Week 9

Hey all,

Here's that column you love to read on Tuesdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Stanford 56- USC 48 3OT: The undefeated Stanford Cardinal came into the Coliseum for a big, big game with the Trojans. The game was a big one with, epic momentum shifts, controversial plays, and blown calls that all contributed to this being one of the best games of the college season. When it was done, after SU QB Andrew Luck threw for 330 yards and ran for another score and after USC QB Matt Barkley threw for 284 yards and 3 TDs of his own, the game ended on a fumble. USC RB Curtis McNeal had a great day, rushing for 145 yards on 20 carries with 2 TDs, but he fumbled the ball into the end zone in the third overtime and the Cardinal came away with the ball and the win.

Telling Stat: 111; In their last two trips to the Coliseum, Stanford has scored 55 and 56 points respectively. Those are two highest total ever allowed by USC in a single game.

Utah 27- Oregon State 8: It's a couple of months too late for Utah fans, but the Utes did finally get their first Pac 12 victory last week. The Utes had a dominant second quarter in which they outscored the Beavers 21-0 to pull away for the win. Utah RB John White IV was his team's workhorse, carrying the ball 35 times for 205 yards and 2 TDs. The Utah defense did its' part by shutting down the Beavers. They forced 4 OSU turnovers and held them to just 32 yards rushing on 26 carries.

Telling Stat: Just enough air; Utah completed only 6 of 14 passes for 62 yards in their win over OSU. However, two of those completions went for touchdowns.

Arizona State 48- Colorado 14: Before most of the Sun Devil faithful had a chance to sit down, QB Brock Osweiler had already put ASU up, 7-0 with a 25-yard TD pass. After one quarter of play, ASU led 21-0, and the rout was on. Osweiler would finish 18 of 28 for 307 yards and 2 TDs, while RB Cameron Marshall gained 114 yards on 15 carries with 3 TDs. As has been the norm for CU this year, they put up a bunch of yards, but killed themselves with turnovers (5) and plenty of missed assignments on defense. The loss was the Buffaloes 22nd straight on the road.

Telling Stat: When T.O.P means nothing; CU held the ball for almost 34 minutes, yet lost by 34 points.

Washington 42- Arizona 31: Up in Seattle, the crowd at Husky Stadium was treated to the Chris Polk show. Polk became the only player in UW history to go over 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game. The RB from Redlnads, CA finished the night with 144 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving. He also scored 5 of his team's 6 TDs. None of those was more important than his jaunt from two yards out with 3:59 left that sealed the victory for the Dawgs. As for the Wildcats, QB Nick Foles did throw for 388 yards and 2 TDs in the losing effort.

Telling Stat: They couldn't shoot straight; UW QB Keith Price and UofA QB Nick Foles each threw three interceptions in this wild affair.

UCLA 31- California 14: The bRuins came into this game still stinging after being embarrassed last week by Arizona. CAL came into this game riding high after whipping Utah last week. So, naturally UCLA came out and smacked the Golden Bears. What? Huh? Yeah, they did it playing strong defense and getting a good effort out of QB Kevin Prince. Prince only completed 9 out of 18 passes for 92 yards, but it was his 163 yards rushing on 19 carries that kept the CAL defense off balance all afternoon. RB Derrick Coleman also had a big day for the bRuins, gaining 80 yards on 16 carries with 3 TDs. UCLA's defense got into the act too by forcing 5 Golden Bear turnovers.

Telling Stat: 4 for 7 ain't bad; UCLA forced CAL to turn the ball over on four of their seven second half possessions to help secure a victory.

Oregon 43- Washington State 28: The Ducks led this one just 15-10 at the half. They hadn't raced out to one of their usual early big leads. One reason for this was that Duck QB Darron Thomas had thrown two first half interceptions. So, UO HC Chip Kelly benched him in favor of backup QB Brian Bennett who went and threw for 2 TDs and no interceptions in the second half to lead the Ducks to victory. The Cougars gave the Duck defense all they could handle, gaining 462 yards and holding the ball for over 40 minutes, but just couldn't get out of their own way. The Cougars gave up an interception return, blocked punt return, and a kickoff return for touchdowns.

Telling Stat: They just didn't need the ball; With scoring TDs on three types of returns, UO's offense only ran 48 plays on offense in the game, yet score 43 points.

Observations

...A scenario to ponder; Many folks down south are arguing that the loser of the LSU-Alabama game should get a rematch in the BCS title game. However, two teams could be out there with a slightly better record and stronger arguments. Penn State and Oregon could each finish as 12-1 conference champs. Oregon's only loss would be to LSU and Penn State's only loss would be to Alabama. Wouldn't those two schools have a legit argument for a title game shot?

