The Cardinal, who were picked to win the North, received 24 first-place votes. Washington was picked as runner-up in the North and received eight first-place votes. 

MORE: Top 16 teams since 2000 | SN Preseason Top 25

UCLA was picked to win the South with 19 votes and received three votes to win the championship game. USC came in second with 12 first-place votes but received more votes (5) to win the championship game. 

The “media poll has correctly selected the conference champion in 29 of 55 previous polls, " according to the league’s media release. Interestingly, USC had the second-most votes to win the championship despite being picked to finish second in the South. 

The media’s preseason poll results (first place votes in parentheses):

North

1. Stanford (24)

  1. Washington (8)

  2. Oregon (1)

  3. Washington State

  4. California

  5. Oregon State

South

  1. UCLA (19)

  2. USC (12)

  3. Utah (2)

  4. Arizona

  5. Arizona State

  6. Colorado

Pac-12 title game champion results

Stanford 20

USC 5

Washington 4

UCLA 3

Utah 1