Hey All,
It's time for the column that makes Tuesdays a little more fun, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
Arizona State 43- USC 22: The Trojans went into Tempe and faced high heat, a first quarter monsoon and an ASU team on a mission. The Sun Devils made USC pay for every mistake, while QB Brock Osweiler completed passes at will on the Trojan defense. Osweiler completed 25 of 32 passes for 223 yards and 2 TDs, while RB Cameron Marshall provided great balance to the Sun Devil offense by rushing for 141 yards on 25 carries with 3 TDs. The Trojans did look like they were gonna win this one when they overcame a 21-9 halftime deficit to take a 22-21 lead in the third quarter. However, the Trojans two-point conversion attempt failed after the go-ahead score. Nothing went right for USC after that point. ASU went on to outscore USC, 15-0 in the fourth quarter to preserve the win. In defeat, Trojan QB Matt Barkley threw for 227 yards, and a TD. However, he also threw two interceptions, and fumbled once. All of those turnovers had disastrous results. His first interception led to an ASU TD drive, while his fumble killed a Trojan drive into the ASU red zone. Then, his last interception was returned for ASU's game sealing TD. Meanwhile, USC 's defense didn't have a clue all night as to what ASU's offense was doing.
Telling Stat: Tunrovers Kill; The old adage came through again. USC's four turnovers, three of them in the Red Zone, cost them the game.
Oregon 56- Arizona 31: It was the LaMichael James show in Tucson Saturday night. He ran through, around, and past the Arizona defense for 288 yards on 23 carries and scored 2 TDs. The 288 yards are a new Oregon single-game record. Thrown in 2 TDs through the air from QB Darron Thomas and you can see what kind of rout this turned into. The Ducks held a 35-9 halftime lead and kept the pressure on until the clock ran out. As for the Wildcats, QB Nick Foles connected on 37 of 54 aerials for 398 yards and 3 TDs while RB Keola Antolin chipped in with 55 yards and a TD of his own.
Telling Stat: Lightning fast drives; UO's average scoring drive in this game took only 2:52 and covered 63 yards in just 7 plays.
Washington 31- California 23: This game was a see-saw affair that saw both offenses shine, but it was the Husky defense that came up big for the Dawgs up in Seattle. The Dawgs made a goal line stand, forcing an incompletion by CAL QB Zach Maynard on 4th down with under a minute to play to secure the win. As for the Husky offense, QB Keith Price completed 19 of 25 passes for 292 yards and 3 TDs, while RB Chris Polk lugged the leather 20 times for 60 yards and a TD. As for the Golden Bears, Maynard completed 23 of 43 for 349 yards and one score.
Telling Stat: 2+2=0; In the fourth quarter the Husky defense forced CAL to punt twice and then held for downs twice, shutting the Golden Bears out in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State 37- Colorado 17: Buckeye QB Braxton Miller only completed 5 of 13 passes for 83 yards, but two of those completions were for TDs as Thee OSU rolled the Buffs in Columbus. This wasn't a great game by either team, but Thee OSU just kept grinding on the mistake-prone Buffs until they just wore down. CU QB Tyler Hansen did throw for 238 yards and 2 TDs, but most of it came after the game was out of hand.
Telling Stat: Not nearly as close as it looked; CU's last TD and final 91-yards of the game came late in fourth quarter against Thee OSU's second stringers.
UCLA 27- Oregon State 19: Richard Brehaut was UCLA's QB of choice this week and he led his team to a 21-3 second quarter lead. He would then engineer UCLA's game sealing drive in the fourth quarter to hold off a furious OSU comeback attempt. Brehaut finished the game completing 7 of 11 passes for 146 yards and a TD, but he did set up the UCLA rushing game that ran for 211 yards on the Beavers. The Beavers woke up in this game when WR Jordan Poyer broke off an 85-yard punt return for a TD to close the gap to 21-10 just before halftime. The third quarter belonged to OSU as they got within two of UCLA, trailing only 21-19 as the fourth quarter started. However, the bRuin defense did come alive again in the fourth quarter. They shutout OSU in the final period and salted the game away when RB Anthony Barr crossed the double stripe from one yard out.
Telling Stat: I above Team; UCLA RB Derrick Coleman ran for 100 yards in this game. OSU as a team rushed for only 88 yards.
Notre Dame 15- Pittsburgh 12: After breaking their maiden last week against Michigan State, the Fighting Irish got their second win of the year over the Panthers at Heinz Field. ND held a 7-6 lead at half thanks to a 79-yard TD scamper by RB Jonas Gray and a defense that held Pitt to just two field goals. Pitt QB Tino Sunseri then put his Panthers ahead 12-7 when he hit Hubie Graham with a 3-yard TD pass. However, their two point conversion attempt failed, (sound familiar?), which opened the door for an ND comeback. Midway through the fourth quarter, Irish QB Tommy Rees led his squad on a 11 play, 85 yard drive to win the game. Rees capped the drive by throwing a 6-yard TD pass to Tyler Elfert. Then, he also connected with Elfert for a successful two-point conversion to put ND up by three points. The ND defense held off Pitt the rest of the way to ensure the win.
Telling Stat: Great when he had to be; ND QB Tommy Rees didn't have a great day, but on that final scoring drive, he completed all nine of his passes for 77 yards, the game-winning TD and the two-point conversion.
...Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz completed 30 of 40 passes for 424 yards and 7 TDs against FCS foe UC Davis. So, why am I talking about this? Well, because Moniz only played the first half. Yup, just the first half.
...The first axe has fallen. New Mexico fired HC Mike Locksley on Sunday. To say Locksley was an embattled coach is putting it lightly . His teams were just 2-26 over his two plus years at the helm and there were several embarrassing off the field incidents. Those incidents included Locksley being suspended a game for punching one of his assistants and a sexual harassment lawsuit. The last straw came Saturday when the Lobos lost in overtime to FCS powerhouse, Sam Houston State, 48-45.
...Note to Monte Kiffin; Ditch the Tampa-2 defense. It's useless against spread offenses.
...Those Tigers need to travel. Clemson has been great at home, but they need a big road win to really impress the rest of the country.
...Nobody in the nation has had a tougher schedule to start the season than Arizona. The Wildcats may be just 1-3, but their losses are to #5 Oklahoma State, #6 Stanford, and #9 Oregon.
...And then there were seven; There are seven winless teams left in the FBS. The only winless team left in a BCS conference is Oregon State out of the Pac 12. The other six are UAB (C-USA), New Mexico (MWC), Miami OH (WAC) along with Florida Atlantic, Western Kentucky, and Middle Tennessee who all come from the Sun Belt Conference.
...Just how do you screw up a call on a PAT? Well, the Big East did it and their error cost Toledo a win over Syracuse. It was a double error as the refs on the field and in the booth both called a PAT kick good that wasn't. The Big East apologized, but really what does that do for Toledo?
...10-27-2007; That was the last time Colorado won a road game. That day, they beat Texas Tech 31-26. The Buffs have dropped 19 straight road games since then. The Buffs latest road loss at Thee Ohio State led to this great nugget of wisdom from their HC John Embree, "We have a long way to go as a program." Great stuff there, John.
...Toledo- Part II; The NCAA told Toledo there was no way to vacate Syracuse's win over them due to a blown call by the refs. Funny, I've seen the NCAA vacate a lot of wins lately.
...Baby, things change; The Big East voted Temple off their island a decade ago. Now, the Big East is on the brink of collapse and is looking at inviting Temple back. What goes around...
...After four games, it is quite clear that USC has no great players on the defensive side of the ball.
...Couture, yet no consistency; The Maryland Terrapins are grabbing headlines for their crazy uniforms, but their team stinks. the Terps were smashed at home by Temple, 38-7 and are now 1-2 on the season.
...How does Oklahoma win and get jumped by LSU in the polls? The Sooners won! That's no reason to drop down. Only a loss should knock a team out of the number one spot.
...Jake who? The Husky doesn't seem to be missing Jake Locker much. The Dawgs are averaging 32 points per game with new QB Keith Price at the helm.
...Don't overlook Wazzu's trip to Boulder this week. Even though they already faced California, this is Colorado's first true Pac 12 game. It's a historic moment for CU and should be a really good game.
...Trap game alert! ASU faces winless Oregon State this week. The Sun Devils have to concentrate on this game and not look ahead to their trip to Utah in two weeks.
...Dallas and Fort Worth clash again this week. SMU will travel to TCU for a tilt that evokes memories of the old Southwest Conference. I wish Dandy Don was around for this game.
...What's the over/under for passes attempted in this week's Air Force-Navy game? I'm thinking single digits here.
Until next week folks, remember that the corner has to turn the play back into the middle of the field when defending the quick screen.
-The Commissioner