...And then there were still two; Florida Atlantic and New Mexico are still the only two winless schools in the FBS. The sad thing is that the Lobos are giving up and average of 46.8 points per game and they haven't played Boise State yet.

...Some Pueblo; A great feel good story belongs to the Colorado State- Pueblo Thunderwolves. In 2008, CSUP started playing football again for first time since 1984. In just four short seasons the Thunderwolves are now the #4 ranked team in Division II. It's neat to see a program come back in this age of contraction.

...The Pac 12 is a joke- Part I; USC HC Lane Kiffin got fined 10,000 big ones by the league for his comments about the poor level of officiating in USC's loss to Stanford last week. It must be awful to be fined for being right.

...A big one for Bucky; Rumor has it that Wisconsin is petitioning the NCAA cut all football games down to just 59 minutes in length.

...College Park blues; In 2011, Maryland has a new HC in Randy Edsall, new fancy/ugly uniforms, and they stink at 2-6. In 2010, they had HC Ralph Friedgen (2010 ACC Coach of the Year), not so fancy/ugly uniforms, and went 9-4. Hmmmmmm.

...The Pac 12 is a joke- Part II; For USC's TJ McDonald to get suspended for doing what safeties have done for the last 50+ years is just plain stupid.

...Hmmm stat; Houston QB Case Keenum has thrown 32 TD passes so far this season. New Mexico has scored 13 TDs total this year as a team.

...A sad saga; The demise of the Big East is taking on a sadly epic tone. You think they can get Edward Gibbon to record the decline and fall?

...Quietly making noise; Wyoming is 5-2 and tied for second place in the Mountain West Conference. Yeah, they have some tough games coming up, but they are only a win away from qualifying for just their third bowl game in the last 18 years.

...Early, early report; There will be 35 bowl games this year. That means 70 teams are needed to fill those games. Right now, nine weeks into the season, there are 32 bowl eligible teams.

...Balloon Mortgage schedule; Kansas State's getting smacked by Oklahoma, 59-14 was just one payment on their back loaded schedule. The Wildcats will take on Okie State, TAMU, and Texas in the next three weeks.

Until next week folks, remember that in Cover-2 the corners have to funnel their receivers into the middle of the field.

-The Commissioner

Week 8

Hey All,

It's time for that column you love to read on Tuesdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. In honor of his great columns after every USC-ND clash, we miss you, Jim Murray.

Summaries

USC 31- Notre Dame 17: ND moved this game to prime time, handed out 80,000 rally towels, and brought in great names from the past to inspire the squad in a game that was supposed to be ND's big step back into relevancy. Then, USC came in and physically dominated for four full quarters. USC's much maligned O-line paved the way for 219 rushing yards and didn't allow a sack of QB Matt Barkley who completed 24 of 35 passes for 224 yards and 3 TDs. Pint-sized RB Curtis McNeal rushed 24 times for 118 yards. He carried the ball the final 10 plays of the game to kill the clock and secure the Trojans' fifth straight win at ND and USC's ninth win their last 10 games v. ND. As for the Trojan defense, they bottled up the Irish all night long and forced three turnovers, which included an 80-yard TD return of Irish QB Dayne Crist's fumble by CB Jawanza Starling that put USC ahead to stay late in the third quarter. The win by USC ended any hope of ND making a BCS bowl.

Telling Stat: A balanced win; USC's ability to run the ball led to a total offense split of 224 yards passing and 219 yards rushing and a time of possession edge of almost 20 minutes.

California 34- Utah 10: Well, Utah dove back into Pac 12 play and lost yet again. This time the Golden Bears worked over the Utes at AT&T Park. CAL QB Zach Maynard completed 19 of 29 passes for 255 yards and a TD. He also ran for another score. As for CAL's running game, RB Isi Sofele gained 84 yards on 26 carries and scored a TD of his own. The Golden Bears controlled this game from the start as their defense forced four Utah turnovers and held the Utes to just 13 yards on the ground and 178 total. The defense also put a bow on this win early in the fourth quarter when DB Josh Hill returned an interception 32 yards for a TD. That return put Cal up 34-0 and the parties began in Berkeley.

Telling Stat: A weak 178; the last 64 of Utah's 178 total yards came on their final drive of the game after Cal had emptied their bench.

Oregon 45- Colorado 2: This had to be the most boring game of the weekend as the Ducks made quick work of the Buffaloes. Behind two Kenjon Barner TD runs, and two TD passes from QB Bryan Bennett, the Ducks were up 29-0 after one quarter of play. The Webfoots then put the game on cruise control and built up a 45-0 lead at the end of three quarters of play. Barner led all Duck RBs with 115 yards on 10 carries and those two TDs. As for Colorado, the Buffs offense only crossed the 50-yard line twice and never mounted a serious scoring threat.

