Two years after the Pac-12 collapsed, its stars are still defining football

The Pac-12 may no longer exist in the way we all remember it, but its imprints are still all over college and professional football. On Saturday, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza was named the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner. He is now favored to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Mendoza has led the Hoosiers to a 13-0 campaign and a No. 1 ranking this season, but he began his college career with three seasons at California. The 22-year-old has joined a long line of Pac-12 players from the 2023 season who have gone on to shine at other schools or in the NFL.

Two years ago, the Pac-12 played its final season in its current form, ending a 108-year run. That campaign featured many sad conclusions and the appreciation of conference eccentricities, like “Pac-12 After Dark,” but the talent featured will undoubtedly be its lasting memory. Three Heisman winners and three finalists played for Pac-12 programs in 2023. Aside from Mendoza, all are now NFL starters.

Caleb Williams was a junior at USC in 2023, defending his 2022 Heisman crown. He became the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he’s led the Chicago Bears to a 10-4 record so far this season.

Cam Ward was a junior quarterback at Washington State. He transferred to Miami for his senior season and was a Heisman finalist before the Tennessee Titans selected him No. 1  in 2025. He is now starting as a rookie.

Michael Penix Jr. was a Heisman finalist in 2023, leading Washington to a Pac-12 championship and national title game appearance. He was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons this fall, before a torn ACL ended his season.

Fellow Heisman finalist Bo Nix lost to Penix in a thrilling Pac-12 championship game 34-31 while playing for Oregon, which was a de facto CFP play-in game. Nix has now led the Denver Broncos to a 12-2 start and the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Travis Hunter was a productive sophomore in 2023 at Colorado before taking the next step and winning the Heisman in 2024 as a two-way player. The Jacksonville Jaguars selected Hunter No. 1 in the 2025 NFL Draft. Hunter’s college quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, was not a Heisman finalist in 2023 or 2024 but thrived with the Buffaloes and is the Cleveland Browns’ starting QB.

Between 2022 and 2025, all four Heisman winners were current or former Pac-12 players. Jayden Daniels, the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner, won the award at LSU but began his collegiate career at Pac-12 member Arizona State from 2019-2021.

It’s hard to believe all that top-tier talent in the Conference of Champions didn’t lead to more dominant teams. Only Penix’s Washington and Nix’s Oregon had double-digit wins that season.

The Williams-led Trojans finished 8-5, including a 5-4 mark in conference. Ward’s Cougars were just 5-7, winning only two conference games. One of their victories came against Mendoza and Cal, who were 6-7. Ward threw for 354 yards in that game on 59 pass attempts. Mendoza threw for just 150 yards. At Colorado, Hunter and Sanders went 4-8, with a 1-8 mark in Pac-12 play.

While it technically existed in the last two seasons with Oregon State and Washington State as its sole members, the Pac-12 is set to relaunch in 2026 in a new form. Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State and Texas State will all join its ranks.

The Pac-12 fell apart largely due to its financial inability to compete with other power conferences. Just two years later, it appears the conference wasn’t so far behind after all. The success of its former players invites a solemn question: what could have been if the Pac-12 had been kept alive?