Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Week 14

Hey all,

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

Summaries

Stanford 27- UCLA 24: With a strong fourth quarter, the Cardinal overcame a great effort by UCLA to claim the 2012 Pac 12 title and a trip to the Rose Bowl.  UCLA looked to be in command of the game up, 24-17 as the fourth quarter got under way.  The usually stingy Stanford defense couldn't contain bRuin RB Johnathan Franklin or QB Brett Hundley.  The Stanford offense didn't look so hot either as their o-line couldn't stop UCLA's pass rush.  Then, the Cardinal found their groove.  SU tied the game on 63-yard 10 play drive that was capped off by 26-yard TD pass from QB Kevin Hogan to WR Drew Terrell.  Then, after the Cardinal came up with a 25-yard drive that ended with PK Jordan Williamson connecting from 36 yards out to give Stanford a 27-24 lead.  The Cardinal held on for the win after watching UCLA PK Ka'Imi Fairbairn's 52-yard field goal attempt that would have sent the game into overtime sail wide left.  Franklin finished the game with 194 yards and two TDs in the loss for the bRuins.
Telling Stat:  All but the scoreboard; UCLA beat Stanford in almost every statistical category in this game except for the final score. 

Oregon State 77- Nicholls State 3: This game was originally scheduled to be played on September 1st in Corvalis, but was postponed due to Hurricane Isaac making it impossible for Nicholls State to travel that weekend.  They should have stayed home all together as they were dismantled in what looked like nothing more than a light workout for the Beavers.  OSU racked up 42 first downs and 683 total yards while scoring a school record 77 points.  QB Sean Mannion and Cody Vaz combined to throw for 401 yards and five TDs, while WR Marcus Wheaton hauled in 12 receptions for 123 yards and a TD for OSU.
Telling Stat: 17;  Sets of hands that is. 17 different Beavers handled the ball in the rout of this one win FCS school. 

Observations

...A busted BCS;  Come on, folks.  We all know that Northern Illinois doesn't belong in the Orange Bowl.  However, don't hate the Huskies for getting there.  Hate the Big (L)East Conference for being just an epic failure of a league.

...A good one;  Best line I read describing Wisconsin's 70-31 beatdown of Nebraska in the Big Ten title game, "They did everything to Nebraska except flatten the tires on the team bus."

...Fun Bowl Fact; Only two bowl games are not going to be televised by the ESPN/ABC juggernaut.  They are the Sun Bowl (CBS) and the Cotton Bowl (FOX).

...Love for the big uglies; Watching the Alabama and Wisconsin offensive lines dominate in their respective championship games got this old O-lineman's heart all a flutter.

...They just weren't told;  Evidently nobody told West Virginia that Kansas had the schematic advantage over them last week.  Just how did the Mountaineers squeak by, 59-10?

...No love in Eugene; I wonder how Oregon fans feel watching Lache Seastrunk gashing defenses for big yards for Baylor in the Big XII knowing he'll most likely to go by the name Student Athlete A in the upcoming NCAA report of violations by the Ducks.

...Fun Bowl Fact; No team that lost its' conference championship game got an at large BCS bid.

..A small reprieve for the Trojan Family; Stanford's win over UCLA in the Pac XII title game kept all Trojans fans from suffering through the nightmare of watching both Notre Dame in the National Championship game and UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

...That explains it;  A couple of years ago USC DC Monte Kiffin visited with Nebraska HC Bo Pellini on how to stop the run and spread offenses.  No punch line here folks. This actually happened.

...Creampuffs all around; For the Big XII.  there's no way you can have nine bowl-eligible teams in a ten team league without some really weak scheduling.

...Feeling Fayetteville;  Arkansas has lured Wisconsin HC Bret Bielma away from Madison. They better get some more food for their training table because Bielma is gonna recruit some big kids.

...Fun Bowl Fact; 14 teams with 7-5 records got bowl bids this season.

...Note to Louisiana Tech AD Bruce Van De Velde;  You are a WAC team, take any bowl you can get! With an Independence Bowl bid in hand, Van De Velde stalled in accepting that bid because he felt there were "other opportunities that we (La Tech) felt good about." The Independence Bowl organizers didn't care for this and filled their slot with Ohio University.  Those other opportunities dried up and now La Tech is home for the holidays with a 9-3 record.

...No win situation; There are several bowl matchups that provide no-win scenarios for bigtime teams. The Florida State-Northern Illinois Orange Bowl matchup has to be the worst.  If FSU wins big, it was expected.  If the game is close or FSU gets upset, the 'Noles look bad in front of the whole nation.

...Bad Badgers;  With an 8-5 overall record, the Wisconsin Badgers have the worst record of any Big Ten team to ever appear in the Grandaddy of Them All.

...Not feeling El Paso; The Tweets coming from some of USC's players make me think the 2012 Sun Bowl will go down in the same category as the 1992 freedom bowl and the 1998 Sun Bowl.  Tha's just not good.

...Fun Bowl Fact; The Vanderbilt Commodores are going to their third bowl in the last five seasons.

...Always worth a look;  The last regular season game of the FBS season is this Saturday as Army will take on Navy at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.  This game is special game.  Yeah, the level of play isn't great at times.  However, remember that playing football is the easiest thing these kids do all week. So tune in and enjoy a little of the spectacle this week.

One Final Note

Well folks, that brings me to the end of the blogs for this season.  Just remember that football seasons don't always go the way we'd like, but it's the people you share the seasons with that always make the season fun with memories that last a lifetime. So, until 2013 rolls around I wish everyone a great holiday season!

-The Commissioner

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Week 13

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

Notre Dame 22- USC 13: By the time your team plays its' 12th game of the season, you realize they are who they are.  This game was a microcosm of the whole season for USC.  The Trojans played a sloppy game with a sluice for a defense and yet still had a chance to win.  Notre Dame played solid, if not flashy, winning football.  Their fundamentals were great with good blocking and tackling and excellent special teams. Irish RB Theo Riddick rushed for 146 yards and his squad's only TD, while QB Everett Golson threw for 217 yards and ran for 47 more to keep ND's offense clicking down the field.  USC QB Max Wittek got his first ever start subbing for the injured Matt Barkley and threw for 186 yards and the Trojans only TD.
Telling Stat: 0/11; Counting all the penalties, USC went 0/11 in trying to get into the end zone after having a 1st and goal on two drives in last quarter.  

Utah 42- Colorado 35: An awful decision on special teams cost Colorado a shot at beating Utah.  With 8:25 left in the fourth quarter, CU KR Marques Mosley took a kickoff back 100 yards for a TD.  That TD tied the game up at 35-35.  On the ensuing kickoff, the Buffaloes kicked deep to Utah's Reggie Dunn.  As a KR this season, Dunn had returned four kickoffs for TDs.  Dunn did it again.  His 100-yard scamper to the promised land put Utah up to stay. The Utes were outplayed in this game, but won the turnover battle (5 to 1) and the game.  RB John White IV led the Utah attack with 168 yards rushing on 20 carries and one TD. Meanwhile the Utah defense forced five turnovers, including intercepting CU QB Nick Hirschman four times.
Telling Stat: Three quick ones; The final 21 points of the game were scored in a :29 span in the fourth quarter. 

Arizona State 41- Arizona 34: Up 27-17 after three quarters, the Wildcats had control of this game and it looked like the Territorial Cup would be theirs.  Then, UofA imploded in the final period allowing ASU to come away with the win.  ASU scored 24 straight points in the fourth quarter off one long drive, two turnovers and a blocked punt to stun the Wildcats. RB Marion Grice ran for 156 yards and 3 TDs for ASU while QB Taylor Kelly threw for 191 yards.  UofA QB Matt Scott sliced up the ASU defense to the tune of 230 yards passing and 3 TDs, but he also threw three big interceptions that changed the game. RB Ka'Deem Carey had a big game in the loss for the Wildcats rushing for 172 yards on 25 carries and one TD.
Telling Stat: Turnovers the key; This truly was a game where turnovers dictated the outcome as the two squads combined for 60 first downs and 18 of 35 on third downs.  ASU won the turnover battle and therefore the game.

Washington State 31- Washington 28- OT: UW held a 28-10 lead to start the fourth quarter behind two TD runs by RB Bishop Sankey and two TD passes by QB Keith Price.  Then, the Cougars mounted one of their greatest comebacks ever to win the Apple Cup. The comeback started when the Cougs put together a 10-play 75 yard drive that was capped off by a 2-yard run by RB Carl Winston.  UW fumbled the ball right back to Wzzu on the ensuing possession and the Cougs drove 47-yards for a TD by Winston who crossed the double stripe from 1-yard out.  Throw in the two-point conversion and Wazzu trailed by only three with 7:26 to play.  The Wazzu defense then forced the Huskies to go three-and-out.  The now almost unstoppable Cougars drove down the field again and got a 45-yard field goal by PK Andrew Furney to tie the game at 28-28 with 1:59 to play.  UW the got up off the deck and drove all the way down to the Wazzu 18 with just five seconds to play.  PK Travis Coons then missed wide from 35 yards out and overtime was at hand.  UW had the ball first in OT and on the first play of OT, Keith Price's pass was intercepted by NT Kalaftoni Pole.  After the big man's rumbling try to hit paydirt was stopped by the Huskies, Wazzu started their half of the OT.  After getting down to the Huskies nine-yard line, Furney came in and split the uprights from 27-yards out to claim the Apple Cup.
Telling Stat: 27/3; Wazzu only RB Carl Winston only rushed for 27 yards in the game, but he scored three rushing TDs.  Those three scores doubled Wazzu's total of rushing TDs for the season.

Oregon 48- Oregon State 24:  The Beavers turned the ball over six times and got worked over by the Ducks up in Corvalis.  The Beavers only trailed 20-17 a few minutes into the third quarter, but a few turnovers later, Oregon's offense stretched their lead to 48-17 rather quickly.  UO RB Kenjon Barner ran for 198 yards and two TDs while RB De'Anthony Thomas ran for 122 yards and three TDs to lead the Duck offense.  QB Sean Mannion threw for 311 yards, one TD and four interceptions in the losing cause.
Telling Stat:  6;  Turnovers tell the tale here.  Oregon was +6 in turnovers and easily won this game.

Stanford 35- UCLA 17: Stanford's most direct path to the Rose Bowl is to beat UCLA twice.  The Cardinal got halfway down that path with a win over the bRuins Saturday. RB Stepfan Taylor gashed the UCLA defense with 142 yards rushing on 20 carries and two TDs. Brett Hundley completed 20 of 38 throws for 261 yards and one TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: No O for the S. Stanford seemed to pack up their offense with a 35-17 lead to start the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, UCLA kept trying to get back in the game, but was stopped twice on downs in the final period.

Cranberry Crushers 42- Tough Turkeys 35:  Once again the Commissioner's team fell in the annual backyard brawl on one of the world' s smallest football fields.  After quickly falling behind 14-0 due to the passing skills of Robert Weissler, the Tough Turkeys rallied using an Oregon-style up tempo offense to get back in the game.  It was a see-saw affair after that with the Crushers holding the upper hand for most of the game. However, the Turkeys still had a shot to force overtime as the clock ran down.  Turkeys QB Liza Weissler launched a pass downfield over the outstretched hands of Crushers DB Margaret Lenker.  The Commissioner snagged the ball and turned towards the pay dirt when he was stopped at the one-yard line by the Crusher's Luci Ursich.  The stop saved the game for the Crushers who extended their winning streak in the series to three games.  Newcomer Jake Simon draws rookie of the year honors for his solid play.
Telling Stat; Grabbing a spot;  big meal + running soon = lots of couch time after the game.

Bowl Math

With 35 bowls on the schedule this season, that means that there are 70 bowl slots.  As of this week there are exactly 73 bowl-eligible teams.  Georgia Tech could fall out of BE status with a loss this week to Florida State in the ACC title game.  UConn and Pitt still have a shot at becoming bowl-eligible as they are both 5-6 with one game left.  So, there could be five teams left out of bowling at this time next week.


Flashing the BCS: Kent State

The hot topic this week is how Kent State needs a UCLA or Texas loss to climb into a BCS bowl game. Yes, a team from a non automatic qualifier conference can get to the BCS if they are ranked 16th or higher at the end of the season.  However, the other part of that rule is that they also must be ranked higher than the champion of one of the six BCS automatic qualifier conferences. That's where the Big East comes in.  There isn't a single Big East team in the BCS top 25.  Rutgers will most likely be the Big East Champion.  They could finish at 10-2 and end up unranked.  Oh, and one of Rutgers two losses on the season is to Kent State.  The Big East: an epic failure of a conference.  One last thing, if Kent State does make it to the Orange Bowl, the team that would get knocked out of the BCS would be Oklahoma. With Oregon, Florida, and Notre Dame sure to claim three at-large berths, only one is up for grabs and OU is the team on the bubble.

Observations

...Bitter in Boulder;  Jon Embree is out at Colorado and not happy about it. He was told he was let go because the trajectory of the program was not going in the right direction.  Embree quipped back to AD Mike Bohn, "What direction was it going when I was hired?"  Well, CU had a string of .500 and near .500 seasons going 23-26 over the four years before he Embree was hired.  Embree's two season total was 4-21.  The Buffs went 1-11 in 2012 with no home wins for the first time since 1920.   I'd say the AD was right, to pull the trigger after just two seasons.

...Sixth in the state;  Just how horrible a season has it been at USC?  USC has the sixth best record in the state among it's seven FBS teams.  Stanford and San Jose State are 10-2.  UCLA, Fresno State and San Diego State are 9-3.  USC is 7-5 and Cal is 3-9.

...Hope, thy name is Boise; With everyone concentrating on Kent State busting up the BCS, there is a chance for Boise to claim a BCS berth if Kent State stumbles.

...Gripping the ball too hard; Georgia QB Aaron Murray has been allowed to impose a media blackout on himself by the university for this week's SEC title game.  To quote Sgt. Hulka, "Relax, Francis!"  Football is a game.  Games are meant to be fun.  Enjoy it while you can, kid.

...So, It matters now; I find it funny that one of the reasons cited by many Auburn people for the firing of HC Gene Chizik is an investigation into the program by the NCAA.  It's amazing how that didn't matter when the NCAA was looking into the purchasing of Cam Newton by Auburn a couple of years ago.  Oh, that's right, Auburn was winning then.  Never mind.

...An FBS bromance reality show;  That's what it must feel like for Boise State's Chris Petersen at this time each year. He heads every school's coaching wish list.  Maybe one day he'll leave the Broncos and hand his rose to somebody new.

...Wasted;  You wonder how much talent really was wasted at USC this year when WR Marqise Lee takes home the Pac 12's Offensive Player of the Year honor and DE Leonard Williams earned the Defensive Freshman of the Year award.

...A true ramblin' wreck;  Georgia Tech will most likely lose their ACC title tilt with Florida State.  That would make Tech a 6-7 team.  The boys in Atlanta are filling out the forms to apply for an NCAA bowl waiver right now.

...And there ended up being one;  Southern Mississippi finished the season at 0-12 after dropping their final game to Memphis, 42-24.

...Not easy being a tree; It's a given that Stanford is a better team than UCLA.  However, playing the same team you just beat for a second time just six days later will be tough.  This will be a lot closer game than anyone thinks.

...Feeling the FCS;  There are some pretty good FCS playoff games on tap this week.  South Dakota State takes on North Dakota State in what should be a bare knuckles affair.  Also, Stony Brook travels to Montana State.  That one will definitely be worth a look.

...Big XII vision;  With the Big XII not having a title game, the league is playing out the string this weekend.  That gives us all some more games to watch this week than normal this time of year and that's not a bad thing.

...Feeling the old WAC; San Diego State and BYU will tangle in the Poinsettia Bowl. The old WAC conference games between these two were pretty good.  I hope this one does not disappoint.

...Can't get Hawaii out of his blood;  SMU has accepted a bid to play in the Hawaii Bowl v. a Mountain West foe. Mustang HC June Jones must love these homecomings.

...A quick axe;  One  0-12 season wall all the folks at Southern Miss could take.  HC Ellis Johnson is out after one miserable season in Hattiesburg.

...Time to strip a bid; It looks like Tulane will be joining the Big East.  in a couple of seasons gthe league could have Navy, Tulane, and SMU.  It's time for this league to lose its' automatic bid for the BCS.  Just give another slot to an at-large team.

And now this week's Three Notes About Nothing... 

Anyone who knows me can laugh at how I was asked the other day if the lost dog running around the neighborhood was mine.  Ummm, no.  It ain't mine.

Fudge is one of the greatest things ever made. Period.

Thanksgiving leftovers rock.

Until next week folks, remember that you gotta have a lot of luck on your side in order to go undefeated.

-The Commissioner


Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Week 12

Hey All,

Here's the Thanksgiving Week edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

UCLA 38- USC 28: Tell me if you've heard this one before.  The Trojans come out flat, fall behind, mount a comeback, then lose to to a team with lesser talent that's more focused and has more heart.  UCLA came out inspired and carried the day.  UCLA QB Brett Hundley sure didn't look like a freshman as he threw for 234 yards an one TD while running for two more scores.  Meanwhile, USC QB Matt Barkley had another  mixed bag day throwing for 301 yards, three TDs and two huge interceptions. The lackluster Trojan defense had another unimpressive game.  They once again failed to tackle and looked lost in simple pass coverage.
Telling Stat: Starting late; UCLA put three scores up on the board before USC had made three first downs in this debacle at the Rose Bowl.

Stanford 17- Oregon 14 OT: The D-line got to the mesh point on almost every play, the linebackers shot the gaps making life hell for Duck QB Marcus Mariota and the secondary refused to be blocked. That is how you stop the spread option.  Stanford turned Oregon into an ordinary team. That was what the Stanford defense did.  The Stanford offense beat on the Oregon defense four plus quarters until they had enough points to win.  Freshman QB Kevin Hogan threw for 211 yards and one TD pass.  He also ran for 37 yards and another score.  Mariota threw for 207 yards and a TD for the Ducks in the loss.
Telling Stat: No Chains= No Rhythm; Oregon came into the game with a third down conversion rate of 48% and a fourth down conversion rate of 74%.  Stanford held Oregon to 23% on third down conversions (4/17) and 0% on fourth down conversions (0/2).

Oregon State 62- California 14: Mix in a whole lot of OSU frustration from their loss to Stanford with with a lackluster Golden Bear squad playing most likely their final game with HC Jeff Tedford at the helm and you have a recipe for a blowout in Corvalis.  The Beavers ran up 559 yards of offense and crushed California.  OSU QB Sean Mannion, subbing for the injured Cody Vaz, calmly completed 24 of 35 aerials for 325 yards and four TDs.  The Beavers handled things well on the ground too with RBs Terron Ward and Storm Woods combining for 192 yards rushing on 25 carries and 3 TDs.  The Beaver defense forced four turnovers and easily dominated Cal's injury-ridden offensive line.  The lone bright spot for Cal was that RB Isi Sofele ran for 104 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: Far away goalposts; Cal's average starting field position for this game was their own 24 yard-line with no possession ever starting in Oregon State's side of the field.

Washington 38- Colorado 3: The Huskies road woes have been well documented, so when UW only led 7-0 at the half, things looked they could get interesting at Folsom Field. However, there was no need for UW fans to worry as the Dawgs took care of business in the second half. UW's one-two punch of QB Keith Price and RB Bishop Sankey did in the Buffaloes. Price threw for 248 yards and five TDs while Sankey ran for 139 yards and caught four balls for 48 more.  The Husky defense held CU to 141 total yards and forced five turnovers while living in the CU backfield all game.
Telling Stat:  In, then quickly out; Colorado was in the game with 12:20 to go in the third quarter. 2:53 later after two quick scores off miscues, the Buffs were down 21-0 and out of the game.

Arizona 34- Utah 24: At the end of the third quarter Utah held a 24-17 lead on UofA and all looked good in Salt Lake City.  However, the final 15 minutes and the game would belong to Arizona. A two-yard TD run by RB Daniel Jenkins, an 18-yard TD toss from QB Matt Scott to WR Austin Hill and a 24-yard field goal by PK John Bonano comprised UofA's 17-point final period. RB Ka'Deem Carey had another big day as the RB ran the ball 26 times for 204 yards and a TD. Utah QB Travis Wilson had a good day with 304 yards through the air and two TDs, but it wasn't enough to defeat the Wildcats.
Telling Stat: 449/4; UofA gave up 449 yards of offense to Utah, but held the Utes scoreless on their final four drives to finish the game strong.

Arizona State 46- Washington State 7: The Sun Devils snapped a four-game losing streak and gained bowl-eligibility with an easy win over the Cougars.  ASU QB's Taylor Kelly and Michael Eubank combined to torch Wazzu for five TD tosses on the afternoon.  Meanwhile, the ASU defense held the Cougs to one yard rushing and 241 yards total. They also held Wazzu to just 1 of 16 on third down conversions.
Telling Stat: Well after the fact;  Wazzu's lone score came with just :57 left, long after ASU had emptied their bench.

