Hey All,
It's time for that column that makes Tuesdays fun, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
USC 23- Utah 14: It was the first Pac 12 conference game and it had everything from an RB looking for a shot at redemption to a new team trying to prove that they belong, to a wild and crazy ending. USC RB Marc Tyler found a little redemption by lugging the leather 24 times for 113 yards and a TD. The new member Utah Utes played their tails off for four quarters while USC did everything they could to hand them the win down the stretch. Well, and as for that wild and crazy finish, it was just that. The fact remains though that USC's Matt Kalil blocked Utah's game-tying field goal attempt. The blocked kick was returned for a TD as time ran out by DB Torin Harris. USC is 1-0 in league play, sitting atop the Pac 12 Southern Division.
Telling Stat: 3 in 2; USC special teams have blocked three field goal attempts in the first two games of 2011.
Arizona State 37- Missouri 30: 1 OT: With 17 seconds left, Mizzou was lined up to try for a 48-yard game-winning field goal. Mizzou HC Gary Pinkel called time out. Then, he did it again. After these two timeouts, his PK Grant Ressel missed the kick. Yes, Pinkel had iced his own kicker. The game would go on to OT where ASU QB Brick Osweiler would hook up with WR Jamal Miles for an 11-yard TD pass. The ASU defense came out and held for downs to ensure the win. Osweiler completed 24 of 32 passes for 353 yards and 3 TDs for ASU.
Telling Stat: It was a flag festival. The two squads committed 23 penalties for 214 yards in this very sloppy affair.
California 36- Colorado 33: 1 OT: In this game that won't count in the Pac 12 standings, Cal survived Colorado's offensive explosion in Boulder. CU QB Tyler Hansen torched the Cal defense. He completed 28 of 49 passes for 474 yards an 3 TDs. The Buffs ran up 582 total yards for the day. CAL QB Zach Maynard hit on 18 of 35 passes for 243 yards and 4 TDs of his own. This game saw both schools just trade punches back and forth all afternoon. CAL's defense held CU to a field goal in the OT. Then, Zach Maynard brought CAL back from a personal foul penalty by hitting his half-brother, Keenan Allen with a 32-yard strike for a first and goal on the CU 3-yard line. Two plays later the half-brothrs hooked up again for the game winner from 5-yards out.
Telling Stat: They only got threes. CAL's defense held once for downs and forced CU to kick three field goals on The Buffs four drives into the CAL Red Zone. CU's TDs were all big plays.
Oregon 69- Nevada 20: UO got over their loss to LSU last week by crushing the Nevada Wolfpack, in Eugene. UO QB Darron Thomas threw for 295 yards and 6 TDs in three quarters work. The Ducks running game got involved too as six backs handled the ball for a team rushing total of 272 yards and 2 TDs. The Ducks took a 41-7 lead into the half and emptied the benches the rest of the way.
Telling Stat: They bent, but didn't break. UO's defense only allowed 20 points, but did give up 516 yards to Nevada.
Washington State 59- UNLV 7: The Cougars lit up the old home scoreboard for the second straight week in their crushing of the Runnin' Rebels. The Wazzu faithful forgot all about QB Jeff Tuel's injury as backup Marshall Lobbastael completed 24 of 32 passes for 361 yards and 5 TDs. The Cougars as a whole ran up 610 yards of total offense on the boys from The Strip. Meanwhile, the Cougar defense didn't let the Rebels cross the street. They held 'em to 9 first downs and 158 total yards. In fact, the Rebels only score came on a 95-yard kickoff return after the Cougs had just gone up, 59-0 with 5:29 left in the game.
Telling Stat: The Cougars attacked by air. Wazzu QBs combined to complete 76.3 % of their passes, (29 of 38), and threw for 7 TDs on UNLV.
Wisconsin 35- Oregon State 0: The Badgers physically pounded the Beavers for four quarters at Camp Randall Stadium. OSU was looking to rebound after an embarrassing loss to Sacramento State last week. That didn't happen. Wisconsin's O-line that averages 6-5, 322 all the way across just abused the Beavers front seven. Badger RB Montee Ball ran for 118 yards and 2 TDs, while QB Russell Wilson threw for the there TDs of his own. As for OSU, QB Sean Mannion hit on 25 of 38 passes for 244 yards in a losing effort.
Telling Stat: Think they miss 'Quizz Rodgers? Wisconsin held OSU to 23 yards rushing on 24 carries. That's a paltry 0.95 had per carry average.
Oklahoma State 37- Arizona 14: This game was a rematch of last season's Alamo Bowl where UofA was smashed by Okie State, 36-10. Well, not much seems to have changed as the Pokes smashed the Wildcats for the second time in less than a year. OSU QB Brandon Weeden tore apart the UofA defense by completing 42 of 53 passes for 397 yards and 2 TDs. Oh, and for good measure OSU RB Joseph Randle ran for 121 yards and 2 TDs. The Wildcats fell behind 14-0 before they could blink. They never dug out of that early hole. UofA QB Nick Foles did throw for 398 yards and a TD. However, most of those yards came after the game was already decided.
Telling Stat: He's in the books. OSU QB Brandon Weeden's completions (42), and attempts (53) are new Okie State single game records.
Stanford 44- Duke 14: With 2:14 left in the second quarter, the Blue Devils trailed the Cardinal 10-7. Duke's Lee Butler had just intercepted an Andrew Luck pass and returned it for a 76-yard touchdown. Duke had visions of upset in their eyes. Then, Andrew Luck calmly led the Cardinal to five TD drives in their next six possessions and this game was over. Luck finished the day with 290 yards and 4 TDs. On the defensive side, the Cardinal defense held Duke to just 30 yards rushing and just 3 for 16 on third down conversions.
