Given that the Pac-12 has as many Heisman winners as College Football Playoff berths over the last decade, perhaps it’s not a surprise that of every program’s best player in that span, 8 are on the offensive side of the ball.

Traditionally, the conference has been prolific at scoring the ball, but not quite so dominant on the other side. That’s a recipe for tremendous individual performances and little by way of team success, which, of course, is exactly how it has played out.

But there were some close calls as well as some that are downright controversial. Caleb Williams? After just one season under center for USC? Yeah, dude won the Heisman.

Here’s a look at Williams and the other program standards over the last 10 years…

Arizona: RB Ka’Deem Carey

Carey made it abundantly clear as a freshman that he was going to be a program-changer for the Wildcats, and he was under Rich Rodriguez. Carey averaged 4.7 yards per carry on 91 attempts, finishing with 425 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns while adding 203 yards and 2 scores.

But no one could have quite predicted what would happen next. As a sophomore in 2012, Carey rushed for 1,929 yards on 303 carries with 23 rushing touchdowns to go along with 36 receptions for 303 yards and a score. As a junior in 2013, he wasn’t quite as efficient yet he was still dominant, totaling 1,885 yards and 19 scores on 349 carries.

His efforts earned him two-time consensus All-American honors, two first-team all conference honors and the 2013 Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year award.

Following a brief NFL career, he’s become a two-time CFL All-Star.

Arizona State: WR N’Keal Harry

Harry was one of the top recruits in Arizona State history, and he lived up to expectations from the get-go, becoming only the 9th freshman in history to start for the Sun Devils. He was no decoy, either, catching 58 passes for 659 yards and 5 touchdowns rushing three times for 69 yards and 2 scores.

That set the stage for what would be back-to-back 1st-team All-Pac-12 nods in 2017 and ’18. Harry followed up a brilliant sophomore campaign that included 82 receptions, 1,142 yards and 8 touchdowns with 73 receptions, 1,088 yards and 9 touchdowns.

He did enough at the college level to convince New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick to draft him in the 1st round at pick No. 32 in the 2019 NFL draft. He was Belichick’s first first round wideout, but his professional career has been plagued by injuries.

Cal: QB Jared Goff

Like ASU and Harry, Goff was an immediate splash, becoming the first Cal quarterback to start as a true freshman. He finished his career with 26 program records, including passing yards touchdown passes completions attempts total offense, ranking 2nd behind Aaron Rodgers in passing efficiency.

And he did this all in just 3 years, capping his college career with a junior season for the ages. Goff set a new Pac-12 passing work with 4,714 yards and also set the standard with 43 touchdowns, becoming Cal’s first all-conference 1st-team quarterback since Rogers.

The No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL draft, Goff has had a good but not great NFL career, though he has found new life with the Detroit Lions. He is coming off a 4,400 yard, 29 touchdown season.

Colorado: WR Laviska Shenault

It did not take Shenault much time into his sophomore year to announce his presence. After catching seven passes for 168 yards as a freshman, he had 11 receptions for 211 yards including an 89-yard touchdown in the 2018 season-opener against Colorado State. He led the nation in receptions per game as a sophomore with while missing three games because of injury, and he finished the season with 1,011 yards.

Shenault took a slight step back as a senior finishing was 764 yards in 6 scores. He was still named all conference, albeit to the second team.

After two years with the Jacksonville Jaguars, who picked him in the 2nd round in 2020, he was traded to the Carolina Panthers on the eve of last season.

Oregon: QB Marcus Mariota

Oregon has had some pretty darn impressive players over the last decade, as the Ducks ascended to the top – or at least near the top — of the Pac-12 food chain, but it’s very hard to top a Heisman winner.

And that was only one award for Mariota in a career full of them. Some of the rest? Maxwell Award, Manning Award, Walter Camp Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Associated Press and Sporting News Player of the Year awards, Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, Pac-12 Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and 3-time 1st-team all-Pac-12 selection.

There. That should do.

