It's Tuesday and that means another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
USC 56- Colorado 28: Despite donning ugly not-even-close-to-cardinal chrome helmets, the Trojans and their fans got to relax in the fourth quarter for the first time in nearly a month as the Trojans stomped all over the Pac 12 doormat that is the Colorado Buffaloes. USC QB Cody Kessler set the all-time Trojan single-game record for TD tosses with seven scoring aerials. The first four of those TD throws came in the first quarter as the Torjans built up an early 28-0 lead. USC RB Buck Allen had another good day too rushing for 128 yards on 15 carries and a TD of his own. Kessler finished the game competing 19 of 26 passes for 319 yards and those seven scores. In the loss. CU QB Sefu Liufau completed 23 of 35 passes for 143 yards and a pair of scores.
Telling Stat: 20 minutes; Trojan fans enjoyed a long rest in the Coliseum with over 20 minutes of garbage time in this laugher.
Utah 29- Oregon State 23 2OT: Three dull quarters of football led to an exciting finish in Corvalis. It was battle of field goal kickers throughout three quarters as Utah held a 9-6 lead. Then OSU QB Sean Mannion hit WR Jordan Villamin with a toss and he took it 72 yards to paydirt to put the Beavers up 13-9. Utah then took the lead back late when RB Devontae Booker scored from a yard out. The Beavers got the ball back trailing ,16-13. Mannion and his teammates then put together an 11 play drive that was capped off by PK Trevor Romaine's 49-yard field goal to send the game to overtime. The overtime belonged to Devotae Booker as he scored two TDs. The second one came from 19 yards out and the Utes escaped Beaverland with a win. Booker finished the game with 229 yards rushing on 32 carries and three TDs. OSU's Mannion finished with 272 yards passing and a pair of scores.
Telling Stat; He owned overtime; In overtime, RB Devontae Booker gained 48 of Utah's 50 total yards on six carries with two TDs to lead the Utes to victory.
Oregon 45- Washington 20: The Huskies were hot coming off a 31-7 dismantling of Cal and looked to send a message to the league with a big upset of the Ducks. Unfortunately for UW fans, the message was "We're not ready yet." The Ducks turned a 7-6 lead after one quarter of play into a 28-6 lead at the half with a pair of TD runs by RB Royce Freeman and a TD pass by QB Marcus Mariota. Then, as they say, the rout was on. Freeman had big day toting the rock 29 times for 169 yards and four scores. Mariota had another ho-hum great day completing 24 of 33 passes for 336 yards and two TDs. UW QB Cyler Miles threw for 147 and a TD in the loss.
Teling Stat; While the fireworks were going on; While UO's offense lit up the board on UW in the second quarter, the Duck defense held the Dawgs to just 48 total yards. forcing five punts and an interception in the period.
UCLA 36- California 34: Turnovers were key in this shootout between the big and little brothers of the UC system. UCLA's three turnovers kept CAL in the game and Cal's one big turnover handed UCLA the win. Just when it seemed that Cal QB Jeff Goff had conquered his interception woes, the one he threw handed UCLA the game. With a 1st and 10 at the bRuins 36-yard line, Goff threw for the end zone. The ball ended up being intercepted by UCLA DB Marcus Rios. The play was controversial as it didn't look like Rios actually made the interception, but it held up under review. That just made all Call fans wonder why he was making that throw anyway as the Golden Bears had just about reached field goal range. Goff finished the day with 303 yards, 2TDs and that big interception. UCLA QB Brett Hundley threw for 330 yards and 2TDs and ran for another in the win.
Telling Stat; They didn't need third downs. Both teams combined to score 70 points when they also combined to just convert on 7 of 27 third downs.
Arizona State 26- Stanford 10: The Cardinal dropped their third game of the season with another lackluster offensive effort at ASU. The ASU defense held the plodding Stanford offense to just 288 total yards and just 6 of 16 on third downs. Meanwhile, after a scoreless first quarter, the Sun Devil offense jumped out to 14-0 lead behind a 1-yard TD run fro RB D.J. Foster and a 3-yard TD pass from QB Mike Bercovici to WR Jalen Strong. In the second half, the stubborn Stanford defense held ASU to four field goals from PK Zane Gonzalez. However, the Cardinal offense was held in check all night by the Sun Devils. ASU's Bercovici was the offensive star of the game completing 23 of 33 passes for 245 yards and one TD. Stanford QB Kevin Hogan threw for 212 yards in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: Beaten at their own game; Arizona State out rushed Stanford 114 yards to 76, made nine more first downs and held a nearly 10 minute edge in Time of Possession to slowly throttle the Cardinal.
Florida State 31- Notre Dame 27: So, let me get this straight. The Notre Dame game came down to a big penalty call and because of it, the Irish didn't win? As Brent Musberger might say, "What an amazing turn of events!" Does anybody else really care about the stats of this game? I'll end this summary here.
Telling stat; Road woes; Funny how everything didn't go ND's way in their first true road game of the season.
Observations
...A truly rough year; It ain't easy being a Maranatha Baptist football player. The Sabercats just forfeited their second game of the year due to an "unusual amount of injuries." There are only 34 players on their roster and many of them are hurt. They are 0-7 on the year including the forfeits. In the five games they did play, Maranatha has lost them by an average score of 55-12. The only bright spot for this team all year was a 7-0 win over their alumni in a scrimmage.
...Lost in the shuffle; Forgotten in Utah's double OT win over Oregon State will be a really, really good TD catch on 4th and Goal in the first overtime by OSU WR Jordan Villamin.
...It has to be over; Glad to see the pollsters love affair with Texas A&M is finally over. Their third blowout loss was finally proof that they aren't a top 25 team.
