Rounding up some Pac-12 media ballots

Pac-12 media days don't start until Wednesday, but a few of the media ballots have already been released. The official media bowl will be released on Wednesday and based off the few ballots, WSU is likely to check in at No. 5 in the Pac-12 North.

Some quick Googling turned up six media ballots and the Cougars were ranked 5th in the Pac-12 North on five of them. Kyle Bonagura of the ESPN Pac-12 blog was the only of the sixth to not rank the Cougars fifth, he bumped them up to No. 4 in the North, ahead of Oregon State.

Ted Miller, Kevin Gemmell, Chantel Jennings, Ryan Kartje and Jon Wilner all slotted WSU in at No. 5. California is the universal No. 6 in the North with Oregon the consensus No. 1 in the North. All six also picked Oregon to win the Pac-12. Those ballots are a small part of the overall media poll, but I'd be surprised if WSU isn't fifth in the North. Coming off the season it is, Cal is going to be No. 6. The Cougars might get a couple fourth-place votes, but it seems unlikely WSU will get enough to jump Oregon State, especially considering OSU might grab a third-place vote or two.

Although No. 5 in the Pac-12 North isn't very impressive, it could be much worse.

Media Day:

Our Pac-12 media poll ballots - Pac-12 Blog - ESPN
5. Washington State

Look for all this to happen at Pac-12 media days . . . | Pac-12 Confidential | Seattle Times

Mike Leach of Washington State will talk about a lot of things, and might also mention (in passing, naturally) his football team.

My Pac-12 media poll ballot: UCLA Blog: Orange County Register

5. Washington State One of these days Mike Leach is going to make a big move up in these polls, but while Washington State is getting better, so is the rest of the Pac-12. Most of the offense returns, and it'll be interesting to see how much Connor Halliday improves, but the defense just isn't good enough at this juncture. Especially after losing all-conference safety Deonne Buccanon.

Pac-12 football: Projecting the 2014 division races | College Hotline
5. Washington State

Football:

Utah Football Season Preview: Washington State - Block U
According to Jeff Nusser of CougCenter.com, the Wazzu offense could be very good again this season, but the offensive line is a question mark.

Fast forward: Stanford - SportsLink - Spokesman.com - July 21, 2014
Will Stanford's reign of terror ever end? It was one thing when you could count on cutting down the Tree's football team every year. Then it didn't matter that the fans in Palo Alto drove the nicest cars, had the best jobs, won nearly every Olympic sport and had a beautiful campus, to boot. Their football team sucked. John Elway never played in a bowl game.

Marks Named To CFPA Wide Receiver Watch List - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Washington State wide receiver Gabe Marks was named to the 2014 College Football Performance Awards (CFPA) Wide Receiver Trophy watch list, the organization announced recently.

Baseball:

Taylor Ard Returns to Affiliated Baseball - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Former Washington State first baseman Taylor Ard is back in affiliated baseball. A seventh round pick in the 2012 MLB First Year Player Draft by the Seattle Mariners, he spent two seasons in the minors with the Mariners. Released by Seattle in the spring of 2014, Ard signed a contract with the River City Rascals of O’Fallon, Mo., in the independent Frontier League.