Pac-12 Championship Odds & Picks for 2022

While everyone else was focusing on the bizarre geographic move of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, the Pac-12 quietly eliminated divisions for the 2022 season. What does that mean for you as a bettor? It means that even though the schedule still reflects the North/South split, there’s now no divisional standings leading to the Pac-12 championship game, which means two teams that used to be in the same division could meet for the title. And that makes the draw of the schedule important to pay attention to because certain teams might have to beat the same team twice in order to claim the title. For example, a team like Utah might have to take down USC once in October and again in December to clinch this bet. Conversely, someone like Washington doesn’t play either Utah or USC out of what used to be the South and could be in a position to make a surprise run to the Pac-12 title game. With that in mind, here are our best bets for the Pac-12 championship.

Best Bet: Utah +250

The public is all over Lincoln Riley and USC, but he’s not a miracle worker, and he hasn’t proven himself to be a program builder. On the other hand, Utah has a stable situation with eight returners on offense, including quarterback Cameron Rising. The Utes came on strong at the end of last season, and by the end of the year, they had gone from a team that was kind of an afterthought to one that surprised nobody by pounding Oregon twice to win the league title. Last year, the Utes started 1-2 with Charlie Brewer under center before making a quarterback change after losing to San Diego State, which proved to be the catalyst that jump-started their season. Once Rising took over, Utah scored 34 points or more in nine of its final 11 games, only losing to Oregon State and Ohio State. This has been one of the most stable programs in the Pac-12 throughout Kyle Whittingham’s time here, and the Utes should be substantially ahead of where they started a year ago. With Rising and top running back Tavion Thomas back in Salt Lake City, the only real problems on Utah’s schedule are a couple of tricky trips to Washington State and Oregon. As long as the Utes get at least a split in those games, they should be playing in Las Vegas. Bet your PAC 12 futures wagers for FREE by taking advantage of a 125% real cash bonus on your first deposit (up to $500 in bonus cash) when you use bonus code PREDICTEM at GTBets Sportsbook!

Best Value Play: Oregon +300

Remember Bo Nix? The quarterback who used to give SEC defenses fits has resurfaced at Oregon, where he’s reunited with offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, the man who got the most out of him in 2019. Auburn won nine games with Nix and Dillingham working together that year, including an upset of Alabama, and Nix just hasn’t been the same player since Dillingham left to try to rebuild Florida State’s offense. If this reunion works out on offense, the Ducks will be in an excellent position to reach the Pac-12 title game, and depending on the schedule, Oregon could be set up perfectly to claim the crown. The Ducks draw Utah and UCLA at home and don’t play USC at all, with their toughest Pac-12 road game coming at Washington State in September. Oregon returns all of its linebackers and brings in former Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning as the new man in charge. The Ducks have plenty of talent and a new defensive mindset, and as long as they can keep the defense healthy down the stretch, they’ll be in a position to play in Las Vegas in December.

Best Longshot Play: Oregon State +4000

If Oregon State can get one of its running backs to replace B.J. Baylor, the Beavers will be in prime position to shock a lot of people. The early schedule is very difficult with USC coming to Corvallis and an early trip to Utah, but Oregon State beat both of them last year and even got its only road win of the 2021 season over the Trojans. The Beavers went 6-0 in Corvallis last season, and they get Washington State and Oregon at home out of what used to be the North, which sets them up well to let their defense lead them to a successful year. And that’s what Oregon State will need to do because the Beavers return nine starters from a defense that played a heck of a lot better at Reser Stadium than it did on the road. A season ago, the Beavers held opponents to 18 points per game in Corvallis but got torched for 32 points a game on the road. With the entire secondary returning, Oregon State should be getting a little bit more respect than it is this year. As long as the ground game can function at a high level and quarterback Chance Nolan can cut down on the ten interceptions he threw last year, the Beavers have the potential to upset the apple cart.

Team to Avoid: USC +200

If Lincoln Riley was responsible for building Oklahoma up from the ground up, I could understand putting USC in the top spot. But there is no guarantee that he can put a program together at all, let alone overnight. Riley might have made the College Football Playoff three times in five years in Norman, but he inherited a program from Bob Stoops that had won at least 11 games in three of the four years before he took over. USC is quite simply not that. The Trojans lost more games last year than Riley lost in his past three years at Oklahoma, and they haven’t won more than eight in a season since 2017. The Trojans should be better than they were a year ago and easily make a bowl game, but Caleb Williams wasn’t consistent at quarterback at Oklahoma, and the Trojans have challenging trips to Oregon State and Utah on the slate. The value just isn’t there, not this year.

Overall Pick: Oregon +300

This is a question of who has the most talent between Oregon and Utah, and I think the Ducks have just a smidge more than the Utes if they can keep the defense healthy and get the most out of Bo Nix. This bet is far from a sure thing because Nix could easily bust in his new home, but if he can play like he did three years ago in Auburn, the Ducks are the team to beat in this league. Question: Did you know that you can bet on college football games (and NFL too!) at -105 odds instead of -110? This may not sound like much, however, it will save you TONS of unnecessary risked $$$! Find this killer offer at BetAnySports!