BURBANK, Calif. -- A line of questioning at Day 1 of the Pac-12 media days -- which should be shocking to no one -- was the perceived strength of the Pac-12 South.

The media tapped USC to win the conference, which would be the South division’s first conference title since expansion in 2010. Four of the six teams are ranked in the USA TODAY coaches top 25 poll, with a fifth on the fringe at No. 30.

That Utah, which finished in the Top 25 last year and knocked off both L.A. schools, is picked to finish fifth in the division speaks to the South’s depth. And UCLA, which throttled Arizona State last year and dismissed the Trojans for a third straight season, being picked third is a crystal-clear indication for how competitive the division should be once again.

Three South coaches were available on Day 1 -- UCLA’s Jim Mora, ASU’s Todd Graham and Colorado’s Mike MacIntyre. We’re guessing Rich Rodriguez, Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Whittingham will have similar thoughts on the state of the division on Friday.

“This South Division, no doubt about it, has gotten better and better,” MacIntyre said. “There are a lot of good players and a lot of good coaches. So when you do accomplish some things in that division, you really have made a huge leap, not just a little leap, a huge leap. I think that's a big measuring stick for us.”

Since the league expanded in 2011, the only conference champions have been Oregon and Stanford. At least five teams in the South think they can snap the slump. However, Graham was quick to point out the dangers of getting too caught up in just getting through the South. Last year, his Sun Devils looked poised to win the division before a late-season collapse against Oregon State and a season-finale loss in the Territorial Cup cost ASU its second straight division title.

“There's not a team in the Pac-12 that can't beat another team,” Graham said. “In my opinion, I think everybody knows that. You look at last year, and we thought we were through the meat of the conference, and we lost a couple of games we were picked to win.

“But we signed up for it. So we know exactly what we're getting into. I think championships are won in the spring and in the summer with conditioning and how well you can be durable as a team, I think, is critical.”

And yet the fact remains that no matter how deep the division is, it still will carry the little brother stigma to the North until it can win a conference title.

“It's hard for me to anoint the Pac-12 South,” Mora said. “We haven't even won the Pac-12 championship in years. But I can tell you, whoever comes out representing the South in the Pac-12 championship game will have earned it, day in and day out, week in and week out on that field because it's going to be as challenging as it gets. We'll be battle-hardened and ready for whatever is next.”