Oregon ranked 2nd in the preseason Pac-12 football media poll, with Oregon State ranked 5th behind prospective champion Utah

The Oregon Ducks finish second and the Oregon State Beavers finish fifth, according to the preseason Pac-12 conference media poll released Thursday afternoon.

The Utah Utes were selected to win the conference, receiving 26 out of a possible 33 first-place votes. The poll was presented ahead of Friday’s Pac-12 media day in Los Angeles.

The conference preseason poll was constructed as a 1-to-12 score rather than by division as the Pac-12 will win the top two teams for its 2022 championship game. In the past, the champions of the Pac-12 division played in the championship game. Divisions remain intact for planning purposes this season.

Utah received 384 total points, beating Oregon (345) in first place. USC finished third, UCLA fourth and OSU fifth.

Based on the poll, Oregon and Oregon State are forecast to finish first and second in the Pac-12 North. The Beavers’ prospective fifth place finish is the highest since 2009, when OSU was selected for fourth place.

Here’s the poll, with first-place votes in parentheses and dots:

1. Utah (26) 384

2. Oregon (2) 345

3. USC (5) 341

4.UCLA 289

5. State of Oregon 246

6.Washington 212

7. Washington State 177

8.Stanford 159

9. California 154

10. State of Arizona 123

11. Arizona 86

12. Colorado 58

– Nick Daschel | ndaschel@oregonian.com | @nickdaschel