...Loving the Buffs at Expo and Fig.; In the last couple of USC-Colorado tilts, Trojan QBs have lit up the record books.
...Whining Irish; No Notre Dame fan should ever complain about officiating. Never, ever, ever, EVER!!!! That is all.
...This just in; The new USC helmets stink. On TV and pictures they looked halfway decent, however in the stadium, they looked like bad Christmas ornaments. Just ugly.
...That S on the helmet ain't for Super; Stanford's aura of invincibility is gone and HC David Shaw's look of confidence on the sidelines has given way to one of bewilderment.
...SECSPN; ESPN just needs to change their name and just openly tell us that they are going to do everything possible to make sure that multiple SEC teams make it into the playoff. Now, the argument from the SEC-bought-and-paid-for-network is that any two-loss SEC team is better than any other conference's one-loss team. Puhleeeze.
...Unexpected leadership; Nobody expected Duke to be atop the ACC Coastal Division right now.
...How far they have sunk; Just how low are the standards at the L.A. Times sports page? They can't even get a caption right nowadays...
...And then there was one; It's pretty early in the year to be down to just one, but SMU is the only winless team left in the FBS.
...Cool memory; Saw a "Meet me at Julie's" t-shirt at the SC game. Julie's Trojan Barrel is still missed by many an old SC fan.
...Truly Mean Stat of the Season; Washington LB Shaq Thompson has scored five TDs this year. As a team, SMU has scored only four.
...For the big ref in the desert; Lehigh was the only Patriot League team to win this week as the league played four games against Ivy League foes. Lehigh beat Cornell, 31-14.
...Note to Colorado; Don't de disappointed, you weren't brought into the Pac 12 to win. The league just wanted a 12th team so they could have a championship game. How you beat out Hawaii for the 12th spot, I'll never know.
...Meeting the man who made the hit; One of the perks of sitting in my section at the Coliseum is seeing USC greats. This past weekend, I got to meet Charlie Weaver. He was a member of USC's original "Wild Bunch" that terrorized the old Pac 8 in 1969. Weaver also laid one of the best hits ever laid on any bRuin when leveled UCLA QB Dennis Dummit.
...Pretty refreshing; It's nice to know that Clemson has been irrelevant for most of the season.
...No reason to be mad; FSU HC Jimbo Fisher got angry and cut short a media interview when he was asked if his own reputation had taken a hit because of his star QB's off the field problems and bad reputation. It looks like old Jimbo forgot the old southern proverb, "If you lay down with dogs, you're bound to get some fleas."
Ugly Uniform of the Week: This week's winners are the Indiana Hoosiers. If you're going to go with an ugly alternate helmet that looks like a candy cane, you should at least makes sure the stripes don't come off during game action.
Now, a bit of uniform praise for... Oregon? Yes, Oregon. The Ducks throwback uniforms last Saturday were done right. They were pretty darn close to their official colors of Emerald Green and Lemon Yellow with the classic interlocking UO helmets.
Departments
Close Game of the Week: Bloomington, IL- QB Sam Frasco scampered 11 yards for a first quarter TD and that proved to be enough in the Augustana Vikings 7-2 over the Illinois Wesleyan Titans. The Augustana defense kept the Titans off the scoreboard all day, but the game wasn't truly decided until the Titans 4th down pass on the Vikings 23-yard line fell incomplete with just over a minute to play.
Blowout of the Week: University Heights, OH- The John Carroll University Blue Streaks crushed the Marrieta College Pioneers, 80-0 at Don Shula Stadium. On a day when everybody got their letter, Blue Streaks QB Mark Meyers connected on 15 of 18 tosses for 185 yards and three TDs. The JCU defense held the Pioneers to two first downs and 34 total yards for the game.
C.W. Post Press: Brookville, NY- Fifth year Sr. QB Steve Laurino is having a great season. This past weekend that great season continued as he accounted for all seven Pioneer TDs in Post's 49-21 win over St. Anselm. Laurino completed 31 of 51 passes for 346 yards and four TDs. He also ran the ball 16 times for 81 yards and three more TDs. The Pioneers are tied for first place in the Northeast 10 conference and will host American International College this week in a battle of the top two teams in the league.
Tulane Times: The Green Wave hit the road to University of Central Florida and dropped a 20-13 decision to the Golden Knights. Green Wave QB Nick Montana threw for 147 yards and two big interceptions in the loss. Up next for the Green Wave is a much needed bye week.
Horned Frog Headlines: TCU bounced back strong after their heart-breaking loss to Baylor by crushing the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 42-9. The Frogs outgained the Pokes, 676 yards to 258. TCU QB Trevone Boykin completed 26 of 39 passing for 410 yards and 3 TDs, while RB B.J. Catalon rushed for 102 yards and two TDs lead the Frogs offensive attack. The Frogs defense held the Okie State offense in check all day. Up next for TCU is home date with Texas Tech.
Razorback Report: The stats don't tell the story in this game as the Razorbacks outgained the Bulldogs, held the ball longer and had fewer penalties, yet lost 45-32 in a game that wasn't nearly that close. The Bulldogs turned the whole second half of the game into a glorified scrimmage thanks to a second quarter here the Bulldogs owned the second quarter, blanking the Hogs, 31-0. That left the Dawgs up 38-7 at the break and the game essentially over. Arkansas QB Brandon Allen threw for 296 yards and three TDs in the loss. Up next for Arkansas is a home date with Alabama- Birmingham.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing
Any morning now the heater will kick on to let me know that Indian Summer is over down here at the beach.
October is the prettiest month in California.
I still have my NFL lunch box from when I was seven years old. It's really cool.
Until next week folks, remember that the receiver actually has to look like he's running a pass play on a rub route.
-The Commissioner
