Here's that last look back at the last weekend's games, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
Boston College 37- USC 31: When a talented team doesn't come mentally prepared to play, a less talented but prepared and driven squad can beat them almost every time. USC was not prepared and Boston College was. The Eagles also had drive and heart which equated to not just an upset, but a physical beatdown of USC. The Eagles owned the line of scrimmage in this game, running through the Trojan defense at will. QB Tyler Murphy ran for 191 yards on just 13 carries and a TD to lead the BC attack. As a team, BC rushed for 452 yards on 54 carries and 5 TDs on the night. As for USC, QB Cody Kessler did throw for 317 yards and 4 TDs in the loss. However, much of those yards came late when the Trojans were in desperately trying to get back into the game.
Telling Stat: One if by land; Well, more like 452 by land as Boston College controlled the line of scrimmage and the game.
Oregon 48- Wyoming 14: WR Tanner Gentry hauled in an 18-yard TD pass from QB Colby Kirkegaard to give Wyoming and a 7-0 lead after one quarter of play. Was this an upset in the making? Could we have a shocker in Eugene? Uh, no. The Ducks scored the next 41 points to send everyone to the bars early. Duck QB Marcus Mariota threw for two TDs and ran for two more against the overmatched Cowboys defense. Meanwhile the Webfoot defense corralled the Cowboys offense forcing three turnovers along the way.
Teling Stat: 7 out of 10; OU had 10 possessions in the game. They scored seven TDs, were held for downs once, punted once and their final drive finished with a two yard run for a first down as time ran out in the fourth quarter.
Washington 44- Illinois 19: The return of QB Cyler Miles was the big thing that sparked the Huskies last week in their win over Eastern Washigton. This week it was LB Shaq Thompson coming up with a big return for UW. Did I say return, make that returns as Thompson returned both an interception and a fumble for a TD as part of a first half 35-5 run by the Dawgs that ended this one early in Seattle. The returns covered 36 and 52 yards respectively. As for the Husky offense, Miles threw for 191 yard, a TD and ran for 55 more yards to help the cause. For Illinois, WR Geronimo Allison snagged six passes for 160 yards and both Illini TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: He was better than They were; By the 10:49 mark of the second quarter, UW LB Shaq Thompson had outscored Illinois 12-3 and outgained the Illini offense by 10 yards.
Arizona 35- Nevada 28: The Wolfpack gave the Wildcats all they could handle and ended up falling just short of beating their second Pac 12 team of the season. QB Cody Fajardo was Nevada's offense. He connected on 29 of 39 tosses for 321 yards and three TDs. However, his heroics just couldn't keep up with the 1-2 punch of UofA QB Anu Solomon and RB Nick Wilson. Solomon completed 22 of 26 passes for 278 yards and three TDs while Wilson gained 171 yards on the ground on 29 carries and a pair of scores. The Wolfpack did have one last chance to send the game to overtime, but Fajardo's 4th down pass to WR Jericho Richardson fell to turf at midfiled, a little out of Richardson's grasp.
Telling Stat: 3 is not 7; In their first two drives of the night, Nevada held the ball for 15:41, ran 32 plays and gained 141 yards. However, both drives ended in field goals not touchdowns and that was the difference in the game.
Stanford 35- Army 0: In their typical methodical way, the Cardinal easily whipped the Cadets up on The Farm. Stanford QB Kevin Hogan completed 20 of 28 passes on the day for 216 yards and 4 TDs. Hogan's prime TD target was TE Devon Cajuste who hauled in three of Hogan's TD tosses. Meanwhile the Cardinal defense held Army in check. The Cadets only two long drives of the game came late in the fourth quarter with the game was already well in hand.
Telling Stat: The Army is a ground force; Stanford had an easy time containing a Cadet offense that threw the ball only five times all game.
UCLA 20- Texas 17: A Jerry came through for the win at Jerryworld in Dallas. UCLA QB Jerry Neuheisel, yes Rick's kid, came off the bench for injured QB Brett Hundley and threw two TD passes that let the bRuins escape with a win over the Longhorns. Neuheisel completed 23 of 30 passes on the night for 178 yards and two TDs without an interception. For the Longhorns, QB Tyrone Swoopes, filling in for injured QB David Ash, threw for 196 yards and two TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: 1; One play gave him a shot to go from backup to hero. UCLA QB Jerry Neuheisel showed just how anybody on a football team can be a play away from being in the spotlight.
