The Pac-12 is not resting on its laurels. With the conference’s rise in stature over the past few years, a commitment to scheduling more difficult nonconference games has followed. Granted, many were scheduled long ago, but over the next five years, the Pac-12 has lined up the most challenging collection of out-of-conference games among Power 5 conferences, according to a study from ESPN Stats & Information. USC, Stanford and UCLA lead the way, all having schedules that rank among the four toughest in the country (narrowly behind Texas).

Pac-12 Nonconference Schedule Ranking

The number associated with each team is the percentage of games an average FBS team would be expected to lose if it faced that schedule; the higher the number, the harder the schedule.

This comes even with a nine-game conference schedule which has proven to be very difficult to navigate -- no team has gone undefeated in conference play since Colorado and Utah joined in 2011.

Most of the scheduling seems appropriate for program strength; there are some exceptions, however. California, for example, is projected to have the 15th toughest schedule over the next five years despite struggling considerably over the past few seasons. The Golden Bears will play a home-and-home with Texas over the next two years and are scheduled to play a pair of Power 5 games in 2017 with a trip to North Carolina and a home game with Ole Miss.

Arizona has gone the other direction with the No. 46-ranked schedule. The Pac-12 South champions play UTSA, Nevada and Northern Arizona in 2015, and their most intriguing game over the next three seasons is against BYU at University of Phoenix Stadium in 2016. Not exactly appointment television but, then again, the Wildcats parlayed a similar schedule in 2014 to a division title and a Fiesta Bowl berth.

At No. 36, Oregon certainly doesn't have a schedule ranking that matches its prestige, but considering there are road trips to Michigan State and Nebraska on tap the next two seasons, we'll give the Ducks a pass. Washington, on the other hand, does not get a pass. The Huskies' next five seasons of nonconference games features just one Power 5 opponent (a home-and-home against Rutgers) and five FCS games to go along with Boise State, Utah State, Idaho, Fresno State, Nevada, Hawaii and two games against BYU.

Marquee teams which appear on Pac-12 schedules in the next three years include Texas A&M (Arizona State, UCLA), Texas (Cal, USC), Michigan (Utah, Colorado, Oregon State), Michigan State (Oregon), Nebraska (Oregon), Notre Dame (Stanford, USC) and Alabama (USC).