It is Tuesday and that means another installment of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Mel Durslag.
Summaries
USC 38- Arizona 31: Coming off the Bye week firing of Lane Kiffin, the question is just how would the Trojans respond to the change? They responded rather well as they raced out to a big lead, then held on at the end for a big win over the Wildcats. The Trojans seemed in control of this one form the start as they held a 31-10 lead with 8:15 to play in the third quarter. Then the Trojan defense tired and the Arizona offense came on strong. Three of UofA QB B.J. Denker's four TD tosses came in the final 19 minutes and USC found themselves up by just seven with 4:08 to play. Then, USC RB Silas Redd, finally seeing some playing time after coming off a knee injury, lugged the leather seven times for 43 yards to kill the clock and preserve the win for ol' SC. UofA RB Ka'Deem Carey ran for 138 yards in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: Not that much in a while; USC's 38 points were the most scored by the Trojans since they racked up 38 on ASU last november.
Arizona State 54- Colorado 13: The Sun Devils cruised to an easy win over an overwhelmed Buffaloes squad in Tempe. This one was over quickly. In the first 11 minutes, ASU QB Taylor Kelly threw a TD pass, while RB Marion Grice ran for two TDs to go with a Zane Gonzalez FG and a Jalen Strong two-point conversion to go up 25-0. The Sun Devils built up a 47-6 lead by halftime, then emptied the benches the rest of the way. Kelly finished with 233 yards passing and two TDs in one half of work, while CU QB Sefo Liufau threw for 169 yards and a TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: Worse than it looked; 159 of Colorado's 268 total yards and second TD came in the fourth quarter when all of ASU's walk-ons were earning their letters.
Utah 27- Stanford 21: The Utes traded blows with the Cardinal for the first quarter, then manhandled the boys form Palo Alto the rest of the way to record arguably the season's biggest upset. Ute QB Tyler Wilson, the pride of San Clemente High, had a good day, completing 23 of 34 passes for 234 yards and two TDs. Ute RB Bubba Poole also did well, racking up 111 yards on 22 carries to keep the Stanford defense off balance. SU QB Kevin Hogan threw for 246 yards and a TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: They buckled down on D; After giving up two Stanford TDs in the first quarter, the Utes shut down the Cardinal, forcing four punts, two fumbles and holding for downs once to pull off the upset.
UCLA 37- California 10: The bRuins were sloppy for stretches of this game, but they still easily whipped the Golden Bears. While the running game wasn't working for UCLA, the passing game was just fine. bRuin QB Brett Hundley hit on 31 of 41 aerials for 410 yards and three TDs. As for the UCLA defense, they took up residence in the Cal backfield for most of the night, making life miserable for Cal QB Jeff Goff. Goff finished with just 215 yards through the air with no TDs and an interception.
Telling Stat: The D set the tone; While the offense had it's problems, UCLA's defense caged the Golden Bears, holding them to just four of 17 on third downs, forcing five three-and-outs, and making life hell for Cal QB Jeff Goff all night along.
Oregon State 52- Washington State 24: All looked good for the Cougars as they held a 24-17 after QB Connor Halliday hit WR Vince Mayle with a 4-yard TD toss with 4:50 left in the third quarter. Then, the Cougars imploded turning the ball over six times in the final 19:50. OSU took advantage of everyone of those mistakes and turned this potential upset into a rout. Beaver QB Sean Mannion was awesome yet again, completing 34 of 51 passes for 493 yards and 4 TDs. Meanwhilem, Halliday threw for 248 yards a YD and three costly interceptions in defeat.
Telling Stat: A glorious 4th for OSU;. it was glorious for the Beavers as they turned all those WSU turnovers into 35 points in the final 19:50 to run away with this one.
Oregon 45- Washington 24: College Football Gameday came to Seattle. The fans were primed for their blackout game as the crowd and the team donned all-black garb for the day. The stands were rocking and Oregon still worked over the Dawgs. UW put up plenty of offense and hung in there through three quarters, but the Duck juggernaut just kept rolling, putting up 45 points and 631 yards of total offense to run away with this one late. UO QB Marcus Mariota threw for 366 and three TDs and ran for 88 yards and another score to lead the Quack Attack. As for the Huskies, RB Bishop Sankey was once again the star, toting the rock 28 times for 167 yards and a pair of TDs.
Telling Stat: A one man team; UO QB Marcus Mariota ran up 454 yards of offense and four TDs in the game. Washington as a team ran up 376 total yards and scored three TDs.
Observations
...And then there were eight; There are still eight winless teams left in the FBS. They are Connecticut, Temple, Southern Mississippi, New Mexico State, Miami (OH), Western Michigan, Hawaii and Georgia State.
...Company for the Nittany Lions; Western Michigan becomes the first team to join sanctioned Penn State as not being eligible for a bowl when they were smacked 33-0 by Buffalo last weekend. The loss dropped WMU to 0-7 and makes them ineligible for a bowl in 2013.
...Oddball stat of the week; The Time Of Possession stat in the UCLA-Cal game was an even 30:00/30:00 split. Hmmmmm.
...They didn't lose; Woo Hoo! Southern Mississippi did not lose last week and extend their 17-game losing streak because they were on a Bye. However, I do need to debunk the rumor that the boys in Las Vegas installed the Bye as a 10-point favorite over the Eagles.
...Not in a long time; I haven't seen a line as battered and gun-shy as Cal's offensive line in a long time.
...An exciting train wreck; The four overtimes in the Michigan-Penn State game were incredibly exciting and also a total train wreck. Seriously, the ball is put at the 25-yard line for a reason. To get just three field goals and one TD in four OTs is an epic offensive fail.
