Pac-12 has been worst league against the spread in non-conference games past 3 seasons

Over the past three college football seasons, the Pac-12 has been very good against non-conference opposition straight up with an 84-48 record. However, the league is just 54-73-5 against the spread in those games. That's the worst cover percentage (42.5) in the nation by any league in non-conference action in that span.

All Pac-12 teams play three regular-season non-conference games per season and then potentially a bowl. Last year, the Pac-12 had some really bad losses: Hawaii beat both Arizona and Oregon State, BYU beat USC, Stanford was blown out at UCF, UCLA fell at home to San Diego State, and Colorado lost at home to Air Force.

Defending league champion Oregon – the +240 favorite to repeat in the Pac-12 -- plays one of the marquee non-conference games of the entire 2020 season (assuming there is one) as the Ducks host Ohio State on Sept. 12. The Buckeyes are going to be preseason Top 5 in the polls and are +400 second-favorites on the moneyline odds at William Hill sportsbook to win the national title.

Early projections have Oregon as a 7-point underdog for that one. The Ducks of course lost star quarterback Justin Herbert as the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, while the Buckeyes return their star signal-caller in Justin Fields, the Heisman Trophy betting favorite. Oregon hasn't been at least a 7-point home underdog since Oct. 8, 2016, against Washington.

Southern Cal, the +250 second-favorite to win the Pac-12, also has a chance to make noise on the national stage early on as the Trojans take on Alabama in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 5. The Tide simply don't lose neutral-site season openers under Nick Saban (10-0) and usually blow the opponent out (average margin of victory more than 25.0 ppg).

Other big non-conference games on the 2020 slate for Pac-12 schools: Oregon State at Oklahoma State (Sept. 3), Washington vs. Michigan (Sept. 5) and Colorado at Texas A&M (Sept. 19). Of course, USC and Stanford both play Notre Dame out of conference every year. 

The second-worst league in non-conference action the past three seasons has been the Mid-American, which is a combined 71-84-6 (45.8 percent) in those games.

WHAT 2020 FANTASY FOOTBALL SLEEPER SHOULD YOU SNATCH IN YOUR DRAFT? AND WHICH WR1 CANDIDATE CAN YOU WAIT ON UNTIL LATE? JOIN SPORTSLINE NOW TO GET 2020 FANTASY FOOTBALL CHEAT SHEETS FROM THE MODEL THAT WAS ALL OVER DERRICK HENRY'S HUGE SEASON, AND FIND OUT.