It wasn’t quite an offensive revolution like the beginning of the forward pass, but Pac-12 play-callers dialed up a new level of offense in 2022, with a handful of first-timers taking to the booth.

Here is a ranking of the Pac-12 offensive play callers, with Pac-12 offensive rankings included:

12. Mike Sanford, Colorado

Scoring: 12th (15.42 points per game)
Total: 12th (281.25 yards per game)
Rushing: 10th (108.33)
Passing: 12th (172.92)

With the loss of key offensive talent in the transfer portal, little reinforcements to make up for it and a quarterback situation bordering on backyard ball, the Buffaloes were an abomination. It’s actually stunning that a Pac-12 squad with a somewhat rich lineage has fallen on such terrible times. They averaged 27 passing yards fewer than the 11th passing offense in the conference.

Injuries to key running backs didn’t help much, but Colorado backs rarely found cracks anyway.

It’ll be fascinating to see what Deion Sanders’ offense looks like in 2023.

11. Tavita Pritchard, Stanford

Scoring: 11th (21.33)
Total: 11th (361.58)
Rushing: 11th (107.33)
Passing: 8th (254.25)

After averaging 86.92 rushing yards per game last season, this year marked a slight improvement in a facet of the game that has fallen away from Stanford in the past half-decade. The once-dominant Cardinal ground game has collapsed in recent years, with a scheme predicated on tough, physical offensive linemen faltering as recruiting up front fell.

Losing EJ Smith was a tremendous blow to Stanford’s fortunes, and the Cardinal could never really pick up the pieces from that absence. Perhaps even more concerning was the regression of formerly highly touted quarterback recruit Tanner McKee, who finished 10th in the conference in passer rating. It’s clear Stanford simply didn’t have the playmakers it needed: Only Elijah Higgins, who finished 10th in the conference in receptions per game, ranked in the top 10 in a statistical category.

10. Bill Musgrave, Cal

Scoring: 10th (23.92)
Total: 10th (364.58)
Rushing: 12th (96.58)
Passing: 5th (268.0)

Cal had some fine individual pieces but could never seem to find the right order of operations in a mostly fruitless 2022 campaign. And who got the blame? Musgrave and offensive line coach Angus McClure, who were both let go after a 38-10 Week 11 loss at Oregon State.

Despite featuring one of the top young running backs in college football, Jaydn Ott, who burst onto the scene with a 19-carry, 274-yard Week 4 performance, the Bears averaged less than 100 yards per game and ranked last in the conference in the category. It was a stunning fall for a running game that looked so good early.

With quarterback Jack Plummer unable to generate high scoring despite finishing 5th in the league in passing yardage, way too many Bears drives stalled out. There’s a reason Cal averaged fewer than 20 first downs and managed just 35.33 percent 3rd-down conversions, both ranked 11th in the conference behind Colorado.

9. Glenn Thomas, Arizona State

Scoring: 9th (26.08)
Total: 8th (387.17)
Rushing: 8th (135.25)
Passing: 9th (251.92)

In hindsight, it’s easy to criticize picking the wrong starting quarterback, but it had to be plainly obvious to everyone that Trenton Bourguet was the better fit at quarterback this year for the Sun Devils. Emory Jones never topped 300 yards (or even 262), threw for more than 1 score just once and took 21 sacks on the year. Worse, the former Florida dual-threat quarterback managed just 31 rushing yards after tallying nearly 700 last year.

That alone should relegate Thomas lower on the list.

Bourguet, meanwhile, finished the year with 4 games with multiple touchdowns including 3 games with 3 scores. You’ve got to wonder if Herm Edwards would still have his job if Bourguet got the starting gig from Day 1.

8. Eric Morris, Washington State

Scoring: 8th (27.75)
Total: 9th (375.5)
Rushing: 9th (112.0)
Passing: 6th (263.50)

It’s fair to say the Cougars were a bit of a disappointment this season, with Cam Ward making nowhere near the splash many expected him to.

It took a while for the Cougars’ running game to get into the mix, but once it did, they were a better offense for it. Nakia Watson had a pair of back-to-back 100-yard games in Weeks 10-11 after a long stretch of futility for the Wazzu rushing attack.

And then there’s Ward. Ward was … fine? Good? He completed 64 percent of his passes, had 23 touchdowns to just 8 interceptions and finished with a passer rating of 132.9, but he did not live up to billing, in large part due to 40 sacks taken.

7. Brian Lindgren, Oregon State

Scoring: 6th (32.42)
Total: 7th (399.58)
Rushing: 4th (199.17)
Passing: 11th (200.42)

Losing Chance Nolan midway through the season didn’t help. Discovering a ground game halfway through the year did help and in a big way.

