Pac-12 football media picks Oregon over USC to win conference

Pac-12 football looks to be decided between Oregon football and USC football.

The Pac-12 football media thinks Oregon football wins the conference over USC football in 2020.

38 members of the Pac-12 media voted on how they thought its 2020 season would shake out. It doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as the Oregon Ducks are projected to win the Pac-12 North and defeat the USC Trojans out of the Pac-12 South to win their conference and maybe push for a College Football Playoff spot. Here is how the voting went down, but did the media get this right?

Here is how the Pac-12 football media thinks all 12 teams will finish.

Pac-12 North standings projection

• 1. Oregon Ducks (35) – 222
• 2. California Golden Bears (3) – 176
• 3. Washington Huskies – 161
• 4. Stanford Cardinal – 105
• 5. Oregon State Beavers – 76
• 6. Washington State Cougars – 58

Pac-12 South standings projection

• 1. USC Trojans (32) – 220
• 2. Arizona State Sun Devils (2) – 181
• 3. Utah Utes (4) – 168
• 4. UCLA Bruins – 109
• 5. Colorado Buffaloes – 63
• 6. Arizona Wildcats – 57

Parentheses indicate number of first-place votes.

Overall, it’s pretty clear the Pac-12 media likes Oregon and USC to win their respective divisions, as the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 is vast. However, it is interesting that teams like the Arizona State Sun Devils, the California Golden Bears and the Ute Utes all received first-place votes. While Arizona State and Utah were known to be challengers to USC, look at Cal being No. 2 to Oregon.

A first-place vote netted a team six points, a second-place vote got them five points, a third-place vote is worth four points, a fourth-place vote gets a team three points, a fifth-place vote merits two points and a sixth-place vote lands a team one point. Bottom-feeders like the Arizona Wildcats and the Washington State Cougars weren’t picked to finish last by all the voters.

Projected Pac-12 Championship game winner

• 1. Oregon Ducks (21)
• 2. USC Trojans (15)
• T3. Arizona State Sun Devils (1)
• T4. Utah Utes (1)

Though Oregon is projected to win the Pac-12 over USC, it is interesting that only six title-bout votes separate the two contending teams. Because the Pac-12 Championship game will be hosted by the higher seeded team, that may be a reflection of the relative nearness. If this were being played in Las Vegas as it will be from 2021 on, the voters may have sided more with Oregon.

Overall, it looks like we’re going to be getting a pretty competitive Pac-12 season, albeit a condensed one. Three of the four perceived best teams play in the Pac-12 South in Arizona State, USC and Utah, while Oregon seems to have a sizable gap on the next best team in the Pac-12 North in Cal. Whoever wins the Pac-12 needs to do so and go undefeated to make the playoff.

Will it be Oregon vs. USC in a Pac-12 Championship game in Autzen of will it be something else?

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