USC is predicted to be the Pac-12 winner this fall, while WSU was picked fifth out of six in the Pac-12 North (Photo: FILE / SWX)First the bad news: Washington State isn't picked to finish near the top of the Pac-12 this year. The good news: they're not predicted to finish last either!
The Pac-12 media poll was released Tuesday morning. Sports writers picked WSU to finish fifth in the North Division, just ahead of Oregon State. Oregon was picked to win the North, while USC was picked to win the South.
Writers also predicted USC will win the Pac-12 title, followed by Oregon and Arizona State.
Two teams received fewer points than the Cougars (228): Oregon State (205) and Colorado (164). None of the three teams received any first place votes.
The Pac-12 Championship game will be November 30, pitting the top team in the North against the top team in the South.
The media poll has correctly predicted the conference winner 11 out of the last 12 times.
Pac-12 Media Preseason Poll
Pac-12 North
1. Oregon (732)
2. Stanford (533)
3. Washington (502)
4. California (382)
5. Washington State (228)
6. Oregon State (205)
Pac-12 South
1. USC (729)
2. Utah (514)
3. UCLA (435)
4. Arizona (385)
5. Arizona State (353)
6. Colorado (164)
