington State Bowl-ineligible: Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, USC
Awards and honors
Player of the week honors
Following each week's games, Pac-12 conference officials select the players of the week from the conference's teams. Week Offensive Defensive Special teams Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team Week 1 (Sept. 4) J. J. Arcega-Whiteside WRStanford Nate Landman ILBColorado Chase McGrath PKUSC Week 2 (Sept. 10) Laviska Shenault WRColorado Chase Hansen LBUtah Brandon Ruiz PKArizona State Week 3 (Sept. 17) Gardner Minshew QBWashington State Ben Burr-Kirven LBWashington Travell Harris WR/KRWashington State Week 4 (Sept. 24) J. J. Taylor RBArizona Ben Burr-Kirven LBWashington Jay Tufele DLUSC Week 5 (Oct. 1) Eno Benjamin RBArizona State Ugo Amadi SOregon Marvell Tell SUSC Week 6 (Oct. 8) Laviska Shenault WRColorado Jaylon Johnson DBUtah Matt Gay KUtah Week 7 (Oct. 15) C. J. Verdell RBOregon Keisean Lucier-South LBUCLA Mitch Wishnowsky PUtah Week 8 (Oct. 22) Tyler Huntley QBUtah Chase Hansen LBUtah Matt Gay PKUtah Week 9 (Oct. 29) Jake Luton QBOregon State Evan Weaver LBCalifornia N'Keal Harry WRArizona State Week 10 (Nov. 4) N'Keal Harry WRArizona State Merlin Robertson LBArizona State Ugochukwu Amadi SOregon Week 11 (Nov. 10) Colby Parkinson TEStanford Luc Bequette DECalifornia Matt Gay PKUtah Week 12 (Nov. 19) Joshua Kelley RBUCLA Jahad Woods LBWashington State Matt Gay PKUtah Week 13 (Nov. 26) Myles Gaskin RBWashington Ashtyn Davis SCalifornia Steven Coutts PCalifornia
All-conference teams