July 27, 2006

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Three-time defending Pac-10 champion USC has been picked to win the 2006 Pacific-10 Conference football title in a preseason poll of West Coast media members who regularly cover the league. It marks the fourth consecutive year the Trojans have been the choice to win the title, but it differs from the last two years when USC was a unanimous pick to win the title. USC garnered 18 of 29 first-place votes in the poll, but CALIFORNIA, OREGON and ARIZONA STATE also received first-place support. USC has won the last three Pac-10 titles and has two National Championships and a national runner-up finish in the last three years. The Trojans fashioned a 12-1 mark last season, with the only loss coming in a classic battle against Texas in the BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl. The media poll has correctly selected the Conference Champion in 23 of 45 previous polls, including the last six years in a row. Following are the results of the preseason media poll (points 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses):

POLL NOTES: Preseason media poll has correctly picked the Conference champion 23 of 45 times and has been very accurate of late in correctly identifying the Conference champ the last six years in a row and six of the last seven. . . . While USC was a unanimous pick to win the Pac-10 the last two seasons, this year's poll with four team registering first-place votes is more typical. Prior to the last two years of unanimous support for the Trojans, at least four team received first-place votes in four of the previous five years. . . . USC topping the media poll for four straight years is the most for one institution since WASHINGTON was picked four straight years from 1990-93. The Huskies won the crown in three of those four years. . . . The rebuilding work of coach Mike Stoops at ARIZONA is being noted. Despite finishing no higher than eighth in the Conference standings the last five years, the media panel placed the Wildcats sixth in the poll. That is the highest UA has been picked in the poll since 1999, when the Cats were actually picked to win the league title coming off a 12-1 season in 1998.

PRESEASON PAC-10 FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL

Media Poll has correctly selected the Conference Champion 23 of 45 times, including the last six years in a row.