2016 Pac-12 Conference football season


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.

Previous season

Stanford defeated USC 41–22 for the 2015 Pac-12 Conference Football Championship.
Ten teams participated in bowl games. Arizona defeated New Mexico 45–37 in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl. Utah was a winner over BYU at the Roal Purple Las Vegas Bowl. Washington State was a 20-14 winner over Miami in the Hyundai Sun Bowl. In the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl, it was Washington 44 Southern Miss 31. UCLA lost to Nebraska 29-37 in the Foster Farms Bowl. California defeated Air Force 55–36 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. Wisconsin was a winner over USC 23–21 in the National Funding Holiday Bowl. Stanford defeated Iowa 45–16 in the Rose Bowl Game. Oregon lost to TCU in the Valero Alamo Bowl 41-47. Arizona State lost to West Virginia 42-43 in the Motel 6 Cactus Bowl.

Pre-season

2016 Pac-12 Spring Football and number of signees on signing day:
North Division
South Division
The Pac-12 conducted its annual media days at the Loews Hollywood Hotel, – 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
Friday
Pac-12 Championship Game Voting
North Division
South Division
References:

Recruiting classes

TeamESPNRivalsScout24/7Signees
Arizona3941414225
Arizona State2620171922
California-29363424
Colorado-71756919
Oregon1517211622
Oregon State-71636022
Stanford2718252422
UCLA111391218
USC311226
Utah-41534520
Washington2830232724
Washington State-55384124

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 – Sept 5

Week 2

Players of the Week- Sept 12

Week 3

Players of the Week – Sept 19

Week 4

Players of the Week – Sept 26

Week 5

Players of the Week – Oct 3

Week 6

Players of the Week – Oct 10

Week 7

Players of the Week – Oct 17

Week 8

Players of the Week – Oct 24

Week 9

Players of the Week – Oct 31

Week 10

Players of the Week – Nov 7

Week 11

Players of the Week – Nov 14

Week 12

Players of the Week – Nov 21

Week 13

Players of the Week – Nov 28

Championship game

The championship game will 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, 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 the Pac-12 plays in the non-conference :
DateVisitorHomeSiteSignificanceScore
September 1Oregon StateMinnesotaTCF Bank Stadium • MinneapolisMinnesota 30–23
September 2Kansas State#8 StanfordStanford Stadium • Stanford, CaliforniaStanford 26–13
September 3BYUArizonaUniversity of Phoenix Stadium • Glendale, ArizonaCactus Kickoff ClassicBYU 18–16
September 3#20 USC#1 AlabamaAT&T Stadium • Arlington, TexasAdvocare ClassicAlabama 52–6
September 3#16 UCLATexas A&MKyle Field • College Station, TexasTexas A&M 31–24OT
September 3Rutgers#14 WashingtonHusky Stadium • SeattleWashington 48–13
September 10Texas TechArizona StateSun Devil Stadium • Tempe, ArizonaArizona State 68–55
September 10BYUUtahRice-Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake CityHoly WarUtah 20–19
September 10Virginia#24 OregonAutzen Stadium • Eugene, OregonOregon 44–26
September 17UCLABYULaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UtahUCLA 17–14
October 15StanfordNotre DameNotre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IndianaNotre Dame–Stanford football rivalryStanford 17–10
November 26Notre DameUSCLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los AngelesNotre Dame–USC football rivalryUSC 45–27

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:
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
The following Pac-12 players were named to the 2016 College Football All-America Team by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Associated Press, Football Writers Association of america, Sporting News, and American Football Coaches Association :
;First team
;Second team
;Third team
Academic All-America Team Member of the Year

All-Academic

First team

Individual awards

Home game attendance

TeamStadiumCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7TotalAverage% of Capacity
ArizonaArizona Stadium56,02945,68650,11648,74755,463†46,74041,06850,197338,01748,28886.18%
Arizona StateSun Devil Stadium56,23245,30044,51149,29548,50950,582†48,220—286,41747,73684.89%
CaliforniaCalifornia Memorial Stadium62,46750,44846,61843,04847,75652,266†39,633—279,76946,62874.64%
ColoradoFolsom Field50,18339,50546,83948,58843,76148,65852,301†—279,65246,60992.88%
OregonAutzen Stadium54,00053,81753,77453,97458,842†53,89853,757—328,06254,677101.25%
Oregon StateReser Stadium45,67438,05242,84634,06632,09337,08135,05944,160†263,35737,62282.37%
StanfordStanford Stadium50,42446,14748,76350,424†44,53538,81336,171—265,03344,17287.60%
UCLARose Bowl92,54263,71270,83368,01366,24364,81371,137†—404,75167,45872.89%
USCLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum93,60762,48771,21468,30261,72574,625†72,402—338,35367,67072.29%
UtahRice-Eccles Stadium45,80745,94546,91546,13345,91747,801†46,327—279,03846,506101.53%
WashingtonHusky Stadium70,08358,64060,67857,15172,02765,79672,362†65,467452,12164,58892.16%
Washington StateMartin Stadium32,95232,95228,47732,95229,31033,547 30,13533,773†187,37331,22894.77%

Bold – Exceed capacity

†Season High
Attendance for neutral site games: