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
