Arizona picked to finish 3rd in Pac-12 South in preseason media poll

The Pac-12 preseason media poll was released Wednesday, and the Arizona Wildcats have been picked to finish third in the Pac-12 South.

USC is projected to win the division, while Utah was picked to finish second. It is expected to be a close race, though.

USC garnered 22 first-place votes, Utah received 14, Arizona got 3, UCLA had 2, and even Colorado had 1. ASU was picked to finish last in the South. It received zero first-place votes.

There is a clear-cut favorite in the North, and it’s Washington, which received 40 of 42 first-place votes. The Huskies are also the overwhelming favorite to win the conference championship game, receiving 37 of 42 possible votes.

Stanford was picked to finish second in that division and Oregon was picked to finish third. Both schools received one first-place vote.

Arizona does not have to play Washington or Stanford in the regular season this year, which should help its chances of winning the South.

Here is the full preseason media poll:

The media has only chosen the conference championship correctly 30 times in the previous 57 polls, and only three times in the last 11 polls.