It is back! Yes, it's the Column that makes Tuesdays better, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
USC 52- Fresno State 13: New Trojan HC Steve Sarkisian promised an up-tempo, exciting offense and he delivered on that promise in week one as USC trounced the boys form Fresno. Trojan QB Cody Kessler competed 25 of 37 passes for 394 yards and 4 TDs and ran for another to the delight of the Coliseum crowd. As for USC's rushing game, RB Buck Allen rambled for 133 yards on 22 carries and a TD to lead all rushers. Meanwhile, USC's talented freshman class shined as well. WR JuJu Smith snagged four passes for 123 yards and WR/CB Adoree Jackson saw action on both sides of the ball by catching a TD pass and then helping to stymie the FSU passing game on defense. On the defensive side of things, the Trojans harassed FSU QBs all afternoon forcing four interceptions. FSU's lone bright spot was RB Marteze Waller who ran for 97 yards on 16 carries and scored both Bulldog TDs.
Telling Stat: 37/701/105; The Trojans racked up 37 first downs, 701 total yards and set a new Pac 12 record by running 105 plays in this rout of Fresno State.
Oregon 62, South Dakota 13: The Ducks opened up the 2014 campaign by slapping around FCS also ran South Dakota. UO QB and Heisman hopeful Marcus Mariota threw for 267 yards and 3 TDs to lead the Ducks to a 41-13 halftime advantage. Mariota and the rest of the Duck starters took the second half off in this laugher. Everybody in green and gold got their letter and broke a sweat against the outmanned Jackrabbits.
Telling Stat: Third downs need not apply; The Duck offense faced only nine third downs in the game, converting on seven of them.
Washington 17- Hawaii 16: The Huskies held on by their fingernails for a win against a Warrior squad that outplayed the Dawgs in every way except the scoreboard. UH came out fast building up a 10-0 lead early thanks to a 1-yard TD plunge by RB Joey Iosefa and a 28-yard FG by PK Tyler Hadden. The Dawgs then clawed back at the end of the first quarter to cut the deficit to 10-7 with a 20-yard TD run by WR John Ross. The Huskies took the lead for good in the second quarter thanks to one big stop and one big pass. The big stop was when the Warriors went for it on 4th and 2 from the Huskies nine yard line and came up short when WR Marcus Kemp's pass attempt off a reverse fell like a wounded duck to the turf. The Dawgs took over on downs and QB Jeff Lindquist promptly called John Ross' number again and hit him in stride between the safeties and he took it the rest of the way for a 91-yard TD. After that, it was a field goal battle with the Huskies snuffing out Hawaii's last chance for an upset with RB Lavon Coleman rushing the ball six straight times for 45 yards to kill the clock and hand HC Chris Petersen his first win at Washington.
Telling Stat: No bite in the Huskies O; Aside from the 91-yard TD strike, Washington ran only 47 other plays for a total of 245 yards.
Utah 56- Idaho State 14: The Utes went out and promptly scalped their FCS foes from the Big Sky Conference. Ute QB Travis Wilson, the pride of San Clement High, completed 13 of 18 passes for 265 yards and a TD in one half of work. RB Devonte Booker led the Utah rushing attack with 78 yards rushing and 2 TDs. Throw in both a punt and kickoff return for a TD by WR Kaelin Clay and the rout as they say, was on. Utah emptied the bench in the second half while running up 589 yards of offense on the night.
Teling Stat: Long Marches; Five of Utah's six TD drives covered 74 yards or longer.
UCLA 28- Virginia 20: While the bRuin offense sputtered, the defense shined, thereby allowing UCLA to walk out of Charlottesville with a win. In fact, the defense was the offense for UCLA. They had three TD returns off turnovers that allowed the bRuins to go in at the half up 21-10. In the second half, QB Brett Hundley capped off a nine play, 66 yard drive by scampering to paydirt from six yards out. Hundley's run would be UCLA's only offensive score of the day. The Cavaliers made things tight down the stretch, but were stopped on downs at UCLA's 17-yard line with 3:20 to play. UVa's QB tandem of Matt Johns and Greyson Lambert combined to complete 29 of 45 passes for 266 yards and 2 TDs in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: 21>7 and 20 The UCLA defense outscored both their own offense and Virginia's in this strange game.
