Oregon, Clemson picked to win conference football titles

The Oregon Ducks, after winning their second straight Pac-12 championship in unprecedented fashion in 2020, have been named the pre-season favorite to win a third consecutive title in 2021, in voting conducted by media members covering the league on Tuesday morning.  Pac-12 media days are being held this week in Los Angeles.

Oregon received 27 of 40 first-place votes, with runner-up Southern California receiving 10 votes, and the University of Utah Utes picking up the remaining three.

Last season, Oregon finished second in the Pac-12 North Division to the University of Washington, but a COVID-19 outbreak prevented the Huskies from playing USC in the conference’s title game.  Oregon replaced Washington, and upset the Trojans 31-24.

In the North Division race for this fall, Oregon outpaced Washington, their bitter rival to the north, with 38 votes to win the division, compared to only two for UW.  Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washington State rounded out voting in the north.

USC was picked as the favorite in the Pac-12 South, as the Trojans picked up 27 first-place votes.  Utah and Arizona State both garnered six first-place tallies, but in overall points, the Utes edged the Sun Devils for the second position in the poll.  Chip Kelly’s UCLA Bruins are fourth, with one first-place vote, followed by Colorado and Arizona.

In the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) preseason voting at media days in Greensboro, North Carolina, the powerhouse Clemson Tigers received 125 of a possible 147 votes to repeat as ACC champion for the 7th straight season.  Clemson is the overwhelming choice to win the ACC’s Atlantic Division, receiving all but one first-place vote.  This season, Clemson is aiming to edge closer to the record of nine straight seasons of ACC championships, won by Florida State University from 1992 to 2001.  

North Carolina State was picked second to Clemson in the Atlantic, followed by Boston College, Florida State, Wake Forest, Louisville, and Syracuse.

In the ACC’s Coastal Division, the University of Miami were chosen as pre-season favorite, in a much-closer vote, followed by North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Duke.