Oregon edges USC as 2020 Pac-12 Football preseason media favorite
SAN FRANCISCO – OREGON has been chosen as the favorite to win the 2020 Pac-12 Conference Football Championship in a vote of 38 media members who cover the league. The defending Pac-12 FCG champion Ducks received 21 votes to earn the preseason nod, edging USC (15).
The Ducks were the heavy favorites to repeat as Pac-12 North Division champions, earning 35 first-place votes and 222 points to hold down the top spot. CALIFORNIA collected the remaining three first-place votes and 176 points as predicted runner-up in the division.
USC (220 points, 32 first-place votes) was the overwhelming selection to capture the South Division ahead of ARIZONA STATE (181, 2 first-place votes) and UTAH (168, 4 first-place votes).
The media has correctly selected the Conference Champion in 31 of 59 previous polls, including four times in the nine-year FCG era.
Following are the results of the preseason media poll (points 6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses):
| North Division | South Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| School | Points | School | Points |
| 1. Oregon (35) | 222 | 1. USC (32) | 220 |
| 2. California (3) | 176 | 2. Arizona State (2) | 181 |
| 3. Washington | 161 | 3. Utah (4) | 168 |
| 4. Stanford | 105 | 4. UCLA | 109 |
| 5. Oregon State | 76 | 5. Colorado | 63 |
| 6. Washington State | 58 | 6. Arizona | 57 |
PAC-12 FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME WINNER: Oregon (21 votes)
Others receiving votes: USC (15), Arizona State (1), Utah (1)
The 2020 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, presented by 76® and featuring the winners of the North and South Divisions, will take place Friday, Dec. 18 in a home-hosted format and will be telecast to a national audience on FOX.
A seven-game, Conference-only schedule will kick off on Saturday, Nov. 7 featuring the Pac-12’s first-ever BIG NOON SATURDAY game of the week pitting Arizona State and USC at 9 a.m. PT. Click here for the complete Pac-12 Football schedule.
All football competitions will be conducted in accordance with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee health and safety recommendations and guidelines, as previously announced on September 24 when the Pac-12 CEO Group voted to resume football, basketball, and winter sport seasons.
| Year | Media Poll Pick | Actual Finish | Rose Bowl / CFP / BCS Representatitve |
Predicted Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | UCLA | 1st | UCLA | 1st |
| 1962 | Washington | 2nd | USC | 2nd |
| 1963 | USC | 2nd | Washington | 2nd |
| 1964 | Washington | 3rd | Oregon State | 6th |
| 1965 | USC | 2nd | UCLA | 7th |
| 1966 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1967 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1968 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1969 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1970 | USC | 6th | Stanford | 2nd |
| 1971 | USC | 2nd | Stanford | 2nd |
| 1972 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1973 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1974 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1975 | USC | 5th | UCLA | 3rd |
| 1976 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1977 | USC | 2nd | Washington | 3rd |
| 1978 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1979 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1980 | USC | 3rd | Washington | 3rd |
| 1981 | USC | 2nd | Washington | 4th |
| 1982 | USC | 3rd | UCLA | 3rd |
| 1983 | Arizona | 5th | UCLA | 5th |
| 1984 | UCLA | 3rd | USC | 3rd |
| 1985 | USC | 4th | UCLA | 5th |
| 1986 | UCLA | 2nd | Arizona State | 4th |
| 1987 | UCLA | 2nd | USC | 4th |
| 1988 | UCLA | 2nd | USC | 2nd |
| 1989 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1990 | Washington | 1st | Washington | 1st |
| 1991 | Washington | 1st | Washington | 1st |
| 1992 | Washington | 1st | Washington | 1st |
| 1993 | Washington | 4th | UCLA | 6th |
| 1994 | Arizona | 2nd | Oregon | 8th |
| 1995 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 1996 | USC | 5th | Arizona State | 2nd |
| 1997 | Washington | 4th | Washington State | 7th |
| 1998 | UCLA | 1st | UCLA | 1st |
| 1999 | Arizona | 6th | Stanford | 8th |
| 2000 | Washington | 1st | Washington | 1st |
| 2001 | Oregon | 1st | Oregon | 1st |
| 2002 | Washington State | 1st | Washington State | 1st |
| 2003 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 2004 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 2005 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 2006 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 2007 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 2008 | USC | 1st | USC | 1st |
| 2009 | USC | 5th | Oregon | 3rd |
| 2010 | Oregon | 1st | Oregon | 1st |
| 2011 | Oregon (N) USC (S) |
1st not eligible |
Oregon (N)* UCLA (S FCG rep) |
1st 5th |
| 2012 | Oregon (N) USC (S) |
tie – 1st tie – 2nd |
Stanford (N)* UCLA (S) |
2nd 3rd |
| 2013 | Oregon (N) UCLA (S) |
tie – 1st tie – 2nd |
Stanford (N)* Arizona State (S) |
2nd 2nd |
| 2014 | Oregon (N) UCLA (S) |
1st tie – 2nd |
Oregon (N)* Arizona (S) |
1st 4th |
| 2015 | Oregon (N) USC (S) |
2nd 1st |
Stanford (N)* USC (S) |
2nd 1st |
| 2016 | Stanford (N) UCLA (S) |
3rd tie – 4th |
Washington (N)* Colorado (S) |
2nd 6th |
| 2017 | Washington (N) USC (S) |
2nd 1st |
Stanford USC* |
2nd 1st |
| 2018 | Washington (N) USC (S) |
tie – 1st tie – 3rd |
Washington* Utah |
1st 2nd |
| 2019 | Oregon (N) Utah (S) |
1st 1st |
Oregon* Utah |
1st 1st |
| Bold – Predicted FCG winner | * – BCS / CFP / Rose Bowl participant |
Training camp starts tomorrow! It would interesting to get a report on who is coming in shape and who is not. Hugs will tell us everyone is the fittest he’s ever seen them.
