LINDY'S ALL CONFERENCE TEAMS

Lindy’s announces its 2013 All-Pac-12 teams

Lindyssports.com Staff

August 21, 2013 at 11:12 am.

April 13, 2013; Stanford, CA, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan (8) passes the football during the Cardinal & White spring game at Stanford Stadium. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Looks like the Cardinal is Here to Stay

When Andrew Luck left Stanford a year early for the NFL, the temptation was to wonder if the Cardinal’s run as one of the Pac-12 powers was also going along for the ride.

The heights to which the Stanford program has grown the last few years, though, became evident as the 2012 season progressed.

Shaking off an early stumble at Washington and a controversial defeat at Notre Dame, the Cardinal stormed through the second half of the season to win the Pac-12 North, Pac-12 title game, and the Rose Bowl — all behind the steady guidance of redshirt freshman quarterback Kevin Hogan.

With Hogan joining a roster with 14 returning starters — eight off a defense that should be among the best in the nation — the Cardinal seems primed to extend a run that has seen the school play in the Orange, Fiesta and Rose bowls in the past three years.

Along the way, head coach David Shaw has gone 2-for-2 in winning Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors, establishing himself as more than just a caretaker for the program he took over when Jim Harbaugh left for the 49ers.

Stanford also gets a somewhat favorable schedule that includes a home game against the team that looms as their most dangerous threat — Oregon.

The Ducks also return enough key players off a team that won the Fiesta Bowl last season to rate, again, as a national title contender.

The big unknown is the impact of the loss of head coach Chip Kelly to the Philadelphia Eagles, with former offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich taking over. Kelly made a similar leap himself in 2009, stepping up to take over for Mike Bellotti, so the Ducks are banking on history repeating.

And Kelly left Helfrich with a full cupboard that includes quarterback Marcus Mariota, dynamic running back/receiver De’Anthony Thomas, as well as seven starters on defense, including the entire secondary.

If there is a possible challenge to those two in the Pac-12 North, it might be the Washington Huskies, who appear positioned to finally break through in the fifth year under coach Steve Sarkisian. While UW may be a chic underdog, though, it was Oregon State that actually finished ahead of the Huskies in the North last year, and should again be a dangerous foe for anyone.

Our choice to face Stanford in the Pac-12 title game, is UCLA — which would be a third straight appearance in the game for the Bruins, and a rematch of last year’s game.

UCLA was one of the most-improved teams in the nation for much of 2012 under first-year coach Jim Mora before
a late-season fade that included two straight losses to Stanford (regular season finale and conference title game) and a loss to Baylor in the Holiday Bowl.

But it’s far from a comfortable perch for UCLA. USC has as many highly-touted signees on its roster as anyone in the nation. Arizona State, on the rebound under second-year coach Todd Graham, could also contend. Arizona, in its second year under Rich Rodriguez, also will be dangerous, as long as the Wildcats can find a quarterback.

OFFENSE – FIRST TEAM OFFENSE – SECOND TEAM OFFENSE – THIRD TEAM
QB Marcus Mariota So. Oregon QB Brett Hundley So. UCLA QB Kevin Hogan So. Stanford
RB Ka’Deem Carey Jr. Arizona RB Silas Redd Sr. USC RB Marion Grice Sr. Arizona State
RB Bishop Sankey Jr. Washington RB Storm Woods So. Oregon State RB Christian Powell So. Colorado
WR Marqise Lee Jr. USC WR Kasen Williams Jr. Washington WR Josh Huff Sr. Oregon
WR Brandin Cooks Jr. Oregon State WR Paul Richardson Jr. Colorado WR Shaq Evans Sr. UCLA
TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins Jr. Washington TE Chris Coyle Sr. Arizona State TE Colt Lyerla Jr. Oregon
C Hroniss Grasu Jr. Oregon C Isaac Seumalo So. Oregon State C Jake Brendel So. UCLA
OL Xavier Su’a-Filo Jr. UCLA OL Grant Enger Sr. Oregon State OL Max Tuerk So. USC
OL David Yankey Sr. Stanford OL John Martinez Sr. USC OL Jake Fisher Jr. Oregon
OL Cameron Fleming Sr. Stanford OL Evan Finkenberg Sr. Arizona State OL Michael Philipp Sr. Oregon State
OL Jeremiah Poutasi So. Utah OL Elliott Bosch Sr. Washington State OL Fabbians Ebbele Jr. Arizona
AP De’Anthony Thomas Jr. Oregon AP Brendan Bigelow Jr. Cal AP Ty Montgomery Jr. Stanford
PK Vince D’Amato Sr. Cal PK Andrew Furney Sr. Washington State PK Jordan Williamson Sr. Stanford
DEFENSE – FIRST TEAM DEFENSE – SECOND TEAM DEFENSE – THIRD TEAM
DL Will Sutton Jr. Arizona State DL Cassius Marsh Sr. UCLA DL Jaxon Hood So. Arizona State
DL Henry Anderson Sr. Stanford DL Ben Gardner Sr. Stanford DL Andrew Hudson Jr. Washington
DL Scott Crichton Jr. Oregon State DL Leonard Williams So. USC DL Deandre Coleman Sr. Cal
LB Morgan Breslin Sr. USC DL Wade Keliikipi Sr. Oregon DL Trevor Reilly Sr. Utah
LB Anthony Barr Sr. UCLA LB Eric Kendricks Jr. UCLA LB Travis Feeney So. Washington
LB Trent Murphy Sr. Stanford LB Carl Bradford Jr. Arizona State LB Brian Blechen Sr. Utah
LB Shayne Skov Sr. Stanford LB Shaq Thompson So. Washington LB Jake Fischer Sr. Arizona
DB Dion Bailey Jr. USC DB Deone Bucannon Sr. Washington State DB Jared Tevis Jr. Arizona
DB Ifo Ekpre-Olomu Jr. Oregon DB Terrance Mitchell Jr. Oregon DB Sean Parker Sr. Washington
DB Ed Reynolds Sr. Stanford DB Rashaad Reynolds Sr. Oregon State DB Eric Rowe Jr. Utah
DB Alden Darby Sr. Arizona State DB Yuri Wright So. Colorado DB Jordan Richards Jr. Stanford
P Darragh O’Neill Jr. Colorado P Keith Kostol Jr. Oregon State P Michael  Bowlin Sr. Washington State