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Pac-12 Media Day: UCLA Football Picked to Win the South Division

By Mike Regalado

Nov 28, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Nate Starks (23) runs with the ball against the Southern California Trojans during the game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 28, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Nate Starks (23) runs with the ball against the Southern California Trojans during the game at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UCLA Football team was picked to win the Pac-12 South Division by members of the media prior to Pac-12 Media Day. Stanford was picked to win the North and the Conference.

The unofficial start to the college football season has started as Pac-12 Media has begun. With that, just like every year, the two-day event gets started with the media’s picks to win the divisions and conference and that looks good for the UCLA Football program.

Related Story: Go Joe Bruin Predicts the Pac-12

The Bruins were chosen to win the South Division in the preseason poll with 180 points and 19 first-place points. The first-place points were second only to Stanford who received 24 first-place points and 186 total. With those results, the media has selected the Cardinal to win the conference and their division.

Here is what the voting and standings look like:

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South Division

  1. UCLA (19) – 180
  2. USC (12) – 173
  3. Utah (2) – 127
  4. Arizona – 87
  5. Arizona State – 85
  6. Colorado – 63

North Division

  1. Stanford (24) – 186
  2. Washington (8) – 163
  3. Oregon (1) – 132
  4. Washington State – 112
  5. California – 67
  6. Oregon State – 33

This year, UCLA barely tops USC for the #1 spot in the South, but equally almost matches Stanford for the top spot in the conference. It is understandable why UCLA would not overcome Stanford, seeing as they have not defeated the Cardinal in eight tries, which makes the conference opener between the two teams on Saturday, September 4 at the Rose Bowl one of the most important games for either team.

As for the rest of the conference, Utah comes in third in the South, once again unable to climb past UCLA and USC. Arizona and Arizona State, which have both been very competitive in recent years, has been given an underwhelming set of points and as expected, Colorado comes in last in the division, but not in the conference.

Oregon State takes that honor as they only managed to collect 33 points for the bottom spot in the North. The somewhat surprising pick was Washington over Oregon for the #2 spot in the north. With Washington’s rise under Chris Petersen, this could be the first time a non-Stanford/Oregon team wins the North Division since the inception of the division split.

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Though they impressed last season, this year, Washington State is still seen as an underachiever at the #4 spot while Cal takes fifth.