Washington enters the 2018 season as a trendy College Football Playoff pick. Odds are, the Huskies would have to win the Pac-12 to have a legitimate shot at making college football's final four for the second time in three seasons.
And, indeed, that's what the media projects.
Washington received 40 first-place votes to win the conference's North division with Wednesday's release of the preseason Pac-12 media poll. Stanford, which returns Heisman Trophy candidate Bryce Love at running back, and Oregon were the only other teams to receive a first-place vote from the North.
Meanwhile, USC received 22 first-place votes and is projected to win the Pac-12 South. Utah is second with 14 first-place votes with Arizona, UCLA and Colorado each receiving at least one first-place vote. Arizona State, under first-year coach Herm Edwards, is projected to finish last in the South division.
Additionally, Washington is the overwhelming favorite to win the Pac-12 Championship Game with 37 votes. USC received two votes with Oregon, Stanford and UCLA each receiving one.
Here's how the entire Pac-12 preseason media poll looks:
Pac-12 North
- Washington (40)
- Stanford (1)
- Oregon (1)
- Cal
- Washington State
- Oregon State
Pac-12 South
- USC (22)
- Utah (14)
- Arizona (3)
- UCLA (2)
- Colorado (1)
- Arizona State
Pac-12 champion: Washington (37), USC (2), Oregon (1), Stanford (1), UCLA (1)
With expectations so high, it's no surprise the Huskies are the overwhelming favorite to win the conference title. For what it's worth, however, the media has correctly picked the eventual champion only once -- USC last year -- in the past three years.
