It's Tuesday, so it must be time for another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Jim Murray.
A note on the side bars: The Departments Section of the blog was not updated this week as well as the quote from Our Field Office, because the blogger program would not save any changes. Yes, i'm really frustrated over this. I did everything except reconstruct the blog from scratch to get it to work. Sorry, folks.
Summaries
Arizona State 62- USC 41: At halftime, except for a couple of mistakes, the USC offense had come alive and the Trojans trailed 20-14. Then, the wheels came off and the Sun Devils blew the Trojans out of Sun Devil Stadium and USC HC Lane Kiffin out of a job. ASU shredded the Trojan defense for 42 second half points. ASU QB Taylor Kelly seemed unstoppable as he completed 23 of 34 passes for 351 yards and three TDs. The Trojans did show some fight down the stretch with RBs Justin Davis and Tre Madden both eclipsing the 100 yard mark and combining to score four TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: A fateful third quarter; ASU's offensive explosion in the third quarter ended the game and Lane Kiffin's USC career. At the end of the third quarter, USC AD Pat Haden, Associate AD J.K. McKay and school president Max Nikias all left the sidelines to decide Kiffin's fate.
Oregon 55- California 16: The monsoon like conditions in Eugene didn't affect the Quack Attack one bit as they ran over around and through the Golden Bears. The weather did affect Cal though as they gave the explosive UO offense short fields by turning the ball over five times. UO QB Marcus Mariota threw for 114 yards with two TDs and ran for another score in this laugher.
Telling Stat: A not so fantastic four; Cal fumbled on their first four possessions of the game, which the Ducks used to help build up a 27-0 first quarter lead.
Stanford 55- Washington State 17: The enthusiasm in the Palouse for Wazzu's great start was crushed by the Cardinal when they crushed the Cougars at Century Link Field, in Seattle. Up 17-3 at the half, Stanford put the game away by scoring 31 straight points to open the second half. SU QB Kevin Hogan had a another good day by completing 16 of 25 tosses for 286 yards and three TDs. The Cardinal offense as a whole was it's usually efficient self converting on 7 of 15 third downs and holding the edge in time of possession. For the Cougars, QBs Connor Halliday and Austin Apodaca combined for 322 yards passing and 2 TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: Gone in 15 minutes; Gone were Wazzu's chances of winning this game when Stanford's defense held for downs once, forced two punts and returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the third quarter.
Oregon State 44- Colorado 17: The Beavers notched their fourth win in a row by taming the Buffaloes in Corvalis. In the gusty winds and rain, OSU QB Sean Mannion calmly went out and threw for 414 yards and a school record six TDs. Meanwhile, the Beaver defense easily shutdown a Colorado offense that truly looked like it hadn't played in three weeks. CU QB Connor Wood threw for two TDs with two interceptions for just 146 yards in the loss.
Telling Stat: When it didn't matter; 14 of CU's 17 points and 160 of the Buffaloes 300 total yards came in the fourth quarter after OSU had built up a 38-3 lead and emptied the benches with the game well in hand.
Washington 31- Arizona 13: The Huskies washed away the Wildcats in a windy rain-soaked afternoon at the newly renovated Husky Stadium. The Huskies seemed in control of the game from the outset, but found themselves holding just an 18-13 lead with 5:14 to play in the third quarter after UofA QB B.J. Denker dashed 7-yards to paydirt. The Husky defense then stood up and shutout the Wildcats the rest of the way, while the Dawgs offense got a pair of TD runs by RBs Bishop Sankey and Jesse Caller to seal the victory. Both squads featured RBs led up to their billing in this one as UW's Bishop Sankey ran for 161 yards and a TD on 40 carries and UofA's Ka'Deem Carey ran for 132 yards on 30 carries and a TD as well.
Telling Stat: Tough Dawgs down the stretch; The Husky defense held on down twice , forced an interception and held while the clock ran out to put this one in the win column for the Purple Gang.
Oklahoma 35- Notre Dame 21: The Sooners won the turnover battle and the game in South Bend. OU took advantage of three ND turnovers and turned them all into touchdowns. The Bell-dozer, OU QB Blake Bell completed 22 of 30 passes for 232 yards and two TDs in the victory. On the fipside, Irish Q Tommy Rees had a bad day. He did throw for two TDs, but also threw three interceptions and for a paltry 104 total yards. ND RB George Atkinson III kept his squad in the game by rushing for 148 yards and a TD in the contest.
Telling Stat: They used picks to dig themselves an early hole; QB Tommy Rees threw a pair of interceptions leading to two quick Oklahoma TDs that put ND in a 14-0 hole that they never recovered from.
Observations
...The name rings a bell ; When Vanderbilt takes on Missouri this week, Commodore HC James Franklin will find something familiar about the Mizzou quarterback. Why? Well, because his name is James Franklin also.
...8-6-6; It's not a new area code. It's the rankings of three of Georgia's first four opponents this season when they faced them. The Dawgs went 3-1 in the first four weeks after facing #8 Clemson, #6 South Carolina, and #6 LSU along the way.
...Just can't wait; I can't wait for the Oregon-Stanford game this season.
...And then there were 10; There are 10 winless teams left in the FBS in 2013. They are Connecticut, USF, Temple, New Mexico State, FIU, Southern Miss, Umass, Miami (OH), Hawaii and Georgia State.
...Forked; I think ASU just scored again on USC. Wait, no, it's just a bad flashback.
....He runs like his dad too; Stanford's final TD in their 55-17 rout of Washington State came on a 22-yard scamper by Barry Sanders Jr.
...Washington's Gold chrome finish helmets looked absolutely beautiful in the rain v. Arizona.
...Two pink slips; UConn HC Paul Pasqualoni was fired this past Sunday too after going 10-18 in 2 1/2 season up in Storrs.
...He lost the hero's worship; How hot is Mack Brown's seat at Texas now? Well, The Tyler Rose himself, Earl Campbell told a Fox news affiliate in Texas "I think it's time" that Brown be fired.
...Another week another helmet; ASU is breaking out a new helmet for their game v.Notre Dame at Jerryworld in Arlington, TX this week here it is...
...When politics screw up the game; The government shutdown could have an effect that nobody expected. That effect being the cancellation of this week's Air Force- Navy game at Annapolis. Due to the shutdown, the Department of Defense has suspended all intercollegiate athletic competitions at its' three service academies. Navy and Air Force will notify fans by Thursday if the game will be played or not.
Special Section
Let's talk about Lane
The thing most of us hoped for after last week's embarrassment at the hands of ASU finally happened. Lane Kiffin was fired and for the first time in Trojan history an interim head coach is in place. Here's my final words on Kiffin as he waits for his taxi at LAX.
1. I really hoped he could have gotten it together. He's a young guy that had great potential. If he hit it right, he could have been at SC a long, long time.
2. He had to go now because the downward spiral of the program was increasing speed. The morale all over was low and the team was dead. If Lane was kept on for the Thursday night game v. Arizona, the Coliseum would have been an ugly, ugly place.
3. When the media hates you, you have no cushion. Lane never got the media on his side. He was such a moribund, morose guy to the media. So, they cut him no slack. I attended a pair of USC fantasy camps during the Pete Carroll era and Lane was hilarious. He had a great personality. He was energetic and you saw his deep love of the game. Why he never let that come out as a head coach, I'll never know.
This week's Three Notes About Nothing
A's burgers is becoming a hangout for me.
It's amazing what you can put in a football helmet nowadays
The back-to-back episodes of Modern Family were awesome last week.
