July 28, 2004

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - -

Oregon State was picked to finish fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference preseason football media poll released Wednesday.

The Beavers received 138 points on a scale of 10 for a first-place vote, nine for second, and so on.

Defending conference and Associated Press national champion USC was a unanimous pick to defend its league title, garnering all 24 first-place votes for the first time since the poll's inception in 1978.

OSU tied for fifth in last year's final conference standings with a 4-4 mark and finished 8-5 overall.

The voting panel consists of 24 West Coast media members who regularly cover the league. The poll has correctly predicted the conference champion each of the last four years and 21 of 43 seasons overall.

Here's a look at the poll (first-place votes):
1. USC (24)		240 pts.
2. California 		210
3. Oregon		192
4. Oregon State 	138
5. Washington State	133
6. Arizona State	131
7. Washington		100
8. UCLA 		98
9. Stanford		40
10. Arizona		38