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By Mike Vorel
Seattle Times staff reporter
If Jimmy Lake and Co. are searching for motivation, look no further.
The Pac-12 Conference released its preseason media poll on Thursday — one day prior to the beginning of padded practices — and Lake’s Washington Huskies received 161 total points, ranking third in the Pac-12 North and sixth in the conference.
Oregon (222 points) and California (176 points) edged UW in the North, while USC (220 points) was the overwhelming favorite in the South. A total of five teams received first-place votes — Oregon (35), USC (32), Utah (4), Cal (3) and Arizona State (2).
Oregon (21 votes) was also unsurprisingly picked to win the Pac-12 championship game, topping USC (15), ASU (1) and Utah (1).
Under first-year head coach Nick Rolovich, Washington State garnered just 58 votes — ranking last in the Pac-12 North and 11th in the conference (one vote better than Arizona).
In Chris Petersen’s sixth and final season as UW’s head coach, the Huskies finished 8-5 overall but just 4-5 in the Pac-12 — ranking second in the North and tied for fourth in the conference. UW will open an abbreviated seven-game 2020 season against Cal on Nov. 7, with a new head coach (Lake), a new offensive coordinator (John Donovan) and a new starting quarterback.
The media has correctly predicted the Pac-12 conference champion in 31 of 59 previous polls. The Huskies are certainly hoping that trend won’t continue in 2020.
Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll
Pac-12 North
Team (first-place votes) | Total points
1. Oregon (35) | 222
2. California (3) | 176
3. Washington | 161
4. Stanford | 105
5. Oregon State | 76
6. Washington State | 58
Pac-12 South
Team (first-place votes) | Total points
1. USC (32) | 220
2. Arizona State (2) | 181
3. Utah (4) | 168
4. UCLA | 109
5. Colorado | 63
6. Arizona | 57
Mike Vorel: mvorel@seattletimes.com; on Twitter: @MikeVorel. Mike Vorel is the UW football beat writer for The Seattle Times.