Hey All,
Here we go with the first Pacfiic Standard Time edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard for 2020. We still miss you, Tom Kelly.
Observations
...Four ways to a loss; This one escaped me, but was brought to my attention by our field agent in Huntington Beach, CA. Back on the 10/24 Rice lost in 2 OT, 40-34 to Middle Tennessee State. Rice had a chance to win in the first OT, but PK Collin Riccitelli missed the game-winning kick. He didn't just miss the kick, he pulled off something maybe nobody has ever seen before. His missed kick bounced off the uprights and crossbar four times before falling to the end zone turf. Doink to the 4th Power
...1 up, 2 gone; Wisconsin just announced that their game with Purdue is cancelled this week due to 27 active COVID cases in the program. The Badgers are one more cancellation away from being ineligible to compete for the Big Ten title.
...The stark lens of hindsight; Mississippi State's upset of LSU a few weeks ago sure doesn't mean much now.
...Quietly making noise; It's way early but, San Diego State and San Jose State are both 2-0.
...Media gives the bird; The Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina are 6-0, dominating the Sun Belt and are quickly becoming the media's darling for a New Year's Six game.
...The stark lens of hindsight- Part II; Michigan's win over Minnesota has proved to be a false positive for the Wolverines and just the tip of the negative iceberg for Minnesota.
...And the big gun will be blue; Nevada beat UNLV, 37-19 to go 2-0 on the season and take back the Fremont Cannon from the Rebels. The 545 pound cannon is one of the largest rivalry trophies in college football.
...Memo to Mississippi State; You know, there's a reason why Wazzu let Mike Leach go.
...Pop Quiz; Name the Big Ten's four 2-0 teams.
...Gators, Tigers and a brawl, Oh my!; The Florida-Missouri game last week descended into a brawl that was incited by Florida HC and total jerk, Dan Mullen. Following a late hit that wasn't called on his QB late on the second period, Mullen went running out to confront the lead official as the clock hit 0:00 to end the first half. He then starting yelling at players form Mizzou as well. The Mizzou players started yelling back at him and then Florida players jumped in and a brawl commenced. The game did go on after the halftime brawl and multiple ejections of players. Funny thing is, the guy who incited the brawl, Mullen wasn't ejected. A tepid joint statement from the schools on how awful the fight was and is not acceptable behavior followed the game and the SEC made a similar one Monday with a couple extra suspensions announced and a $25,000 fine levied against Mullen. This link shows most of the fight and the tail end of Mullen being an idiot. Mullen Started It
...Luck of the Irish; Only Notre Dame could join a conference for the pandemic then have the QB of the one school blocking their path to getting to the College Football Playoff not take the field against them due to contracting COVID-19.
...They have a trophy; Wyoming beat Hawaii, 31-7 last Friday. What also came with the win was the Paniolo Trophy. Due to the cattle ranching in Hawaii, Hawaiian cowboys do exist. That led to the Paniolo Trophy being created as a traveling trophy between the two schools. Oh and Paniolo in Hawaiian means cowboy. This old haole thinks this is pretty cool.
...Pop Quiz Answer; The Big Ten's four 2-0 teams are Ohio State, Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue.
... There is no D in Minnesota; The Golden Gophers have given up 94 points and 1,156 yards of offense in just two games.
...One out of three is pathetic; The American Athletic Conference admitted to a costly error that led East Carolina's loss at Tulsa last week. There were also a couple of other key missed calls as well. Pirates Stranded in Tulsa
...Square wheels; Penn State' s plodding offense just emphasizes their lack of speed.
Only One Path
So, the Pac 12 starts play this week. That puts the Pac 12 behind the eight ball for even hoping to get a sniff of the College Football Playoff. However, this intrepid reporter believes that there really is a way to get a Pac 12 team to the playoff. This way though only exists for one league member that fits the criteria that would make a playoff appearance this year possible. Here's the criteria:
1. Pac 12 team must be undefeated.
2. Prospect of facing an old rival that was dropped form this year's schedule due to COVID.
3. The old rival is also undefeated or a one-loss league champ with a national following.
4. The matchup of the two teams would draw incredible ratings as the teams face off in the most classic of college football venues in the semi-final.
Who is the only Pac 12 team that fits that criteria? USC. Let's say USC goes undefeated in this shortened season, which is a huge stretch considering the Trojan HC Clay Helton can lose three games all by himself. USC will not face ND this year due to COVID rescheduling. ND also has a very good chance of being the ACC champ. So if SC and ND both become their conference champions, a CFP semi-final game at the Rose Bowl would be an epic rivalry matchup and TV ratings winner. Can you see the hype to be generated with the Trojans facing their ancient rival for a shot to pay for it all? Oh and the game is held at the Rose Bowl, USC's second historical second home and where ND hasn't played a bowl game since 1925 where Knute Rockne's Four Horsemen defeated Pop Warner's Stanford squad that featured Ernie Nevers. Could be a classic.
Cool Uniform of the Week
Hawaii over the last couple years has rocked just about the coolest looking away uniform in college football. The colors are a great combo and having the Hawaiian islands chain on the helmet makes it that much better.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Aberdeen, SD- Our friends in the NAIA provided this week's low score thriller. Trailing 6-0 with just 5:00 left in regulation, the Waldorf University Warriors pulled off a dramatic comeback to earn a 13-6 road victory over the Presentation College Saints. With 4:19 left to play, Warrior RB Jatoviay Hill busted through the Saints defense and raced 67 yards for the tying score. The PAT failed and the game stood tied at 6-6. The Waldorf defense forced a Presentation punt on their next possession. The punt was shanked and the Warriors started their game-winning drive on the Waldorf 40-yard line with 2:10 play. The Warriors drove down the field and notched the winning score with :29 left. QB Tyler O'Hara threw four-yard TD strike to WR Sam Huntley. O'Hara only completed 11 passes all game, but he completed all three of his passes on the game-winning drive.
Blowout Game of the Week: Des Moines, IA- Continuing our NAIA theme, it was Senior Day at Grand View University and the seniors along with all the underclassmen had a great day in a 70-0 rout of the Graceland University. The Grand View Vikings split their points up evenly with 35 in each half. The Vikings ruled up 423 rushing yards on the day with RBs DeVon Pressly and Tre Coleman combining for 259 yards on just 23 carries with five TDs. QB Johnny Sullivan only threw the ball 19 times, but completed 15 of those throws for 195 yards and three TDs.
Razorback Report: College Station, TX- The Hogs fought hard, but did not have enough in the tank to keep up with Texas A&M in a 42-31 loss that real wasn't as close as the score indicated. Arkansas got a couple of late TDs after the game was well in hand for the Aggies. Up next for the Razorbacks is a home date with Tennessee.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Handed out candy to my next door neighbors' daughter and her pack of friends on Halloween. It was one of the most normal feeling things I've done in a long time.
Rolo is another underrated candy treat.
The fact that winter will be here, or at least the Souther California version of it, hit me as we fell back to Pacific Standard Time. That means there won't be a sunset here after 5 PM until January 10th. Sigh.
Until next week folks, remember that winning game ugly or pretty is still winning and it sure as hell beats losing.
-The Commissioner