Oregon State 29- Portland State 14: In another matchup between the Pac 12 and Big Sky, the Beavers looked sloppy while grinding out a win. The OSU defense shutout the Vikings in the second half while the offense put up 3s instead of 7s to make this game look a lot closer than it was. QB Sean Mannion led the way for OSU completing 26 of 45 tosses for 328 yards and a TD. He also accounted for his squad's other TD with a 6-yard scamper in the second quarter. Defense and kicking won this one. While the Beaver defense stifled the PSU offense, PK Garrett Owens connected on five of seven field goals to provide the margin of victory. For PSU, RB Paris Penn racked up 112 yards and 2 TDs on just nine carries in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: A second half Beaver dam; Oregon State held Portland State to three first downs, 36 total yards, and forced three turnovers on nine second half possessions which sealed the win for the Beavers.
California 31- Northwestern 24: Many of the Pac 12 pundits are wondering if Cal QB Jared Goff can make better decisions this season, eliminate interceptions and lead his team to victory. Well, Goff did just that against the Wildcats. Goff completed 21 of 34 aerials for 281 yards and three TDs to lead his team to victory. The Golden Bears did build up a 31-7 lead before holding off a furious comeback attempt to claim the win. Northwestern QB Trevor Siemian threw for 229 yards, a TD and two huge interceptions in the loss.
Telling Stat: A sack, a pick and a win; Cal LB Jalen Jefferson sacked Wildcat QB Trevor Siemian on second down, then intercepted him on third down with under two minutes to play with the ball in Cal territory to end Northwestern's comeback bid.
Arizona 58- UNLV 13: The Rebels were routed by one of their own, in Tuscon. UofA true freshman QB Anu Solomon,who hails from Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, completed 25 of 45 passes for four TDs to lead the Wildcat attack. He also ran for 80 yards too. As a team, UofA ran up 787 yards of offense on UNLV in this rout. RB Terris Jones-Grigsby had a good first game in trying to fill the shoes of the departed Ka'Deem Carey by rushing for 124 yards on 13 carries and a TD. As for UNLV, QB Blake Decker was their one bright spot, throwing 252 yards and a TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: Big plays Wildcats; four of Arizona's TDs came on plays covering 39, 63, 92, and 85 yards.
Rutgers 41- Washington State 38: Tell me if you've heard this one before, Wazzu QB Connor Halliday throws for ton of yards and TDs, but the Cougs still lose. Well, it happened again last Thursday in Seattle. Halliday picked apart the Rutgers defense, completing 40 of 56 tosses for 532 yards and 5 TDs, but it wasn't enough to win. The Rutgers offense got 281 yards passing from QB Gary Nova and 173 yards and three TDs on the ground from RB Paul James to carry the day. The win was Rutgers first as a member of the Big Ten conference.
Telling Stat: You win in the fourth quarter; The Rutgers offense outscored Wazzu, 17-7 while the defense forced a punt, a turnover and held for downs once to ensure victory.
Stanford 45- UC Davis 0: In another one of the contests that featured a Pac 12 and an FBS team, the Cardinal throttled the Aggies up on the Farm. Stanford cruised to a 38-0 halftime lead behind three TD passes from QB Kevin Hogan and a sensational punt return for a TD by WR Ty Montgomery. The second half then became a glorified scrimmage as Stanford emptied the benches in this yawner.
Telling Stat: Never a threat; The Stanford defense held UC Davis to 115 total yards and just 6 first downs on the afternoon.
