Utah Football Picked To Finish Third In 2020 Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll

Oct 7, 2020, 9:07 AM | Updated: 9:53 am

Utah Utes mascot Swoop and the team run onto the field before the start of an college football game against the San Jose State Spartans on September 16, 2017 at Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

BY TREVOR ALLEN, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The University of Utah football team is predicted to finish third in the south division in the 2020 Pac-12 preseason media poll.

The Utes received four first place votes, the second most in the division. USC was picked to win the division and Oregon was picked to win the entire conference.

Last season, Utah was picked to win the Pac-12 Championship. They went 11-3 and lost to Oregon in the title game in Santa Clara, California.

BREAKING: @Utah_Football picked to finish third in the Pac-12 south preseason media poll.#GoUtes #Pac12FB pic.twitter.com/EVrP0FO1JR

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 7, 2020

Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll

North Division

1. Oregon (35)

2. California (3)

3. Washington

4. Stanford

5. Oregon State

6. Washington State

South Division

1. USC (32)

2. Arizona State (2)

3. Utah (4)

4. UCLA

5. Colorado

6. Arizona

Utah’s Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll History

The Utes will enter their 10th season in the Pac-12. They have been picked to finish third twice now. The other time was in 2016 when they went 9-4 and ended in third place in the division.

Here is Utah’s Pac-12 Preseason Media Poll history:

2014: Picked to finish 5th in the south – Finished 9-4, 5th in the division
2015: Picked to finish 5th in the south – Finished 10-3, tied for first in division (lost tiebreaker to USC)
2016: Picked to finish 3rd in the south – Finished 9-4, 3rd in the division
2017: Picked to finish 2nd in the south – Finished 7-6, 5th in division
2018: Picked to finish 2nd in the south – Finished 9-5, 1st in division
2019: Picked to win Pac-12 Conference – Finished 11-3, 1st in division

*2011, 2012 and 2013 seasons did not show the preseason media polls.

Utah will open the 2020 season on Saturday, November 7 against Arizona at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.