While Ben Gulbranson held down the fort in the passing game — though he certainly didn’t raise the bar — Damien Martinez became one of the best running backs in college football in just his 1st season. Martinez had 6 straight 100-yard games to end the year, a level of consistency rarely found at the college game.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Beavers are mighty aggressive in the transfer portal. They’ve got the line, running game and rush defense to contend next year, but a few key skill position players would help.

6. Jedd Fisch, Arizona

Scoring: 7th (30.83)
Total: 6th (461.92)
Rushing: 7th (143.5)
Passing: 3rd (318.42)

What an improvement for an Arizona offense that has absolutely stunk for years. The Wildcats haven’t been this good on offense since Khalil Tate was making defenders chase him all over the field. We had a good feeling Arizona would see massive improvement in the passing game with the arrivals of Jayden de Laura and wideouts Jacob Cowins and Tetairoa McMillan.

But who could’ve seen Michael Wiley turning to a beast in the running game down the stretch? Wiley had 97 yards and a score plus 6 receptions for 46 yards and a score, in Arizona’s Week 11 win at UCLA, then followed 2 weeks later with a career day of 214 yards and 3 touchdowns on 12 carries in a Territorial Cup win over Arizona State.

5. Kenny Dillingham, Oregon

Scoring: 3rd (39.67)
Total: 3rd (507.75)
Rushing: 3rd (216.25)
Passing: 4th (291.50)

You can argue Dillingham should be much higher on this list and you’d probably be right, but I take things into account like offensive talent, offensive line skill and experience and I put a heavy premium on rationality.

The Ducks lacked some of that later in the year, and that’s the reason they’re playing in the Holiday Bowl and not the Rose Bowl.

With an offensive line that ranked as arguably the best in the country, I actually expected more, if that’s fair. Sure, Bo Nix had one of the best career turnarounds since John Travolta, but Oregon still has to feel like it left something out there.

4. Andy Ludwig, Utah

Scoring: 5th (39.42)
Total: 5th (467.67)
Rushing: 2nd (220.0)
Passing: 10th (247.67)

The Utes’ running game was again in the top 3 in the Pac-12, despite the regression of lead back Tavion Thomas. The will-he-won’t-he that Thomas saddled Utah with this season clearly did not have a major impact on the team’s overall productivity. I’m curious to see if Micah Bernard is going to be the guy for the Utes heading into next year or if they’ll go hunting in the portal.

Achieving back-to-back Rose Bowl berths was quite the achievement for Cam Rising, who had moments of absolute excellence mixed with moments of downright poor play. In some big games, he was the best player on the field — 310 passing yards and 3 touchdowns in the Pac-12 title game, 415 yards and 2 scores in a midseason win over USC, 199 yards and 3 scores with no picks in a 42-16 win over an improved Oregon State squad. He might look back on his 3-pick performance at Oregon in a 20-17 loss and cringe, though.

3. Chip Kelly, UCLA

Scoring: 4th (39.58)
Total: 2nd (507.83)
Rushing: 1st (246.33)
Passing: 7th (261.50)

I’m overlooking a slight regression by Dorian Thompson-Robinson at the end of the season and rewarding the UCLA running game ranking tops in the conference and among the best in the country. I do wonder what would’ve happened if the Bruins picked up one or two more downfield threats. Jake Bobo alone didn’t cut it.

The Bruins probably didn’t score as much as their yardage would indicate, but Kelly has done wonders restoring the UCLA offense to its former glory. Now about that defense …

2. Ryan Grubb, Washington

Scoring: 2nd (40.75)
Total: 1st (521.67)
Rushing: 6th (145.0)
Passing: 1st (376.67)

If you would’ve seen the Huskies at Pac-12 media day, it almost felt like they knew a secret no one else knew about.

And in some ways, they did, having gotten a first-hand look at offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and Michael Penix Jr. Outside of Husky Stadium, Washington’s offensive excellence was a bigger surprise. Penix had a phenomenal year benefitting from a group of talented pass-catchers, and Grubb was indeed the architect of a quick-strike, downfield offense that maximized big play potential.

It’s fair to say that Washington could’ve used Wayne Taulapapa a little better, as he had just 126 carries for 779 yards on the season, an average of 6.2 yards per attempt.

1. Lincoln Riley, USC

Scoring: 1st (42.5 ppg)
Total: 4th (506.58)
Rushing: 5th (184.0)
Passing: 2nd (322.58)

Simply remarkable. The Trojans were in every single game they played — and won 11 of them — because of an offense that could threaten to score at just about any time they had the ball. Between Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, Travis Dye and a host of transfers, USC turned its program around in a year, led by an offense that led the league in scoring.

If Williams wins the Heisman Trophy this weekend, he’ll be the 3rd Riley protégé in 6 years to take home the trophy. That says something.