Notre Dame 38- Wake Forest 0: The Fighting Irish got off to quick start and made quick work of the Demon Deacons in South Bend.  ND held a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 68-yard TD run by RB Cierre Wood and two TD passes covering 2 and 50 yards by QB Everett Golson. It was over from there as the ND defense easily shutdown Wake's anemic offense. Wake only generated 201 yards of offense and nine first downs all day. Cierre Wood had a big day for the Irish rushing for 150 yards on 11 carries and one TD.
Telling Stat: Picture of a shutout; ND forced 10 punts, one fumble, and held for downs once while shutting out Wake. 

Bowl Math

Coming into the final two weeks of the regular season, there are 64 bowl-eligible teams.  13 others still have shot to go bowling.  That means there could end up being 77 teams for the 70 bowl slots this year.   The Pac 12 and the SEC lead all conferences with eight bowl-eligible teams.

Observations

...And then there was one;  Southern Mississippi is still the only winless team left in the FBS. They are 0-11 and will take on Memphis this week to try and avoid the big zero.

...Air Force infantry;  The Falcons beat Hawaii 21-7 on Friday night without attempting a single pass. Their Run/Pass ratio for the game was 68/0.  It was the fifth time in USAFA history  that they've gone an entire game without a pass attempted.

...Crazy stat; Earlier this year Arizona RB Ka'Deem Carey rushed for 366 yards and five TDs v. Colorado. As a team Washington State has rushed for 330 yards and three TDs all season.

...Funny stat;  I don't believe anyone out there thought that Oregon State would score more points (23) than Oregon (14) v. Stanford this year.

...No Owls on the islands; A few days ago, Hawaii cancelled their final game of the season with Temple. The negotiations between the two schools on the financial split of the game did not end well. I just want to know why were the schools still negotiating about that during the season?

...A new scramble;  With the Big Ten taking in Maryland form the ACC and Rutgers from the Big East, there will be while new round of conference alignments shifting.  Get ready for the Pac 16 soon.

...Useless games;  The fact that Stanford could end up playing UCLA twice in a six day makes conference championship games look as pointless as I think they are.

...It's a Quaker world;  Penn beat Cornell, 35-28 to claim the 2012 Ivy League crown.

...Most invited guest;  Stanford Defensive Coordinator Vic Fangio will be a headline speaker at almost every major coaching clinic this year.

...Note to Lane Kiffin; When you are both the Offensive Coordinator and the Head Coach, you really are neither.

...Another kiss of death; After pumping up Louisiana Tech as the last WAC Champion, they went out and lost in overtime to Utah State. Oh, but it's safe to say that Utah State will be the last WAC champion as the only game left for the Aggies is against Idaho.

...Quietly making noise; San Jose State is 9-2.  That's pretty darn good for a program that was almost dropped a few years back.

...Never gonna see his kind again;  St. John's (MN) HC John Gagliardi announced his retirement Monday.  He spent the last 64 years as the HC for the Johnnies.  His record is 489-138-11.  The 86-year old Gagliardi started out as the coach of his own high school team in 1943 at age 16 because the team's HC was drafted into the service in World War II.  Asked about why he hung up his whistle, "Seventy years is a long time to be doing the same job."

...Bittersweet holiday;  Thanksgiving is always a little bittersweet for me because it means that the college football season is almost over.

...I thought they were so over that league; With the new college football playoff system containing an automatic bid to the highest rated champion of a "Group of Five" lesser conferences, it seems that San Diego State, BYU, and Boise State all want back into the Mountain West Conference.  Sounds like a bad romance to me.

...A different light;  Oregon QB Marcus Mariota finally looked like a true freshman while he was running for his life from the Stanford defense.

A little love for the CFL

Yes, the Canadian Football League.  This week the Toronto Argonauts will take on the Calgary Stampeders in the 100th Grey Cup.  Canadian professional football does have a pretty crazy history and shares many things with the American game.  One of those you see every week.  The CFL was the first league to use the tuning fork or slingshot style goalposts that are the norm in just about every stadium in America.


And now this week's Three Notes About Nothing

Emoji attacks are fun.

One of my favorite scenes in movie history will always be watching Chuck Yeager break the sound barrier in The Right Stuff.

The day after a good rain is always so beautiful in San Pedro.

Until next week folks remember that emotion and heart swing rivalry games

-The Commissioner

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Week 11

Summaries
USC 38- Arizona State 17: The Trojans snapped a two-game losing skid by forking the Sun Devils at the Coliseum.  USC QB Matt Barkley had what is now a typical Barkley day by throwing for three TDs and three interceptions.  One of those was returned for a TD by ASU S Alden Darby 70 yards for a score in the second quarter.  However, it was RB Curtis McNeal who took control of the Trojan offense.  McNeal carried the ball 31 times for 163 yards and 2 TDs.  He also caught a TD pass too. Then the Trojan defense returned from a 10 quarter absence and shutdown ASU for the final two quarters to secure the victory.  ASU QB Taylor Kelly threw for 174 yards and one TD to go with three interceptions in the loss.
Telling Stat: They shut 'em down; The USC defense held ASU to 76 yards and three points in the second half.

Oregon 59- California 17: The Golden Bears played tough, physical football and trailed the Ducks by just seven points with 10:07 to go in the third quarter.  Then, UO QB Marcus Mariota took over and threw five straight TD passes to turn this game into a rout.  Mariota is the bellwether of the Duck offense.  He plays well, the Ducks win, and counting this game he's played well for 10 straight weeks. He completed 27 of 34 aerials for 377 yards and six TDs.  Behind backup Allan Bridgeford, who got the start for the injured Zach Maynard, the Golden Bears fell apart in the second half turning the ball over three times and losing it once more on downs.
Telling Stat: #8 > Cal; UO QB Marcus Mariota accounted for 419 total yards and six TDs while the entire Cal offense totaled 349 yards and 17 points. 

Arizona 56- Colorado 31: The Buffaloes had no answer for UofA RB Ka'Deem Carey. He set a new Pac 12 record with 366 yards rushing and five TDs to lead the Wildcats to victory. QB B.J. Denker subbing for the injured Matt Scott completed 12 of 14 passes for 136 yards and 2 TDs to further humiliate the hapless Colorado defense. The UofA defense kept CU in check which allowed the Wildcats to build a 49-17 lead through three quarters.  UofA then just cruised through the final period. Meanwhile, for the boys from Boulder, RB Christian Powell ran for 137 yards and 2 TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: Third downs not necessary; UofA only had to contend with six third downs while racking up 574 yards on 11 possessions in the contest.

Washington 34- Utah 15: The Huskies offense came alive in a win over the Utes.  Husky RB Bishop Sankey really carried the load for Dawgs by luggin the leather 36 times for 162 yards and two TDs. Sankey's teammate, QB Keith Price, had 227 yards passing and 2 TDs, while running for another score to aid the UW cause.  The UW defense did a good job containing the Utes by holding Utah QB Travis Wilson to a meager 55 yards passing and the Utes as team to 188 total yards and nine first downs.  Utah RB John White IV scored both of Utah's TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: Guard Dawgs; In the last 16:33 of the game, the Huskies held Utah to zero first downs and -11 yards. 

Stanford 27- Oregon State 23: After it was over, it was clear that one play made the difference in this game.  With his squad up 23-20 with under nine minutes to play, and facing a 2nd and 15 from his own  25-yard line, OSU QB Cody Vaz fumbled while scrambling out of the pocket.  Stanford DE Josh Mauro recovered the fumble. Six plays later SU QB Kevin Hogan hit TE Zach Ertz with a 13-yard TD pass that put the Cardinal up for good, 27-23.  On Senior Day at the Farm, Hogan, the freshman QB, led the Cardinal to victory by completing 22 of 29 passes for  254 yards and 3 TDs.  Vaz did finish the game with 226 yards and one TD for the Beavers. Stepfan Taylor had a good senior day for the Cardinal.  He carried 19 times for 114 yards and one TD on the afternoon.
Telling Stat:  A 4th quarter 0; Stanford's defense stopped OSU when it mattered, forcing one fumble, two punts and held for downs once to shutout the Beavers in the fourth quarter.

UCLA 44: Washington State 36: After racing out to a big halftime lead, the bRuins came out sluggish in the second half and had to hold off a furious Cougar rally to escape with a victory. The bRuins scored 30 points in the second quarter to go up 37-7 at the half behind three TDs from QB Brett Hundley, a safety and a 40-yard fumble return for a score by LB Eric Kendricks.  The Cougars then put 29 points of the own on the board before watching their comeback bid fall by the wayside when they couldn't recover an onside kick with 1:31 to play. QB Connor Halliday threw for 330 yards and 5 TDs for the Cougars while UCLA QB Brett Hundley threw for 261 yards and 3 TDs for the bRuins.
Telling Stat: Block party;  The bRuins blocked two Wazzu field goal attempts and one punt in this see-saw affair.

Notre Dame 21- Boston College 6: The Fighting Irish played to their strengths in a workmanlike win over the Eagles. ND QB Everett Golson threw for 300 yards and two scores and ran for another to lead his team to the win.  The ND defense once again bent, but didn't break in allowing the Eagles just two field goals and only 53 yards rushing on the evening. ND RB Theo Riddick chipped in 104 yards rushing to help the Irish cause.
Telling Stat: They kept the chains moving;  Notre Dame converted on 11 of 14 third downs to control the ball, the clock, and the game.

Going Bowling

There are 35 Bowl games this postseason.  That means 70 teams will go bowling.  Right now there are currently 57 bowl-eligible teams. The SEC has the most bowl-eligible teams with eight.  The Pac 12 is second with seven squads that are bowl-eligible.


Observations

...Crossing the Mason-Dixon; Due to Notre Dame bailing out of their annual series with Michigan, the Wolverines were left with a hole to fill in their schedule. They filled it for 2018-2019 by signing up for a home-and-home series with Arkansas.  When the boys from Ann Arbor hit Fayetteville in 2019, it will mark the first time ever that a Michigan squad will ever play in an SEC stadium.

...Not in great shape, but;  This year's Trojan offense looks like a Ferrari with bad timing, scratches in the paint job and a dent in the fender.  However, it is still a Ferrari.

...Blue Ducks; In 11 of the last 16 presidential elections, the football national champion has come from a state who's electoral votes went to the winner.  Alabama, Kansas State, and Notre Dame are in states that went to Mitt Romney.  Oregon went to Barack Obama.  Hmmmmm.

