The Pac-12 preseason media poll dropped Thursday ahead of the conference's annual media day in Las Vegas. USC dominated the list with 25 first-place votes, and Utah football came in at third in the rankings. Despite the Utes beating the Trojans twice last season, Pac-12 media members are rocking with Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley.

Utah received more first-place votes (6) than Washington (4), but the Huskies received eight more total points than the Utes to come in second. The Oregon Ducks also received one first-place vote and ranked fourth.

Were the Utes snubbed?

Utah football fans have every right to feel like the Utes should be on the top of this poll. They won the last two Pac-12 championships and manhandled USC in last year's championship game to eliminate the Trojans from a CFP berth.

The only concern for Utah is they lost arguably their best player in Dalton Kincaid to the draft. Clark Phillips III, Utah's top corner and the 2022 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, also went to the pros.

Quarterback Cameron Rising is back for another year, but he has weaker weapons to work with and is — at best — the fifth best quarterback in the Pac-12. USC's Caleb Williams, Washington's Michael Penix Jr., Oregon's Bo Nix and Oregon State's D.J. Uiagalelei are all better. Arizona's Jayden de Laura and Colorado's Shedeur Sanders have their cases, and time will tell if UCLA's freshman 5-star Dante Moore can ball too.

The Utes play a different brand of football than the rest of the Pac-12. They recruit size to win the line of scrimmage and wear defenses down with jumbo sets. Utah is by far the most physical team in this conference, and Kyle Whittingham prepares them extremely well each week.

The rest of the Pac-12 is about speed, finesse and the air raid. Defense is secondary, and most Pac-12 matchups turn into shootouts. USC and Washington are prime examples of this style. If Utah is going to win the Pac-12 for a third straight year, it's going to be with that old-school style again. Defense and run-game.

Who are the other real contenders in the Pac-12?

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The Pac-12 is pretty evenly split between the teams that could reasonably win the conference and ones that won't contend.

USC, Washington, and Utah football are the elite members of this conference, all finishing in the top 13 of last year's final CFP Rankings. Washington led the group at No. 8, following their Alamo Bowl win over Texas.

Oregon, Oregon State, and UCLA are all very good teams that can play toe-to-toe with the top-3 Pac-12 teams. They will likely be ranked throughout much of the 2023 season.

The bottom half of the conference isn't terrible, but even Washington State and Arizona are a cut below these other teams.

The sleeper in the Pac-12 is Oregon State, who finished 10-3 in 2022. The Beavers were a really tough team to beat last year, and that was with sub-par quarterback play. Oregon State's defense will again be very physical and very stingy.

The big difference will be the addition of Clemson transfer D.J. Uiagalelei, the N0. 2 prospect in the 2020 class. Uiagalelei didn't pan out perfectly, but a fresh start and a conference of weaker defenses suggest he could have a late-college career revival.

Washington also projects to be a very good football team in 2023. QB Michael Penix Jr. is entering his sixth college football season, and second as a Husky. He had a breakout season a year ago with 4641 passing yards and 35 total touchdowns. Washington's receiver room also complements Penix well. Between Jalen McMillan and Rome Odunze, only Ohio State definitively has better top-end talent on the outside.

However, USC has a strong argument behind its 25 first-place votes. The Trojans have the best player in the country in Caleb Williams, the best coach in the conference in Lincoln Riley, and the most talented roster. Despite losing several key contributors like Jordan Addison, Travis Dye and Mekhi Blackmon, Riley has no problem replacing their production.

Transfer WR Dorian Singer was second in the Pac-12 in receiving at Arizona last year and will seamlessly replace Addison. Former 5-star Domani Jackson will replace Blackmon at cornerback. USC returns four starters on the offensive line and only brought in more speed offensively with guys like Zachariah Branch.

The Utes are the defending champs, but USC is the team to beat in the Pac-12.