USC picked to win Pac-12 in preseason media poll
USC received 25 of 36 first-place votes, besting Washington and Utah
USC is the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12, at least according to the conference’s media.
The Trojans, who return Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Caleb Williams, received 25 of 36 first-place votes in the annual poll of conference media members. The vote took place ahead of the Pac-12’s media day, which will be held Friday in Las Vegas.
Williams followed head coach Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma to USC ahead of the 2022 season and led the Trojans to the Pac-12 title game, only to fall to Utah. A win almost certainly would've sent USC to the College Football Playoff. Instead, Utah took advantage of a Williams injury and won its second straight conference championship.
With Williams back and some expected upgrades to what was an incredibly porous defense in 2022, USC has the looks of not only the Pac-12 favorite but also a possible CFP contender yet again before it defects to the Big Ten alongside UCLA in 2024.
USC picked ahead of Washington, Utah
Utah, despite being the two-time defending league champion, was picked third entering the 2023 season, just behind upstart Washington. Like USC, Washington had a major turnaround in its first season under a new head coach. The Huskies went 4-8 in 2021, but Kalen DeBoer coached them to an 11-2 record in 2022 with transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr. leading the way. Penix returns for another year at Washington, which has one of the top receiver groups in the country and a strong defensive front.
Utah, meanwhile, is expected to be extremely strong along both lines of scrimmage and returns veteran quarterback Cameron Rising. Rising is coming off a torn ACL suffered in the Rose Bowl, but he is expected to be available when the Utes open the season at home vs. Florida.
Washington (367) received slightly more points than Utah (359) in the media poll, but the Utes actually had a few more first-place votes — six compared to four for UW. The only other team to receive a first-place vote was Oregon, which placed fourth in the poll with 344 points and a single first-place vote.
Behind Oregon is in-state rival Oregon State in fifth and UCLA in sixth. There’s a considerable drop-off from there, with Washington State seventh, Arizona eighth and the final four spots occupied by Cal, Arizona State, Colorado and Stanford.
ASU, Colorado and Stanford all have new coaches this season, with the headliner being Deion Sanders at CU. Sanders, the Pro Football Hall of Famer, came to Colorado from Jackson State and executed a massive roster overhaul in the offseason.
Sanders and his staff undoubtedly increased the talent level in Boulder, but how will this brand-new team jel?
Full preseason Pac-12 media poll
USC (25) - 413
Washington (4) - 367
Utah (6) - 359
Oregon (1) - 344
Oregon State - 309
UCLA - 248
Washington State - 186
Arizona - 176
Cal - 132
Arizona State - 122
Colorado - 98
Stanford - 54
