Hey, It's a test installment of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. It's just a recycled column from last year. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
USC 28- UCLA 14: QB Matt Barkley returned from injury for USC, but it was senior RB Alan Bradford who will be forever remembered in this latest Trojan victory over the team from Westwood. All Bradford did was run the ball 28 times for 212 yards and a TD. He also scored another TD on a 47-yard screen pass. He almost single-handedly destroyed the bRuins. The USC defense held the bRuins in check all night long and chipped in with a TD of their own when LB Malcolm Smith picked up a bRuin fumble late in the second quarter and took it 68-yards to the house to put USC up at half, 14-7. UCLA's last TD was scored with :23 and the game well in hand for the Trojans.
Telling Stat: 11 out of 12; USC has won 11 of the last 12 games in this rivalry.
Washington 35- Washington State 28: UW QB Jake Locker hit WR Jermaine Kearse with a 66-yard TD pass to open the second half and the Huskies held a 21-7 lead over Wazzu and looked like they'd blow the game wide open. Then, the Cougars woke up and made it a game. QB Jeff Tuel took charge of the Cougs. He threw 2 TD passes and ran for another in a 16 minute span. The game stood tied 28-28 with 4:26 to play. Then, for the third time this season, Jake Locker took his team to victory on their final drive. He drove the Dawgs 88 yards in nine plays. The capper was a 27-yard TD pass that sealed the Apple Cup for UW, 35-28.
Telling Stat: The big 1; Jake Locker threw only one pass on UW's final drive, but it was for the winning score.
Arizona State 30- Arizona 29- 2OT: This battle for the Territorial Cup truly was a wild one. The first half was sloppy, ugly, and boring. The two squads combined for 11 three-and-outs, 14 punts, and two ASU field goals by PK Thomas Weber. ASU led at the half, 6-0. The second half saw both UofA and ASU seemingly take control of the game only to have it come down to a final drive by the Wildcats. Trailing 20-14, QB Nick Foles led the Wildcats on a 57-yard drive that ended with Foles throwing a 5-yard TD pass to RB David Douglas. An extra point would give the Wildcats the win. ASU's James Brooks leapt high on a low kick by Alex Zendejas and blocked it. The game would go to overtime. After trading field goals, the game went to a second overtime where the schools traded TDs. All UofA needed was to make the PAT and the game would go to a third OT. Zendejas hit another low kick that was blocked again by James Brooks and ASU walked off with the win.
Telling Stat: 2 blocked PATs. In ASU's losses to Wisconsin and USC a blocked PAT was the margin of loss. In their win over UofA, 2 blocked PATs were the margin of victory.
Oregon 37- Oregon State 20: The Beavers came out in retro uniforms in which they hoped to draw inspiration from their 1967 squad known as the "Giant Killers." However, the Beavers didn't have enough energy in the second half and fell to the Oregon Ducks. Duck RBs LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner combined for 267 yards rushing and 3 TDs to lead their squad past OSU and into the BCS Championship Game. The Webfoots also got 145 yards passing and 2 TDs from QB Darron Thomas in the winning effort.
Telling Stat: 3's instead of 6's; On two critical drives in the second half, the Oregon defense held OSU to field goals instead of touchdowns. These stops were key Oregon's victory.
Observations
...Bowl Math: The Final Chapter; Following this past weekend's action, 72 FBS teams were eligible for the 70 bowl spots. The two teams left at home were 8-4 Temple and 6-6 Western Michigan. I have more on Temple later.
...The SEC walked away with 10 bowl bids. It's the 10th bowl bid that outrages me. Kentucky, with a 6-6 overall record, but a pathetic 2-6 record in SEC play will play in a bowl. Temple finished 8-4 overall and 5-3 in MAC play but is sitting home for the holidays. Will people please stop drinking the SEC Kool-Aid?
