The AP selections included separate offensive and defensive units and were based on the consensus views of "football experts and coaches throughout the Pacific Coast.
"[1] The UP selections did not include a separate defensive unit and were made by the region's coaches.
[2] The 1951 Stanford Indians football team won the Pacific Coast Conference championship with a 9–2 record.
[2] Two Pacific Coast players, end Bill McColl of Stanford and guard Les Richter of California, were also consensus picks on the 1951 All-America college football team.
[3] Five of the players named to the first team were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: McColl, Richter, and backs Frank Gifford of USC, Ollie Matson of the University of San Francisco, and Hugh McElhenny of Washington State.