ESPN College Football

It's time for our preseason All-Pac-12 team.

Most of this won't be surprising, though making distinctions at receiver and running back was particularly difficult. If you were to magically switch out our two receivers and replace them with USC's Marqise Lee and Cal's Keenan Allen you wouldn't get much objection.

You might notice that USC and Oregon dominated the team: Seven Trojans and seven Ducks made the cut. That's sort of what happens when your team is ranked in the preseason top five.

Nine teams are represented. Only Arizona, Arizona State and UCLA didn't provide players.

And making Oregon's De'Anthony Thomas just a return guy felt too underwhelming for us.

Offense

QB Matt Barkley, USC

RB Stepfan Taylor, Stanford

RB Kenjon Barner, Oregon

TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Washington

WR Robert Woods, USC

WR Marquess Wilson, Washington State

OL David Bakhtiari, Colorado

OL Khaled Holmes, USC

OL Carson York, Oregon

OL Matt Summers-Gavin, California

OL David Yankey, Stanford

K Andre Heidari, USC

FANCYPANTS De'Anthony Thomas, Oregon

Defense

DE Dion Jordan, Oregon

DT Star Lotulelei, Utah

DE Ben Gardner, Stanford

LB Chase Thomas, Stanford

LB Dion Bailey, USC

LB Shayne Skov, Stanford

LB Michael Clay, Oregon

CB Nickell Robey, USC

CB Jordan Poyer, Oregon State

S T.J. McDonald, USC

S John Boyett, Oregon

P Jackson Rice, Oregon

Now that we are on the eve of the college football season, it's time to take a look at the best of the best when it comes to the SEC.

Like the league's coaches and other members of the media, we have created our own All-SEC team for the 2012 season. We took a stab at this at SEC media days, but we've put our heads together again to make one last list. We've talked to a few more people and done a little more research.

Here goes:

OFFENSE

QB -- Tyler Wilson, Arkansas
RB -- Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
RB -- Knile Davis, Arkansas
WR -- Cobi Hamilton, Arkansas
WR -- Justin Hunter, Tennessee
AP -- Dennis Johnson, Arkansas
TE -- Philip Lutzenkirchen, Auburn
OL -- Chance Warmack, Alabama
OL -- Chris Faulk, LSU
OL -- Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M
OL -- D.J. Fluker, Alabama
C -- Barrett Jones, Alabama


DEFENSE


DE -- Sam Montgomery, LSU
DE -- Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina
DT -- Jesse Williams, Alabama
DT -- Bennie Logan, LSU
LB -- Jarvis Jones, Georgia
LB -- Sean Porter, Texas A&M
LB -- Alec Ogletree, Georgia
CB -- Johnthan Banks, Mississippi State
CB -- Dee Milliner, Alabama
S -- Eric Reid, LSU
S -- Matt Elam, Florida


SPECIAL TEAMS


PK -- Caleb Sturgis, Florida
P -- Brad Wing, LSU
RS -- Dustin Harris, Texas A&M

The season is only a few days away, and it's time to unveil our official All-Big 12 team.

The criteria for this is pretty simple: I picked the best players at every position in the game, but made room for deserving players. For this league, that meant eliminating the tight end spot and sliding a more deserving Collin Klein onto the team via an all-purpose position.

The quarterbacks are solid in this league, but I'd call the cornerbacks the best and deepest position in the league. The worst? Defensive tackle. I didn't put a single one on the All-Big 12 team, electing to name four defensive ends along the defensive line. I hate doing that, but this year, it's necessary.

Without further ado, here's our team:

OFFENSE

QB: Geno Smith, West Virginia
RB: Joseph Randle, Oklahoma State
RB: Waymon James, TCU
All-Purpose: Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
WR: Stedman Bailey, West Virginia
WR: Kenny Stills, Oklahoma
WR: Tavon Austin, West Virginia
C: Joe Madsen, West Virginia
OL: Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
OL: Lane Taylor, Oklahoma State
OL: Cyril Richardson, Baylor
OL: Mason Walters, Texas

DEFENSE

DL: Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas
DL: Stansly Maponga, TCU
DL: Alex Okafor, Texas
DL: Meshak Williams, Kansas State
LB: A.J. Klein, Iowa State
LB: Arthur Brown, Kansas State
LB: Jake Knott, Iowa State
CB: Carrington Byndom, Texas
CB: Brodrick Brown, Oklahoma State
S: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas
S: Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma

SPECIALISTS:

K: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
P: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
KR: Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State
PR: Tavon Austin, West Virginia

Honorable mention/regrettable snubs: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma; Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas; Ivory Wade, C, Baylor; LaAdrian Waddle, OL, Texas Tech; Blaize Foltz, OL, TCU; Kenny Cain, LB, TCU; Shaun Lewis, LB, Oklahoma State; Jamarkus McFarland, DL, Oklahoma; Quandre Diggs, CB, Texas; Nigel Malone, CB, Kansas State; Demontre Hurst, CB, Oklahoma; Tyler Lockett, KR, Kansas State

Here are my picks for the Big East all-conference team.