Yahoo Sports — Jets to start Joe Flacco at QB vs. Cardinals, Sam Darnold out with injury “The New York Jets are making a change in Week 5. Hold on, not so fast! Head coach Adam Gase isn’t going anywhere (yet). The Jets announced on Wednesday that backup quarterback Joe Flacco will start against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Starting QB Sam Darnold (week-to-week) will sit due to a shoulder injury. “Flacco, signed in the offseason, is serving as a backup quarterback for the first time. He was the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens for 11 seasons, but lost his job to Lamar Jackson in 2018 after he missed time with… Read more »
There is cheating going on! For instance, for ythe 2nd straight week the SEC commissioner has warned of penalties for Covid protocols being violated. If the SEC schools are doing it, don’t think for a minute the other conference’s schools are innocent. Cover ups, ignorance & denials are no doubt happening to keep players on the field, not informing of positive tests Even coaches are coming down with this virus and can’t deny that. Teams are stopping practices, games are still being postponed as well as the cover ups. And you think this is a healthy environment to keep the… Read more »
Yes, I think it’s a lot better for our football players and coaches than just sitting at home with their masks on.
I wonder how many players on the field these past weeks and/or will play this Saturday who have the virus and either don’t know it or are told to keep their mouth shut? You have to admit this is probably going on.
The SEC cheat? You can’t be serious. You mean Tua’s dad didn’t find that job in Tuskaloosa all by himself? And the ACC? That Clemson really did pay a certain QB’s dad for his son to go there? So they are fudging the # of players on each side of the line during practice beyond the covid limits. Who wouldn’t. These kids are not in bad physical danger from covid. Half of them never show any sign of it. Play the games. If you do not trust the testing that is not the teams, coaches, schools or ncaa’s fault. Look… Read more »
We are not seeing wide spread out breaks from team to team. If there was wide spread cheating that would be happening. For almost all these players, it’s a mild cold and they move on. Keep’em playin’.
The infection rate curve is flat. That’s what we wanted in the first place. The deaths are dropping, slowly, but dropping. Hospitals are not over run. We all know what to do to protect ourselves so lets get our lives back.
Jamaica- do you really think healthy kids this age are at risk? of what exactly. Sounds like you have bought into the Panic Porn the media loves to spin. These players are safer in a controlled environment anyway. If my son was playing Div.1 football, I would concerned about CTE, or leaving the field in a stretcher because he had no feelings below his neck. I would not be concerned about a disease that the impact on 18-22 year old people is insignificant. If you are afraid to be out in groups(malls, restaurants, events) then don’t go. Just don’t tell… Read more »
Super soph DL Drake Jackson is now officially an OLB at 6-4, 255 (down from 275). Notably aggressive, energetic Todd Orlando at work!
I can’t wait to see this new Trojan defense under Orlando. Maybe, finally, “a sleeping giant” will be awakened.
We could be awesome with the linebackers we have, the Drake, Gaoteote, Mauga should all be among the best.
Willie McGinest narrates this just released Trojan football video: “2020 — A year of challenge, hardship and unpredictability. Guardians of tradition…defenders of championships. We chose to adapt. We chose to overcome. Only hunger remains…”
A choppy mishmash of inspirational USC football clips, urgent, pounding music and some unique, awesome shots of the Coliseum.
Kedon Slovis — “You’re gonna be happy with the product on the field.”
Fight On!
Helton demonstrates his razor-sharp brilliance once again in analyzing USC’s margin of error this season.
LAT — “As USC coach Clay Helton put it, ‘One slip-up could cost you a championship.’”
I cannot remember Helton ever coming up with something profound or original. What comes from his mouth does at times make you do a double take though. Usually what comes out is already expected.
Watching last years Stanford game. If Slovis makes the jump that is expected, he will be best player in pac-12.
@Chris “In Graham Harrell I trust” to help launch Kedon Slovis forward. Clay Helton still loves to refer to himself as a “quarterback coach”. That significantly scares me, but with Harrell at the point, I can deal with Helton somewhere out there in the background.
