The 2 teams that met in Las Vegas for last season's Pac-12 championship game, Oregon and Utah, are among the 4 best recruiting classes in the conference this cycle. The other 2 near the top are schools who went a combined 4-20 in 2021: Stanford and Arizona. How much those top-25 high school recruiting classes help those programs turn things around as programs?

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin is joined by John Garcia Jr., the director of recruiting for Sports Illustrated. They also discuss another relative surprise when the Colorado Buffaloes, coming off a 4-8 2021 season, finished with a class rated above Oregon State (7-6) and UCLA (8-4). For the reigning Pac-12 North and South champions (Oregon and Utah), John shares who he thinks will be able to make the biggest impact as true freshmen.

2022 has seen recruiting victories for some, but others struggled out on the trail. Washington was the last Pac-12 football team to make the college football playoff, but they were barely able to avoid coming in last in the conference in recruiting this cycle. They close with a discussion about how the Huskies can turn it around to once again bring in high-caliber players to Seattle.

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Arizona Football is in the midst of a rebuild, and HC Jedd Fisch certainly knew that when he took the job coming from the NFL. Heading into his second season, he has created a positive vibe inside and out of the building despite a 1-11 campaign in 2021. The culture created in the locker room and in the buildings on campus has been perhaps the largest appeal for recruits and transfers to come and be a part of building the program from the bottom up.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin is joined by Arizona Football team reporter Kim Becker to talk about the Wildcats' football program. She shares a bevy of insights from interviews she's conducted with Arizona players, including Washington State QB transfer Jayden de Laura. She also had the chance to talk with 4-star true freshman WR Tetairoa McMillan about his recruitment, and why he chose Arizona over Oregon.

Undergoing a full rebuild as Arizona Football is currently doing, goals and expectations have to be managed for a plan to be allowed to come to fruition. The early returns for Jedd Fisch and his new staff are at least encouraging, but still a long road remains for Arizona to reach the Pac-12 championship game as they did in 2014. Success in 2022 will not entirely be measured by wins and losses--progress needs to be made, but time is still needed to see it all the way through.

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Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff has made a significant change to how the conference will determine a champion by eliminating the importance of divisions. The two teams that will meet in the championship game in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium will now be the two teams that have the highest conference winning percentage, even if they come from the same division. The rule is the right move for the conference and for college football, and it's encouraging to see the Pac-12 commissioner spearheading the movement to make conference divisions obsolete.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin is joined by Carter Bahns, senior writer/editor of BeaverBlitz.com to talk about the latest rule change. The Pac-12 has the potential to raise its profile by consistently putting its two best teams on national TV to decide a champion, and that's something the conference needs. At the moment, this rule could potentially benefit a team in the Pac-12 South (Utah, UCLA, USC) to allow them to reach the championship game without having to go undefeated against the other two programs in a given season.

They conclude by talking about the scheduling implications and the balance that George Kliavkoff and his team have to strike to act in the conference's best interests. Carter thinks they could set it up to give a big-brand team like USC a favorable schedule to help get the conference back to the College Football Playoff. Spencer argues it might be best to think in the short-term and raise the conference's profile and match up the conference's three biggest brands regularly: Oregon, USC, and Utah.

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The 2022 football recruiting classes are (mostly) set as students begin to head home for the summer, it's time to examine where each school landed in this cycle. Some schools, like Arizona and Stanford, found somewhat unexpected success bringing in high-school kids after going a combined 4-20 last year. Other schools, like USC and UCLA, had immense success in the transfer portal this off-season.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin examines how the twelve conference schools are stacking up with their 2022 recruiting classes--including the transfer portal. Arizona and Stanford football are definitely the biggest surprises when looking at 2022 recruiting rankings after abysmal 2021 campaigns, meaning Jedd Fisch and David Shaw continue to have success selling their programs' visions to high school kids. Meanwhile, the LA schools are bringing in 2 of the best transfer portal classes in the country this year.

Today begins the first feature in one of twelve upcoming on the show: Pac-12 Coaching Grades. Spencer begins with UCLA head coach Chip Kelly and gives him a total of five "grades"--overall, recruiting, game management/scheme, player development, and coaching hires. 4 seasons in, Chip Kelly has done a solid job making UCLA a competitive program again. His use of the transfer portal has helped bolster his roster for the upcoming season.

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The Pac-12 conference has announced a major change to the way its football champion will be determined. Starting this season, the championship game will no longer be determined by choosing the two division winners. Instead, the game will be played in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium between the 2 teams with the highest conference winning percentage--regardless of division.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin discusses a significant change to how the conference will determine a champion. For now, the Pac-12 North and South divisions will remain in place--but their significance for the time being comes only in how conference schedules are set up. It is the right decision, and one of the first major ones for Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff. Had the rule always been in place, 5 of the 11 Pac-12 Championship Games would have featured a different matchup.

Lincoln Riley and USC Football have added another high-profile transfer in former Pitt WR Jordan Addison. The 2021 first-team all-american performer from last season builds on what is already a remarkably strong transfer class in 2022 for the Trojans. The offensive weapons for QB Caleb Williams will be an impressive list of pass catchers and ball carriers in Lincoln Riley's offense this season.

