Alabama, Stanford, Oklahoma all picked to repeat as conference champions

Media preseason polls for the SEC, Pac-12 and Big 12 were released on Thursday without many surprises.

Each league’s reigning champion – Alabama of the SEC, Stanford of the Pac-12 and Oklahoma of the Big 12 – were all picked to repeat as the title-winners in their respective conferences.

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The selection of the defending national champion to win the SEC (and the Western Division) wasn’t much of a surprise. The Crimson Tide received 246 first-place votes in the West, more than tripling the total of second-place LSU, which garnered 76 votes. Others receiving first place votes in the West were third-place Ole Miss (5), fourth-place Texas A&M (3) and fifth-place Arkansas (yes, really), which received one vote. Auburn and Mississippi State were predicted to finish sixth and seventh in the West, respectively.

A team that has gotten plenty of hype after closing out the 2015 season with six straight wins is Tennessee, and that was reflected in the media’s voting. The Vols are the projected Eastern Division champions with 225 first-place votes. Florida (57) and Georgia (45) also received their fair share of first-place votes.

And in true ridiculous SEC fashion, Vanderbilt and South Carolina, teams that won a combined three conference games last season, each received two first-place votes.

Alabama is the overwhelming favorite to win it all with 223 championship votes, besting LSU (59), Tennessee (29), Georgia (7), Florida (5) and Ole Miss (4). Texas A&M, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Arkansas also all received a single vote each.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In the Pac-12, Stanford was chosen as the preseason favorite for the first time in the 56-year history of the league’s preseason poll. Of the 33 media members polled, the Cardinal received 20 votes to win it all. Stanford received 24 first-place votes in the North division, besting Washington (8) and Oregon (1). Rounding out the North standings were Washington State in fourth place, Cal in fifth place and Oregon State in sixth.

UCLA edged USC in the South division, with 19 first-place votes compared to 13 for the Trojans. Utah also received two first-place votes in the South to finish third. The rest of the division was rounded out with Arizona in fourth, Arizona State in fifth and Colorado in sixth.

Aside from Stanford’s 20 votes to win the Pac-12 title game, USC (5), Washington (4), UCLA (3) and Utah (1) also received votes.

Coming off a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance, Oklahoma is an overwhelming favorite to repeat as Big 12 champion. The Sooners received were voted atop the poll while receiving 24 of 26 first-place votes. TCU, picked to finish second, were the recipients of the other two first-place votes.

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Oklahoma State was picked to finish third in the league, with Baylor coming in fourth and Texas in fifth. The rest of the voting was rounded out with Texas Tech sixth, West Virginia seventh, Kansas State eighth, Iowa State ninth and Kansas in last.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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