...The last champion; Louisiana Tech looks like they will be the last WAC football champion if they can take care of Utah State this week.  LaTech has been pretty good this year.  The Bulldogs are 9-1 and averaging 53.4 points per game, The Bulldogs only loss was impressive too.  They lost 59-57 to Texas A&M back on October 13th.

...The biggest miss; Thanks go to Ivan Maisel when he reported that Oregon's schedule is weaker than it should be this year because a big non-conference opponent canceled their game with the Ducks.  The opponent that begged out of the game was Kansas State.

...Note to Johnny Manziel;  When your family is trying to trademark your nickname, you are no longer a kid to your parents.  You're now just a commodity.

...And then there was one;  Massachusetts broke their FBS maiden with a 22-14 win over Akron.  So, that leaves Southern Mississippi as the lone winless team in the FBS.

...There's just no excuse;  Texas Tech HC Tommy Tubberville's ripping the headset and hat off of one his grad assistants head in order to humiliate the guy on the sideline was just plain stupid.  Stay classy, Tommy.

...It's locked in; Barring the near impossible, Nebraska and Wisconsin will meet in the Big Ten title game.  Will they break out the Tungsten v. Nitrogen uniforms again?  I hope not.

...Shine's off that penny; Remember a few weeks ago when the Oklahoma-West Virginia game looked like it would be a clash of undefeated teams?  Now it's just for second place in the Big XII.

...Cancel that Amber Alert;  Call off the dogs, the USC defense was found in the second half playing real defense against Arizona State.

...One for the Gophers;  By beating Illinois, 17-3 the Minnesota Golden Gophers are bowl-eligible for the first time since 2009.

...Bad in every way;  Colorado ranks 100th or lower out of 120 FBS team in almost every statistical category.  That includes scoring defense and scoring offense, which basically means that the Buffaloes lose every game by an average of 47-17. What a fine addition to the league!

...A note of thanks;  Thanks Darrell Royal and your assistant coach Emory Bellard for developing the Wishbone offense. As a kid who grew with and playing in option offenses from the Wishbone to the Flexbone it was a great way to play the game.

...Wazzu investigation;  Washington State and the Pac 12 are now looking into allegations by former WR Marquess Wilson that HC Mike Leach  and his staff abused him and other  Cougar players. These kind of allegations have dogged Leach throughout is career.  Is this a player trying to get even with a coach he disliked or his this another instance of a pattern of abusive behavior by Leach and his staff?  I'm afraid it may be the latter.

...Winless in Lawrence; Kansas is 0-7 in the Big XII, while their instate brethren are heading towards the BCS title game. I guess nobody in the league realized that the Jayhawks had the schematic advantage this season.

...Under the radar; How does 118 points and 1,065 yards of total offense get ignored by the media?  Easy, just play in the ACC.  Oh, and Georgia Tech beat North Carolina in regulation, 68-50. After all, basketball season started this last week on Tobacco Road.

And now, One Note About Something...

Boxer Carmen Basilio died last week at 85.  The death is of note for me because my father was born in the 1920s like Basilio and boxing was my father's favorite sport.  My father had many picture frames filled with old newspaper clippings and photos of great boxers in his garage.  There were also stacks of old copies of Ring Magazine in the garage with those photos.  My father loved the sport so much as a depression-era kid that he would shine shoes to get enough money so he could go to the movies and see the latest big fight at the movie theater.  I was told tales of great fights and fighters all the time as a kid.  At 10, I knew how Billy Conn blew his shot to beat Joe Louis and how Basilio beat Sugar Ray Robinson for the middleweight title in 1957.  I never realized until I had grown up how some of  my father's love of sports became mine.  My love of football and baseball is well documented, but some of that love of sports came from him. I, as all of us, have tried to distance myself from my parents.  It's at times like this though, that I realize that in some way, I am my father's son.  Rest In Peace, Carmen Basililo.

Until next week folks,
Remember that  rivalry games are awesome...if you win.
-The Commissioner

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Week 10

Hey All,

It's time for that column you know you were waiting to read, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Oregon 62- USC 51: So, just how do you describe this game?  Crazy and painful fits for Trojans fans. They watched their offense, led super WR Marqise Lee, put up 51 points on the Ducks, yet never have any control in the game because the Trojan defense couldn't stop a pop warner team, much less the Ducks high-octane offense.  The Ducks wrote their own page in USC's single-game opponent record book by torching the Trojans for 62 points and 730 total yards. Among those 730 total yards, RB Kenjon Barner rushed for 321 yards and five TDs.  Oh, and their true freshman QB Marcus Mariota wasn't bad either.  He only completed 20 of 23 passes for 304 yards and four TDs on the hapless USC defense. USC QB Matt Barkley threw for 484 yards and five TDs in the epic loss.
Telling Stat: They never touched him;  In a football version of a SABR-metric stat, Oregon RB Kenjon Barner gained 273 yards before contact in the game.  That means for every time he touched the ball, he wasn't contacted by a Trojan defender until he was a little over eight yards down the field.    

UCLA 66- Arizona 10: After being humiliated last year by the Wildcats, the bRuins were the ones doing the humiliating this time.  UCLA QB Brett Hundley sliced up UofA's woeful defense by completing 23 of 28 passes for 288 yards and three TDs. Oh, and the bRuins had a ground game too.  RB Johnathan Franklin racked up 162 yards rushing on 24 carries and two TDs as part of his team's 308 yards and six scores on the ground. As for the UCLA defense they smacked around the Wildcats all night forcing three turnovers and allowing them to convert on only 3 of 14 third downs.  UofA RB Ka'Deem Carey generated just 54 yards rushing and scored his team's only TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: A one man gang; UCLA QB Brett Hundley gained 306 total yards rushing and passing with four TDs, while Arizona as a team gained only 257 total yards and scored just one TD.

Stanford 48- Colorado 0: The Colorado offense was hunted to near extinction by the Cardinal defense up in Boulder. The Buffs were held to a meager 76 total yards in the contest. The Cardinal lived in the CU backfield all game.  The SU defense also started the scoring when S Ed Reynolds picked off a pass from QB Jordan Webb and took it 52 yards to the promised land. Stanford put the game away by putting up 28 points in the second quarter to go into the half up, 35-0  The Second half was just a glorified scrimmage with Stanford in control of all phases of the game.  With QB Josh Nunes benched for poor play, new SU QB Keith Hogan completed 18 of 23 passes for 184 yards and 2 TDs.  He also ran for 48 yards as well.  RB Stepfan Taylor only carried the ball 10 times, but scored two TDs for the Cardinal.
Telling Stat:  Not even close;  The Buffaloes never got even close to a whiff of the end zone as the Colorado didn't run a single play in Stanford territory.  Yup, they never crossed the 50-yard line. 

Washington 21- California 13: The Huskies came into Berkeley and managed to pick up their first road win in over a year.  This game was sloppy. The two teams combined for eight turnovers and 19 penalties.  However, the Huskies got the last of the eight turnovers when LB Shaq Thompson picked off Cal QB Zach Maynard and returned it 33 yards to the Cal 28-yard line with 6:13 left to play. Four plays later UW RB Bishop Sankey knifed into the end zone from one yard out to secure the game for the Dawgs. The Golden Bears had no answer for Sankey who lugged the leather 29 times for 189 yards and 2 TDs. Cal RB C.J. Anderson ran for 160 yards on 22 carries in the loss.
Telling Stat: He carried when it counted; RB Bishop Sankey carried the ball four straight times for all 28 yards on the game winning drive for the Huskies.

Utah 49- Washington State 6:  The Utes whipped a lack-luster Cougar squad to pick up their 4th win of the season.  Utah QB Travis Wilson hit on 17 of 21 tosses for 171 yards and 2 TDs, while RB John White IV rushed for 101 yards and 2 TDs of his own in this laugher. The Utah defense held Wazzu's offense to 255 total yards and just 2 of 15 third down conversions.  The Utes also had another good day on special teams with KR Reggie Dunn returned another kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. That's the third time he's done that in the last two weeks. Cougar QB Jeff Tuel threw for 232 yards and his team's only score in the loss.
Telling Stat: Way too little, way too late: Wazzu scored on their final drive of the game, long after this one was over with Utah up 49-0 and their bench emptied.

Oregon State 36- Arizona State 26: Cody Vaz got the nod at QB for the Beavers and he didn't disappoint as he led his squad to a win over the Sun Devils. Vaz threw for 267 yards and thee TDs to lead the Beaver attack. It was close for while though, as the game stood knotted up at 19-19 at the start of the second half. The Beavers took over from there scoring 17 straight points to put the game out of reach.  ASU got their lone score of the second half when RB Marion Grice hauled in a two-yard TD pass from QB Taylor Kelly with 22 seconds left.  RB Terron Ward had a good game on the ground for OSU rushing for 146 yards and one touchdown. ASU QB Taylor Kelly threw for 153 yards and one TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: They dammed the Devils in the second half; The OSU defense forced six three-and-outs on ASU's eight second half possessions to secure the victory.

Notre Dame 29- Pitt 26 3OT: Coming off their big win over Oklahoma, the Fighting Irish came out sluggish and almost saw the Panthers ruin their bid at an undefeated season.  Down 20-6 to start the fourth quarter, ND clawed their way back into the game with two TD passes from QB Everett Golson.  Golson also ran in for the game-tying two-point conversion with 2:11 left in regulation.  Then, the fun began in overtime where both squads traded field goals in the first OT period.  The second OT period is where the game really turned as ND RB Cierre Wood fumbled the ball on the Pitt one-yard line where it was recovered by CB Jason Hendricks.  All looked lost for ND when Panther PK Kevin Harper lined up for a 33-yard field goal attempt.  However, Harper's kick went wide and the Panther's lost all their steam.  After allowing a field goal on Pitt's next possession, ND won the game when Golson crossed the double stripe from one- yard out.  Disaster was avoided for the Fighting Irish.
Telling Stat:  He was the man; ND QB Everett Golson accounted for 301 of ND's 522 total yards, all three Irish TDs and a two-point conversion to lead his squad to victory.

Observations

...No solace; For Trojan fans there's not much comfort in knowing that their team scored 51 points and was never really in the game v. Oregon.

...And then there were still two; Southern Mississippi and Massachusetts are the only winless teams left in the FBS.  This is a recording.

...Aztec warriors; San Diego State pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the season when they beat Boise State, in Boise, 21-19.  It was just Boise's third home loss since 2001.

