Pac-12 Media Days begin today, and kicking things off is the 2016 Pac-12 media poll. For the first time in the 56-year history of the preseason poll, Stanford was picked to win conference. The UCLA Bruins were picked as the Pac-12 South Division champion.
Oregon was not picked as a favorite to win the conference, or even the North division, this year. The Ducks came in third in the North behind Stanford and Washington. It seems like every year, people hop on the Washington preseason bandwagon, but this year’s bandwagon seems to be a little more crowded than ones in years past.
The Cardinal received 24 out of a possible 33 first place votes. Washington received eight votes while the Ducks received one.
In the South division, UCLA received 19 first place votes, USC got 12 votes and Utah had two votes.
20 of the 33 writers polled picked Stanford to win the Pac-12 Championship Game, which will be held Friday, December 2 at 6 p.m. PT at Levi’s Stadium. Other schools receiving votes to win the title game were USC (5), Washington (4), UCLA (3) and Utah (1).
You can see the full media poll here.