Honestly, if you took a nap in 2023 and just woke up to look at a Saturday afternoon scoreboard, you'd think you were hallucinating. Stanford playing at Wake Forest? USC grinding out a November night game in the freezing rain of Piscataway? It’s wild. The landscape of college football teams in california has shifted so fast that even the die-hard fans are still checking their GPS to see where their rivals went.
The "Conference of Champions" is basically a ghost story now. We’re living in a world where the flight path for a Berkeley student-athlete looks more like a commercial pilot’s log than a bus ride to Palo Alto. It’s chaotic. It’s expensive. And somehow, it’s still the most entertaining mess in the country.
The Big Ten Migration: USC and UCLA’s New Reality
When the news first broke that USC and UCLA were ditching the Pac-12 for the Big Ten, people lost their minds. Now that we've seen it play out through the 2025 season, the reality is starting to sink in.
The Trojans are finding out that life in the Big Ten isn't just about flashy offenses. Lincoln Riley’s squad finished the 2025 regular season at 9-3, which sounds decent until you realize they got bullied at times by the physical, Midwest-style defenses that don't care about Los Angeles star power. They did manage to go undefeated at home in the Coliseum, but those cross-country flights are a different beast.
UCLA? Man, it’s been a rougher road for the Bruins. 3-9 in 2025. Ouch. They finished near the bottom of the Big Ten standings, and the gap between the top-tier programs and the Westwood crew felt wider than ever. The depth just isn't there yet. It turns out that when you swap out trips to Tucson for trips to State College, Pennsylvania, the "soft" label everyone puts on West Coast teams gets tested in a hurry.
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The Big Game is now an ACC Game?
Let that sink in. The Cal-Stanford rivalry, one of the oldest and most tradition-rich matchups in the sport, is now a conference game in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Cal is currently a program in total flux. Justin Wilcox was recently shown the door after the 2025 season ended with a thumping at the hands of Stanford. The Bears had some bright spots—freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for over 3,400 yards and is actually sticking around—but the administration decided "competitive but not elite" wasn't enough. They just hired Tosh Lupoi to bring some energy back to Strawberry Canyon. It’s a gamble. Lupoi is a legendary recruiter, but can he turn Cal into a program that can compete with Clemson or Florida State?
Stanford, meanwhile, is trying to find its soul under interim (and now permanent) leadership. They took back The Axe in 2025 with a 31-10 win, but a 4-7 record doesn't exactly scream "national powerhouse." The Cardinal are banking on their academic prestige to keep them afloat in a world where NIL money is king. Speaking of money, the travel costs for these two schools are astronomical. Imagine sending a volleyball team to Syracuse on a Tuesday. It’s a logistical nightmare that only exists because the alternative was athletic irrelevance.
The New-Look Pac-12 and the San Diego State Surge
While the "Power 4" teams are busy flying across time zones, something interesting is happening down south. College football teams in california aren't just limited to the big names you see on ESPN.
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San Diego State is effectively the new king of the "Old West." They became bowl eligible early in 2025 and even embarrassed Cal 34-0. The Aztecs are the flagship for the "new" Pac-12 that officially launches in July 2026.
- San Diego State: Joining the Pac-12 in 2026.
- Fresno State: Also moving to the Pac-12.
- San Jose State: Staying in the Mountain West (for now).
The Bulldogs in Fresno have always had one of the most underrated home-field advantages in the country. If you've never been to Valley Children's Stadium on a Saturday night, you're missing out. It’s loud, it’s mean, and the fans treat every game like it’s the Super Bowl. They’re joining San Diego State in the rebuilt Pac-12, along with Boise State and others. It’s basically the Mountain West with a more expensive logo, but for fans in the Central Valley, it feels like a promotion.
What Most People Get Wrong About Recruiting
There’s this myth that because the Pac-12 died, California talent is all fleeing to the SEC. It’s not that simple.
Yes, kids like Bryce Young and DJ Uiagalelei left years ago. But the 2025 recruiting cycle showed that plenty of kids still want to play in the sun. The difference is that now, those kids are being recruited by "national" brands that happen to be in their backyard. When a kid from the Trinity League (St. John Bosco, Mater Dei) signs with USC, he’s now signing with a Big Ten team.
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The NIL landscape in California is also weirdly fragmented. You’ve got the massive donor bases at USC and Stanford, but you also have Silicon Valley money that Cal is finally trying to tap into. Ron Rivera coming in as Cal’s GM was a massive signal that the school is tired of being the "nerdy" program that doesn't care about sports. They’re finally playing the game.
The San Jose State Problem
Spare a thought for San Jose State. While their rivals in San Diego and Fresno got the invite to the new Pac-12, the Spartans are currently looking at a Mountain West conference that’s adding teams like UTEP and Northern Illinois (for football).
The Spartans have been remarkably consistent lately, but the conference realignment carousel hasn't been kind to them. They’re in a precarious spot. If the "Group of Five" becomes even more stratified, a school in a high-cost area like San Jose might find it harder and harder to keep the lights on for a top-tier football program.
Actionable Insights for the California Fan
If you’re trying to keep up with college football teams in california this year, stop looking at the traditional conference standings. It’ll just confuse you.
- Watch the Quarterbacks: California is still a QB factory. Between Sagapolutele at Cal and the revolving door of stars at USC, the high-flying West Coast offense isn't dead; it just has different logos on the jerseys.
- Follow the GM Model: Cal and USC are treating their programs like NFL franchises. Watch how Ron Rivera (Cal) and the support staff at USC handle the transfer portal. That’s where games are won now, not just on the practice field.
- Plan for Weird Kickoff Times: If you’re a Cal or Stanford fan, get used to the 9:00 AM PT kickoffs for those East Coast road games. If you’re a USC fan, prepare for those late-night Big Ten "After Dark" matchups that used to be a Pac-12 staple.
- Check Out the New Pac-12: Don't sleep on San Diego State or Fresno State. By 2026, they will be the face of a "new" conference that will likely be the best of the rest outside the Big Two (SEC/Big Ten).
The "Golden Era" of the Pac-12 is gone. We aren't getting it back. But college football in California is currently in a "Wild West" phase that is actually pretty fascinating if you can get past the nostalgia. The talent is still here. The stadiums are still iconic. The only thing that's changed is the luggage tags.
Keep an eye on the 2026 transition for the Aztecs and Bulldogs—that's going to be the next major domino to fall in the West.