Five Pac-12 Teams Ranked in AP Poll; No Other Conference Has More

Cal did not get any votes in the Associated Press preseason football media poll

Cal received one voting point in the USA Today coaches poll released last week, but the Golden Bears did not get a single vote in the Associated Press preseason college football media poll released Monday.

No Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll, but five are ranked in the top 25. No conference has more top-25 teams than the Pac-12. The Southeastern Conference and Big Ten also have five top-25 teams each, and the ACC and the Big 12 have three ranked teams apiece. And the Big 12 count includes Texas and Oklahoma, which will be leaving the conference in 2025.

Oregon is the top-ranked Pac-12 team at No. 11, USC is next at No. 15, Washington is ranked 20th, Utah comes in at No. 24 and Arizona State is 25th. Only three Pac-12 teams were ranked in the coaches’ top 25 poll, so apparently the media have more respect for the Pac-12 than the coaches do.

Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports says Oregon is underrated at No. 11

The Pac-12 is the Rodney Dangerfield of the college football world -- it gets no respect. In this case specifically, it's Oregon that voters are sleeping on. The Ducks have the best player in the game in defensive lineman Kayvon Thibodeaux, a very healthy quarterback situation, a dynamic offense with playmakers everywhere, is stout on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball and has a coach in Mario Cristobal who has created the "Alabama of the West." That'll be enough for the Ducks to flirt with the CFP all the way into the championship weekend. That Week 2 matchup vs. Ohio State is going to be a doozy, but voters seem to think that there's a bigger gap between the two schools than I do.

Six Pac-12 teams received votes, with UCLA pulling in two voting points.

Cal will face three teams ranked in the top 20 and six teams that received votes. The Bears will oppose No. 11 Oregon (Nov. 15 in Eugene), No. 15 USC (Nov. 13 in Berkeley), No. 20 Washington (Sept. 25 in Seattle), No. 28 TCU (Sept. 11 in Fort Worth, Texas), No. 34 Nevada (Sept. 4 in Berkeley) and No. 41 UCLA (Nov. 27 in Pasadena).

Alabama is ranked No. 1, but the Tide is one of five teams that received first-place votes.

Alabama got 47 first-place votes, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Clemson received six first-place votes apiece. No. 4 Ohio State got one first-place vote, and No. 5 Georgia received three first-place votes.

AP preseason top 25.

1. Alabama

2. Oklahoma

3. Clemson

4. Ohio State

5. Georgia

6. Texas A&M

7. Iowa State

8. Cincinnati

9. Notre Dame

10. North Carolina

11. Oregon

12. Wisconsin

13. Florida

14. Miami

15. USC

16. LSU

17. Indiana

18. Iowa

19. Penn State

20. Washington

21. Texas

22. Coastal Carolina

23. Louisiana

24. Utah

25. Arizona State

Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 107, Ole Miss 106, TCU 40, Liberty 36, Auburn 32, NC State 14, Michigan 12, Northwestern 8, Nevada 7, Boise State 7, Ball State 6, BYU 6, UCF 5, Houston 5, Boston College 5, West Virginia 3, Army 2, UCLA 2, UAB 2

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Cover photo by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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