...A snail's pace; Does the Big Ten have an aversion to recruiting elite speed? There are better odds of finding a Rhodes Scholar at ASU than a fast player in the Big Ten.
...What price victory?; Missouri pulled off an impressive 41-26 win at Georgia to remain undefeated on the season, but lost QB James Franklin for the rest of the season with separated shoulder. The rest of the season just got really really tough for the Tigers.
...Yes, He's that good; Just how good is UO QB Marcus Mariota? You can do everything right on defense and he still can beat you anyway. If he's not the front-runner for the stiffarm statue, I don't know who is.
...Feeling Addazio; I'm not a fan of moral victories, because they are just losses after all. However, BC is starting to scare the heck out of the ACC and I'm diggin' the change of the culture at Boston College. HC Steve Addazio's team is getting better as the season wears on. I'm starting to think Eagles may take flight in a major way in a season or two under his tutelage.
...Lame excuse; ESPN's Rece Davis and Lou Holtz declared that Stanford lost last week because it was midterms last week up on The Farm. Really? So, no other school takes midterms? what a load of garbage.
...They can't be serious; But, yes the are in a big southern way. Bristol Motor Speedway will host the Tennessee- Virginia Tech game in 2016. Will the endzones be banked? Can players draft off each other to run faster? Will there be time outs or pit stops? This whole thing is just weird.
...What price victory- Part II; Now that Texas whipped Oklahoma last week, are the Texas fans really happy that Mack Brown is still roaming their sidelines?
...A word of thanks; Thanks go to Lane Kiffin for carrying himself with class in his interview on College Gameday. It's hard to get your dream job, then have it all go down the drain. Good luck, Lane.
Quietly making noise; Don't look now, but Tulane is 5-2 overall and 3-0 in C-USA play.
...It must have not made it; The memo to TCU must have been not made it through the TCU spam filters or they would have known that Kansas had the schematic advantage over them last week. How else do explain TCU's 27-17 win over the Jayhawks? Oh well...
...Davis and Blanchard didn't do this; What a day for Army RB Terry Baggett. Baggett had a career day, rushing for 304 yards and 4 TDs on just 18 carries to lead the Black Knights to a 50-25 win over Eastern Michigan. The 304 rushing yards are the most in a game this year in the FBS and are now the most in a single game in USMA history. Way to go, kid!
...The missing element; It was great to see optimism and positive energy back in the Coliseum last week. Felt like an old friend came back to watch the game with us all. Thanks, Coach O!
Ugly Uniforms of the Week
Tulsa and UTEP win for these two awful sets of togs last Saturday
UTEP's All orange looks like CalTrans jumpsuits run Amok and Tulsa's weird stripes and chrome helmet is just bad on multiple levels.
Departments
Blowout of the Week: Maryville, MO- The Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State crushed the Bronchos of Central Oklahoma, 72-10. The Bearcats did it in a balanced way by rushing for 323 yards and passing for 364. QB Trevor Adams completed 18 of 21 passes for 246 yards and three TDs in one half's worth of work to lead Bearcat charge. Meanwhile, the NWMSU defense held the Bronchos to zero for 14 on third down conversions on the afternoon.
Close Game of the Week: Union, NJ- The College of New Jersey Lions got a big play to hold for a 7-0 win over Kean University. The Lions went up, 7-0 early when RB Victor Scalici scampered 15 yards to paydirt with 7:16 to play in the first quarter. Kean mounted one final push to try and force overtime, driving 93 yards in 17 plays, but DB Matthew Fleck stopped QB Robert Meade at the one-yard line on fourth and goal to preserve the win.
Razorback Report: The Old Ball Coach took his South Carolina squad into Fayetteville and they beat up Arkansas, 52-7. The Hogs went up early in this one, 7-0 when RB Alex Collins scored from six yards out, but that was the last time the Razorback offense was heard from all day. The Razorbacks would finish with just 248 total yards of offense with a mere 30 of those coming through the air. Meanwhile, the Gamecock offense was hitting on all cylinders as QB Connor Shaw threw for 219 yards and three TDs. SoCar also ran the ball well, racking up 277 yards on the ground against an Arkanasas defense that spent way too much time on the field. Up next for the Hogs is a trip to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama.
C.W. Post Press: Springfield, MA- Things just aren't getting any better for the Pioneers this year as they dropped another game. This time, it was a 21-0 loss on the road at American International University. The Pioneers have dropped to 2-4 overall and are now just 1-4 in Northeast Athletic Conference play. Up next for Post is Homcoming v. Pace.
Tulane Times: The Green Wave moved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in C-USA play with a triple overtime victory over the East Carolina Pirates. This was weird game as there wasn't an offensive TD scored until ECU tied the game on a two-yard run by RB Vintavious Cooper to send the game to OT with 1:48 left in regulation. The Green Wave won it when PK Carlos Santos kicked his fifth field goal of the game, a 42-yarder, split the uprights after ECU PK Warren Harvey missed from 34 yards out.
Up next for Tulane is a home date with Tulsa.
Horned Frog Headlines: TCU had a bit of trouble, but still managed to beat he schematic advantage himself, Charlie Weis and the Kanasa Jayhawks in Fort Worth. QB Trevone Boykin provided the bulk of the offense for TCU, throwing for 173 yards and one TD, while also rushing for 71 yards and another score. As for the TCU defense, they shutout the Jayhawks in the fourth quarter and held KU to just two of 16 on third down conversion for the afternoon. Up next for TCU is a trip to Oklahoma State.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Having the batteries of two remotes go out at the same time on a football Saturday could be cause for losing one's man card.
Fever Pitch is still a pretty cool movie.
Chicken Fried Steak is a classic, classic meal.
Until next time folks, remember that it is really a good thing when you use the entire field in the passing game.
-The Commissioner
