Southern California picked to win Pac-12, beating out Oregon in preseason

A total of six Pac-12 schools, including four from the South Division, were ranked. Expect some good football games out of the west coast this season. They were picked to finish fifth in the South Division, behind (in projected order of finish) USC, Arizona State, UCLA, Arizona and ahead of Colorado. Two of those were in the final seconds of the game against Arizona State and Utah.

The poll’s released kicked off Pac-12 Media Days, which take place today and Friday at Warner Bros. “It is one of the toughest divisions in the country to play in”. Preseason Pac-12 media polls!

Among the Pac-12’s player safety reforms are the addition of spotters to identify concussions at games and a yearly $3.5 million spent researching head injuries, mental illnesses and other apparent side effects of playing a high-impact sport.

And while the Sun Devils are set on their offensive leader, they also return a strong group on defense, anchored by a trio of linebackers that combined for 249 tackles and 27 tackles for loss last season.

“You know everybody is going to be better than they were a year ago”, said Stanford coach David Shaw, who has quarterback Kevin Hogan back for another year. That same season, Oregon went on to win their second straight BCS game, defeating Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. “I had great kids at Wisconsin, but any time I’m in a position to compromise what I believe in coaching, that’s hard for me to be in the middle of it”. “It’s going to be an insane year in our conference with the teams we have and the players we have”. Despite the poor results, the Buffaloes are hoping to turn the corner by returning its top passer, rusher and receiver this year, along with nine defensive starters.