Most people are afraid of snakes or spiders. But you Allen, I think is most afraid of CH. Pity the poor trick or treater who shows up at your house wearing a Clay Helton mask.
Helton’s one of the weaker coaches I have ever seen at USC. But I’m not afraid of him at all. I’m instead frustrated that USC has decided for the last few years that Gentleman Clay is the level of coach which USC deserves. After all these years of excellence. But I really like Mike Bohn. So if any trick-or-treaters come wearing a Bohn mask, I’m giving them 10 pieces of their favorite!
Full size snickers?
Clay Helton is like Yoko. He tries his best to ruin a great thing.
Great Analogy!
And didn’t the beatles have a really bad manager at the end that also divided the band? That could be foltie…
Someone’s gonna collapse: either Allen from the shock of the Helton spectre appearing at your doorstep; or the trick or treater will pass out from fright because of Allen’s blood-curdling scream being directed at the poor kid.
i just watched the football hype video USC put out under the words Tough. Disciplined. United. someone at USC needs to go back to school and understand messaging. the video is a slick video, but it doesnt communicate any of those 3 words. the only coach i recognized was clay, where were the new coaches that are bringing the new toughness? there was a whole lot of players celebrating and dancing around like rap dancers, but not alot of video that showed disciplined training. i know this is just a video, but if they really believe this video delivered a… Read more »
There are definitely some issues as you describe with this Trojan football video. But it’s still an improvement over the same type of things USC produced before all the new staff came in under Bohn. Progress, but certainly not as good as these productions could and should be.
Slovis has the ability to compete for the Heisman, but not this year, there won’t be enough exposure.
i want him to be one of the best players in the country, not just the Pac-12.
https://t.co/rRbEm8qXE8. Here is a story that I think most of you will find sad but interesting. The story is a reminder that the players we so enjoy watching and are entertained by are human beings and not just football players.
The long, scary decline of Scott Ross due to mental illness and alcoholism was just devastating to read about. Such a completely lost, tormented soul. He definitely gave the game his all, but to his full-scale tragic detriment. My heart goes out to his friends and family. He died at age 45 in 2014.
Amazing that 5 players are already gone. Can’t imagine the pain their families experienced and will continue to experience.
Really hard to read. My brother-in-law was a great high school athlete, who started for 4 years at a high level high school team in S.Cal in the early 1970’s. He really messed his shoulder up in football (he was also a great baseball player) and had to give up all sports post-high school. As a result, my wife forbade our sons from playing football, so they swam and played water polo (turns out that water polo also is dangerous and results in concussions, which we did not know at the time). We have two grandsons living in TX. Their… Read more »
CTE is real Fortunately there is an awareness of the dangers of contact sports and steps to minimize the risks are happening. I did not have a son, so My wife and I avoided the argument to play or not to play. I am sure I would have lost.
Wow–quite an article. I would never have given up my days playing HS football and I wondered if I would have made the team as a practice dummy at SC. My son played in HS and at a Southern Conference school in college and I am so glad he did–I think it helped him develop into a fine adult. I have a grandson now and I hope that he plays football also. There is just no other game like it. But I admit reading this article does give me pause. The head-first blocking and tackling techniques are practically outlawed now.… Read more »
It is always nice to see USC ranked high, but unfortunately no games have been played so we all know this is a scientific wild ass guess. Lets get a few games under our belts and then perhaps a poll will make more sense. The AP poll is a great example.
I think the Pac-12 Media writers got it right, however. Of course, absolutely nothing new here. Every single CFB pre-season mag that I got ahold of in early summer said exactly the same thing. What’s good for USC now is that ORE lost a lot more players who opted out of the season compared to USC. They’re breaking in a new QB too. We all know Mario Cristobal is a superior coach to Clay Helton. But USC could still easily win the Pac-12 — which is why USC came so close to actually being named #1. I think the Pac-12… Read more »
Without a doubt our D abs special teams will be better. Clancy and Baxter both had lost the room and were just mailing it in.
Allen, you already know how I feel about polls when nobody has seen the product. It is always fun to see, but so often they come out wrong, my example of the AP preseason poll just shows there are always the unknown surprises. But that is what makes it fun.
@Steveg I like the polls because USC is used to usually being ranked high, even very high. USC’s streaky like that lately, still — even with the disappointing Clay Helton coaching.
Experienced people either in the game, or covering it, put lots of thought and time into these things and for me, that’s an attractive reason to check them out.
Plus, I like seeing how USC, or other Pac-12 schools, are viewed by total non-Trojan leaning fans. Sometimes, it’s very insightful. Sometimes, not.
It’s Johnnie Morton’s birthday today. I’ll never forget his amazing in-the-corner TD catch (Morton’s Corner!) with 41 seconds left from a soon-to-be-on-his-back Todd Marinovich to beat UCLA and Tommy Maddox in 1992 in the Rose Bowl.
This was USC’s 100th team.