Telling Stat: 350/231; The Ducks ran up 350 yards of offense in the first quarter of this mismatch, while Colorado gained 231 yards total in the game.

Arizona 48- UCLA 12: With HC Mike Stoops fired, and UofA looking pretty bad after losing to Oregon State two weeks ago, it looked like this game might be close. Yeah, right. UofA QB Nick Foles came out and torched the bRuin defense for three first half TDs. Wildcat RB Taimi Tutogi ran for two TDs in the first half and that helped UofA end this game early with a 42-7 halftime lead. However, those performances were lost in the shuffle of a bench-clearing brawl just before the intermission. The fight started about 50 yards away from where a streaker, originally dressed as a referee, disrupted the game. The fight spread all over the field. When it was all over, one player from each squad was ejected and a day later 10 players total on both sides were suspended for at least one game and one player from UCLA, DT Cassius Marsh got a two game suspension.

Telling Stat: No O= a battered D; UCLA's lack of offense left their defense hanging. The bRuin defense gave up 573 yards, 32 first downs, and allowed UofA to convert 10 of 16 third downs.

Oregon State 44- Washington State 21: This was a back and forth affair for the first 25 minutes until the Beavers went on a 20-0 scoring run to pull away from the Cougars. Beaver QB Sean Mannion had his best game, completing 26 of 34 passes for 376 yards and 4 TDs. As for the Beaver defense, they forced 3 Wazzu turnovers and knocked out WSU QB Jeff Tuel right before the half. The Cougs could only muster seven second half points behind backup QB Marshall Lobbestael.

Telling Stat: They still won; OSU won despite committing 14 penalties for 120 yards.

Stanford 65- Washington 21: SU QB Andrew Luck completed 16 of 21 passes for 169 yards and 2 TDs, but it was the Stanford O-line that administered this beat down. Stanford's big uglies paved the way for seven backs to carry the ball 44 times for 446 yards on the ground. In fact, the Cardinal came seven yards shy of having three backs break the 100 yard mark in the game. RB Stepfan Taylor carried the ball 10 times for 138 yards and a TD, while fellow RB Tyler Gaffney carried the ball 9 times for 117 yards and a TD, and RB Anthony Wilkerson lugged the leather 14 times for 93 yards and 2 TDs. As for the Huskies, QB Keith Price did throw for 247 yards and a TD and RB Chris Polk rushed for 144 yards and 2 TDs.

Telling Stat: Strong Drives; Stanford's average scoring drive lasted just 6 plays and covered 61 yards.

Observations

...Hmmm Stat; with USC's 31-17 win over Notre Dame, OB Matt Barkley became just the third visiting quarterback to win two games at Notre Dame Stadium. The other two are USC's Matt Leinart who won at ND in 2003 and 2005, and Purdue's Len Dawson who won there in 1954 and 1956.

...And then there were two; Alabama-Birmingham got a 40-yard field goal by PK Ty Long with 21 seconds left to beat Central Florida, 26-24. The Blazers finally have a win in 2011. That leaves just Florida Atlantic and New Mexico as the only winless schools in the FBS.

...This just in; They are still celebrating MSU's Hail Mary pass in East Lansing.

...This seven ain't heaven; By losing their seventh game of 2011, Indiana, New Mexico, Colorado, and Florida Atlantic are the first schools to play their way into bowl ineligibility for 2011.

...Requiem for a Trojan; I like to think that somewhere Marv Goux is smiling. Goux will always be the standard by which all true Trojans are measured.

...Not an Oxford brain; Only Houston Nutt is stupid enough to run wide from his own end zone.

...Another one for Joe; Here's to Penn State HC Joe Paterno for tying Eddie Robinson for all-time wins by a Division I coach with 408 when his squad beat Northwestern, 34-24 last week. That puts JoePa only 73 wins behind the all-time record holder, John Gagliardi of D-III St John's (MN).

...After their beat down by Stanford, the Huskies must feel like they've been through the Iditarod.

...He got what?; Minnesota HC Jerry Kill had been working at Minnesota without a contract, just a memorandum agreement. He then starts out 1-6, and has been hospitalized twice with seizures. So, for that he gets a seven year deal at 1.1 million a year. Wow, if I had known that's all it would take to make me a millionaire I would have volunteered years ago to run some school's program into the ground.

...Some punishment; If you're a UCLA football player, I would think being suspended right now would be more like a vacation than a punishment.

...Definition of Desperate; The Big East keeps handing out invites to join their league like comped meals in Las Vegas. They just don't realize it's hard to get people to come over to your house when it's burning down.

