Pac-12 Hotline: Football schedule breakdown: Colorado has tough road, Arizona's isn't overly daunting

The Pac-12 will reveal kickoff times for the early-season football games on Wednesday.

But the opponents and locations have been known for years; the order, for months. So let’s start the week with a deep dive into the schedule strength for each team in the final season of the conference as we know it.

And remember, the intra-league matchups are based on the old division format, even though the Pac-12 disposed of the North and South last summer.

Schedules ranked from most to least difficult. Non-conference games are in italics.

1. Colorado

Misses: Washington State and Cal

Bye: Week Eight

Home games (six): Nebraska, Colorado State, USC, Stanford, Oregon State, Arizona

Road games (six): TCU, Oregon, Arizona State, UCLA, WSU, Utah

Comment: Deion Sanders’ first season features a rugged lineup with multiple marquee games (good), a narrow path to bowl eligibility (bad) and a September with both Oregon and USC (ugly). Given all the new, inexperienced players, the Buffaloes could have their fate sealed before Oct. 1.

2. Utah

Misses: Stanford and Washington State

Bye: Week Six

Home games (seven): Florida, Weber State, UCLA, Cal, Oregon, Arizona State, Colorado

Road games (five): Baylor, Oregon State, USC, Washington, Arizona

Comment: The degree-of-difficulty difference with Colorado’s schedule is negligible — this is arguably the toughest lineup in the Pac-12 and the most challenging Utah has faced since joining the conference in 2011. The road schedule is unforgiving, with trips to Waco, Corvallis, L.A. and Seattle.

3. Cal

Misses: Arizona and Colorado

Bye: Week Eight

Home games (six): Auburn, Idaho, Arizona State, Oregon State, WSU, USC

Road games (six): North Texas, Washington, Utah, Oregon, UCLA, Stanford

Comment: Not exactly an ideal schedule for a program desperate to change its trajectory with a new offense and rookie quarterback. The Bears drew the wrong misses, are the only team that visits Salt Lake City, Eugene and Seattle and have a sneaky-tough opener at North Texas.

4. Washington

Misses: Colorado and UCLA

Bye: Week Six

Home games (seven): Boise State, Tulsa, Cal, Oregon, Arizona State, Utah, WSU

Road games (five): Michigan State, Arizona, Stanford, USC, Oregon State

Comment: We considered a higher ranking for UW considering the trip to East Lansing, the absence of a non-conference creampuff — Tulsa won five games last season — and the presence of both Utah and USC. It’s plenty tough enough to support a playoff résumé, which is both the beauty and the curse.

5. USC

Misses: WSU and Oregon State

Byes: Weeks Three and 13

Home games (seven): San Jose State, Nevada, Stanford, Arizona, Utah, Washington, UCLA

Road games (five): Arizona State, Colorado, Notre Dame, Cal, Oregon

Comment: USC’s first trip to Oregon and first visit from Washington since 2015 are two of several marquee matchups in coach Lincoln Riley’s second season (and USC’s last year in the conference). The lineup could prove even more difficult than it appears if Colorado and ASU make strides under their first-year coaches.

6. Arizona

Misses: Cal and Oregon

Bye: Week Eight

Home games (six): NAU, UTEP, Washington, Oregon State, UCLA, Utah

Road games (six): Mississippi State, Stanford, USC, WSU, Colorado, Arizona State

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Comment: A challenging but not daunting schedule awaits coach Jedd Fisch in the crucial third year of his tenure. We won’t presume to call NAU a cupcake after its victory in Tucson two years ago, and the trip to SEC country in Week Two features all the expected potholes. Most of Arizona’s toughest Pac-12 games are at home, however.

7. Oregon

Misses: UCLA and Arizona

Bye: Week Six

Home games (seven): Portland State, Hawaii, Colorado, WSU, Cal, USC, Oregon State

Road games (five): Texas Tech, Stanford, Washington, Utah, Arizona State

Comment: The absence of a showcase-neutral site matchup is notable, although Texas Tech fills the Power Five slot. Not detailed here but worthy of brief mention is the loaded second half, with UW, Utah, USC and OSU lined up in every-other-week fashion starting in the middle of October.

8. Arizona State

Misses: Oregon State and Stanford

Bye: Week Seven

Home games (eight): Southern Utah, Oklahoma State, Fresno State, USC, Colorado, WSU, Oregon, Arizona

Road games (four): Cal, Washington, Utah, UCLA

Comment: The Sun Devils open the Kenny Dillingham era with four consecutive games in the September heat — talk about home cooking — and play eight in Tempe in total. But because many of them are significant tests, we view ASU’s schedule as slightly more difficult than it appears upon first glance.

9. Stanford

Misses: Arizona State and Utah

Bye: Week Six

Home games (seven): Sacramento State, Arizona, Oregon, UCLA, Washington, Cal, Notre Dame

Road games (five): Hawaii, USC, Colorado, WSU, Oregon State

Comment: In contrast to prior years, the Cardinal has both an October bye and an FCS opponent — a combination that should help new coach Troy Taylor. (That FCS foe is his former team, Sacramento State.) The Cardinal’s load is also made lighter with Utah off the schedule after the thrashings of the previous two years.

10. Washington State

Misses: Utah and USC

Bye: Week Five

Home games (six): Wisconsin, Northern Colorado, Oregon State, Arizona, Stanford, Colorado

Road games (six): Colorado State, UCLA, Oregon, Arizona State, Cal, Washington

Comment: There are both pros (missing Utah and USC) and cons (visiting Oregon and Washington) within WSU’s schedule. All in all, the Cougars will benefit immeasurably from the manageable non-conference lineup and having enough winnable home games to climb to the brink of bowl-eligibility.

11. Oregon State

Misses: Arizona State and USC

Bye: Week Eight

Home games (six): UC Davis, San Diego State, Utah, UCLA, Stanford, Washington

Road games (six): San Jose State, WSU, Cal, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon

Comment: OSU is aiming for another 10-win season, and its first berth in the Pac-12 title game — and the Beavers have the scheduling framework to accomplish both. The non-conference lineup is hardly grueling, while most of their toughest conference games are at home in renovated Reser Stadium.

12. UCLA

Misses: Washington and Oregon

Bye: Week Five

Home games (six): Coastal Carolina, NC Central, WSU, Colorado, Arizona State, Cal

Road games (six): San Diego State, Utah, Oregon State, Stanford, Arizona, USC

Comment: The Bruins had one of the easiest schedules in captivity last year, and this version is nearly as soft thanks to the modest non-conference lineup and the two (huge) Pac-12 misses. Out of fairness, we should note that Michigan canceled a home-and-home series that featured a 2023 visit to the Rose Bowl.