Oregon tabbed to win Pac-12 title in preseason media poll
CULVER CITY, Calif. - OREGON is the favorite to win the 2013 Pac-12 Conference football title in a preseason poll of media members who cover the league. The Ducks were listed in the top spot in the North Division by 15 of the 26 voters participating in the poll, collecting 145 points. Fourteen of those pollsters tabbed the Ducks to come out on top in the Pac-12 Championship Game. STANFORD was picked to finish second in the North Division, collecting 11 first-place votes in the balloting for the division race.
UCLA was picked to win the South Division, garnering 135 points and 12 first-place votes, while ARIZONA STATE, which tallied 10 first-place votes, and collected 130 points, was pegged a close second in this year’s poll. USC was predicted by the voters to finish third in the South Division, claiming the remaining four first place votes.
The media poll has correctly selected the Conference Champion in 28 of 52 previous polls, including 11 of the last 13. Following are the results of the preseason media poll (points 6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses):
NORTH DIVISION
1. Oregon (15)............... 145
2. Stanford (11)............. 139
3. Oregon State............... 95
4. Washington................. 84
5. California..................... 47
6. Washington State......... 33
SOUTH DIVISION
1. UCLA (12)................. 135
2. Arizona State (10)...... 130
3. USC (4)..................... 117
4. Arizona ....................... 76
5. Utah........................... 60
6. Colorado...................... 28
PAC-12 TITLE GAME CHAMPION: Oregon (14 votes)
Others receiving votes: Stanford (8), UCLA (3)
The 2013 Pac-12 Championship Football Game will take place Saturday, December 7 at 4:45 p.m. or 5 p.m. PT and telecast to a national audience on ESPN or ABC. The Championship game will match the winner of the North Division vs. the winner of the South Division. The game will be played on the campus of the division winner with the best overall conference record. The winner of the Pac-12 Championship will earn the league’s automatic BCS berth.
POLL NOTES: Preseason media poll has correctly picked the Conference champion 28 of 52 times and has been very accurate of late, correctly identifying the Conference champion in 11 of the last 13 years … Oregon is picked to win the league for the third time in four years, and fourth overall (2001, 2010, 2011, 2013). The prognosticators were correct the first three times they slotted the Ducks first.
PRESEASON PAC-12 FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL
Year Media Poll Pick Actual Finish
1961 UCLA 1st
1962 Washington 2nd
1963 USC 2nd
1964 Washington 3rd
1965 USC 2nd
1966 USC 1st
1967 USC 1st
1968 USC 1st
1969 USC 1st
1970 USC 6th
1971 USC 2nd
1972 USC 1st
1973 USC 1st
1974 USC 1st
1975 USC 5th
1976 USC 1st
1977 USC 2nd
1978 USC 1st
1979 USC 1st
1980 USC 3rd
1981 USC 2nd
1982 USC 3rd
1983 Arizona 5th
1984 UCLA 3rd
1985 USC 4th
1986 UCLA 2nd
1987 UCLA 2nd
1988 UCLA 2nd
1989 USC 1st
1990 Washington 1st
1991 Washington 1st
1992 Washington 1st
1993 Washington 4th
1994 Arizona 2nd
1995 USC 1st
1996 USC 5th
1997 Washington 4th
1998 UCLA 1st
1999 Arizona 6th
2000 Washington 1st
2001 Oregon 1st
2002 Washington State 1st
2003 USC 1st
2004 USC 1st
2005 USC 1st
2006 USC 1st
2007 USC 1st
2008 USC 1st
2009 USC 5th
2010 Oregon 1st
2011 Oregon 1st
2012 USC T2nd/S
2013 Oregon ?
Rose Bowl/BCS Predicted
Representative Finish
UCLA 1st
USC 2nd
Washington 2nd
Oregon State 6th
UCLA 7th
USC 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
Stanford 2nd
Stanford 2nd
USC 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
UCLA 3rd
USC 1st
Washington 3rd
USC 1st
USC 1st
Washington 3rd
Washington 4th
UCLA 3rd
UCLA 5th
USC 3rd
UCLA 5th
Arizona State 4th
USC 4th
USC 2nd
USC 1st
Washington 1st
Washington 1st
Washington 1st
UCLA 6th
Oregon 8th
USC 1st
Arizona State 2nd
Washington State 7th
UCLA 1st
Stanford 8th
Washington 1st
Oregon 1st
Washington State 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
USC 1st
Oregon 3rd
Oregon 1st
Oregon 1st
Stanford 2nd/N