Fall preview: Top 3 position battles to watch in the Pac-12

BIG TEN | ACC | PAC-12 | BIG 12 | SEC

After watching Stanford take home three of the last four Pac-12 titles, the rest of the conference is out to top the Cardinal in 2016.

It could prove harder than it sounds, however, especially for these three teams faced with some crucial position battles that'll be settled in fall camp:

USC - QB

It's shaping up be Clay Helton's most important decision since becoming USC head coach: Max Browne or Sam Darnold? Browne enters the season as a junior, while Darnold is only a redshirt freshman, but that could be rendered meaningless since neither has starting experience. In fact, that Darnold is even in the conversation, despite spending less time in the program, may not bode well for Browne, who's failed to pull away in the race all offseason. In any event, Helton has a big decision on his hands, and with Alabama and Stanford on the early season schedule, he'll need to choose wisely. Otherwise, USC's season could, effectively, end early for the second year in a row.

California - WR

Not only will Cal have a different guy throwing passes in 2016, but it'll have a ton of new faces catching them, too. The Golden Bears lost not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, but their six - yes, their six leading receivers from a year ago. As a result, plenty of young players will get their opportunities to make an impression on coach Sonny Dykes, including highly touted freshman Demetris Robertson. They'll all have the benefit of playing with a veteran quarterback in Texas Tech grad transfer Davis Webb.

Stanford - RB

Just kidding, Christian McCaffrey has a pretty tight grasp on this one.

Washington State - OL

Luke Falk's arm accounted for the fifth-most passing yards in the nation last season, but he was also sacked 37 times, and that's just simply too much. A certain number of sacks is inevitable in Mike Leach's pass-heavy offense, but Washington State still needs to reduce last year's total while replacing a pair of starters in Joe Dahl and Gunnar Eklund. Andre Dillard looks like the favorite to step in at left tackle, but Leach may be hesitant to give someone with three games of experience the duty of protecting Falk's blindside. Cody O'Connell, Noah Osur-Myers, Drew Norvell, and Cedric Bigge-Duren are candidates to fill the left guard hole.