...Flying tortilla time; Gotta love Texas Tech's upset of Oklahoma. I just feel sorry for the guys who have to clean up all the tortillas that were flung around Lubbock in celebration.

...A new leader; Here's a salute to Houston QB Case Keenum who broke the NCAA Career Total Offense record. At over 17,000 yards and still going, Keenum surpassed previous record holder Timmy Chang's total of 16,910 yards. Chang as you remember did his damage as Hawaii's Qb from 2000-2004.

...Pac 12 Commissioner's nightmare; After a dismal start and a fired HC, Arizona can still make it to the inaugural Pac 12 Championship Game. The Wildcats could win out and finish at 7-5 as Southern Division Champs.

...A gauntlet; Penn State looks good at 7-1 atop the Big Ten Leaders division. They're only loss is to Alabama, but they have a tough month ahead. The Blue and White's last four games are at home v. Illinois and Nebraska, then two on the road at Thee OSU and Wisconsin. That's tough.

...Not OK at KU; The Kansas Jayhawks have been just awful the last two years. Do you think they miss the days, not so long ago, when they were nicknamed the Fighting Mangino's?

Until next week folks, remember that most bubble screens are thrown to the boundary side of the field because the defense usually over rotates coverage to the wide side.

-The Commissioner

Week 7

Hey All,

It's time for that column that makes Tuesday's fun, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 30 -California 9: The Game was played in San Francisco in a baseball park and USC was the team that hit the home runs. The much maligned Trojan defense forced five Cal turnovers while the Trojan offense sputtered, but did put up 30 points. USC QB Matt Barkley completed 19 of 35 passes for 195 yards and 2 TDs while RB Curtis McNeal lugged the leather 17 times for 86 yards and a TD of his own. Cal QB Zach Maynard was intercepted three times by the USC defense wit two of those coming deep in Cal territory.

Telling Stat: A great 8; USC's win was their 8th straight over the Golden Bears. That's three short of USC's record of 11 straight wins in the series from 1959-69.

Utah 26- Pittsburgh 14: After getting slapped around by their new friends in the Pac 12, the Utes went out of conference to Pitt and did the slapping for a change. Utah revived their rushing game behind 171 yards on 36 carries from RB John White IV, while Ute QB Jon Hayes threw for 127 yards and a TD. However, it was PK Coleman Petersen who was the offensive star. At Heinz Field, which is known for its' tricky winds, Petersen made all four field goal attempts to lead his team to victory. The Ute defense did a great job too. They held the Panthers to 120 total yards. DB Derrick Shelby sealed the game for Utah when he returned an interception 21 yards for a touchdown.

Telling Stat: Zero; Utah's defense shutout Pitt's offense. Pitt's two touchdowns came on a blocked punt return and a kickoff return.

Washington 52- Colorado 24: The Buffaloes Pac 12 nightmare just won't end. The boys from Boulder were whipped by the Huskies. UW QB Keith Price connected on 21 of 28 passes for 257 yards and 4 TDs. The Huskies ran well too. They ran for 295 yards as a team with RB leading all rushers with 117 yards on 18 carries. The Huskies got off to a fast start and held a 38-10 halftime lead before letting everyone play in the second half.

Telling Stat: CU Couldn't get off the field; The Huskies didn't face too many third downs, but when they did they converted 8 out of 10. That's 80% for the non-math majors out there.

Stanford 44- Washington State 14: The Cougars came out strong in the first half. They hit the Cardinal hard, forced turnovers and even knocked a couple Cardinal players out of the game. They trailed 10-7 at half and were confident. Then Stanford came out and declawed the Cougars, scoring 34 second half points to stay undefeated. SU QB Andrew Luck completed 23 of 36 passes for 336 yards and 4 TDs. The Stanford defense played another strong game, holding WSU to just 48 yards rushing and just 5 of 15 on third downs.

Telling Stat: It ain't just Luck; The Stanford defense held Wazzu scoreless in there third quarter. In fact, the Stanford defense has only given up only six points all year in the third quarter.

BYU 38- Oregon State 28: Three weeks ago, BYU QB Jake Heaps was replaced by his backup Riley Nelson. Heaps may never get his job back after Nelson led BYU to their third straight win. All Nelson did was complete 17 of 27 aerials for 217 yards and 3 TDs. He also led all BYU rushers with 87 yards on 12 carries. Nelson's main target was WR Cody Hoffman who caught nine passes for 162 yards and touchdown. As for the Beavers, QB Sean Mannion threw for 306 yards and a TD, but also threw two interceptions. BYU's defense choked off OSU's rushing game, holding the Beavers to just 59 yards on 23 carries.

