Here's the column that helps Tuesdays be just a little bit better, Notes On a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
USC 35- Oregon State 10: There were 27 penalties called in this sloppy, flag filled affair, but USC did dominate the Beavers for the last two and a half quarters to come away with a win that wasn't as impressive as it looked. While the Trojan offense sputtered along, the defense did the heavy lifting. OSU's only TD came on a kickoff return, which meant the USC defense held OSU to just three points. The Trojan defense held Beaver QB Sean Mannion to just 15 of 32 passing for 123 yards and forced two interceptions. They were also impressive in the run game, holding OSU to 58 yards rushing for the night. USC's offense was led by QB Cody Kessler who threw for 261 yards and two TDs, while RB Buck Allen topped the century mark again with 115 yards and a TD on 20 totes of the rock.
Telling Stat: Taking the air out of the ball; With a comfortable 28-10 lead with 12:42 to play, USC ran the ball on 18 of their final 19 plays to kill the clock and the Beavers.
Stanford 20- Washington 13: Stanford had seen this before. A couple of weeks ago the Cardinal had statistically dominated a USC team that took advantage of their mistakes and beat them on The Farm. The same scenario was unfolding in Seattle on Saturday. The Cardinal had numerous drives inside the Husky 30-yard line only to watch them end on turnovers or a missed field goal. Then, Stanford was handed the break of the game by the Huskies. The score stood 13-13 with 7:37 left in the fourth quarter. Washington faced 4th and 9 from their own 47. The Dawgs tried a fake punt. Stanford stuffed the fake punt and 3:08 later, QB Kevin Hogan ran in from five yards out to put the Cardinal ahead for good. Hogan was pretty much the whole Stanford offense throwing for 178 yards and a TD to go with 53 yards rushing and another TD. For Washington, it was the defense that kept them in this game with LB Shaq Thompson scoring on a 32-yard fumble return.
Telling Stat: 1 became 7; Stanford took one great special teams play and turned that into the only scoring drive of the second half to claim victory over Washington.
California 59- Colorado 56 2OT: It was a crazy game that blew some light bulbs out on the scorecard at Cal's Memorial Stadium. Cal QB Jeff Goff and CU QB Sefo Liufau each threw seven TD passes. yes folks, seven TDs each. This was a game of big plays with each team trading punches down the stretch like a great boxing match. However, it was Cal who got the last two punches in. First they stuffed the Buffs on 4th and goal from the two-yard line to start the second overtime period. Then second, PK James Langford nailed a 34-yard field goal four plays later to claim victory for the Golden Bears. The win snapped Cal's 15-game Pac 12 losing streak. The final totals on the two QBs are as follows, Goff completed 24 of 42 throws for 458 yards and seven TDs while Liufau completed 46 of 67 passes for 455 yards and seven TDs.
Telling Stat: When they needed it; After giving up a ton of yards and points, the California defense nailed CU QB Sefu Liufau for a three yard loss on 4th and goal in the second OT to hand a chance for victory to their offense.
UCLA 62- Arizona State 27: It was a blackout game at ASU, The Sun Devils came out in all-black uniforms and under backup QB Mike Bercovici built an early 17-6 lead on the bRuins last Thursday night. Then UCLA woke up and promptly crushed the Sun Devils. Brett Hundley torched the ASU secondary for 355 yards and four TDs while the bRuin defense forced four ASU turnovers and even scored a TD of their own. As for the Sun Devils, Bertovici completed 42 of 68 aerials for 488 yards, three TDs and two big interceptions.
Telling Stat: A 20 minute explosion; In a span of just over 20 minutes of game time spanning the second and third quarters, UCLA outscored ASU, 42-3 to end this one early in the desert.
Washington State 28- Utah 27: A big second half rally by the Cougars led to a big upset of the Utes in the steady rain in Salt Lake City. Wazzu QB threw for 267 of his 417 yards and three of his four TDs in that second half. The game winner came when Halliday on his own 19-yard line hit WR Vince Mayle and he raced 81 yards for the score. The Utes looked very sloppy all game as if they still were thinking about their win at Michigan thee week before. Especially bad for the Utes was QB Travis Wilson who completed only 18 of 38 passes for 165 yards and no TDs.
Telling Stat: A pair of Fantastic Fours; Two of Washington State's four TDs came on fourth and long.
Notre Dame 31- Syracuse 15: ND QB Everett Golson had a hand in four of his squad's five turnovers, but he also completed 25 passes in a row to lead the Fighting Irish to a harder than expected win over Syracuse. Syracuse was kept in the game by ND's mistakes, but the Irish defense rendered the 'Cuse offense inert for most of the game. SU QB Terrel Hunt threw for 294 yards in the loss, while Golson threw for 362 yards and four TDs to lead the Irish attack.
Telling Stat: Too little too late; Syracuse gained almost half their yardage for the game after the Irish had already put this one firmly in the win column.
Observations
...Bulldog, Bulldog, Bow-Wow-Wow; A big salute to the Fighting Elis of Yale after their 49-43 overtime win over Army. It marked the first time an Ivy League team had beaten an FBS foe since 1986 and first time Yale had accomplished the feat since 1982. It was probably the biggest upset pulled in a rivalry that goes back 121 years. Somewhere, Walter Camp is smiling and hoisting a drink to the boys from New Haven.
