After being raided in 2023 by its longtime Rose Bowl ally in the Big Ten and its geographical neighbor in the Big 12, the Pac-12’s conference rebuild is finally complete and ready to commence when kickoff arrives this August.
The Pac-12 needed to reach the NCAA’s eight-member threshold prior to the 2026 football season in order to maintain its conference status. It did so by raiding the Mountain West’s elite state schools — Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State — alongside poaching the Sun Belt’s fast-rising Texas State. The Bobcats have become a Top 75 university nationally in terms of enrollment, and their football program is in the midst of a three-season winning record streak.
As such, the Conference of Champions is back at full capacity. Now the question becomes: who is the frontrunner to win the retooled Pac-12?
Will it be one of the two Pac-8 realignment holdovers in Oregon State or Washington State? Perhaps it’s Texas State — after all, the university boasts the deepest pockets of any Pac-12 partner with a $1.6 billion endowment. Maybe it’s the 2024 College Football Playoff representative in Boise State. Or might it be someone else from the field?
Similarly to the 2024 Big Ten season — when Oregon captured the conference title in its first year as a B1G member — I believe Boise State will win the Pac-12 championship in its first season in the conference.
Without question, the Broncos carry the most prestige of any program in the Pac-12, including Oregon State and Washington State — and deservedly so. Since making the jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision via the Western Athletic Conference, Boise State has won 15 conference championships: eight WAC titles and seven Mountain West titles.
In addition, the Broncos don’t just win conference championships — they compete on the national stage in the postseason. Since 2006, Boise State has participated in four BCS/CFP-era major bowl games — the Fiesta Bowl in 2006, 2009, 2014, and 2024 — winning three of those contests. That includes the instant classic that featured the famous Hook-and-Lateral and Statue of Liberty plays to upset Adrian Peterson’s Oklahoma Sooners during the 2006 season.
Beyond its 21st-century pedigree, Boise State has also recruited the best of any program within its new conference. According to 247Sports, the Broncos signed 46 student-athletes during the 2026 recruiting cycle — including high school recruits and collegiate transfers — with an average player rating of 85.30, the highest average player grade among Pac-12 programs.
Lastly, the Broncos feature the conference’s highest-regarded head coach in Spencer Danielson. According to College Football News, which ranked all 136 FBS head coaches prior to the 2025 season, Danielson came in at No. 28 overall — 26 spots ahead of the next Pac-12 coach, Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall.
Since that ranking, Danielson led the 2025 Broncos to their third consecutive Mountain West championship despite having to transition following the departure of 2024 Doak Walker Award winner Ashton Jeanty to the NFL.
For these reasons, it’s clear that there is a frontrunner in the new-look Pac-12 — and that team is Boise State. Look for the Broncos to host the conference championship game on their famed Smurf Turf with an opportunity to capture the first Pac-12 title of this new Conference of Champions era.
PS: Keep an eye on Texas State as the years progress. I foresee the Bobcats continuing their rise to national prominence during the NIL and conference realignment eras under head coach G.J. Kinne, who ranked No. 58 in College Football News’ 2025 FBS head coach rankings.