The 2016 Pac-12 Conference football season is the sixth season for the conference as a twelve-team league. The season began on August 26, 2016, with California vs. Hawaii. The final game was the 2016 Pac-12 Football Championship Game at Levi's Stadium on December 2, 2016, with Fox televising the game.
Preseason
2016 Pac-12 Spring Football and number of signees on signing day:
North Division
- California â 25 signees
- Oregon â 19 signees
- Oregon State â 24 signees
- Stanford â 30 signees
- Washington â 18 signees
- Washington State â 25 signees
South Division
- Arizona â 22 signees
- Arizona State â 18 signees
- Colorado âÂÂ18 signees
- UCLA â 27 signees
- USC â 13 signees
- Utah â 24 signees
Pac-12 Media
The Pac-12 conducted its annual media days at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, â The Loews Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, California between July 14 and July 15. The event commenced with a speech by Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, and all 12 teams sent their head coaches and two selected players to speak with members of the media. The event along with all speakers and interviews were broadcast live on the Pac-12 Network. The teams and representatives in respective order were as follows:
Thursday
- Arizona â Head Coach Rich Rodriguez, Nate Phillips, WR & Sani Fuimaono, DL
- California â Head Coach Sonny Dykes, Steven Moore, OT & DeVante Wilson, DE
- Oregon â Head Coach Mark Helfrich, Royce Freeman, RB & Johnny Ragin, LB
- Washington State â Head Coach Mike Leach, Gabe Marks, WR & Parker Henry, LB
- Utah â Head Coach Kyle Whittingham, JJ Dielman, OT & Justin Thomas, DB
Friday
- Arizona State â Head Coach Todd Graham, Tim White, WR/KR & Tashon Smallwood, DL
- Oregon State â Head Coach Gary Andersen, Victor Bolden, WR & Nick Porebski, P
- UCLA â Head Coach Jim Mora, Conor McDermott, OT & Jayon Brown, LB
- Stanford â Head Coach David Shaw, Christian McCaffrey, RB & Solomon Thomas, DE
- Washington â Head Coach Chris Petersen, Darrell Daniels, TE & Kevin King, DB
- Colorado â Head Coach Mike MacIntyre, Sefo Liufau, QB & Chidobe Awuzie, CB
Preseason Media Polls
Pac-12 Championship Game Voting
North Division
- 1. Stanford Cardinal (24 pts., 186 votes)
- 2. Washington Huskies (8 pts., 163 votes)
- 3. Oregon Ducks (1 pt., 132 votes)
- 4. Washington State Cougars (112 votes)
- 5. California Golden Bears (67 votes)
- 6. Oregon State Beavers (33 votes)
South Division
- 1. UCLA Bruins (19 pts., 180 votes)
- 2. USC Trojans (12 pts., 173 votes)
- 3. Utah Utes (2 pts., 127 votes)
- 4. Arizona Wildcats (87 votes)
- 5. Arizona State Sun Devils (85 votes)
- 6. Colorado Buffaloes (63 votes)
- Predicted Pac-12 Championship Game Winner: Stanford Cardinal (20 points) was picked to win the Pac-12 Championship over UCLA (19) for the first time since 1960. Others receiving votes were Washington, ASU (3), USC (2), Oregon (1) and Utah (2).
References:
Recruiting classes
Head coaches
Coaching changes
There were no coaching changes following the 2016 season.
Coaches
Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season
Rankings
Schedule
All times Mountain time. Pac-12 teams in bold.
Rankings reflect those of the AP poll for that week.
Week 1
Players of the Week â Sept 5
Week 2
Players of the Week- Sept 12
Week 3
Players of the Week â Sept 19
Week 4
Players of the Week â Sept 26
Week 5
Players of the Week â Oct 3
Week 6
Players of the Week â Oct 10
Week 7
Players of the Week â Oct 17
Week 8
Players of the Week â Oct 24
Week 9
Players of the Week â Oct 31
Week 10
Players of the Week â Nov 7
Week 11
Players of the Week â Nov 14
Week 12
Players of the Week â Nov 21
Week 13
Players of the Week â Nov 28
Championship game
The championship game was played on December 2, 2016. It featured the teams with the best conference records from each division, Washington from the North and Colorado from the South. This was the sixth championship game (and the sixth win for the North), with both Washington and Colorado appearing for the first time.