...Great quote from the mother of the very nice family that sits in front of me at the Coliseum regarding USC's offense, "This is the slowest fast offense I've ever seen."
...Down = Up; Cal QB Jeff Goff has suddenly stopped throwing interceptions and Cal's scoring is way up. Now if they only had a defense, hmmmmm
...From For Sale signs to page updates; Irate fans used to put For Sale signs on the lawns of failing head coaches, now they just hack their Wikipedia pages and announce them as being fired after a particularly bad loss. Irate fans got to Michigan HC Brady Hoke's page and announced that "he was fired on September 20, 2014." That was a few hours after his squad lost to Utah.
...A rarity in Minneapoils; After slapping Michigan around Saturday, the Little Brown Jug rivalry trophy made a return to the Minnesota campus for only the fourth time in the last 46 seasons.
...From the great football name department; There is a safety for the Air Force Academy named Weston Steelhammer.
...Purple skies ahead; Get ready folks, Washington will ruin someone's season.
...Bad front wall; At best the young USC offensive line is a sieve, at worst it's an open flood gate.
...Need one from The Farm; Easily the most important game in the Pac 12 this week is Stanford @ Notre Dame. A Cardinal win would really do the league some good.
...PR nightmare; South Carolina lost to a Missouri team that lost the week before to Indiana. Explain that one SEC publicity machine.
...Still doesn't click; You know you don't grasp the current makeup of the Big Ten when still you look at the Big XII section of ESPN expecting to see the Nebraska score.
...Looking for Ban Ki-moon; There were 27 penalties called in the USC-Oregon State game. I've seen less flags at a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly.
...28 sent, only six received; An era that produced a myriad of jokes for this column has ended. Yes folks, I'm sad to say that Charlie Weis was fired as HC of Kansas Sunday morning after the Jayhawks dropped a 23-0 decision to Texas. Weis finishes with a 6-22 record at KU. Half of those six wins came at the expense of FCS schools. I will now, as a public service to us all, send Charlie a memo of my own...
To: Charlie Weis
From: The Commissioner
Subject: Your legacy
Dear Charlie,
Your greatest accomplishment as a head coach was almost beating USC once.
Sincerely,
The Commissioner
Ugly Uniform of the Week: Syracuse was in the running for this week's award with their grey prison togs, but Nebraska wins for this heinous all-big-red package. I didn't think even in this era that a team could actually remind of me of the 1975 Cleveland Indians. The Erie Warriors all-red gear made them look like running blood clots. These just looked like a Hemorrhage on the field.
Departments
Blowout of the Week: Loretto, PA- The Saint Francis Flash slayed the Lynchburg Dragons, 80-0. The Flash blocked several kicks in the game, with RB Khari Dickinson leading the offense with 157 yards rushing on 10 carries and three TDs. The Saint Francis defense held Lynchbirg to 98 total yards and just seven first downs.
Not Played Game of the Week: Watertown, WI- The Maranatha Baptist Sabrecats forfeited their game with the Concordia College Cougars. According to their press release, Maranatha forfeited the game with Concordia due to "an unusual amount of injuries." For the record folks, the final score of forfeited college football game is 1-0.
TCU Horned Frog Headlines: The boys in purple kept the Iron Skillet in their possession with a 56-0 rout of the hapless SMU Mustangs. TCU QB Trevonne Boykin Connected on 23 of 36 passes for 280 yards and four TDs on the afternoon. Meanwhile the TCU defense kept SMU's run-and-shoot offense misfiring all game, allowing only 245 total yards with 72 of those yard coming after the benches had been emptied. Up next for TCU is a stiffer test. They will host #4 Oklahoma.
Tulane Times: It was another tough day for the Green Wave as they were dashed on the Jersey shore in a 31-6 loss at Rutgers. Scarlet Knight QB Gary Nova only threw 21 passes, but complete 14 of those tosses for 291 yards and all four of his squad's TDs. Meanwhile, a trio of QBs for Tulane couldn't produce enough score a TD, much less get a win. Up next for the Green Wave is a much needed bye.
Razorback Report: It was a late collapse and heartbreak for the Hogs in a 35-28 overtime loss to Texas A&M at the Death Star in Arlington. Al looked good for the Hogs with a 28-14 lead to start the final period, but TAMU would score the final 21 points of the game to claim victory. RB Alex Collins was great for Arkansas, rushing for 131 yards on 21 carries and a TD. The Aggies were led by QB Kenny Hill who threw for 386 yards and four TDs. Up next for Arkansas is a bye week.
C.W. Post Press: Worcester, MA- The Pioneers overcame a 27-14 deficit in the fourth quarter to eek out a 28-27 comeback win over the Assumption College Greyhounds. Post QB Steve Laurino ran for Post's first two score, then threw for the last two to lead his team to victory. The key play in this game was when the Pioneer defense blocked Assumption's PAT attempt with 14:42 left in the game. That one point made the difference in this one. Up next for for C.W. Post is a trip to Pleasantville, NY to take on the Pace College Setters.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing
Fall is here in Southern California. Which means that the temperature will have 30 degree swings for the next couple of weeks to make sure everyone gets sick.
Pumpkin spice Krispy Kreme donuts are very very dangerous thing.
There's not a crisper feeling than a good offshore wind in autumn.
Until next week folks, remember that the ability to run the ball is still what decides most games.
-The Commissioner