Washington State 59- Portland State 21: The Cougars broke their maiden for 2014 with a rout of the Vikings up in Pullman. Wazzu QB Connor Halliday overcame two more interceptions to complete 41 of 62 passes for 544 yards and six TDs. Behind his arm, the Cougs built up a 28-0 halftime lead and cruised the rest of the way. PSU QB Kieran McDonagh threw for 269 yards and a TD in the loss. Oh, and folks, there was a rarity in this game. Wazzu scored a rushing TD. RB Gerard Wicks rumbled over the double stripe to start the scoring for the day.
Telling Stat: A donut on the board; While the Wazzu offense was scoring 28 first half points, the Cougar defense forced five punts and two turnovers to keep PSU off the board in the first half.
Arizona State 38- Colorado 24: All looked good for the Sun Devils, up 38-17 near the end of the third quarter. ASU QB Taylor Kelly was having a good night, He had completed 13 of 21 passes for 195 yards and three TDs. He had also ran for 70 yards and a score. Then, disaster struck the Sun Devils. Kelly injured his right foot on ASU's last offensive play of the third quarter and he now looks to be out for at least a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, Colorado made a game of it, with QB Sefo Liufau throwing for 278 yards and three TDs. However, three huge turnovers cost the Buffaloes any chance of upsetting ASU in Boulder.
Telling Stat: No Kelly, No O; After QB Taylor Kelly's injury, ASU'S offense sputtered, gaining just 31 yards and making just two first downs in the final quarter.
Notre Dame 30- Purdue 14: The Irish didn't look great, but they didn't have to be to beat an outclassed Boilermaker squad. ND took a slim 17-14 lead into the half, but the Irish defense shutdown the Boilermakers for the final thirty minutes while their offense scored just enough to put this one out of reach. ND QB Everett Golson threw for 259 yards and two TDs and ran for 56 yards and another score to lead the Irish attack. As for the boys from West Lafayette, QB Dany Etling, threw for 234 yards and both Purdue touchdowns in the loss.
Telling Stat: 0 for 30;In their second half shutout of Purdue, the ND defense forced three punts, two turnovers and held for downs once.
Observations
...Two plays he'll remember; Not only did Iowa State PK Cole Netten kick the game winning 42-yard field goal to beat Iowa, he recovered the fumble by the Hawkeyes on the ensuing kickoff to end the game.
...This just in; The Big Ten sucks. Thank goodness for the MAC or their out of conference winning percentage would be under the Mendoza line.
...No joy in Raisinville; Hey Fresno! You're 0-3 and have been outscored 166-59. How's that "Anybody, Anywhere" scheduling mantra working for ya?
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that USC was delayed getting home from Boston because HC Steve Sarkisian was afraid to travel by air.
...They didn't get the memo; Duke destroyed Kansas 41-3, handing the Jayhawks their 25th straight road loss. The team with the schematic advantage only crossed the 50 four times, never getting closer to the end zone than the Duke 17.
...From overlooked to glaringly obvious; One of the basic tenets of the spread option offense is having a QB that can run. No running QB= No true spread option running game. Cody Kessler can't run.
...Explanation please; Why didn't USC HC Steve Sarkisian retain Clancy Pendergast as USC's DC?
...Miles of improvement; Funny how much better the Washington offense became when QB Cyler Miles returned to the lineup.
...Coin toss epic fail; How low has the Texas program sunk? They even blew the coin toss v. UCLA. UCLA won the toss and deferred their choice to the second half. The Texas captain then told the referee they's like to play defense first. Huh? The meant Texas kicked off to start both halves and handed UCLA and extra possession in the game.
...Everyone has been accounted for; The Ivy League begins play this week. I wonder if Princeton will run their three QB offense again this year? Fight, fight for dear old Nassau!
