It is Tuesday!!!!! That means another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Jim Murray.
Summaries
Oregon 57- Colorado 16: With 9:35 left in the first quarter, Colorado held a 10-8 lead over Oregon and spirits were high in Boulder. Then, reality set in and the Ducks crushed the Buffaloes the rest of the way. UO QB Marcus Mariota kept his Heisman campaign rolling along by completing 16 of 27 passes for 355 yards and five TDs while also running for 43 yards and two more TDs. That's a seven TD day for Mariota. Meanwhile, the Duck defense penned up the Buffaloes by not allowing a third down conversion in the game. Yes, the Buffs went 0-15 on third down.
Telling Stat: Tough Duckin' Defense; After giving up 10 points and 144 yards in the first 5:25 of the game, the Duck defense held Colorado to 7 points and 230 yards over the last 54:35 of the game.
Washington State 44- California 22: The Golden Bears are the gift that keeps on giving for their opponents this season. Another five Cal turnovers helped Wazzu to victory. Wazzu QB Connor Halliday made good use of those turnovers as part of his big day. Halliday completed 41 of 67 passes for 521 yards and three TDs. The Cougars also got something rare for a Mike Leach offense, they scored two rushing TDs. RBs Jeremiah Laufasa and Teondray Caldwell both crossed the double stripe from the ground. As for Cal, QB Jeff Goff completed 33 of 59 aerials for 504 yards and a pair of scores in the loss.
Telling Stat: Gift wrapping a loss; Of Cal's five turnovers in the game, three were inside their own 10-yard line.
Stanford 31- Washington 28: This was the best game of the day in the Pac 12 as the Huskies almost pulled off a second straight upset over the Cardinal. The Huskies outplayed the Cardinal in many phases of the game, especially defensively where they held Stanford to just 279 total yards and just 4 of 14 on third down conversions. However, the Dawgs were playing catch up from the start thanks to SU WR Ty Montgomery who took the opening kickoff back 99 yards for a TD to give a the Cardinal a quick 7-0 lead. In this see-saw battle, UW QB Keith Price and RB Bishop Sankey both played well as Price threw for 350 yards and two TDs, while Sankey ran for 125 yards and two TDs of his own. As for Stanford it was Montgomery who sparked the Cardinal. In addition to his kickoff return TD, he totaled 204 yards in kick returns and also caught a TD pass to lift his squad to the victory. However, Washington still had a chance to either win or send send this game to overtime, but Price's fourth down pass WR Kevin Smith for a first down deep in Stanford territory was overturned by the replay booth and declared incomplete, allowing the Cardinal to escape the upset.
Telling Stat: A pick and a review; Two plays kept the Huskies from victory. The first play was when a Keith Price pass was tipped and picked off on the Stanford five-yard line with 6:11 left in the game. The second was the overturned reception that killed Dawgs last gasp with 1:16 to play.
UCLA 27- Utah 24: Salt Lake hasn't been kind to the bRuins, as they were trounced in their last trip to Utah two years ago. It didn't look for good them this year either as they found themselves tied with the Utes tat the 13:23 mark of the fourth quarter after DB Keith McGill rambled 19 yards on an interception return. However, the bRuins pulled themselves together down the stretch and came away with the win. UCLA QB Brett Hundley had a decent night throwing for 211 yards and a score while also rushing for 85 yards and another TD. As for the Utes, QB Tyler Wilson did throw for 288 yards and a pair of TDs, but his six, yes six, interceptions opened the door for the bRuins to avoid the upset.
Telling Stat: The big six; We're not talking about Christy Mathewson here, Utah QB Tyler Wilson's six interceptions single-handedly gave UCLA a shot to win this game.
Notre Dame 37- Arizona State 34: In a game played at Jerryworld, in Arlington TX, the Fighting Irish got a good win in a game that had no real flow to it. The Sun Devils took and early 6-0 lead in this one behind a pair of PK Zane Gonzalez field goals, but didn't manage to get back into this one until they tied it up at 27-27 with 8:18 to play. The Irish then put the game away with a 25-yard field goal by PK Kyle Brindza and a 14-yard pick six by LB Dan Fox. The Sun Devils got a cosmetic TD with 11 seconds left to make the score closer. ND QB Tommy Rees threw for 279 yards and three TDs in the victory. As for ASU, QB Taylor Kelly completed 33 of 47 tosses for three TDs with two interceptions in the loss.
Telling Stat: They won it on the ground; Notre Dame out rushed ASU 145 yards to 65, That edge contributed greatly to ND's nine minute edge in time of possession. That edge kept ASU's powerful offense off the field, helping to ensure an ND victory.
Observations
A stud loose in the Palouse; Wazzu senior CB Deone Buchannaon is a bigtime talent at CB. He covers like a blanket and has four interceptions in the Cougars last four games. Looks like he'll be playing on Sundays next season.
The kid can throw; Cal Freshman QB Jeff Goff now owns four of the top five passing days in Golden Bear history. In Cal's loss to Wazzu, he set Cal's single game passing record with 504 yards, breaking Pat Barnes old record of 503 in a four-overtime game v. Arizona State back in 1996.
Circling the date; The date is October 26. The game is Oklahoma at Baylor. Both teams should be 7-0 going into this one and who doesn't want to see Baylor's 70 point a game offense v. Oklahoma's defense? Be sure to set those DVRs folks.
Just that fact; I still think it's cool that the Texas-Oklahoma game is still listed as one of the official events of the Texas State Fair.