Telling Stat: No aerial circus; Usually pass-happy BYU attempted only 29 passes, but ran the ball 48 times for 282 yards v. OSU.

Oregon 41- Arizona State 27: In a preview of what could be the first Pac 12 Championship Game, Oregon got a big boost from a backup QB to hold off the Sun Devils, in Eugene. After starting QB Darron Thomas was knocked out of the game in the third quarter, Freshman Bryan

Bennett came in and calmly led the Ducks on scoring drives of 68 and 88 yards. UO took control of the game with those two TDs and never looked back. The Ducks ran up 536 yards of offense on ASU, with 327 of those coming on the ground. As for ASU, QB Brock Osweiler threw for 291 yads and a pair of TDs, while RB Cameron Marshall ran for 97 yards and a score of his own.

Telling Stat: Just that fast; Oregon went from trailing 24-21 to in control of the game up 35-24 in a four minute span in the third quarter.

Observations

...Fickle Cougars; BYU made a big deal a little while back about how great they would be as an independent team. They spun the issue endlessly extolling the virtues of the independent life. So why are they now considering an invitation from the Big XII?

...Hmmmm Stat; In 39 of the last 42 games between Michigan State and Michigan, the winning team has been the team that has rushed for the most yards in the contest.

...The fact that the NCAA acquitted Auburn of all charges so quickly shows just how agenda driven and corrupt the NCAA has become. The NCAA's agenda was to find Auburn not guilty, so they did so, quickly. It looks like USC will hold the record for longest NCAA investigation ever.

...And then there are still three; Alabama-Birmingham, New Mexico, and Florida Atlantic are all still winless. However, UAB will play FAU in a few weeks, so there will only be two teams soon.

...Glasses strikes again; ASU fans will have Pac 12 ref Jay Stricherz and his crew on their hate lists for quite some time after his crew blew a key third quarter fumble call in the ASU-Oregon game. Silly me, I thought the Pac 12 supposedly upgraded their officiating this season.

...Great name department; Illinois has a DL named Whitney Mercilus. (Merciless).

...Why not the Badgers? Wisconsin's schedule is weak enough to make the SEC proud.

...Ifs and buts; Utah would be undefeated if they didn't have to play those annoying conference games.

...Shotgun wedding; The football only merger of the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA has disaster written all over it. I just don't see Hawaii making a seven time zone trip to play at East Carolina.

...Not easy in the Big Easy; Buffet Bob Toledo has resigned as HC at Tulane. He was just 13-35 in four plus seasons there.

...Uglier than their uniforms; Oregon plays at Colorado this week. The spread is 32 points and that was the number before CU announced that their top LB and RB will miss the game due to injuries. Oh, and the Ducks aren't known for backing off with a big lead. The Webfoots might put up 80 on the Buffs.

...New Uniforms; It seems that almost everyone is sporting new uniforms this season. I have just one request. Can the teams stick to their school colors? Since when does gold figure into Michigan State's colors or black into Arizona State's scheme?

...Price is right; QB Keith Price has been great so far for Washington. He's completed 69.4% of his passes with 21 TDs and just 4 interceptions. He's quickly made Husky fans forget about Jake Locker and could make a lot of fans remember his name throughout the conference with a big game at Stanford this week.

Until Next week folks, remember that it takes more new uniforms to win games.

-The Commissioner

Week 6

Hey All,

Here's that column you love to read, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Stanford 48- Colorado 7: A glorified scrimmage was held up in Palo Alto last weekend. The Cardinal came out, stretched, broke a sweat and calmly smashed the Buffaloes. Colts future first round draft choice Andrew Luck completed 26 of 33 tosses for 370 yards and 3 TDs. Luck completed passes to 11 different receivers on the afternoon. SU RBs Tyler Gaffney, Stepfan Taylor and Jeremy Stewart each ran for a TD as the Cardinal used a committee of backs in the game. As for Colorado, QB Tyler Hansen threw for 202 yards and his team's only score in the losing effort. The loss was CU's 21st straight road defeat.

Telling Stat: one and done; after allowing CU's lone touchdown, the Cardinal defense held the Buffs to 146 total yards, 7 first downs, and zero points for the remaining 42:54 of the game.

UCLA 28- Washington State 25: The Cougars did everything right except win this game at the Rose Bowl. The stats are staggering. Wazzu outagained UCLA 389- 371. They racked up 28 first downs to UCLA's 15 and held the ball for 13 minutes more than the bRuins, yet lost. Why? They couldn't score TDs in the Red Zone. WSU's miscues and a tough UCLA Red Zone defense forced the Cougs to kick three first half field goals and that was the difference in the game. UCLA seemed doomed for defeat when QB Richard Brehaut was lost for the season with a broken leg in the first half. However, much-maligned QB Kevin Prince came off the bench and threw two fourth quarter TD passes to lead UCLA to the win. UCLA RB Johnathan Franklin led all rushers with 110 yards on 12 carries.