...They really were blind; Missing a judgement call is one thing, but the ND-Pitt officiating crew missed that Notre Dame had two players wearing the same jersey number on the play where Pitt missed a game-winning 33-yard field goal attempt in overtime. I think Pitt would have liked to have that penalty called.

...A significant game by default; With Theee OSU and Penn State both ineligible in the Leaders division of the Big Ten, Indiana hosts Wisconsin with first place on the line.  If the Hoosiers pull the upset, they have a great chance at making the Big Ten Championship Game.  Bloomington should be rocking, or whatever all 30 Indiana football call it, on Saturday.

...Captain obvious speaking here; Oregon and UCLA look pretty well set at Quarterback for the next few years.

...It's close to the schools;  That's what will be on the real estate flyers for the homes of Cal HC Jeff Tedford and CU HC Jon Embree when they both get fired at the end of the season.

...Flying under the radar;  Their overall record is just 5-4, but Air Force is 4-1 in the Mountain West with a shot at the league crown.

...A donnybrook on The Farm;  It's gonna be a bare-knuckles affair when Oregon State travels to Stanford this week. Both teams might score in the double digits.

...They could do it: Utah has won two straight games and is trying to make a big late run to make a bowl game.  They need two wins in their last three games to get there.  They need to either win on the road at Washington or at home v. Arizona  to accomplish the feat as their last game of the year is at home versus hapless Colorado.

...The verdict is in;  After much careful deliberation and consultation with other Trojan fans, the USC defense should not be called a sieve.  It's actually a sluice because a sluice has much bigger holes.

...Roses in their Irish eyes;  In a little known codicil of the Faber College Constitution aka the BCS Selection Procedures, it is quite likely in the event that Oregon makes it to the BCS title game, that no other Pac 12 team could finish in the top 14 of the BCS standings.  That means an undefeated or one loss Notre Dame team could be selected to face the Big Ten Champ in the Rose Bowl.

...A blowup in Pullman; Wazzu's top wideout, Marquess Wilson,  is suspended indefinitely after refusing to do a drill, having words with a couple of coaches and then storming out of practice Sunday night.  Things aren't going like HC Mike Leach planned in his first year up in the Palouse.

...Ducks love Frogs;  Horned Frogs that is.  Kansas State travels TCU this week.

...Ancient Eight decider; Harvard will take on Penn this week at historic Franklin Field with the Ivy League title on the line. The two schools have split the last five league titles between them.

And now, this week's Three Notes About Nothing...

Homemade Smores cookies are incredible.

I now know what a Va-Va-Voom is.

Foggy nights on the waterfront are still very cool.

Until next week folks, remember that your defense actually has to stop the other team in order to win the game.

-The Commissioner

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Week 9

Hey all,

It must be Tuesday, here's yet another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Arizona 39-USC 36: Let's see here.  USC QB Matt Barkley throws for 493 yards and 3 TDs while WR Marqise Lee had 469 all purpose yards that included setting the Pac 12 record with 345 yards receiving on 16 receptions, but the Trojans still managed to lose to Arizona. So, just how can that happen? Well, 5 turnovers and 13 penalties for 117 yards had a big hand in losing along with a HC who tried to take the air out of the ball with over 11 minutes left in the third quarter.  Then add in an Arizona offense that's just good enough to be dangerous and that's how that happens. For the Wildcats, QB Matt Scott lit up the Trojan secondary for 369 yards and three TDs. He also ran for 100 yards and another score.  Scott's favorite target was WR Austin Hill who had 10 receptions for 259 yards.
Telling Stat: No defense here; USC and Arizona combined for 58 first downs and 1,206 yards of total offense in this shootout in the desert.

Oregon 70- Colorado 14: The Buffaloes were truly slaughtered in this laugher in Eugene.  The Ducks scored TDs on all seven of their first half possessions. Now throw in a an incredible punt return by De'Anthony Thomas  to go with it and you see why it was 56-0 Ducks at the intermission. The second half was just a formality as Colorado got a couple of garbage time scores in the third quarter. UO QB Marcus Mariota threw for 2 scores and ran for another, while RB Kenjon Barner gained 104 yards on nine carries and 2 TDs of his own. As for the Buffaloes, RB Christian Powell ran for 121 yards and a pair of TDs.
Telling Stat: Pure speed; Oregon's average scoring drive v. Colorado lasted 2:09 and covered 62 yards.

Utah 49- California 27: Everything came together for the Utes in their drubbing of the Golden Bears.  The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Utah. KR Reggie Dunn set a Utah school record with two 100-yard kickoff returns.  The Utah offense fed off the great special teams play as RB John White IV gashed the Bear defense for 105 yards on 22 carries and two TDs. Cal never recovered from Utah's fast start and found themselves trailing 28-6 at the half and 42-13 at the end of three quarters.  The Cal offense outgained the Utes 441 yards to 344, but Utah forced three big turnovers to keep control of the contest.
Telling Stat: Stat padding; Both TDs and 143 of Cal QB Zach Maynard's 288 yards passing came after Utah had taken total control of the game, up 49-13.

UCLA 45- Arizona State 43- There was shootout in Tempe this week too as the bRuins came up with a big game-winning drive to knock off the Sun Devils. UCLA PK Ka'imi Fairbairn sent one through the uprights as time expired to give UCLA the victory just 1:33 after ASU RB D.J. Foster scored on a 7-yard TD pass from QB Taylor Kelly to put ASU back out in front. bRuin QB Brett Hundley threw for 274 yards and four TDs while RB Jonathan Franklin looked like his early season self ruhsing for 164 yards on 24 carries and a pair of TDs.  ASU QB Taylor Kelly threw for 315v yards and four TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: One-two punch; QB Brett Hundley and RB Jonathan Franklin accounted for 438 of UCLA's 486 total yards in this big win for the bRuins.

Stanford 24- Washington State 17: Stop me if you've heard this one before.  The Cardinal won a tight game with their defense. The Cardinal defense sacked Wazzu QB Jeff Tuel 10 times and S Ed Reynolds returned a Tuel pass 25 yards for a TD to provide SU with their margin of victory. The Stanford offense was in a word, stagnant.  QB Josh Nunes completed only seven of 15 passes for 136 yards and a TD, while the Cardinal running game managed to gain only 120 yards total for the night.  For Wazzu, Tuel was the offense throwing for 401 yards and 2 TDs.  The Cougars finished with -16 yards rushing as no rusher finished with positive yards.
Telling Stat: No O on the farm; Stanford's ball control offense didn't control the ball as Wazzu's all-passing offense had more yards, first downs and  held the ball seven minutes longer than the Cardinal.

Washington 20- Oregon State 17: The Huskies didn't do much on offense, but it was enough to beat  the Beavers. The UW defense shutout OSU in the first half, while the offense built a 10-0 halftime lead behind a 45-yard field goal from PK Travis Coons and a 1-yard TD run from RB Bishop Sankey.  OSU did fight back in the third quarter when QB Sean Mannion, (remember when we were all told he was out for the season?), hooked up with WR Brandin Cooks for a 54-yard TD to cut UW's lead to 10-7.  Then, the Beavers tied up the game at 10-10 when PK Trevor Romaine connected from 29 yards out.  The fourth quarter saw the Huskies retake the lead after picking off Mannion for the fourth time.  The drive after that fourth pick was capped off by Sankey's second 1-yard TD run.  Down 17-10, OSU HC Mike Riley went to backup QB Cody Vaz who led his squad on a seven play, 76- yard TD drive to tie the game a t 17-17.  The tying score came when Vaz found TE Connor Hamlet for a 29-yard TD.  UW QB Keith Price then showed how cool and calm he could be by leading the Dawgs down the field for the winning drive.  Coons came back on to put UW on top to stay, sending one over the cross bar from 30 yards away.
Telling stat: A bad four; OSU QB Sean Mannion's four interceptions were the difference in the game.

Notre Dame 30- Oklahoma 13: Notre Dame came into a freezing Norman and beat up the Sooners. OU HC Bob Stoops saw his squad choke in yet another big game. ND did what they've done all season. They played strong defense and used a balanced offense to wear down the Sooners. ND QB Everett Golson completed 13 of 25 passes for 117 yards and ran for 64 yards and a TD to lead the Irish attack. Meanwhile, RBs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood each rushed for 74 yards and a TD for ND.  The ND defense bent, but didn't break allowing only one Sooner drive to reach paydirt.
Telling Stat: Nowhere to run;  Notre Dame held Oklahoma to 15 yards rushing in the contest.

Observations

...Note to Lane Kiffin;  You are allowed to spike the ball to kill the clock.

...Not a good quartet; Four Maryland QBs have suffered season-ending injuries.  That means most likely that converted LB Shawn Petty or TE Brian McMahon will start for the Terps this week v. Georgia Tech.  Oh, and if your were wondering, one QB broke his foot and the other three suffered ACL tears.

...And there were two; Massachusetts and Southern Mississippi are the only two winless teams left in the BCS.

...Up in smoke; It looks like the Honey Badger won't be making that heart-warmimg comeback LSU HC Les Miles wanted after being arrested for marijuana possession last Friday.

...Pasadena redux; It's looking more and more like Nebraska will represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl.

...A sign of the apocalypse for a program; Colorado ranks 124th in points allowed per game with 46.  That's dead last in the FBS.

...If a buckeye tree fell in the forest; Theee OSU is undefeated and nobody cares.

...Just a suggestion;  I think Colorado needs to ask the Pac 12 if they can get a running clock for their last four games.

...Slouching towards Columbus; Chokelahoma HC Bob Stoops is the 2000s reincarnation of former Theee OSU HC John Cooper.

...Something's gotta give; Baylor and Kansas play this week.  Both are winless in Big 12 play.

...They could be champions; Champions of C-USA that is. SMU travels to UCF this week and hosts Tulsa on November 24th. Winning those two games could put the Ponies in the C-USA title game.

...Maybe it's the refs; Out of 124 FBS teams, four Pac 12 teams are in the top six for most yards penalized per game.  They are #1-USC 84.63,  #2-UCLA 79.88, #4 Oregon State 77.57 and #5- California 75.56.  Oh, and USC is the only team that averages 10 or more penalties per game.

...Scary stat; Oregon scored 56 points in the first half v. Colorado last week.  The Oregon defense has given up on 56 points in the first half all season.

...Yeah, sure;  I don't think anyone believes that if Notre Dame runs the table, that they wouldn't jump an undefeated Kansas State to get in the BCS National Championship game.

...Great line; Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman about Texas Longhorn players rejoicing after barely beating Kansas to became bowl eligible, "If I were a player, I couldn't face Tommy Nobis and say that with a straight face."