Offense
QB B.J. Daniels, USF
RB Lyle McCombs, UConn
RB Ray Graham, Pitt*
RB Montel Harris, Temple*
TE Ryan Griffin, UConn
OT Justin Pugh, Syracuse
OT Martin Wallace, Temple
C Mario Benavides, Louisville
OG Chris Jacobson, Pitt
OG Mark Popek, USF
WR Alec Lemon, Syracuse
WR Andre Davis, USF

Defense
DE Trevardo Williams, UConn
DT Scott Vallone, Rutgers
DT Aaron Donald, Pitt
DE Ryne Giddins, USF*
DE Walter Stewart, Cincinnati*
LB Khaseem Greene, Rutgers
LB DeDe Lattimore, USF

LB Sio Moore, UConn
CB Logan Ryan, Rutgers
CB Adrian Bushell, Louisville
S Hakeem Smith, Louisville
S Duron Harmon, Rutgers

Special teams
PK Kevin Harper, Pitt
P Pat O'Donnell, Cincinnati
RS Ralph David Abernathy IV, Cincinnati

* = tie

Notes: About those ties. Graham is a no-brainer all-conference back when healthy. The only problem is I have no idea how healthy Graham is right now or how healthy he is going to be when the season ends. He could start slow and finish fast. Or maybe he won't regain his old form. So I am hedging my bets a little and putting him on there with Montel Harris of Temple. Harris has the potential for a 1,000-yard season.

Defensive end: I really think Williams, Giddins and Stewart have the potential to hit double-digits in sacks this season. That is how highly I think of them. And if the Big East coaches have ties on their all-conference team at the end of the year, so can I!

Tight end: This was a tough one. Griffin is in my preseason Top 25 countdown, but I was a little worried when I saw he would not be starting against UMass. Coach Paul Pasqualoni said not to pay attention to the depth chart because he and John Delahunt are interchangeable. Still got me to thinking that Hubie Graham of Pitt could very well be the first-team tight end at the end of the season.

Receiver: This is a toss-up. I really love Davis' potential. I know a lot are going to clamor for Devin Street to be on the list. He is my next man up. I went with Lemon over Street because I have more confidence in the Syracuse passing game than Pitt.

The Big Ten doesn't announce an official preseason all-conference team. But that doesn't mean we can't.

Here are our picks for the 2012 preseason All-Big Ten team:

Offense

QB: Denard Robinson, Michigan
RB: Montee Ball, Wisconsin
RB: Rex Burkhead, Nebraska
RB: Le'Veon Bell, Michigan State
WR: Jared Abbrederis, Wisconsin
TE: C.J. Fiedorowicz, Iowa
OT: Taylor Lewan, Michigan
OT: Ricky Wagner, Wisconsin
OG: Spencer Long, Nebraska
OG: Chris McDonald, Michigan State
C: Travis Frederick, Wisconsin

Defense

DE: John Simon, Ohio State
DE: William Gholston, Michigan State
DT: Kawann Short, Purdue
DT: Johnathan Hankins, Ohio State
LB: Gerald Hodges, Penn State
LB: Chris Borland, Wisconsin
LB: Jonathan Brown, Illinois
CB: Johnny Adams, Michigan State
CB: Ricardo Allen, Purdue
S: Isaiah Lewis, Michigan State
S: Jordan Kovacs, Michigan

Specialists

K/P: Brett Maher, Nebraska
KR: Raheem Mostert, Purdue
PR: Abbrederis

Thoughts: The first thing that likely jumps out at you is that we have three running backs and just one receiver on our first-team offense. No, we haven't forgotten the rules of football. It's just that we continue to feel the wide receiver crop is weak this season, and no great candidates for the second spot leap out at us. Perhaps Keenan Davis of Iowa or one of Northwestern's many receivers will have a great season, but no one has proved anything on a consistent basis. We'd rather have Bell -- who we believe is primed for a huge year -- on the team than any of the receiver candidates. Plus, isn't running the ball what Big Ten football is all about? ... Some of the toughest omissions came at linebacker, where Michigan State's duo of Denicos Allen and Max Bullough and Wisconsin's Mike Taylor were among those left out. At least we know we'd have an outstanding second-team unit at that position. ... Fiedorowicz is a bit of a projection pick, but we love the way he finished last season and how he fits into Greg Davis' new scheme. You certainly could make a strong case for Wisconsin's Jacob Pedersen or Ohio State's Jake Stoneburner there as well. ... Some of these players won't live up to expectations, and others will explode on the scene this fall. But for now, we'd feel pretty good about throwing this team on the field.

ESPN.com is announcing its all-conference teams today. Offensively, there was only one difference from what the media chose in July at the ACC football kickoff in Greensboro, N.C., but it was a big difference -- at quarterback. Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas got the nod over Clemson’s Tajh Boyd. Defensively, there also were a few tweaks, as Florida State swept the defensive end position and Georgia Tech’s Jeremiah Attaochu earned his spot at linebacker. With the dismissal of former FSU cornerback Greg Reid, though, Clemson’s Sammy Watkins was promoted to the top return man.

Here’s a look at ESPN.com’s preseason All-ACC team:

OFFENSE

WR Conner Vernon, Duke

WR Sammy Watkins, Clemson

TE Matt Furstenburg, Maryland

T James Hurst, North Carolina

T Oday Aboushi, Virginia

G Omoregie Uzzi, Georgia Tech

G Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina

C Dalton Freeman, Clemson

QB Logan Thomas, Virginia Tech

RB Giovani Bernard, North Carolina

RB Andre Ellington, Clemson

DEFENSE

DE Brandon Jenkins, Florida State

DE Bjoern Werner, Florida State

DT Joe Vellano, Maryland

DT Nikita Whitlock, Wake Forest

LB Bruce Taylor, Virginia Tech

LB Kevin Reddick, North Carolina

LB Jeremiah Attaochu, Georgia Tech

CB David Amerson, NC State

CB Kyle Fuller, Virginia Tech

S Lamarcus Joyner, Florida State

S Earl Wolff, NC State

SPECIALISTS

PK Dustin Hopkins, Florida State

P Dalton Botts, Miami

SP Sammy Watkins, Clemson