Telling Stat: They couldn't move the chains. Half of Duke's drives ended up being three-and-outs.
UCLA 27- San Jose State 17: The Spartans gave the bRuins all they could handle for a little over three quarters before falling to UCLA. SJSU RB Brandon Rutley busted a 65-yard TD run that tied the game at 17 all with 4:30 to play in the third quarter. Then, the teams went on a turnover binge, committing four turnovers in four possessions. UCLA benefitted from the miscues and got a Kip Smith 20-yard field goal to take the lead with 7:31 to play. The bRuin faithful was then able to finally rest easy when RB Derrick Coleman scored on a 24-yard run with 3:35 left to ice the game. Coleman would finish with 135 yards on 14 carries and a TD in the win.
Telling Stat: Why didn't he play earlier? All of UCLA RB Derrick Coleman's carries and yards came in the second half.
Washington 40- Hawaii 32: Sporting new white helmets with red, white, and blue W's on the side, the Huskies started fast and then held on for the win in Seattle. QB Keith Price completed his first eight passes in a first quarter that saw the Dawgs take a 21-0 lead. He would complete 18 of 25 passes for 315 yards and 4 big TDs. The Warriors got off the deck behind the arm of QB Bryant Moniz who threw for 333 yards and RB Sterling Jackson who ran for 2 TDs. Hawaii did close to within a few points of the Huskies several times in the second half, but couldn't put a game winning drive together.
Telling Stat: Not so special teams; Hawaii had 2 PATs blocked, a failed two-point conversion and had one of their blocked kicks returned for a defensive extra point.
Michigan 35- Notre Dame 31: All looked good for the Fighting Irish. QB Tommy Rees had just thrown his second TD pass. One that gave ND a 24-7 lead with 2:13 left in the third quarter at The Big House. Then, the Denard Robinson show started in Ann Arbor. He led the Wolverines to four fourth quarter TD drives to pull off an amazing come from behind win. The final TD came with just :02 left not he clock as he hit WR Roy Roundtree with a 16-yard strike. Robinson finished the game 338 yards passing and 4 TDs. He also ran for 108 yards and 1 TD as well.
Telling Stat: In their final five drives of the game, Michigan scored four TDs and gained 322 yards on Notre Dame.
Observations
...They must want to bolt now. After smacking Arizona around, Oklahoma State must be just dying to join the Pac 12.
...1+1+47=Penalty. Cal has two players that wear #1 on their roster. WR Marvin Jones and DB Steve Williams. Both play on Cal's Punt Return team. So, Jones puts a vest on over his jersey that changes his number to 47 for each punt return. He did it on the field at CU and Cal got penalized for it. They lost one of their time outs in the second half because of his number change.
...That warm, fuzzy feeling; Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson must have the most safe and secure feeling when he drops back to pass behind his massive O-line.
...Break up this Cougs! After two games this season, the Wazzu offense has scored 123 points. The Wazzu offense scored 144 points total in 2009.
...You again? Washington will travel to play Nebraska this week. It's the third game between the two schools in 13 months.
...He did what? Watching Missouri HC Gary Pinkel ice his own kicker v. ASU was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen.
...The final outcome of the USC-Utah game has created havoc in Las Vegas. The point spread which had started out with USC being held as a 10 point favorite, dropped by kickoff to 8.5 points. All the sports books held 17-14 as the final score and paid out a lot of money to those who took Utah +8.5. Then, roughly two hours after the game, the Pac 12 gave USC their final TD back and the final score was now 23-14. Now, all the people who had USC -8.5 came running demanding their money. As of today, some of the sports books paid out both sides, while most have denied payouts on the the final score of 23-14. It's a mess.
...A reversal of fortune; In week one, BYU overcame a 13-0 deficit to beat Ole Miss, 14-13. Last week, the Cougars were up 13-0 on Texas only to fall 17-16.
...10= (0-2). Notre Dame has turned the ball over 10 times this season. Now, that is a big 10.
...Get well, coach! I want to take a moment to wish Minnesota HC Jerry Kill a speedy recovery after collapsing on the field with a seizure in the final minute of his team's game with New Mexico State.
...A cool streak; Michigan has beaten Notre Dame three years in a row on TDs scored with under a minute to play.
...And then there were 24. 24 teams out of the 120 FBS schools haven't won a game yet. That's not a bad number just two games into 2011.
...Million dollar bodies and 10 cent heads; If ASU could eliminate the bonehead penalties and mental mistakes, they'd be a top 10 team.
...I heard the Rose Bowl unveiled some new improvements to the stadium at the SJSU-UCLA game. Unfortunately, nobody saw them. Most of the fans there were dressed up as seats.
...UNLV has my early vote to go 0-12 this year.
...After reviewing my game tape, the Refs never took the final TD off the board in the USC-Utah game. All Referee Jack Folliard said on the field after the play was "Unsportsmanlike conduct on the USC bench. By rule, we'll decline that penalty. The game is over." The scoreboard operator caused the confusion by taking the score off the board.
...Staying classy; I think the most fun part of watching the Alabama-Penn State game was watching two schools with great tradition play a game where they didn't let Nike destroy their uniforms.
Until next week folks, remember to cash in your bet quickly after a final score is posted in Las Vegas.
-The Commissioner
