Pac-12 Football: Odds to win the conference in 2020

Currently, no live sports are taking place but that didn’t stop the oddsmakers over at FOX Bet from unveiling their 2020 Pac-12 Championship odds this week.

With their release, we take a look at all 12 teams from the conference and their odds to win it all in 2020.

12. Colorado Buffaloes +8000

Had to figure this one was coming with new head coach Karl Dorrell unable to get a full spring circuit and likely without a full summer conditioning program available at his disposal. Still, the Buffaloes are entering their first season in what feels like the better portion of a decade without Steven Montez at quarterback and have to replace Laviska Shenault and his massive production over the past three seasons at wide receiver. Tony Brown should pose an interesting threat opposite K.D. Nixon but they need to establish their quarterback and defense before they get much more love from oddsmakers it appears.

11. Oregon State Beavers +7500

The Beavers, like the Buffaloes above them are replacing a veteran quarterback, even if Jake Luton started just two seasons with Oregon State. They also have to replace the majority of their offensive production from a receiving standpoint as the nation’s best red-zone receiver from a season ago will be playing on Sundays. Isaiah Hodgins hauled in 86 receptions while TE Noah Togiai hauled in 44 receptions a year ago. The next closest returning receiver was Champ Flemings at 32 catches so there’s a big void to fill there and hopefully some of their transfer wide receivers they’ve received this season can give them some life there. On defense, this team is scary as they return a ton of talented players and Jermar Jefferson should run wild this year as the lead back.

10. Stanford Cardinal +5000

This one was probably a bit surprising as David Mills was, at one time, the top quarterback in a class of quarterbacks with Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. Still, the Cardinal are forced to replace a lot of assets across the field and though they do return Paulson Adebo and Malik Antoine in the secondary, injuries and departures via the transfer portal give concerns for the depth of this team. One good thing for Stanford fans is the fact that David Shaw has a policy against freshman enrolling early, so if they were going to get any freshman to play in a top-25 recruiting class from the 2020 cycle, they’re not missing much, so far.

9. California Golden Bears +2800

The Golden Bears lose a pair of safeties to the NFL draft in Jaylinn Hawkins and Ashtyn Davis but have the ability to move Elijah Hicks and Camryn Bynum around their defensive backfield to cover their losses there. Also a bit surprising at Cal’s place on the odds because of the fact that they return quarterback Chase Garbers who showed great signs of promise from a season ago. Garbers went into Oxford to defeat Ole Miss a season ago but did finish the season nursing a handful of injuries. This team will be an interesting team to follow as Justin Wilcox has improved his overall record in each of his first three seasons at the helm of the Golden Bears.

8. Arizona Wildcats +2500

Largely thought to be near the bottom of the odds pool here, Arizona sits with the eighth-best odds at this point of the offseason and you’d have to think that’s from the promise shown by QB Grant Gunnell a year ago. Gunnell can sling it and has an incredibly strong arm with a great feel for the pocket at such a young age. They started off hot a year ago but closed the season on a dreadful note as head coach Kevin Sumlin sits at 9-15 through two seasons in Tucson. Some transfer players should help immediately as well and the defense returns some stars as well including Christian Roland-Wallace, Lorenzo Burns and Scottie Young Jr. in the secondary. It will be pivotal for this team to be consistent to finish in this spot or better after the season is over.

7. UCLA Bruins +2000

It’s a put-up-or-shut-up year for Bruins QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson as UCLA has won just seven games over the past two seasons with him at the helm. Head coach Chip Kelly will have to replace the services of Joshua Kelley and his back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons as well as Darnay Holmes and a few others on the defense that should present an interesting challenge. Demetric Felton presents the biggest wild card on this team at the moment as he’s a gamechanger with the ball in his hands either out of the backfield or from the slot in the receiving game. DTR will have to be better this coming season, however, if the Bruins want to finish at or above .500 this year.

6. Arizona State Sun Devils +1500

The Sun Devils and their rising sophomore quarterback Jayden Daniels will rely heavily on their young quarterback as well as some other stars on offense as they have to replace RB Eno Benjamin (the most elusive and versatile back in the draft) and Brandon Aiyuk at receiver. They finished the season at 8-5 a season ago and Aashari Crosswell anchors a defense that should thrive under new defensive coordinator Tony White. Their offensive line has some stars as well including guard Dohnovan West, who is arguably their most important piece returning to their offense and not named Jayden.