Colorado State 31- Colorado 17: Year two of the Mike MacIntyre era at CU looked like it had gotten off to a great start. With 9:47 left in the third quarter, the Buffaloes held a 17-7 lead against their instate rivals from Fort Collins and all was good. Then, the roof caved in. The Rams then scored 24 unanswered points to walk away with the win. New CSU RB and Alabama transfer Dee Hart slashed through the CU defense for 139 yards and a pair of TDs on 22 carries to lead the CSU attack. As for the Buffs, QB Sefo Liufau completed 24 of 39 passes for 241 yards and 2 TDs, but it wasn't enough to prevent CU's second loss in three seasons to the Rams.
Telling Stat; RAMping up their game; From the 9:47 mark of third quarter on, CSU outgained the Buffs 252 yards to 95 yards with 49 of those 95 yards allowed coming on a late drive when the game was well in hand.
Arizona State 45- Weber State 14: The Sun Devils hosted the Wildcats from the Big Sky conference and turned in a workmanlike rout of the boys from Ogden. RB D.J. Foster had a strong first game as the featured back in the Sun Devil offense, toting the rock 15 times for 147 yards and three TDs. ASU QB Taylor Kelly seemed to pick up where he left off from last season by completing 18 of 27 passes for 238 yards and a score. The lone highlight for the Wldcats was when RB Zach Smith broke off a 60-yard TD late in the game that bumped his rushing total to 128 yards on 16 carries on the night.
Telling Stat: Keeping them in check; The ASU defense made sure there was no threat of upset in this one as they forced five punts, and a turnover on downs on Weber State's six first half possessions.
Notre Dame 48- Rice 17: QB Everett Golson threw for 2TDs and ran for 3 more as he returned from a year long suspension to lead the Irish past the Fighting White Owls of Rice. ND was in control of this one form the start, building up a 28-10 lead at the half, then cruising the rest of the way in this one. The ND defense gave up some yards, but never was really threatened by the subpar Rice offense.
Telling Stat: One drive to redemption; After leading the offense on a seven play, 47 yard TD drive in the first period, ND QB Everett Golson's sins were washed away by a wave of cheers from the Irish faithful.
Observations
...Third quarter/Third game; USC scored 52 points in three quarters v. Fresno State. USC hadn't scored 52 total points until their third game last season.
...Helmet fail; Note to Louisville: If I can't tell what is on the side of your helmet, then it is an epic failure of a design. That is all.
...Already checked off the list; By getting smacked by Georgia in week one, the annual wait for Clemson to take themselves out of title game contention was a short one this year.
...Stingy Gators; Many of you may have heard that Florida has informed Idaho that they will not pay the Vandals their $975,000 split of the gate receipts for last Saturday's game that was postponed after a three hour rain delay turned The Swamp into well, uh um... a swamp. Now, the Gators have taken their cheapness to the next level by informing their fans that they won't get their ticket money refunded for the suspended game either. Wow.
...Speed all around; Auburn's ball boys have more speed than most Big Ten teams.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that the UCLA coaching staff issued an APB for their offensive line after the unit went missing right after kickoff last Saturday at Virginia.
...Always a head scratcher; Baylor got a delay of game penalty on a kickoff against SMU.
...A familiar love; When each new season begins, there is no greater feeling than coming through old Tunnel 19 at the Coliseum and getting that first look at the field. The greatness that passed before on that hallowed ground and the promise of the greatness that will come always resonates to my core.
...They did it right; Baylor's new stadium is a thing of beauty. It makes me want to sailgate and cross the Brazos at Waco.
...They just made the FBS no-schedule list; FCS power North Dakota State won their fifth straight game versus an FBS foe by embarrassing Iowa State, 34-14. The Bison fell behind early, 14-0 then scored 34 straight points to walk away with an easy win.
...Been awhile; Cal's 31-24 win over Northwestern was the Golden Bears' first win over an FBS foe since 2012.
