2019 PAC-12 Conference Title Odds, Predictions & Pick

The Pac-12 is one of the more interesting conferences when it comes to sports betting on the 2019 champion, because there really is no clear favorite, and this could be another year when the conference turns into a gauntlet that deals multiple losses, even to the champion, ensuring that no team makes the College Football Playoff. Last year, Washington won the Pac-12 North with a 7-2 conference record and faced Utah, the South winner with a 6-3 conference record, and won 10-3 in a game that featured one touchdown — a pick-six by Byron Murphy on a deflection. Washington and Utah had the two top defenses in the conference last year, and in the preseason media poll, Utah is the favorite to win the title in 2019. Oregon and Washington sit as co-favorites in the odds to win the 2019 PAC-12 title right now; take a look at the full slate of odds and our thoughts on some of the contenders before you lock in wagers.

2019 PAC-12 Conference Title Odds, Predictions & Pick

.@Utah_Football tops the 2019 #Pac12FB Preseason Poll, while @oregonfootball is picked to win the North, in a poll of 35 media members who cover the league. Full story: https://t.co/88GPhD5bir pic.twitter.com/Od0F7mNvQN

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 24, 2019

• Oregon, Washington                                                                                       +260
• Utah                                                                                                                +500
• Arizona, USC, Washington State                                                                   +1000
• Arizona State                                                                                                  +2300
• Cal, Stanford, UCLA                                                                                       +3000
• Colorado                                                                                                         +12000
• Oregon State                                                                                                  +21000

Who Are the Favorites?

Oregon and Washington are the co-favorites, and not just because of pedigree. They both have talented quarterbacks, and while the Huskies have a slight edge because of their gritty defense, the Ducks have a slight edge when it comes to talent players filling out their offense. The fact that the Huskies were only able to hang a field goal on Utah with their offense is a bit of a concern, but you could pick either of these two with about the same range of confidence. Justin Herbert running the offense at Oregon and Jacob Eason doing the same thing up the road at Washington should make for some splashy numbers, but it will be interesting to see how they produce in clutch moments for their teams. Utah has an easier path to the Pac-12 title game — because they do not have Oregon, Washington and Washington State in their division. Utah also has Tyler Huntley and Zack Moss returning at quarterback and tailback, and despite the fact that they both finished the season on the injured list, the Utes still won nine games on the season. This is a team that could be undefeated heading into November, and remember, their defense is just as stout as Washington’s.

Who’s a Sleeper?

Stanford is an interesting sleeper here, with a ton of value. Stanford still has David Shaw at head coach, and the Cardinal has won at least nine games in each of the last five seasons with him at the helm. The Pac-12 North has produced all but one conference champion since the format changed to include a pair of divisions. Quarterback K.J. Costello returns with experience and with a cannon of an arm. With that said, the offensive line was atrocious with the run block in 2018, and there is little to suggest that this will improve significantly, and the defense was way too porous in 2018 for this team to be a contender. However, if this team can make it to Halloween with a clean conference slate, or even with one loss, momentum could build. Arizona is an intriguing pick out of the Pac-12 South. They have quarterback Khalil Tate, who was the most dynamic quarterback in the conference in 2017 until he went down with an ankle injury, which looked like it still hampered him last year. The Wildcats had to run a simpler offense last year, which compensated for his recovery but also was unable to put all of his talents to use. He returns for his senior year, and the Wildcats have a difficult schedule, facing Oregon and Washington in cross-division play, but they get Utah coming down to their place on November 23. Can he do enough to crack the Utes’ and Huskies’ defenses? It will be interesting to see.