And now, this week's Three notes about nothing

Can they paint buildings any other color than tan in Arizona?  That's just taking being redundant to the extreme.

1/2 pound peanut butter cups rock.

I love the marine layer.

Until next week folks, remember that trying to take the air out of the ball with 11:38 to go in the third quarter usually gets you beat.

-The Commissioner

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Week 8

Hey All,

It must be Tuesday. It's time for Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 50- Colorado 6: The Trojans set a couple records during their Buffalo hunt at the Coliseum. USC QB Matt Barkley completed 19 of 20 passes for 298 yards and six TDs on this day where he broke the Pac 12 career record for TD passes held by former USC QB Matt Leinart.  It's interesting to note that on the very same play, WR Robert Woods broke the USC career record for receptions. As for the game  itself, USC jumped out to an early 19-0 lead over the outclassed Buffaloes and never looked back in this rout. The Trojan defense forced six CU turnovers and snuffed out any serious scoring threats.
Telling Stat: Yards in chunks; USC faced only six third down conversion attempts all game. Three of those came in the fourth quarter after the game was well in hand. 

Stanford 21- California 3: It was the 115th Big Game and the first one ever played in October. The deciding factor in this game was the ability to run the ball.  Stanford did, and won. Cardinal RB Stepfan Taylor toted the rock 38 times for 189 yards and a TD as the major part of his team's 252 total rushing yards. Cal's offense wasn't so productive.  The Golden Bears managed to gain a total of three yards on the ground. Cal QB Zach Maynard threw for 219 yards, but couldn't get the Golden Bears offense untracked. Meanwhile, SU QB Josh Nunes hit on 16 of 31 passes for 214 yards and a TD to compliment the Cardinal's strong running game.
Telling Stat: Nowhere to run; California racked up more penalties (5),  than rushing yards (3), in this game that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicates.

Oregon 43- Arizona State 21: It was over early in Tempe as a raucous Sun Devil Stadium was put to sleep by Oregon's high-powered offense. After turning the ball over and falling behind 7-0 to start the game, The Ducks scored 43 points in a little over 17 minutes to dispel any notions of a an ASU upset. Duck RB Kenjon Barner amassed 143 yards rushing on just 16 carries and with three TDs, while his QB, Marcus Mariota, ran for 135yards and TD to go with 46 passing yards and another score.  ASU managed to put up a pair of cosmetic fourth quarter scores long after Oregon emptied their benches.
Telling Stat: The D in the O; While the Oregon offense was lighting up the scoreboard during their 43 point run, the Duck defense held ASU to 90 total yards and three first downs.


Arizona 52- Washington 17: The always tough-at-home Huskies reverted to their road selves in this laugher at Tucson. The Wildcats scored 24 straight points after falling behind 3-0 to put this game away quickly. UofA QB Matt Scott completed 14 of 22 passes for 256 yards and 4 TDs, while RB Ka'Deem Carey gashed the Huskies for 172 yards rushing on 29 carries and a TD of his own.  Also helping the Wildcat cause was WR Austin Hill who caught only two passes on the day, but both were for TDs.  As for the Huskies, QB Keith Price completed 29 of 52 passes for 256 yards and one TD.  UW RB Bishop Sankey had 87 yards rushing and one TD in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: A big five; Arizona took control of this game early by scoring on their first five possessions.

Oregon State 21- Utah 7: The Beavers looked sluggish against a Utah squad determined to upset them in Corvalis.  However, a late fourth quarter penalty opened the door for OSU to put the game away. The game stood 14-7 Beavers with under 10 minutes to play when Utah CB Brian Blechen stopped OSU WR Kevin Cummings short of a first down, making a solid open field tackle.  However, a late flag came in and Blechen was given a 15-yard penalty for helmet-to-helmet contact.  The somewhat questionable call set OSU up with a first down on the Utah 26-yard line. Two plays later, Beaver RB Storm Woods knifed into the end zone from two yards out to put the game out of reach. Woods was the go-to-guy in this one, scoring all three Beaver TDs on short bursts of 1, 3, and 2 yards. As for the Utes, QB Travis Wilson threw for 172 yards and his team 's lone score.
Telling Stat: One long one; OSU's penalty-aided, game-sealing drive covered 67 yards.  OSU's other 12 drives covered a total of 160 yards combined. 

Notre Dame 17-BYU 14: The Fighting Irish almost got caught looking ahead to Oklahoma, but managed to pull out the a late win in South Bend.  ND's running was what kept them in the game as the Irish piled up 270 yards on the ground against the Cougars.  RBs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood both rushed for over 100 yards to keep the chains moving for the ND offense. Still, they trailed 14-10 until the 12:52 mark of the fourth quarter when another RB, George Arkinson III crossed the double stripe from 2 yards out to put his team ahead to stay.  The solid ND defense held BYU in check, shutting out the Cougars in the second half to secure the win. BYU QB Riley Nelson threw for 177 yards and 2 TDs in a losing effort.
Telling Stat: Grounded; Notre Dame kept to the ground in this one, only attempting 17 pases in the contest. 

Observations

...They didn't know; Oklahoma crushed Kansas, 52-7. I guess Oklahoma wasn't informed of how Jayhawk HC Charlie Weis had the schematic advantage over them.

...Lets's check in on those WNBA playoffs; The ESPN crew at the Oregon-Arizona State game learned last week just how hard it is to call a game where garbage time starts with 11:33 left in the second quarter.

...Not a shock; Out of 120 FBS schools, Navy and Air Force are 1-2 in fewest yards penalized per game with both schools hovering around the 25 yards mark.

...Don't cry for me, West Virginia;  You were told in this column last week that teams need defenses too.

...Beating the Christmas rush;  Idaho fired HC Robb Akey last Sunday after his Vandals squad got humiliated by Louisiana Tech, 70-28. Idaho is off to a 1-7 start. Akey went 20-50 in his tenure in Moscow.

...They need more lightbulbs; Oregon just might blow out their scoreboard when they host Colorado this week.

...A good feeling;  It hasn't been written in this blog for a long time, but USC's win over Colorado makes the Trojans bowl-eligible.

...And then there were two; With Eastern Michigan's 48-38 win over Army, only Southern Mississippi and Massachusetts remain winless in the FBS.

...A last hurrah;  This is the WAC's last season as a football conference.  The last WAC football champion will most likely be decided when Utah State travels to Louisiana Tech on 10/17.  I will miss the WAC.  The old WAC that is.  The old WAC where 62-55 games were being played long before anyone ran an up-tempo offense.  That was a fun league.

...A postseason that doesn't involve Coach K; By coming back to beat North Carolina, 33-30, the Duke Blue Devils are bowl-eligible. Duke hasn't been to a bowl since the 1994 season.  Duke hasn't won a bowl game since they beat Arkansas in the 1961 Cotton Bowl, 7-6.

...Sins of Cam's father; Auburn is 1-6 and coming off a 17-14 loss to Vanderbilt.  Auburn HC Gene Chizik must be wondering if there are any more Newtons for sale.

...Ancient eight news; Princeton scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 39-34 win over Harvard.  The win snapped Harvard's 14-game winning streak. The Tigers now have the inside track to the Ivy League title.  Three cheers for old Nassau.

...Just the big boys;  This looks like the first season in recent memory that a BCS-buster school from a Non-Automatic Qualifier Conference won't be in the mix for a BCS bowl.  That'll teach Boise State not to lose to a Big Ten school.

...Buffaloed;  Colorado wanted to use their game against USC in Los Angeles to showcase their program for recruiting purposes.  Well, a lot kids should feel like they can play for CU now.

...Innocent wonder;  Sitting in my seat at the Coliseum last week, I saw a little boy of about five or six emerge from old Tunnel 19 holding his mother's hand.  He said, "Mom! what a big stadium!  What a great stadium!"  I know exactly how he feels.

And now, Three Notes About Nothing

I thought I'd be pretty stoked that my friend's team made it to the World Series, but I'm really just mad at my team instead.


I wish the city would actually repave all the lanes on a given street after they tear it up.


The weather here has just been weird lately.  I'm tired of my air-conditioner and my heater coming on each day.


Until next week folks, remember that the new touchback rule only applies to kickoffs

-The Commissioner

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Week 7

Hey All,

It's time for the column you all enjoy, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 24- Washington 14: The offense showed up for the first two quarters and the defense showed up for the whole game as the Trojans came away with a win in Seattle.  USC raced out to a 24-7 halftime lead behind an 11-yard TD jaunt by RB Silas Redd, an 18-yard TD pass from QB Matt Barkley to TE Xavier Grimble, a 23-yard field goal by PK Andre Heidari and a big special teams score.  CB Anthony Brown blocked a punt and returned it 21 yards for a TD. Then, the offense went cold, not putting up a single second half point.  The defense then made the lead stand up by allowing the Huskies only one scoring drive in the final 30 minutes.  The offensive star of the day for USC was RB Silas Redd who ran for 155 yards and one TD on 26 carries.  As for the Dawgs, QB Keith Price threw for 198 yards and a pair of scores.
Telling Stat: The defense did it;  The USC defense forced turnovers on three of UW's last four possessions to secure the win for the Trojans.

California 31- Washington State 17: The pitch and catch game between QB Zach Maynard and WR Keenan Allen along with the running of RB C.J. Anderson lifted the Golden Bears to their eighth straight win over the Cougars. Maynard hooked up with Allen 11 times for 166 yards including a 69-yard TD connection in the first quarter.  Anderson ran for 112 yards and crossed the double stripe twice with his last one putting the game out of reach with 10:27 to play.  Wazzu did put up 420 yards of offense on the Bears, but couldn't convert in the red zone.
Telling Stat: Two man air show; The Maynard-to-Allen connection accounted for 166 of  Cal's 189 total passing yards in the contest.

ASU 51- Colorado 17: The Sun Devil offense overwhelmed the hapless Buffalo defense last Thursday night in Boulder. ASU QB Taylor Kelly completed 20 of 28 passes for 308 yards and 5 TDs on the night.  His favorite target was RB Marion Grice who caught three of those TD tosses. The Sun Devils also ran the ball well too with RB Cameron Marshall leading all rushers with 98 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown. The ASU defense held CU to just 75 yards rushing and 255 total yards.  They also shutout Colorado in the second half.
Telling Stat: They stuck a fork in 'em; ASU choked off Colorado's offense in the second half, allowing only 84 yards.  34 of those yards coming on the game's final drive.

