No one can claim the 2012 college football season was boring.

The second half of the season had so many twists and turns that no one knew exactly what to expect when the final BCS standings and bowl pairings came out Sunday. But what was static was the high level of play by some of the nation's best teams.

It was hard to pick a first team from such a big pool of talent, but we here at Dr. Saturday tried our best.

Here is our inaugural Dr. Saturday All-American Team:

OFFENSE

QB: Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

When you have 3,419 passing yards, 1,181 rushing yards, and account for 43 touchdowns in the SEC, you have a great chance of being the quarterback on the All-American Team.

RB: Johnathan Franklin, UCLA

From the time Franklin had back-to-back 200-yard games to start the season to a 194-yard effort in the Pac-12 title game, he was the workhorse for UCLA. Franklin finished the season with 1,700 yards.

RB: Ka'Deem Carey, Arizona

Carey led all running backs with 1,757 yards, had 20 touchdowns, and had at least 100 yards in nine of Arizona's 12 games.

WR: Marqise Lee, USC

Lee's 16-catch, 345-yard, two-touchdown game against Arizona was one of the best performances of the season. He caught at least one touchdown pass in nine of USC's 12 games.

WR: Terrance Williams, Baylor

What makes Williams special is his big-play ability. His 18.6-yard average is astonishing for a player who had 95 catches. No other receiver with at least 75 catches came within 3 yards of that.

WR: Stedman Bailey, West Virginia

Bailey was tremendous at finding the end zone this season. He had 23 receiving touchdowns, and nobody else had more than 16.

OT: Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M

A cornerstone left tackle, Joeckel is a finalist for the Outland Trophy and helped the Aggies' offense lead the SEC in rushing, passing and scoring offense.

OG: Chance Warmack, Alabama

The 320-pound senior is in his third year starting at left guard, and he was a big part of Alabama gaining 350 rushing yards in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia.

C: Barrett Jones, Alabama

Jones started two years at right guard, his junior year at left tackle, then moved to center as a senior and is a finalist for the Rimington Trophy and the Outland Trophy, an award he won last year.

OG: Jonathan Cooper, North Carolina

An Outland Trophy Finalist, Cooper graded out at 90 percent on the season and had double-digit knockdown blocks in nine of 12 games, according to North Carolina.

OT: Jake Matthews, Texas A&M

You don't think Manziel did it all himself, did you? Matthews had an outstanding year, was first-team All-SEC and like teammate Joeckel, is a likely first-round NFL pick.

TE: Zach Ertz, Stanford

Ertz set school records for receptions (66) and yards (837) for a tight end in a season, scored game-winning touchdowns against USC and Oregon State, and had a dramatic game-tying touchdown at Oregon.

DEFENSE

DE: Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

Clowney was second in the nation in both sacks (13.0) and tackles for loss (21.5), which were both single-season school records.

DT: Star Lotulelei, Utah

Lotulelei was Pac-12 first team for the second consecutive season after he led the Utes with 11 tackles for loss and five sacks. He finished the season with 42 tackles and three forced fumbles.

DT: Will Sutton, Arizona State

Sutton was named the Pac-12's Defensive Player of the Year after registering 10.5 sacks and 20 tackles for loss. All that despite missing two games with a knee injury.

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