Telling Stat: 3s are not 7s; Wazzu left 12 points on the field in the first half and it cost them the game.

Oregon State 37- Arizona 27: The Beavers raced out to an early 27-6 lead up in Corvalis, then held on for dear life as they weathered the storm of another big passing day by UofA QB Nick Foles. The Beavers were up 14-0 on the Wildcats in the second quarter behind a 1-yard TD run by RB Jovan Stevenson and a blocked punt return by DB Clayton York. In the middle of third quarter, down 30-6, the Wildcats woke up. RB Keola Antolin scored on a run from 13-yards out, then eight seconds later, DB Shaquille Richardson intercepted OSU QB Sean Mannion's pass and returned it 28-yards for a score. The Wildcats were now down only 10 with a quarter to play. UofA pulled within three at 30-27 early in the fourth quarter when RB Ka'Deem Carey crossed the double stripe from one yard out. However, the Beavers put the game away when Mannion found TE Joe Halahuni in the end zone for a two-yard TD pass on fourth and goal with 5:22 to play. Mannion threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs in the Beavers first win of 2011. Foles threw for 378 yards, a TD and 2 interceptions in the loss.

Telling Stat: Digging an early hole; In their five losses this season, Arizona has been outscored 55-3 in the first quarter.

Oregon 43- California 15: For the first 30 minutes up in Eugene, the Golden Bears stuck it to Oregon. Their defense smacked any Duck who got his hands on the ball and their offense built a 15-14 halftime lead. Then, the Webfoots game out and lowered the boom on Cal in the second half. The Duck offense exploded scoring 29 unanswered points to turn this game into a laugher. UO QB Darron Thomas threw for 198 yards and 3 TDs with all three of his TD throws coming in the second half. Duck RB LaMichael James ran for 239 yards and a TD of his own, but left the game in the fourth quarter with a dislocated elbow. As for the Golden Bears, QBs Zach Maynard and Allan Bridgford combined for 321 yards and 1 TD in the loss.

Telling Stat: 4 for 4; The Ducks scored four TDs on their first four second half drives to turn this game into a blowout.

Arizona State 35- Utah 14: Utah played a strong first half against the Sun Devils, but ASU's hard-hitting defense asserted themselves in the second half, forcing three third quarter turnovers that QB Brock Osweiler and the ASU offense were all too ready to take advantage of. Oswelier threw for 2 TDs and a 2-point conversion as part of ASU's 25 point second half. Osweiler would throw for 325 yards and 3 TDs total in the win. Utah QB Jon Hays completed 18 of 30 passes for 199 yards and a TD, but also threw three big interceptions.

Telling Stat: Bad hands team; In their three Pac 12 losses, Utah has turned the ball over 11 times.

Notre Dame 59- Air Force 33: Once again, the Fighting Irish didn't commit any turnovers and once again they came away with a blowout win. QB Tommy Rees completed 23 of 32 passes for 261 yards and 3 TDs while a committee of ND running backs combined for 266 yards rushing and 4 TDs on the ground. ND dominated for the first three plus quarters, building up a 59-19 lead before emptying the benches and giving up a couple of garbage time scores.

Telling Stat: In balance again; For the second straight week, the ND offense showed great balance, rushing for 266 yards and passing for 294.

Observations

...Growing pains; Wazzu's red zone failures at UCLA will stick with the Cougs for awhile.

...Yeah, it had to be a kicker; LSU became the first victim of the new taunting rule when punter Brad Wing showboated on about the five-yard line on his way to the end zone on a fake punt v. Florida. The Tigers TD was taken off the board by the penalty and LSU only got a field goal out of the drive. Doh!

...Undefeated and under the radar; Houston is 6-0 and nobody knows or cares. They're being treated worse than Boise State.

...And then there were three; There are only three winless teams left in FBS football. Oregon State, Miami of Ohio, and Western Kentucky all got off the list with wins last week. The final three winless teams are Alabama-Birmingham out of C-USA, Florida Atlantic out of the Sun Belt, and New Mexico out of the Mountain West conference.

...Quietly making noise; Kansas State has HC Bill Snyder back and they are 5-0. Back-to-Back games with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State in a couple of weeks will let us all know if the 'Cats are back all the way.

...Hmmm Stat; On October 1st, USC WR Robert Woods caught 14 passes for 255 yards v. Arizona. Army has completed 13 passes for 205 yards for the season.