...THUD; That thud was the sound of South Carolina's national title hopes crashing to the ground after they were manhandled by Texas A&M last Thursday. The Aggies did everything to the Gamecocks except take the Gamecocks' post game meal.
...A frosh set of contributors; USC's future is very bright with the way the Trojans' incoming freshmen helped dominate Fresno State last Saturday.
...The memo has been sent; Sources close to The Commissioner have been told that the SE Missouri State Redhawks have been sent the memo by Kansas HC Charlie Weis that his Jayhawks have the schematic advantage over them in KU's opening game coming up this week.
Ugly Uniform of the Week: North Carolina Gets the prize.
Carolina Blue is okay for a basketball uniform, but that much pastel color on a football uniform is just plain wrong.
Departments
Blowout of the Week: Columbia, SC- The South Carolina State Bulldogs ran over, around and through the Benedict College Tigers en route to a 63-0 win. The Bulldogs accumulated 541 yards of offense with 381 of those coming on the ground. RB's Jalen Simmons and Dondre Lewis-Freeman crossed the double stripe twice to lead the SCSU rushing attack. Meanwhile, the Bulldog defense held the Tigers to 228 total yards and to just 3 of 17 on third down conversions.
Close Game of the Week: Orono, ME- It was a defensive slugfest up in the far northeast where the Black Bears of Maine held on for a 10-6 win over the Norfolk State Spartans. The Maine defense held the Spartans to 100 total yards offense, shutting them out for the final 49:57 of the contest. Leading the defensive charge was LB Christophe Mulumba Tshimanga with 14 tackles. The Black Bears points came from a 33-yard TD pass from QB Daniel Collins to WR Damarr Aultman and a 27-yard field goal from PK Sean Decidoux.
Razorback Report: The Hogs dug themselves an early hole in the SEC West race by getting smacked at home 45-21 by Auburn. Arkansas QB Brandon Allen threw for 175 yards and 2 TDs in the loss. Auburn's defense shutdown the Hogs in the second half allowing their offense to put up 24 unanswered points and claim the victory. Next up for the Hogs is a date with Nicholls State.
C.W. Post Press: Brookville, NY- The Post Pioneers start their season on September 6th where they will host East Stroudsburg University.
UCA Bear Facts: Lubbock, TX- The Bears gave it all they had, but came up just short in their bid to upset Texas Tech, falling by a count of 42-35 to the Red Raiders. In the end they had no answer for Tech QB Davis Webb who completed 39 of 52 passes for 452 yards and 4 TDs. For UCA, a three-headed RB monster of Willie Mathews, Blake Veasley and Taylor Reed combined for 166 yards and three TDs rushing. Next up for UCA is a date with Tennessee-Martin.
Tulane Times: In their first game as members of the American Athletic Conferene, the Green Wave promptly went 0-1 in conference play by dropping a 38-31 decision on the road to fellow new AAC member Tulsa. Tulane QB Tanner Lee threw for 262 yards and three TDs but it wasn't enough as Tulsa QB Dane Evans threw for 438 yards and four scores. Up next for Tulane is their home opener v. Georgia Tech.
Horned Fog Headlines: TCU opened the season up at home with a 48-14 romp over FCS foe Samford. QB Trevonne Boykin completed 29 of 41 throws for 329 yards and two TDs in the win. The game also marked Diana Schwene's first appearance on field as a member of the TCU Rangers.
From Our Field Office in Hawaii...
A quote symbolizing Steve Sarkisian's use of the talent on the USC roster, "It looks like Sark's been given the keys to the Ferrari."
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
The sentence, "Let me check with my wife." has creeped into my lexicon.
There is still nothing better at times than that cool ocean breeze in the afternoon in San Pedro.
I still don't know why hot dogs and hot dog buns can't come in the same number per package.
Until next week folks, opening wins are great, winning the next game is better.
-The Commissioner
