LOS ANGELES -- Media members who cover Pac-12 Conference football are predicting another difficult season for the two Arizona schools -- with Arizona State picked fifth of sixth teams in the Pac-12 South and Arizona picked to finish in the basement.
That mirrors their finish from 2016, when ASU went 5-7 and Arizona was 3-9. Neither team received a first-place vote in the Pac-12 South.
USC was chosen as the favorite to emerge as Pac-12 champions, receiving 28 votes to 22 for Washington. Oregon and Utah received one vote apiece.
There was a lot of consensus among the media, at least at the top of the division standings. Washington earned 49 of 52 votes to win the Pac-12 North, and USC received 49 of 52 votes to win the Pac-12 South.
The media has correctly selected the Conference Champion in 29 of 56 previous polls, but only twice in the last 10 polls.
Following are the results of the preseason media poll (points 6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses):
PAC-12 TITLE GAME CHAMPION: USC (28 votes). Others receiving votes: Washington (22), Oregon (1), Utah (1)
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