...Coaching casualty; Arizona has fired HC Bob Stoops. I'll miss his sideline antics.

...Weird sight; I don't know about anybody else, but watching Thee Ohio State play a conference game at Nebraska was just weird.

...Left at the altar; TCU left the Big East standing in the church to go elope with the Big XII. However, the Big East will be fighting to keep TCU's five million dollar dowry.

...Strange stat; Iowa is 2-2 in their last four trips to Penn State despite only scoring 36 total points in those four games.

...This wasn't in the brochure; Colorado and Utah are a combined 0-6 in Pac 12 play since joining the league.

...Keeping it blue; Nevada whipped UNLV 37-0. It was Nevada's seventh straight win over the Rebels. The Wolfpack won't have to pack up that 1,100 pound cannon after all.

...Have your sun glasses at the ready; Clemson plays at Maryland this week. The uniform clash could hurt your eyes.

...Never saw the Iceberg; The Big East is sinking fast. They've lost three teams already, gonna lose some more, and are frantically trying to add members every day. Their efforts look to me like something akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

...Finally gone; I see South Carolina finally dismissed QB Stephen Garcia from the team after testing positive for alcohol and marijuana. What took so long? He had already been suspended from the team on five other occasions. Maybe it was the fact that Garcia was bumped from the starting lineup by sophomore QB Connor Shaw. Funny, how he finally became not expendable anymore when he wasn't the starting QB.

Until next week folks, remember that you need touchdowns in the red zone, not field goals.

-The Commissioner

Week 5

Hey All,

It's time for that Column you dig on Tuesdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries:

USC 48- Arizona 41: The Trojan defense came out and kept UofA off the scoreboard in first quarter and that proved to be huge in this shootout at the Coliseum. USC ran out to a 17-0 first quarter lead behind two TD passes from Matt Barkley and a 46-yard field goal from PK Andre Heidari. USC DB TJ McDonald picked off UofA QB Nick Foles twice in the first quarter. The USC defense would not be heard from again. Neither would the Arizona defense as the schools would combine for 1136 yards of offense and 89 points. Foles went on to complete 41 of 53 passes for 425 yards and 4 TDs in a losing effort. Meanwhile, USC QB Matt Barkley set a new USC record with 468 yards passing. He also threw for 4 TDs as well. The two main recipients of Barkley's passes were WRs Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Woods had 14 receptions for 255 yards and 2 TDs. Lee had 8 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Telling Stat: TJ's 3= W for SC; TJ McDonald had two interceptions and recovered UofA's onside kick attempt with 1:00 to play. Those three plays were the difference in the game.

Washington 31- Utah 7: The Utes fumbled the opening kickoff in this one and the game went downhill from there for the boys from the Great Salt Lake. Even though the Utes only trailed at the half, 10-7, they would be without QB Jordan Wynn who was knocked out for the rest of the game with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. That left QB Jon Hays to run the Ute offense. Hays had only thrown one pass ever in am FBS game. The Husky defense harried, hit, and harassed Hays for the whole second half, only giving up a TD pass with few seconds left in the game. As for the Husky offense, QB Keith Price continued his stellar play, hitting on 22 of 30 throws for 226 yards and 3 TDs. RB Chris Polk ran for 189 yards on 29 carries to balance out the Dawgs' attack.

Telling Stat: UW's fab 5; The Huskies forced five Utah turnovers to turn this game into a rout.

Arizona State 35- Oregon State 20: ASU's hangover after beating USC last week lasted a little over one quarter. By then, ASU trailed 13-0 and had committed three turnovers. Then, QB Brock Osweiler and the rest of his squad woke up, outscoring OSU 35-7 over the last three quarters to get the victory. Osweiler would finish the day with 258 yards and 2 TDs. RB Cameron Marshal only tallied 80 yards rushing for the Sun Devils, but did score 2 TDs. OSU QB Sean Mannion completed 40 of 66 passes for 341 yards and one TD. However, he also threw four interceptions that derailed some promising Beaver drives.

Telling Stat: They were off; ASU only ran for 109 yards, committed four turnovers, and converted only 1 of 10 third downs, yet they sell had enough to beat the hapless Beavers.

Stanford 45- UCLA 19: The Cardinal came out and basically beat up UCLA for a full 60 minutes up on The Farm. SU QB Andrew Luck had his way with the bRuin defense completing 23 of 27 passes for 227 yards and 3 TDs, while RB Stepfan Taylor rushed 17 times for 112 yards and 2 TDs. The Stanford defense contained UCLA at almost every turn, laying punishing hits on any bRuin that touched the ball. A bright spot for UCLA was QB Richard Brehaut who completed 18 of 33 tosses for 202 yards and 2 TDs.

