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