UCLA 21-Utah 14: An efficient effort from QB Brett Hundley and a solid showing form the bRuin defense carried the day at the Rose Bowl.  Hundley completed 15 of 21 aerials for 183 yards and one TD while running for 68 yards and another score.  bRuin RB Johnathan Franklin ran for 79 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown when he scampered across the goal line from 3 yards out with 6:04 left in the third quarter. The UCLA defense kept Utah bottled up all game allowing only one late score. As for the Utes, QB Travis Wilson threw for 220 yards in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: He was the offense; QB Brett Hundley accounted for 251 of UCLA's 354 total yards v. Utah.  

Oregon State 42- BYU 24: Beaver QB Cody Vaz looked like he was the starter all along in his squad's big win at Provo. Vaz started in place of Sean Mansion who was lost for the year with a knee injury last week.  All Vaz did was complete 20 of 32 passes for 332 yards and three TDs in front of the hostile BYU crowd.  The Beavers won this game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cougars 21-3. For the Cougars, QB Riley Nelson completed 28 of 51 tosses for 305 yards and one TD.  He also threw three interceptions with one being returned 49 yards for the game-sealing score by OSU CB Jordan Poyer with a little over five minutes to play.
Telling Stat: Tough at the end; The OSU defense forced two turnovers on BYU's last two drives to win the game.

Notre Dame 20- Stanford 13 OT: This game was defensive struggle in which the officials had a hand in the result. Stanford was holding a 13-10 lead as the Irish faced a 3rd-and-four from the Cardinal 28-yard line.  QB Tommy Rees' pass fell incomplete and it looked like ND would have to try a 45-yard field goal in the wind and rain to try and tie the game.  However, at the end of the play, Stanford was called for one of the cheapest pass interference penalties in recent memory. The penalty kept ND's drive alive and the Irish would send the game to overtime when PK Kyle Brindza split the uprights from 22 yards out to tie the game with :20 left.  Then in OT, ND got a 7-yard TD pass from QB Tommy Rees to WR TJ Jones to take a 20-13 lead.  Stanford blew their shot to tie the game in their half of the overtime when RB Stepfan Taylor was given the ball four straight times and couldn't crack the endzone from one-yard out.  On the last of those plays, it did look like Taylor had crossed the goal line on second effort, but the Pac 12 officiating crew blew the play dead, ruling that his forward motion had stopped.  In this defensive slugfest of a game, ND's front seven shined with LB Manti Te'o doing his best to shut down the Cardinal offense all by himself.
Telling Stat: No paydirt; The Notre Dame defense didn't allow a touchdown.  Stanford's only touchdown came via a fumble recovery in the Irish end zone by LB Chase Thomas.

Observations

...Not what they thought; I bet for Utah this wasn't what they thought life would be like in the Pac 12.

...It could happen; after beating Hawaii last weekend, New Mexico has a great chance to make a bowl this year.  That would make Bob Davie's first season as HC of the Lobos a great success.

...Something different;  Notre Dame is a different team this year because they have eliminated big mistakes.  They haven't made many drastic game-changing errors this season.

...And then there were three;  Southern Miss, Massachusetts, and Eastern Michigan are the only winless teams left in the FBS.

...Only 5th;  Wisconsin's 467 yards rushing v. Purdue was only the fifth best rushing yardage day in Badger history.  The top mark was set in 1974 when the boys from Madison ran for 551 yards in a 52-7 win over Northwestern.

...A big assumption and a BCS question; Assuming Oregon State runs the table, they won't be able to play a 12 game regular schedule because instead of making up a game v. Nicholls State, they'll be playing in the Pac 12  title game.  So, would that one less game played hurt them in the computers?  Hmmmmmmm.

...Substance, not flash;  There wasn't a lot of flashy offense on display in the Pac 12 last weekend, but there was some great fundamental football and defense.

...Winning in a vacuum; Three Big East teams are undefeated. Rutgers, Cincinnati and Louisville all have spotless records and no publicity.

...Done in by their own; It's sad how Stanford got jobbed by the refs at Notre Dame.. It's even worse knowing that the officiating crew was from the Pac 12.

...A familiar look; Ever notice how Texas HC Mack Brown is always fixing his hair after using his headset on the sideline?  It reminds me of former USC HC Larry Smith.  The way he keeps getting his butt kicked in rivalry games reminds me a lot of old Larry too.

...It ain't Vandy; Everyone picks on Vanderbilt for being the doormat of the SEC. Yeah. Vandy isn't great, but Kentucky has been as bad, if not worse than the Commodores for a good decade.

...A rare big one;  This Thursday's ASU-Oregon game might just be a really good Thursday night game.

...Note to West Virginia; Teams do need defenses.

...Not early enough; Arkansas AD Jeff Long told the Touchdown Club in Little Rock that he wants a new HC in place by December. Razorback fans would like to have a new HC now.

...They won't be the only ones to suffer;  The Cal-Stanford game is the first of several times that Pac 12 rivalry games will find a mid-October home.  The next time someone will face their conference rival in October will be in the 2015 season.  The infighting over who will be stuck with it will be intense.

Thinking of Beano Cook (1931-2012)

Beano truly loved the game of college football.  He loved it with all his heart and with no excuses.  It was his game.  It's what made him tick.  He knew the game inside and out. It was his love of the history of the game that made me like Beano. He was one of those links to the past that we are all the worse for now that he's gone.  He was the link to the era of sleeper cars, heavy wool uniforms, and when the Ivy League and service academies still won national titles and produced Heisman Trophy winners. He lived for Saturdays in Autumn.  I kind of know what that's like.  I just can't believe he didn't make it through the season.  Who'll tell him who ends up number 1? I'm sure he'll get the message somehow. Good bye, Beano.


Three Notes About Nothing...

...The Drunkin' Pumpkin will be the new great seasonal drink.

...The SNL spoof soap The Californians is really funny.

...The baseball playoffs aren't as exciting when your team didn't make it to the playoffs.

Until next week folks,
remember that the for the Cover 2 defense to work well, the front four have to get pressure on the quarterback.

-The Comissioner

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Week 6

Hey all,

Here's the column that makes Tuesdays great, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 38- Utah 28: Three minutes into the game, the Trojans found themselves in a 14-0, self-inflicted hole.  USC fumbled twice in their first five offensive plays.  The Utes turned those miscues into scores and an upset seemd to be brewing in Salt Lake City.  USC then then got off the deck and dominated the last 57 minutes of the game. As sloppy as they were, (14 penalties), the Trojans did manage to put 38 points on the board while shutting down the Ute offense.  USC QB Matt Barkley completed 23 of 30 passes for 303 yards and 3 TDs.  Included in those TD tosses was an 83-yard connection with WR Marqise Lee that gave the Trojans a 31-21 lead early in the fourth period.  Lee would finish the game with 12 receptions for 192 yards and that big TD catch. The Trojans then put the game away when CB Nickell Robey picked off an errant toss by Ute QB Jon Hays and took it back 38 yards for a TD. As for the Utes, QB Jon Hays completed 19 of 32 passes for 160 yards and two TDs. The Trojan defense held Utah's star RB John White to just 68 yards rushing for the game.
Telling Stat: No threat; The USC defense held Utah to 48 yards and 2 first downs in the second half 
before allowing a late TD drive in garbage time.   

Oregon 52 Washington 14: The Ducks made it look easy against the Huskies. The Ducks led 21-0 after the first quarter, 35-7 at the half, and then coasted through the second half in this rout. Duck QB Marcus Mariota completed 15 of 24 passes for 198 yards and 4 TDs to lead the Webfoot attack. The Huskies just couldn't handle Oregon's up tempo offense. The Duck defense forced five UW turnovers to help the cause. One of those turnovers was a 43-yard interception return for a TD by CB Avery Patterson. As for the Dawgs, RB Bishop Sankey ran for 104 yards and a pair of TDs.
Telling Stat:  Didin't matter;  Over half of UW's total offense and points came after Oregon had put this game away.

California 43- UCLA 17: The Golden Bears stand as kings of the UC system with a big win over the bRuins.  Cal QB Zach Maynard looked like Aaron Rodgers in shredding the UCLA defense.  He completed 25 of 30 passes for 295 yards and four TDs. C.J. Anderson led the Cal ground attack by rushing for 151 yards on 21 carries and a TD of his own. The Bear defense looked pretty good too.  They forced six UCLA turnovers and rushed and smacked around QB Brett Hundley all night. Hundley did throw for 253 yards and two TDs, but he also threw four costly interceptions.
Telling Stat: 6+12= L; Six turnovers and 12 penalties added up to a big loss for the bRuins.

Oregon State 19- Washington State 6: It wasn't pretty, but the Beavers played well enough to grind out an ugly win over the Cougars up in Corvalis. CB Jordan Poyer led the tough Beaver defense with three interceptions as he and teammates limited Wazzu's Air-raid Offense to 227 total yards and a pair of field goals from PK Andrew Furney. The OSU offense wasn't stellar, but they did enough to win.  QB Sean Mannion overcame three interceptions to lead the Beavers on two second half TD drives.  He capped off the first drive with a 12-yard scoring toss toWR Markus Wheaton.  Then later, he handed off to RB Tyler Anderson who plunged over from 1-yard out to ice the game with 4:27 to play.  Not a lot of bright spots for Wazzu in this one, but QB Jeff Tuel did throw complete 11 of 17 passes for 126 yards in relief of QB Connor Halliday who was ineffective through most of the first half.
Telling Stat: Chains=Scores; Six of OSU's nine third-down conversions came on their four scoring drives.

Stanford 54- Arizona 48 OT: This was easily the best game in the Pac 12.  The two traded hard hits, big, plays and the lead all afternoon.  UofA looked like it had pulled away from Stanford with two quick TDs in the fourth quarter to take a 48-34 lead with 9:13 to play.  Then, the Cardinal made their comeback. Cardinal QB Josh Nunes took it in from 1-yard out to cut the Wildcats' lead to 48-41, with 6:34 left. After forcing UoA to punt, the Cardinal went on the game-tying drive.  Nunes led his team down the field again converting two third-and-longs and one fourth down.  Then, with 1st and goal at  the Wildcat 3-yard line, Nunes called his own number and ran in for the tying score.  The Cardinal defense came up huge in the overtime period picking off QB Matt Scott's third down pass. Two plays later, SU RB Stepfan Taylor then galloped 21-yards for the winning score.  Taylor finished the game with 142 yards rushing and two TDs.   Nunes was the star for Stanford throwing for 362 yards and 2 TDs.  He also ran for 33 yards and three more scores. UofA QB Matt Scott completed 45 of 69 passes for 491 yards and 3 TDs in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: Hanging in there; The Stanford defense did just enough to get a win despite being on the field for 103 plays.  

