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In case you wanted an idea of the players to watch this upcoming season, Phil Steele usually has you covered. Steele went up and down the conference and broke down who the best players were by conference, going so far as to naming four full teams worth of the best players. You can sample the offense and defense below, but you'll have to click the link for the rest of the players mentioned.
How many players are there by team? As you would expect, the familiar suspects in Los Angeles, Palo Alto and Eugene head the list, with the rest of the conference holding the soft middle and the 11th and 12th members of the conference still falling behind the rest of the Pac.
USC: 16
Stanford: 14
Oregon: 12
UCLA: 12
Arizona State: 10
Oregon State: 10
Washington: 8
Washington State: 7
California: 7
Arizona: 7
Utah: 5
Colorado: 4
Offense:
It's an Oregon-dominated list (shocking!). Four first-teamers, three offensive linemen, and by far the most talented quarterback/running back duo in the conference in Marcus Mariota and De'Anthony Thomas. USC is right there with Oregon with regards to number of players, with Marqise Lee the headliner but plenty of solid talent ready right behind him. The big question is who will be their leader in the huddle, as the Trojans still lack a clear starter at the position.
Stanford has plenty of beef up front for Kevin Hogan and Anthony Wilkerson.
UCLA has an incredible talent in Brett Hundley but he'll need some help to maintain his freshman form. And Oregon State should stay right on course for another excellent season with solid line talent and two playmakers in Storm Woods and Brandin Cooks.
Offensive breakdown
USC: 1 1st team, 4 2nd team, 1 3rd team, 2 4th team = 8
Oregon: 4 1st team, 1 2nd team, 2 3rd team = 7
UCLA: 1 1st team, 2 2nd team, 3 4th team = 6
Stanford: 2 1st team, 1 2nd team, 1 3rd team, 1 4th team = 5
Oregon St: 1 1st team, 1 2nd team, 2 3rd team, 1 4th team = 5
Arizona State: 1 2nd team, 2 3rd team, 1 4th team = 4
Washington State: 2 3rd team, 1 4th team = 3
California: 2 3rd team, 1 4th team = 3
Washington: 2 1st team, 1 2nd team = 3
Arizona: 1 1st team, 1 4th team = 2
Colorado: 1 2nd team = 1
Utah: 1 4th team = 1
Defense
How shocked are you to see the Cardinal lord this list? This is the same Stanford team that held Oregon to 14 points in Autzen, and they bring almost everyone back. An incredible five first teamers seems to ensure that Stanford-Oregon 2013 at the Farm will be another matchup to watch closely.
USC has plenty of talent here as well, ensuring that Lane Kiffin won't have many excuses if the Trojans end up underachieving again. Both Arizona State and Washington could be potential sleepers to upset teams based on the depth they have on the defensive side of the ball.
Stanford: 5 1st team, 2 2nd team, 1 3rd team = 8
USC: 2 1st team, 2 2nd team, 3 3rd team = 7
ASU: 1 1st team, 1 2nd team, 2 3rd team, 2 4th team = 6
Washington: 1 2nd team, 1 3rd team, 3 4th team = 5
Arizona: 2 3rd team, 2 4th team = 4
Oregon: 2 1st team, 1 2nd team, 1 4th team = 4
UCLA: 1 1st team, 1 2nd team, 1 3rd team = 3
Oregon State: 1 1st team, 1 2nd team, 1 4th team = 3
Utah: 1 2nd team, 1 3rd team, 1 4th team = 3
Washington State: 1 2nd team, 1 3rd team = 2
Cal: 1 2nd team, 1 4th team = 2
Colorado 1 4th team = 1
Special teams
Good to see that the Buffs can put a first teamer on here somewhere.
UCLA: 2 2nd team, 1 4th team = 3
Oregon State: 1 1st team, 1 2nd team = 2
Colorado: 1 1st team, 1 3rd team = 2
Cal: 2 3rd team = 2
WSU: 1 2nd team, 1 4th team = 2
USC: 1 1st team = 1
Oregon: 1 1st team = 1
Arizona: 1 3rd team = 1
Stanford: 1 4th team = 1
Utah: 1 4th team = 1