5. Washington State Cougars +1400

The Cougars will once again be starting a new quarterback but this season, that quarterback will not have the Mike Leach system to throw himself in to right away. New head coach Nick Rolovich inherited an incredibly talented Cougar team and perhaps the conference’s best running back in Max Borghi, who according to his Twitter account, was excited at the potential of maybe running the ball more. The inherited riches, however, are about all he had to inherit as the recruiting class for the class of 2020 was the conference’s second-worst according to 247Sports. Their tackle duo of Abraham Lucas and Liam Ryan will battle with Stanford’s duo for best tackle tandem in the conference and should anchor whoever starts at quarterback for the Cougars.

4. Utah Utes +450

This team is likely a big surprise but built on their recent success under head coach Kyle Whittingham. He has his work cut out for him this year, however, having to replace QB Tyler Huntley, RB Zack Moss as well as several key cogs on the defense that are all headed to the NFL. The biggest wild card will be who they do decide to start at quarterback, whether it’s former South Carolina QB Jake Bentley or rising sophomore, Texas transfer Cameron Rising (yes, key word choice there). Their biggest questions will be at linebacker and in the secondary but if Andrew Mata’afa can win the job opposite Devin Lloyd at linebacker, he has all the potential to be the conference’s best linebacker in 2020.

3. Washington Huskies +300

Another team in the top five breaking in a new quarterback in 2020, the Huskies will be starting a new quarterback for the second time in as many years after four years with Jake Browning prior. This defense is likely to be considered one of the best in the country with new head coach Jimmy Lake at the helm. They’ll have to rely on the defense that consists of Elijah Molden, Trent Mcduffie, Cameron Williams and Keith Taylor at cornerback as well as Asa Turner at safety. Their edge defender duo of Ryan Bowman and Joe Tryon also may pose more threats to the quarterbacks than any other duo in the country this season. This is as scary of a defense that you’ll find in 2020.

2. USC Trojans +275

The Trojans are led by a Heisman Trophy dark horse at quarterback in Kedon Slovis who should garner a ton of national acclaim this season. His understanding and ability to navigate offensive coordinator Graham Harrell’s Air Raid offense was remarkable a season ago and they’ll be better off with Slovis instead of J.T. Daniels. They have perhaps the nation’s best wide receiver corps as well starring Tyler Vaughns, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kyle Ford, Drake London and Bru McCoy. They won’t have a ton of influential freshman in a rough recruiting class from head coach Clay Helton but Jay Tufele should bring pressure from the interior while Chris Steele looks poised to be potentially the best sophomore cornerback in the Pac-12. This is the year for Helton and Co. if they want to answer the questions of whether or not he’s on the hot seat or not.

1. Oregon Ducks +225

As unsurprising as it may be, the Ducks are the odds-on favorite to win the Pac-12 for good reason, even if they are breaking in a new quarterback for the first time in four seasons and four offensive linemen from the nation’s best offensive line from 2019. They have the conference’s best recruiting class, according to 247Sports, and should have some talented freshman making huge impacts in 2020. Their offense has some question marks including how the new offensive line gels together but one thing they do not have a question about is just how good their left tackle is. Penei Sewell should be legitimately in the conversation for Heisman Trophy, he’s just that good. He’s a ‘generational talent’ at left tackle and perhaps the best left tackle prospect since Eric Fisher went first overall.

The Ducks also present a challenge for any offense to throw on them in 2020 with the return of Deommodore Lenoir, Jevon Holland, Mykael Wright, Verone McKinley III, Nick Pickett and Brady Breeze in the secondary. Kayvon Thibodeaux is set for a breakout season as well and is perhaps the most talented edge defender in college football for the 2020 season. Then you have the youngsters in 5-star linebackers Justin Flowe and Noah Sewell, who should make immediate impacts on the Ducks defense.

So there you have it, the full odds for the 2020 Pac-12 Championship.

Did they come out like you thought they would? How would you rank ‘em?