Week 14 (Pac-12 Championship Game)
Pac-12 vs Power Conference matchups
This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12 and SEC along with independents Notre Dame and BYU) the Pac-12 plays in the non-conference (Rankings from the AP Poll):
Records against other conferences
2016 records against non-conference foes:
Regular Season
Post Season
Postseason
Bowl games
* Rankings based on CFP rankings, Pac-12 team is bolded
Selection of teams:
- Bowl eligible: Colorado, Stanford, USC, Utah, Washington, Washington State
- Bowl-ineligible: Arizona, Arizona State, California, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA
All-Pac-12 Individual Awards
The following individuals won the conference's annual player and coach awards:
All-Conference teams
The following players earned All-Pac-12 honors.
Offense:
Defense:
Specialists:
Honorable Mentions
- ARIZONA: AP/ST Samajie Grant Sr.; WR Nate Phillips Sr.; WR Trey Griffey, Sr.
- ARIZONA STATE: WR N'Keal Harry, Fr.; LB Viliami (Laiu) Moeakiola Sr.
- CALIFORNIA: PK Matt Anderson Jr.; DL James Looney, Jr.; OL Steven Moore Sr.; RB Khalfani Muhammad, Sr.; QB Davis Webb, Sr.
- COLORADO: WR Bryce Bobo Jr.; DL, Jordan Carrell, Sr.; WR Shay Fields, Jr.; OL Alex Kelley Sr.; OL Gerrad Kough Jr.; QB Sefo Liufau, Sr.; LB Kenneth Olugbode Sr.; WR Devin Ross Jr.; DL Josh Tupou Sr.
- OREGON: LB Troy Dye, Fr.; RB Royce Freeman, Jr.; OL Jake Hanson, Fr.; TE Johnny Mundt Sr.; RS Charles Nelson Jr.; OL Calvin Throckmorton, Fr.; K Matt Wogan Sr.
- OREGON STATE: DB Xavier Crawford, Fr.; DB Treston Decoud, Sr.; OL Gus Lavaka Fr.; RB Ryan Nall, So.
- STANFORD: LB Joey Alfieri Jr.; P Jake Bailey, So.; DB Dallas Lloyd Sr.; RB Bryce Love, So.; RS Christian McCaffrey, Jr.; DB Quenton Meeks, So.; LB Kevin Palma Sr.; Harrison Phillips, Jr.; DB Justin Reid, So.; TE Dalton Schultz, Jr.; ST Brandon Simmons Jr.; PK Conrad Ukropina Sr.
- UCLA: WR Darren Andrews Jr.; DB Randall Goforth, Sr.; Fabian Moreau, Sr.; DL Eddie Vanderdoes, Jr.; DB Jaleel Wadood Jr.
- USC: QB Sam Darnold, RSFr.; DL Rasheem Green, So.; DL Porter Gustin, So.; DB Chris Hawkins Jr.; LB Michael Hutchings Sr.; TE Daniel Imatorbhebhe, RSFr.; DB Iman Marshall, So.; Leon McQuay III, Sr.; WR Darreus Rogers Sr.
- UTAH: DB Chase Hansen, So.; DL Lowell Lotulelei Jr.; DL Filipo Mokofisi Jr.; DL Pasoni Tasini Sr.; DL Pita Taumoepenu, Sr.; RB Joe Williams, Sr.
- WASHINGTON: TE Darrell Daniels Sr.; DL Greg Gaines, So.; DB Kevin King, Sr.; TE Drew Sample, So.; LB Psalm Wooching, Sr.
- WASHINGTON STATE: WR River Cracraft, Sr.; OL Cole Madison, Jr.; RB Jamal Morrow Jr.; OL Cody O'Connell, Jr.; LB Peyton Pelluer Jr.; OL Riley Sorenson Sr.
All-Americans
The following Pac-12 players were named to the 2016 College Football All-America Team by the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of america (FWAA), Sporting News (SN), and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA):
First team
Second team
Third team
Academic All-America Team Member of the Year (CoSIDA)
All-Academic
First team
Individual awards
Home game attendance
Bold â Exceed capacity<br /> â Season High
Attendance for neutral site games:
- August 26 â Cal vs. Hawaii, 61,247
- September 2 â Colorado vs. Colorado State, 69,850
- September 3 â Arizona vs. BYU, 50,528
- September 3 â USC vs Alabama, 81,359
- December 2 â Colorado vs Washington, 47,118
References