...Speaking of outrage, how do Nebraska fans feel about having a rematch with Washington? The Huskers trounced the Dawgs, 56-21, in Seattle last September 18th. Now, they will face off again in the Holiday Bowl. Rematches always stink. Oh, and here's one more point to consider. The two schools hook up again in Lincoln on September 17, 2011. That's three games between the two schools in one calendar year.
...Now for some good bowl stuff. I think the Poinsettia Bowl matchup between Navy And San Diego State is a great one. San Diego is a Navy town. SDSU is playing at home. It should be a fun game.
...Hey, Rick Neuheisel! How's your passion bucket now? Neuheisel's record after three seasons at UCLA is 15-22. Karl Dorrell was 22-15 after three season at UCLA. Hmmmmmmm.
...Going bowling at home; Hawaii, San Diego State, and SMU all play their bowls in their home yards.
..Worst place for a bowl; The Bronx. Kansas State and Syracuse will play in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at new Yankee Stadium. In 1961 and '62 a bowl called the Gotham Bowl was played in New York. It was a failure. Temperatures were very low and so were the crowds. The bowl died a merciful death after Nebraska beat Miami, 36-34 in 1962.
...TCU's trip to the Rose Bowl is about 71 seasons late for some Horned Frogs. Back in 1938, the Horned Frogs were the darlings of college football. Their leader was a guy, you've heard of. There's an award named after him. It was QB Davey O'Brien. He and his TCU mates ran through their schedule and stood 9-0 with the Rose Bowl bid in their sights. However, TCU's hubris and outright campaigning for the bid ended up costing them the bid and it went to Duke and the rest was history. Just ask USC Trojan fans about Nave-to-Krueger and a 7-3 win over the Blue Devils. However, TCU did come away with the National Title in 1938 and a 15-7 win over Carnegie Tech in the Sugar Bowl.
...Other fun bowl matchups; Air Force v. Georgia Tech in the Independence Bowl: that's pure option football at it's best. Hawaii v. Tulsa in the Hawaii Bowl. 80 passes and 5 hours of football. Utah v. Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl: by far a matchup of the best two teams ever in that bowl.
...I see Auburn is the home team in the BCS title game. That's too bad. I was looking forward to something especially ugly in the uniform department from the Ducks.
...Army, Navy, and Air Force are all going to bowls in the same season for the first time ever. I think that's pretty cool when I remember that playing football is the easiest thing that academy kids do all week. These kids are tough.
...If I had a Heisman vote, I'd vote QB Andrew Luck of Stanford. He's a stud QB, and a class act on and off the field.
...Mark it down, now. The darkhorse darling for the Pac 12 title next year will be Arizona State. The Sun Devils lose only 13 seniors and have a world of talent coming back. Four of their six losses were by a total of nine points. They forced Oregon to punt 11 times in a loss where their offense committed seven turnovers. To be great next year, the talent on this squad needs to grow up a little. These kids are playing with million dollar bodies and 10 cent brains. If ASU shuts their mouths, quits throwing punches and just plays football, they could be a very dangerous team in 2011.
...I wonder if Boise State's AD thinks of PK Kyle Brotzman when he gets that $500,000 check from the Las Vegas bowl, instead of the 18 million dollar check from the Rose Bowl.
...People are griping about the fact that Connecticut got an automatic BCS bid by being the Big East champ with a pedestrian 8-4 record. Oh well, fellas live with it. When the FBS made it's BCS deal with the devil, this was one of unintended consequences.
...A final note on this season. Well, it was only an 8-5 season, and the Trojans left a couple wins on the field, but I still have some good things to look back on. People always make a season fun. The people in my life sure did this year. From my family, to the extended family of my tailgate group, to the great friends who came to LA for games and the those who I saw in far flung college locales of Minneapolis, MN, Pullman, WA. and Palo Alto, CA., I had a great time with all of you and you all mean a great deal to me. Without you all, the season is not nearly as fun.
Until my bowl previews come out next week, take a minute to watch the Army-Navy game this week. It's what college football is all about.
-The Commissioner
