It’s a new era of Pac-12 football as it’s the first year of the newly formed conference. Eight teams are set to take the field in the new alignment: Washington State, Oregon State, Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Utah State and Texas State. There’s a lot of excitement going around that the Pac-12 once again joins the college football landscape as a legitimate conference. There has been recent success among a handful of these schools in their past conferences, which mostly feature teams from the Mountain West. And of course, you still have Washington State and Oregon State, who stayed behind and helped rebuild the new conference we see today.
There are some interesting non-conference games through the first four weeks of the season, and it’s going to be an important showcase of what the new era of the Pac-12 will hold in its first season of play.
Best Pac-12 Non-Conference Games in 2026
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1. Boise State at Oregon – Week 1
One of the first games to kick off the season in the Pac-12 is a big matchup between Boise State and Oregon, one of the best Week 1 games in the country. Boise State comes over from the Mountain West, where they won seven conference titles, including just wrapping up a three-peat from 2023-2025. Expectations remain the same in their first season in the new conference, as they’re favorites to win the Pac-12 championship after coming off a 9-5 season. Just recently in 2024, Boise State went 12-2 and made the College Football Playoff.
Right off the bat, they will have their toughest game of the season, traveling to Oregon and facing one of the favorites to win the National Championship. The statistics haven’t been in the favor of the Broncos as of late, as they’ve lost 10 games in a row to power conference opponents.
Boise State returns six starters on offense, including fifth-year senior quarterback Maddux Madsen and both of their lead running backs from last season, Dylan Riley and Sire Gaines. The defense returns five starters along with some transfer portal talent. They have several potential Pac-12 All-American players on that side of the ball, including one of their leaders in Jayden Virgin-Morgan on the line.
The Broncos last faced the Ducks in 2024 when they took them down to the wire 37-34 at Oregon. It’ll be tougher for Boise State this time around with potential top pick Dante Moore under center for Oregon and 14 returning starters. If the Broncos want to keep it close, the defense will have to rise to the occasion. It would be a monumental win for the newly formed Pac-12 if they were to pull off the upset.
2. Fresno State at USC – Week 1
This game is a close second when it comes to the best non-conference games on the Pac-12 slate. It’s another huge test for the Pac-12 as USC is one of the Big Ten‘s top contenders to make the College Football Playoff.
Fresno State will have its hands full, and the game being on the road doesn’t help one bit. That being said, the Bulldogs have something to build on from last season, going 9-5 with first-year head coach Matt Entz. They had a top-20 defense in 2025 and return notable starters on that side of the ball. Fresno State also has its best skill-position talent returning on offense, something that will benefit them the most heading into a new conference.
One notable change on offense will be at the quarterback position, whether it’s Jayden Mandal or transfer Khristian Martin. No matter who it is, the offense promises to be more dynamic and explosive in 2026 with the weapons they have. Even if they can’t beat USC on the road, the offense might give them some fight.
With a talented roster heading into the season and the amount of experience coming back, Fresno State has a real shot to win the Pac-12.
3. Washington State at Washington – Week 1
It will be another big non-conference game for the Pac-12 right out the gate. As mentioned, Washington State was one of two teams that stayed behind to transform the new conference as we see it today.
You can’t have a Pac-12 non-conference slate without the Apple Cup, one of the best rivalry games in all of college football. Washington has a pretty significant lead in the all-time record vs Washington State, going 77-34-6. This includes Washington with a significant 59-24 win last season.
The Kirby Moore era kicks off for Washington State this season, bringing some hope that this team can be better than last season. He’s said all the things that the fan base wants to hear; now it’s just about putting it together on the field. Wide receiver Tony Freeman said that Kirby’s style is “fast, physical and a very IQ offense”, as we’ve seen in his stints with Fresno State and Missouri. He wants to play fast, and that’s exactly what the team intends to do.
There’s a three-way battle for the quarterback position and the confidence is sky high for all three of them, including talented transfer Caden Pinnick. There’s a lot of unknown about what this Washington State roster can be in year one of Moore, but there’s also a lot of potential with the group.
4. San Diego State at UCLA – Week 2
The old Pac-12 vs the new Pac-12. UCLA vs San Diego State. This would be a huge statement win for the Aztecs just because of that fact. They head into 2026 with the second-best odds to win the conference after winning nine games last season in the Mountain West compared to just three in 2024, improving under Sean Lewis in his second year on the sidelines.
San Diego State returns seven starters on offense, and that includes quarterback Jayden Denegal, who dealt with some lingering injuries last season. The same goes for the returning Jordan Napier and Jacob Bostick at receiver, who also dealt with injuries last season. The Aztecs also return a key figure in their backfield in standout Lucky Sutton, who rushed for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns. Christian Washington rejoins him in the backfield as well.
The key to offensive success this season will be health and even more improvement from coach Lewis. It’s going to have to be the key given what they’ve lost on defense. The Aztecs have always leaned on that side of the ball to get the job done, like last season, but they lost multiple key pieces to the puzzle. They only have just three starters returning on defense and have a new defensive coordinator. San Diego State brought in some interesting portal commits to fill in holes but still have a couple of questions to answer.
The defense’s first test will be a UCLA team that is expected to be much improved under first-year head coach Bob Chesney. They will face quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who has all the talent in the world to have a breakout season in year two with the Bruins.
Honorable mentions: Memphis at Boise State (Week 2); Washington State at Kansas State (Week 2); UTSA at Texas State (Week 2), Utah State at Utah (Week 3)
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