UO Football release. New Oregon football coach Willie Taggart is in Hollywood for Pac-12 Conference media days Wednesday and Thursday, an appropriate setting from which to begin crafting an underdog story worthy of the big screen. Taggart’s Ducks enter the 2017 season picked to finish fourth in the Pac-12’s North Division, according to a vote of media members who cover the conference that was released Wednesday. One of the 52 media members who cast a vote picked Oregon not only to win its division but also to go on and win the conference title game. Washington and Southern California were the overwhelming favorites to win the North and South divisions, respectively, garnering 49 first-place votes each. Stanford, Washington State and the Ducks each received one first-place vote in the North; Utah, UCLA and Colorado received one each to win the South. The Trojans received 28 votes to win the Pac-12 title game, Washington received 22 and the Ducks and Utes tallied one apiece. Oregon was the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12 North for five straight years until being picked third in 2016. The Ducks went on to finish 4-8, their first losing season since 2004, and leading to a coaching transition that saw Taggart take the reins after successful stints at Western Kentucky and South Florida. Taggart is joined at Pac-12 media days by two sophomores: quarterback Justin Herbert and linebacker Troy Dye. Taggart will be featured in a media day interview with the Pac-12 Network on Thursday at 10:16 a.m. PT, to be followed by a segment featuring Herbert and Dye. Oregon opens the 2017 regular season against Southern Utah in Autzen Stadium on Sept. 2 (5:15 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Network). The home schedule also includes Nebraska on Sept. 9, the Pac-12 home opener against California on Sept. 30, and the Civil War on Nov. 25.
