Utes picked to finish 3rd in Pac-12 South in shortened season

We kind of, sort of, had a media day on Wednesday for the Pac-12, as we are now about a month away from the season kicking off, at least, we hope will kick off. Along with the coaches speaking to the media, the media released their picks for the six/seven game conference only schedule.

Here’s how it breaks down:

Pac-12 South:

USC
ASU
Utah
UCLA
Colorado
Arizona

Pac-12 North:

Oregon
Cal
Washington
Stanford
Oregon State
Washington State

With USC and Oregon picked to win each division and meet in the title game, the Ducks were picked to win the conference. I’m a bit skeptical on the Ducks, and they have to replace so much on offense, including the offensive line and Justin Herbert. Also, they have had a lot of players opt out of the season to get ready for the NFL Draft. They will have a lot of talent, but there may be some growing pains, and I’m thinking they are almost the favorites by default. I think I may lean to USC over Oregon in that matchup.

As for the Utes, third feels about right, but I think I may have put them No. 2 behind USC. I get the love for Jayden Daniels, but their offensive line was awful last year, and they lost most of their weapons for Daniels to give the ball to, so we need to see more on offense. Utah will be solid on offense, at minimum, due to a returning offensive line, a talented running back and wide out group, as well as what should be a solid QB with either Jake Bentley or Cam Rising.

How do you feel about the media poll?