Oregon State: WR Brandin Cooks

After a solid freshman season, Cooks was forced to share the love with Markus Wheaton as a sophomore as the two combined for 158 catches, nearly 2,400 yards and 16 scores. Cooks had 67 catches for 1,151 yards and 5 touchdowns himself.

With Wheaton off to the NFL in 2013, Cooks made it very clear it was his show and his show alone. He started off quickly with 13 catchers for 196 yards in two scores in the season opener, but topped himself midway though the year with a 13-catch, 232-yard game against Cal. On the year, Cooks would set Pac-12 records for receptions (128) and yards (1,730) while grabbing 16 touchdowns.

Going pro after his Biletnikoff Award in 2013, Cooks has cooked NFL defenders for nearly a decade. In 9 pro seasons, he’s topped the 1,000-yard mark 6 times.

Stanford: RB Christian McCaffrey

McCaffrey had a 52-yard receiving touchdown in his very first collegiate game and he didn’t really slow down from there.

His sophomore campaign will go down as one of the best in college football history as he shattered Barry Sanders’ NCAA record 3,250 all-purpose yards with 3,864. He finished second in Heisman voting to Alabama’s Derrick Henry, but he was the Associated Press College Football Player of the Year and the Paul Hornung Award winner.

In 2016, his junior year, Run CMC added another 1,603 rushing yards with 13 touchdown, again earning first-team all-conference honors.

Since entering the NFL as the No. 8 overall pick to Carolina in 2017, McCaffrey has 2 Pro Bowl nods and 1st and 2nd-team All-Pro honors.

UCLA: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson

Probably the hardest pick of the lot, I ultimately went with UCLA’s long-time starter at the most important position. DTR gets the nod over some key defenders (Eric Kendricks, Kenny Clark), mainly because of his steady improvement through the years.

Thompson-Robinson really came alive in 2021, leading UCLA to a 8-3 record with 21 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. He finished his career with 10,695 yards and 88 scores.

USC: QB Caleb Williams

Sorry Sam Darnold and Co., Williams may only have one year under his belt, but that belt is diamond-studded and made out of platinum. His 2022 Heisman Trophy was enough to put him at the top of the Trojan totem pole.

After passing for more than 4,500 and scoring more 50 combined touchdowns through the air and with his feet as a sophomore after transferring from Oklahoma to join Lincoln Riley in Los Angeles.  Another all-conference season — much less another Heisman campaign — etch him in USC and Pac-12 lore.

Utah: CB Clark Phillips Jr.

Like several players on this list, Phillips was one of the top recruits in program history — maybe the best recruit in program history — and his flip from Ohio State is considered one of the programs watershed recruiting moments.

And Phillips indeed delivered. More than delivered. The Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year last year, Phillips was a ball-hawking cornerback for the Utes and considered one of the best in the country.

He improved upon his second-team all-conference status as a sophomore, as his 6 interceptions (including 2 returned for touchdown) tied for the national lead. After being named a unanimous All-American in 2022, he was picked by the Atlanta Falcons in the 4th round of April’s NFL Draft.

Washington: DT Vita Vea

Vea made the most of a greyshirt year out of high school, getting his grades in order while bulking up to 340 pounds, which would be put to good use in the interior of Washington’s defensive line.

Vea, who has gone on to become an NFL champion and Pro Bowler, was a 2nd-team all-conference pick as a sophomore but blossomed into the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year as a junior. It’s not often a nose tackle wins DPOY and his stats weren’t overwhelming, but he was a powerful run-stopper and often faced double teams.

Washington State: QB Luke Falk

After taking over for Cougar star Connor Halliday as a redshirt freshman, Falk totaled 471 yards and 5 touchdowns in his first career start at Oregon State. That’s one way to announce your presence.

He was arguably the biggest fit in Mike Leach’s system in the Palouse, though Gardner Minshew might have something to say about it. Minshew only played one year for Leach, though, while Falk played 3 prolific seasons in Pullman.

All told, Falk set school and Pac-12 records for passing yards (14,486), total offense (14,086), passing touchdowns (119), pass completions (357) and pass attempts (534). Incredible numbers for a former walk-on quarterback.