The Pac-12 teams open Week 1 with a schedule that drops them straight into the national picture. Five games come against Preseason Top 25 opponents, and two of those are against Top 5 teams.
That is why the slate is drawing attention now. Fresno State goes to #14 USC on Friday night, Oregon State visits #23 Houston, Texas State plays at #5 Texas, Boise State meets #2 Oregon, and Washington State faces #17 Washington. The conference is the only one dealing with two Top 5 opponents in the opening week, a rare opening stretch that leaves little room for a slow start.
The numbers show how deep the challenge runs beyond the first weekend. Pac-12 schools have 9 total games against teams in the Preseason Top 25 over the first 4 weeks, and the conference has 24 non-conference games against FBS opponents this season. Of those, 20 are against teams that were bowl eligible in 2025, which means the early schedule is loaded with opponents that have already shown they can survive a season.
Boise State gives that pressure a face. Spencer Danielson’s team is bowl eligible for 28 straight seasons, and it will try to add to that run against #2 Oregon on Saturday at 12:30pm PT on CBS. Boise State also is chasing only its second win ever over an Top 5 team after beating #3 TCU 17-10 in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, a reminder that the program has lived in these spots before even if the odds are steep.
But the opening week is not being handled by the same group everywhere. Three of the conference’s 8 teams have new head coaches this season, which makes the ranked-opponent run even harder to read. Jim Mora has moved to Colorado State from UConn, JaMarcus Shepherd is set for his head coaching debut after 2 years as Assistant Head Coach at Alabama under Kalen DeBoer, and Kirby Moore is making his debut after 3 years as offensive coordinator at Missouri.
That mix of pressure and transition is what makes the week matter. The Pac-12’s opening games run from Friday, September 4 through Sunday, September 6, and they will tell quickly whether the league’s top teams can turn a brutal first test into momentum rather than damage.