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After an abysmal stretch of football spanning multiple seasons that included a loss to FCS opponent Northern Arizona, Jedd Fisch has the Arizona Wildcats--remarkably--trending up as a program. The headline move this offseason was the addition of Washington State transfer QB Jayden de Laura. In 2021, de Laura was the Pac-12 freshman of the year and is in line to be the clear starter for Arizona in 2022 as they look to improve upon their 1-11 campaign from a season ago.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin is joined by Mike Luke (@Ironmikeluke) of Locked On Wildcas to take a look at how Jedd Fisch is working to rebuild the Arizona Football program. In the 2022 Spring Game, offensive standouts included a couple of WRs (Tetairoa McMillan and Jacob Cowing) who will be key weapons for Jayden de Laura. Defensively, the Wildcats and new DC Johnny Nansen are hoping USC transfer Hunter Echols will shine in his final year of college football after transferring from USC this offseason.

Going forward, Jedd Fisch and co. have to be able to translate off-field momentum into on-field results. With a couple key transfers as well as some talented freshmen in the Class of 2022, the Wildcats are certainly capable of improving upon their 1-11 record from the 2021 season. If they can win 4-5 games, it could translate to even more victories on the recruiting trail for Jedd Fisch and his staff--which is what they are selling to recruits, so far with success.

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Coming off of its first ever Pac-12 conference title, Utah Football is currently considered the third-most likely team to win the conference in 2022 according to the betting markets. With HC Kyle Whittingham in his 18th season returning First-Team All-Pac 12 performers from last year's squad in QB Cameron Rising and RB Tavion Thomas, that may come as a surprise to some. For Utah fans, being underrated has been par for the course even during their most recent rise to national relevance in College Football.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin is joined by Carter Bahns of BeaverBlitz.com to talk about the current football betting favorites for the Pac-12 in 2022. Is USC really going to have the sort of turnaround that should make them a 2/1 favorite to win the conference in Lincoln Riley's first season as the Trojans' head coach? It seems unlikely, especially with Kyle Whittingham back for season 18 with the Utes, poised once again for another strong season in the Pac-12 conference.

Off of a 7-win season, Oregon State has, for the first time in several years, expectations of contending in the Pac-12 North this year. With Oregon as the team to beat, which of OSU, Washington State, or maybe even Stanford could knock off the Ducks and get to the Pac-12 title game? With Washington and Stanford coming off of down years, the opportunity is available for the Beavs or the Cougars to capitalize.

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1st-year Washington Football HC Kalen DeBoer has many big decisions and changes to make going into his first year in Seattle with the Huskies. Principally among them is deciding who his starting quarterback will be with a competition between Indiana transfer Michael Penix, Sam Huard, and Dylan Morris. Each showed some positive things at times during this year's Spring Showcase, but at the moment Penix and Huard seem like the top 2 options.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin is joined by Kaila Olin (@KailaOlin), CEO and analyst for RealDawg.com, to give insight into how Husky fans are feeling about the state of their football program. There is intrigue around Kalen DeBoer, but full-blown excitement will largely have to wait until he can produce on-field results. Going into 2022, Coach DeBoer has more questions than answers at this point--questions that might not be answered until the Fall.

After a turbulent 4-8 2021 season, the Huskies have several areas they're hoping HC Kalen DeBoer and his staff can improve upon this Fall and beyond. With another expected strong core of DBs, Washington's run defense is a potential weakness going into this year. Kayla dives into why deciding on a starting QB this year is such a tough decision for first-year HC Kalen DeBoer.

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Often times for a team to "put it all together" and reach a conference championship game, some scheduling breaks are needed. For teams in the Pac-12 South, that could include not playing Oregon in the regular season or getting them at home. Some favorable schedules might make for some surprising contenders in the conference in 2022.

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin discusses the "dark horse" conference championship teams for 2022. UCLA has to play Oregon on the road, but they could be poised for a competitive season in the Pac-12 South thanks to games against Utah and USC which both come at home. Arizona State doesn't play Oregon this year, and despite having 5 road games their opponents away from home are not a litany of conference titans. In the Pac-12 North, Oregon State plays only 4 road conference games, and they too are relatively manageable.

There are the favorites, the dark horses, and the teams at the bottom--the ones that have little to no shot to contend and would be happy with an 8-win season. After a 4-8 season and a coaching change, Washington is being over-valued in the betting markets right now--and their rival, Washington State, might be undersold a touch. As for the schools that are being given little to no shot to win the Pac-12 in 2022, there are still attainable goals to get their programs moving in the right direction.

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The betting markets appear to think Lincoln Riley has a high chance of turning around USC Football quickly in his first season in Los Angeles after the Trojans went 4-8 in 2021. With QB Caleb Williams and several other potential high-impact transfers, there's no doubt USC will be vastly improved from a season ago. But could they really win the Pac-12 in year 1 with their new coaching staff?

On this episode of Locked On Pac-12, Spencer McLaughlin examines the current betting favorites for the 2022 Pac-12 Football Championship. The two teams behind USC as the favorites are the two teams who appeared in Las Vegas a season ago--Oregon and Utah. Interestingly enough, despite two sound defeats at the hands of the Utes last year, the Ducks considered more likely to win the conference in 2022 according to the odds (provided by BetOnline.net). Could the Utes really be underrated going into this year?

Besides the teams at the top of the betting list, there are a couple of dark horse picks to keep an eye on. Two teams in the South--ASU and UCLA--and one in the north, Oregon State, could be sneaky as contenders in their divisions. Oregon State might even be under-valued as it currently stands.

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