Telling Stat: Cold efficiency= victory; Stanford completed 85% of their passes, converted 71% of their third downs and didn't turn the ball over in their thrashing of the bRuins.

Washington State 31- Colorado 27: It was late in the fourth quarter up in Boulder, and the Buffaloes were on the verge of winning their very first Pac 12 game. Then, it all fell apart in 1:33 as Wazzu QB Marshall Lobbestael brought the Cougs back from the dead. First, Lobbestael hit WR Isiah Barton with a 19-yard TD pass. Then after the WSU defense forced a punt, Lobbestael silenced the home crowd with the 63-yard game-winning strike. Finally, the Cougar defense sealed the game eight seconds later when they recovered a Buffs fumble. In the victory, Lobbestael completed 32 of 49 passes for 376 yards and 3 TDs. As for Colorado, QB Tyler Hansen threw for 175 yards and 2 TDs on the afternoon.

Telling Stat: Tough down the stretch; In the last 23:33 WSU outscored CU, 21-7 to seal the victory.

Notre Dame 38- Purdue 10: The Fighting Irish excelled in all phases of the game in their dismantling of the Boilermakers under the lights at old Ross-Ade Stadium. ND QB Tommy Rees led ND through the air with 254 yards and 3 TDs. ND came just shy of having a pair of 100 yard rushers as RBs Cierre Wood and Jonas Gray ran for 191 and 94 yards respectively. They also combined for 3 TDs. Also huge for the Irish was that they didn't commit a single turnover. Meanwhile, the ND defense shut down Purdue's offense limiting them to 84 yards rushing and holding them to just 5 of 14 on third down attempts.

Telling Stat: Balance is beautiful; ND ran up 551 yards of offense in this game. 264 yards passing, 287 rushing.

Observations

...In reverse; If Oklahoma keeps winning they'll get dropped out of both polls as an undefeated team.

...If they only had to play two quarters; I can't imagine what it's like to be a coach at Texas A&M right now. The Aggies two consecutive second half collapses are two of the craziest things I've ever seen.

...To say Stanford plays physical football is an understatement. They are by far the hardest hitting team in the Pac 12 since the 2008 USC squad.

...Play at ASU- get flagged; in ASU's four home games their opponents have been flagged an average of 10 times a game for 94 yards. In ASU's one road game, their opponent was flagged only 5 times for 33 yards.

...Disturbing stat; USC has given up 40+ points in two consecutive games. That has never happened before in the history of the program. Great job, Monte!

...And then there were six. There are six winless teams left in the FBS. Middle Tennessee got off the list with a 38-31 win over Memphis. Oregon State continues to embarrass the Pac 12 as the only BCS conference school without a win.

...Harsh reality; It's early October, you're unranked, 0-2 in league play, lost your QB, and Arizona State is coming calling. Welcome to the Pac 12, Utah!

...Why the love? Virginia Tech has to be the most overrated team in the last 20 years.

...Big Ten surprise; Who thought Illinois would be 5-0 right now?

...Big hardware; The largest rivalry trophy in college football is up for grabs this week as UNLV and Nevada will battle for the Fremont Cannon. The cannon actually fires and weighs over 1,100 pounds.

...Hail to their schedule maker; Michigan may be 5-0, but all five games were at home. They have eight home games on their schedule and their longest road trip is to Illinois. The Wolverines also won't play Wisconsin in the regular season. Wow.

...One knee equals one game; Illinois LB Jonathan Brown was suspended by HC Ron Zook for this week's game against Indiana for kneeing Northwestern OL Patrick Ward in the groin int he first quarter of their tilt last week. Go find the video on this one, folks. It came well after the play and was just a cheap shot. Guys, cross your legs before viewing.

...From the amazing stat department; In Air Force's controversial 35-34 OT win over Navy, two stats stick out. One, Air Force won despite only having the ball for 19:14, and two USAFA QB Tim Jefferson completed 90% of his passes. He was a cool 9 of 10 for 136 yards and a touchdown.

...Quietly making noise; Don't look now, but SMU is 4-1. June Jones' squad has everyone in the Metroplex talking after their 40-33 upset win over TCU. The Ponies snapped TCU's 22 game home winning streak in the process.

...Small schools big rivalry; Occidental beat Whittier, 31-17 in the 68th meeting between the two rivals. Oxy gets to keep the rivalry trophy, a pair of bronzed cleats on a wooden base. The trophy known as "The Shoes" goes back to 1946.

Until next week folks, remember you can't sit in the same defense all game long. You'll just get torched.

-The Commissioner