...It's the moral victory tour and it's coming to take you away; The Commissioner has heard a lot of Texas fans talking about how great it was that their team hung in with UCLA for four full quarters. Go ahead, start settling for moral victories Longhorn fans. That's how 4-8 become commonplace.
...It won't disappear like the sanctions; Although many in Happy Valley feel that they are now without sin after the NCAA ended their sanctions early, the stigma is still there. That fact was clear by the many "Beat Ped State" shirts worn by Rutgers fans the other night.
Ugly Uniform of The Week: Notre Dame takes this award hands down. Well, is that really Notre Dame or this just a traveling company of Knute Rockne: All American warming up before curtain time? Those gold shoes are an epic football fail, but a Broadway smash.
Departments
Crazy Game of the Week: Terra Haute, IN- The Fightin' Engineeers of Rose-Hulman College held on to beat the Illinois College Blueboys, 74-68 in triple overtime. Yes, 74-68. The teams combined to run 231 plays, score 142 points, gain 1,569 yards of total offense and rack up 77 first downs. The teams set numerous national and D-III records. As for individual stats, Rose-Hulman QB Austin Swanson completed 37 of 59 for 603 yards and 7 TDs, while his counterpart, from IC, Michael Bates completed 42 of 73 passes for 535 and 6 TDs. The game finally ended in the third OT when after forcing a missed field goal by the Blueboys, RHC RB Greg Lee knifed into the end zone from three yards out.
Close Game Of The Week: Wilkes-Barre, PA- With just nine seconds left in the second quarter, RB Dylan Cumming plunged into the end zone from one-yard out to give the Steveson University Mustangs a 7-0 lead over King's College. That score would stand to give the Mustangs a 7-0 win. The shutout was the first in school history. The Mustang program is only four years old.
Razorback Report: In a clash of old Southwest Conference foes the Hogs ran over, around, and through the Texas Tech Raiders en route to a 49-21 win. The RB tandem of Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams did most of the damage for Arkansas. Collins ran for 212 yards on 27 carries with two TDs, while Williams toted the rock 22 times for 145 yards and four TDs. All that rushing translated into a 20 minute advantage in T.O.P and total control of the game. Up next for the Hogs is a home date with MAC power Northern Illinois.
Horned Frog Headlines: The Horned Frogs steamrolled past an overmatched Minnesota squad, 30-7 at Amon G. Carter Stadum. TCU QB Trevone Boykin threw for 258 yards and a pair scores to go with one rushing TD by RB B.J. Catalon and three file goals by PK Jaden Oberkrom to whip the Golden Gophers. Next for TCU is a bye this week to get ready for their trip to SMU to battle for the Iron Skillet on September 27th.
C.W. Post Press: Brookville, NY- Post QB Steve Laurino nudged across the double stripe on a one-yard run with just 13 seconds left and the Pioneers came away with a 38-33 win over the University of New Haven. That score happened to be Laurino's third rushing TD in the game and topped off a day where he also connected on 32 of 50 passes for 26 yards and two TDs through the air to lead his squad to victory. The Pioneers take the road next week for the first time in the 2014 campaign to take on the Warriors of Merrimack College.
Tulane Times: The Green Wave got their first win of the season over SE Louisiana from the FCS. QB Tanner Lee completed 14 of 30 passes for 238 yards and three TDs in the 35-20 victory. The Green Wave built up a 28-3 halftime advantage then held on as the Lions mounted a furious comeback attempt. Up next for the Green Wave is a trip to Duke to take on the Blue Devils at Wallace Wade Stadium.
Special Request: Away Game Tips
I have thought about this subject for quite awhile. Many of us have made road trips to watch our Trojans play. I, The Commissioner, would like to put together a blog page with all our combined knowledge from those road trips. It would include everything from where to buy gas to where to stay to where to eat and pitfalls to avoid. It would be our own Pac 12 road trip guide. So folks, send me your ideas.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing
The Southern California dates for summer should just be listed as lasting from the last week in August through first week in October.
Friday night high school football is still a very cool thing.
Watched my five-year old niece's first soccer game. Keeping everyone running in the right direction is the key to victory. lol.
Until next week folks, remember that talent alone doesn't win games. Drive and determination matter too.
-The Commissioner