Like they weren't there; Maryland showed up to Florida State in all-white uniforms that made them look ghostly in appearance. They played that way too. They virtually didn't lay a hand on the Seminoles all day, losing 63-0.
They just didn't get the memo; I guess Texas Tech didn't read the memo that Kansas had the schematic advantage last week or the Red Raiders wouldn't have crushed the Jayhawks, 54-16. Oh, well.
And then there were eight; There are eight winless teams left in the FBS. They are Temple, New Mexico State, Hawaii, Western Michigan, Miami (OH), Massachusetts, Georgia State, and Southern Mississippi. Southern Mississippi is currently riding the longest losing streak in the FBS. They've lost 17 straight games.
The end of Mack Brown; If Oklahoma humiliates Texas in the Red River Rivalry game this week at the Cotton Bowl, will Texas HC Mack Brown find himself playing golf with Lane Kiffin next week. I think so.
Mrs. Fields would be proud; One of the coolest things done so far by USC interim HC Ed Orgeron is that he brought cookies back to the training table. Heck he even served them to the team after the first practice after Lane Kiffin's firing. Coach O's best line about the move was, "If you give a lineman a cookie, he's happy." As a former lineman, I have to agree.
Not feeling Condoleeza; I don't see how Condoleeza Rice got on the committee to pick the four teams for the FBS playoff in the 2014 season. This is not a knock on gender or race. I'm talking about experience. I want football lifers on this committee. People who eat, drink, sleep, and live the game. I want people who've felt the sting of the battle and have forgotten more football than I have ever known.
Not the wings they wanted; Tailgaters on Florida's Flavet Field got a scare when an ad banner plane crashed in the middle of their tailgates. Nobody was injured, including the plane's two occupants, but the crash does give new meaning to the term "hot wings."
It took two weeks; Two weeks for Ole Miss to go from the Penthouse to the Outhouse. Two weeks ago Ole Miss was ready for a showdown with Alabama. They got spanked by 'Bama, lost this past week to Auburn and now have a major scandal on their hands after a group of players attending, "The Laramie Project", which dealt with the brutal death of Matthew Shepard, were observed heckling the performers with homophobic slurs. Losing and intolerance seem to be traditions at Ole Miss.
If the phone doesn't ring it's USC; Evidently, individuals posing as representatives of USC have been reaching out to coaches regarding the vacant HC position. In fact, Tony Dungy went on the Dan Patrick radio show saying he had been contacted about the job, but wasn't interested. Funny Tony, it seems USC isn't interested in you either.
Old men running; With all the up tempo, speed, speed, speed, 90-play-a-game offenses out there in college football, the referees are being run ragged. The refs need to get their cardio up.
Earmuffs time; Syracuse HC Scott Shafer cussed out Clemson HC Dabo Sweeney from across the field after Clemson went for it on fourth down, up by 28 point in the fourth quarter. The video shows Shafer saying, "F--K YOU DABO! YOU MOTHER--KER! As a former player and sarcastic blogger, I was shocked to hear such language on a football field.
Special Section
Worst Uniform for a Traditional Power Ever
Notre Dame wins this hands down with with this uniform they wore v. Arizona State last Saturday
Let me list how epically bad this uniform is
1. Hey, Notre Dame! Your school colors are Navy Blue and Gold!
2. All One color uniforms are not good looking at all, especially all-whites.
3. The green they chose for this uniform is hideous.
4. The green socks and green cleats with gold under soles makes it worse.
5. The mirror finish jersey numbers and shamrock on the helmet make the uniform look like a rejected design form a football dance number at the Tony Awards.
6. You are Notre Dame! Everyone knows who you are. You don't need alternate uniforms to get your name out there. You are not Maryland or Oregon!
7. Hey, Notre Dame! You school colors are Navy Blue and Gold!
Departments
Blowout of the Week: Canyon, TX- It was homecoming and the West Texas A&M Buffs crushed the Central State Marauders, 72-0. Buffs QB Dustin Vaughan had a great day, completing 33 of 41 passes for 438 yards and seven TDs. The Buffs are Division II team that plays in the Lone Star Conference.
Close Game of the Week: Newton, MA- The team that brought the huddle to college football, the Gallaudet College Bison held on for a tough, 7-6 win over the Mount Ida Mustangs. Trailing, 6-0 with 2:10 to go on the third quarter, Bison RB BJ Flores scampered 12 yards for the go ahead touchdown. The Bison barely held on for the win when a 33-yard field goal attempt by the Mustangs fell short with :15 left to play.
C.W. Post Press: Brookville, NY- Another week, another loss for the Pioneers as they fell to Merrimack College 26-21. Post QB Steve Laurino throw for 218 yards and a two TDs in the loss. Post os now 2-3 on the season and 1-3 in Northeast 10 conference play.
Razorback Report: The Hogs went to Florida and fell to the Gators, 30-10. Things looked good for the Hogs as they had a 7-0 lead to start the second quarter, then the Gators woke up. Florida ground down the Hogs slowly working their way towards the win. Florida QB Tyler Murphy was the big start in the game, throwing for 240 yards and three TDs
This week's Three Notes About Nothing
I wonder why this year's Honeycrisp apples aren't as good as last year's crop.
If you need a sugar fix, the Candy Baron in Laguna Beach rocks.
Yes, I'm saying this, the Brussels Sprouts at the Cork Bar are awesome.
Until next week folks, remember that defensive football is a game of reaction. If you pause to think, you're beaten.
-The Commissioner