Notre Dame 41- Miami 3: The much-maligned Hurricane defense didn't do anything to shake off their bad reputation as Notre Dame ran over, around, and through them at Soldier Field. The Irish rushed for 376 yards on Miami.  RBs George Atkinson III and Cierre Wood each eclipsed the 100 yard mark and combined to score three TDs. QB Everett Golson had a decent day passing for 186 yards and running for 51 more.  Things weren't so good for Miami as they just couldn't get out of their own way, making a ton of mental errors and committing costly penalties.
Telling Stat: They stayed on the field; The Notre Dame offense played a great ball control game, holding the rock for almost 40:00 of T.O.P. in the contest. 

Observations

...Feelin' The King; some games are masterpieces.  USC's, sloppy, penalty infested win over Utah was an Elvis on black velvet.

...A box of rocks;  OSU third-string QB Cardale Jones showed us that English 101 is definitely one of the classes he's missing at Theee OSU with this quote, "Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL, we ain't come to play SCHOOL classes are POINTLESS."

...Not a good number; The Arizona defense is giving up an average of 44 points per game in Pac 12 play.

...A mile high in Columbia; WR Dorial Green-Beckham and two other Missouri teammates were arrested for smoking pot near the football stadium.  Epic fail.

...Now, not so much;  As Nebraska keeps dropping games, UCLA's win over the Cornhuskers looks less and less impressive.

...Half the way there; Navy's big 28-21 OT win at Air Force puts them in line to to win the Commander-In-Chief's trophy.

...Still not #1;  You would think by running 103 plays v. Stanford last week, Arizona would be the FBS leader in plays per game. They are #2.  UofA runs 90.5 plays per game. Marshall is #1 running 92 plays per game.

...Not this century; UCLA hasn't won at California since 1998.

...An Indie weekend;  All four independent schools in the FBS won this weekend.

...And then there were four;  There are four winless teams left in the FBS.  They are Southern Miss, Tulane, Eastern Michigan, and UMass

...Under the Radar;  There are three teams currently bowl eligible.  The first two are Oregon and South Carolina.  The third is Ohio. Huh?  Yup, the Ohio Bobcats from the MAC are 6-0 with their signature win being over Penn State.

...Another black eye; The Big Ten has just had a rough year.  This doesn't help.  The two teams atop the standings in the Leaders division are Ohio State and Penn State.  They are both ineligible.

...Bad coincidence;  QBs Taysom Hill of BYU and Sean Mannion of OSU are both out for the year after having season-ending knee surgery for injuries sustained while leading their respective teams to victory last weekend. Oddly enough, the Beavers travel to Provo this week to take on the Cougars.

...This just in; West Virginia QB Geno Smith is pretty good.

...A good push;  Notre Dame's offensive line is looking better than it has in years.

...The NCAA limit for maximum amount of pages in a football media guide is 208 pages.  Why is that the magic number? Why not 167 or  311 or 87?  What makes 208 so special?

Now, Three Notes About Nothing

...I don't find anything fun about "Fun-Sized" candy bars.

...Playoff baseball games during the day are pure Americana.

...I think I should have my own bobblehead night.

Until next week folks, remember that a basic tenet of being a holder for placekicks is to always spin the laces away from the kicker.

-The Commissioner

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Week 5

Hey All,

Here's another edition of the column that gets you through Tuesdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Washington 17- Stanford 13: This game had the makings of a defense lovers dream as the 8th-ranked Cardinal led, 6-3 after a first half that featured three field goals, 11 punts and eight three-and-outs by both squads.  However, the second half would feature just enough offense to make this one worth watching. The third quarter saw both teams trade TDs. Stanford LB Trent Murphy picked off an errant aerial by UW QB Keith Price and took it 40 yards to paydirt to put the Cardinal up, 13-3. The Huskies answered that score when RB Bishop Sankey broke off a 61-yard TD jaunt to cut Stanford's lead to just 13-10 on the last play of the period. Washington's game winning score came with 4:53 to left to play when Price hooked up with WR Kasen Williams for a 35-yard TD pass.  The Husky defense then kept the Stanford offense in check the rest of the way to complete the upset. The real star of this game was the Husky defense which held Stanford's potent rushing attack to just 65 yards on the night.  UW RB Bishop Sankey sliced up the Cardinal defense to the tune of 144 yards on 20 carries and a TD.
Telling Stat: The Dawgs had bite; The Husky defense forced seven three-and-outs and didn't allow a single Stanford drive to last longer than nine plays. 

Arizona State 27- California 17: The QB position was the tipping point in this game for the Golden Bears.  They couldn't protect theirs while not being able to get to ASU's enough in this win for the Sun Devils.  ASU QB Taylor Kelly completed 26 of 45 passes for 292 yards and three TDs .  His third TD pass, a 22-yard strike to WR Kevin Ozier put the game out of reach with 6:17 left. Cal QB Zach Maynard didn't complete many passes when he wasn't being hurried, hit, and sacked by the ASU defense.  Maynard completed just 9 of 28 tosses for 126 yards and a TD.  The offensive star for the Golden Bears was RB Isi Sofele who gained 105 yards rushing on 15 carries and a TD.
Telling Stat: Couldn't cross the street; Cal's offense crossed the 50 just three times in their 15 drives in a game that looked closer than it really was. 

Oregon 51- Washington State 26: When this game went to the half, Wazzu had played a really great first half and trailed the second ranked Ducks, 23-19.  Upset talk was going around the nation.  Then, the third quarter happened.  Two scoring drives capped by TD runs from De'Anthony Thomas (4 yards) and Kenjon Barner (10 Yards) were sandwiched around a 34-yard interception return for a TD by CB Avery Patterson and this game was over.  The Cougars couldn't stop Barner all night.  He finished the game with 195 yards rushing on 20 carries and 3 TDs.  He also scored a fourth TD on a 30-yard pass from QB Marcus Mariota. For the Cougars, QB Connor Halliday connected on 33 of 60 passes for 348 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Telling Stat: 10 minutes, 33 seconds; That's how long it took Oregon to take this game from a four point lead to a 25 point lead in the third quarter.

UCLA 42- Colorado 14: After a big come-from-behind win last week, the Buffaloes were dragged back to cold reality by the bRuins.  UCLA QB Brett Hundley threw for 281 yards and two TDs and ran for two more to lead the bRuin attack.   The bRuin defense shutdown the CU offense, holding them to one score until the backups allowed a late TD when the game was already decided.  CU QB Jordan Webb threw for 184 yards and a TD in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: Static Chains; Colorado converted only two of 15 third down conversions in this yawner.

Oregon State 38- Arizona 35:  Thanks to the Pac 12 network not too many people saw an exciting game that the Beavers won with a little late heroics.  The late offensive heroics came from QB Sean Mannion.  He hit TE Connor Hamlett with a nine-yard TD pass to go ahead with 1:09 left.  As for the late defensive heroics, Beaver CB Rashaad Reynolds picked off UofA QB Matt Scott's fourth down pass with :47 left to preserve the win for OSU.  Mannion lit up the Wildcat defense for 433 yards through the air and three TDs, while RB Storm Woods ran for 161 yards and a TD on the ground for the Beavers. On the Wildcats side of things, Scott threw for 403 yards and 3 TDs and RB Ka'Deem Carey ran for 115 yards and 2 TDs on only 17 carries versus the stout OSU run defense.
Telling Stat: A big one;  Connor Hamlett's game-winning TD catch was his only reception of the game.

Observations

...Won't enjoy it much;  California has a newly renovated Memorial Stadium.  Odds are Golden Bear HC Jeff Tedford will only see it for one season.

...Big Hurt; Former Arkansas HC Bob Petrino's infamous motorcycle accident can count the entire state of Arkansas as victims of the wreck.

..Big Heart;  As Hawaii was getting smashed by BYU, 47-0, Warrior LB T.J. Taimatuia played with great heart and fire all the way to the bitter end.  The kid truly has a warrior's heart.

...Purple Hearts;  If there was such a thing as a purple heart for football players, I'd give one to the whole Idaho team.  I really hope the two checks the Idaho athletic department got for getting their team beaten up at LSU (63-14), and North Carolina (66-0) were worth it.

...Park Ball; It was great to watch the Park Ball game that broke out at West Virginia last weekend.  With WVU up over Baylor, 70-63 in the fourth quarter, I expected one of the players to say, "Hey, I gotta get home for dinner. Next touchdown wins."

...A stocked shelf; With ASU moving to 4-1, it's clear there was some talent left behind by Dennis Erickson's staff.

...0 for the big O;  Rich Rodriguez isn't just 0-2 in league play, he's now 0 for the state of Oregon.

...Elementally speaking;  I see Nitrogen beat Tungsten last week, 30-28.  Oh, wait those are those new Nebraska and Wisconsin uniforms.

...A Stony Brook state of mind; I'm starting to really dig the Stony Brook Seawolves.  The FCS school from New York is 4-1 on the season and just upset Army, 23-3.  These guys are good.  Heck, they had a second quarter lead on Syracuse before losing, 28-17 to the Orange.

...A vast conspiracy; It looks like Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour are conspiring to destroy football uniforms across America.

...Playstation numbers; The totals from the Baylor-West Virginia game are staggering.  133 total points, 1,507 total yards of offense, 69 first downs, and 23 out of 31 third downs converted.  Oh, and there were three punts.

...A-1 and a 2;  After seven three-and-outs in their loss at Washington, it's clear the Cardinal were using the Lawrence Welk offense.  You know, 1-2-3-kick, 1-2-3-kick.

...Ahead of schedule; It usually takes the Bowl Season for the Big Ten to look this bad.  Seriously, the Big East is having a better year.

...And then there were eight; There are eight winless teams left in the FBS.  They are Army, Memphis, Southern Miss, UAB, Tulane, Massachusetts, Eastern Michigan, and Idaho.

...Crazy stat; WVU QB Geno Smith had 51 pass attempts last week v. Baylor.  Army QB Trent Steelman has attempted 24 passes all season.


Three Notes About Nothing

...Big Red;  By being both a USC fan and an Angels fan, I sure do have a lot of red shirts to wash.

...Not seeing it;  Not having the PAC 12 network on DirecTv is really starting to make me angry.

...There's no way it should be over 100 degrees in Los Angeles on October 2nd.

Until next week folks, remember that most screen passes are thrown into the boundary because defenses usually over-rotate to cover the wide side of the field.

-The Commissioner