Here's the column that makes Tuesdays fun, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Jim Murray.
Summaries
Utah 24- USC 21: A bonehead play, a lack of execution at key times, a big blown call, and a worn down defense led to USC dropping a tight one in Salt Lake City. The loss effectively eliminated the Trojans from Pac 12 title contention. The bonehead play was USC WR Darreus Rogers dropping, then not going after a backwards pass which DB Davion Orphey returned for the game's opening score. The lack of execution came on the Trojans last two offensive plays where QB Cody Kessler short-armed an easy pass that would have led to USC being able to run out the clock. Then again on the ensuing play when WR Nelson Agholor didn't mange to stay in bounds with nobody around him on the ensuing fourth down attempt. The blown call was the officials blowing dead an obvious catch and fumble that was returned for a 100-yard score by USC's Adoree Jackson. Instead, USC was just given the ball on their own 20 yard line. The worn down defense was USC's usual fourth quarter collapse, where DC Justin Wilcox gets scared, has the defense sit back and let's the opponent drive down the field unhindered to score the winning points.
Telling Stat: The if game: If Darreus Rogers actually catches the first pass, USC walks out of Utah with a win.
Arizona State 24- Washington 10: The boys from the Valley of the Sun survived a night of cold, wind, and hard rain to come away with a win in Seattle. This game was also a tale of two QBs. UW QB Cyler Miles did not play because he did not pass medical protocol this week after being knocked from the prior week's game vs. Oregon with a concussion. ASU got QB Taylor Kelly back after being out four weeks with a foot injury. Kelly had a decent day, completing 14 of 25 passes for 180 yards and two TDs. As for UW, Miles' replacement Troy Williams did not fare so well completing 18 of 26 passes for 139 yards and two huge interceptions. The last one, with :52 left was returned 61 yards for the game-clinching TD by ASU DB Armand Perry. One other big note form this game was that UW LB Shaq Thompson was moved to RB for this game and had 98 yards on 21 carries. However, the Dawgs offense was pretty inept. UW's only TD came off a 61-yard interception return by LB John Timu late in the third quarter.
Telling Stat: Kelly in the Clutch; ASU QB Taylor Kelly accounted for 48 of the Sun Devils' 75 yards on their late fourth quarter winning drive. He ran once for 12 yards and completed all three of his passes for 36 yards, including a seven yard strike for the go-ahead touchdown.
Stanford 38- Oregon State 14: The Cardinal bounced back after their loss to ASU with a beat down of the Beavers on The Farm. The Cardinal defense turned the Beavers into a one dimensional team by holding them to 12 yards rushing. OSU QB Sean Mannion completed 14 of 30 passes for only 122 yards and no TDs. Mannion took several big hits from the Cardinal defense. As for Stanford, QB Kevin Hogan had an up and down day. He threw two early interceptions, but got off the deck and completed 18 of 28 passes for 277 yards and a pair of TDs. He also ran for a TD too. It seems everyone got into the act for SU as WR Ty Montgomery returned a punt 50 yards for a score and LB Patrick Skov even got to tote the rock. He scored on a one-yard plunge in the third quarter.
Telling Stat: Choked out by the Cardinal; After giving up an early TD, the Stanford defense throttled the Oregon State offense forcing seven punts, holding for downs twice and having the half run out once in the next 10 Beaver possessions.
Arizona 59- Washington State 37: There was a big cat fight up in the Palouse with the Wildcats easily smacking down the Cougars in a game that was not nearly as close as it seemed. With 8:56 left in the second quarter UofA held a 31-0 lead thanks to an 81-yard punt return for a TD by WR Devonte' Neal, a Casey Skowron 31-yard field goal, and three TD passes for QB Anu Solomon. Solomon would go on to throw a couple more TD passes as he finished the game by completing 26 of 38 tosses for 294 yards and five TDs. UofA built up a 52-16 lead through three quarters, then watched Wazzu stack up the points in garbage time. Wazzu QB Connor Halliday almost threw his arm off again, completing 56 of 79 passes for 489 yards, four TDs and two interceptions.
Telling Stat: A defensive first; In this game of big numbers, the Arizona defense had the biggest ones. They held Wazzu scoreless on their first five possessions forcing four punts and an interception. That allowed the UofA offense to build up a huge early lead that the Cougars couldn't come back from.
UCLA 40- Colorado 37- 2OT: The bRuins went up to Boulder and looked to pick up an easy win over the Buffaloes. For a good portion of the game, it look just like that as UCLA built up a 17-0 early lead and parlayed that into a 31-14 lead through three quarters of play. Then, the bRuins just seemed to take their foot off the gas. The Buffs took advantage of that lull and scored 17 straight points to force a very unexpected overtime. UCLA managed to escape with a win in the second overtime when QB Brett Hundley scampered eight yards to paydirt to end the game. Hundley finished the day with 200 yards passing, 110 yards rushing and a pair of TDs. His backfield mate RB Paul Perkins ran the ball 19 times for 180 yards and a pair of scores. The most impressive of those scores was 92-yard jaunt for the bRuins first score of the day. As for the Buffs, QB Sefu Liufau threw for 246 yards and two TDs in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: They danced with the girl that brung 'em; To borrow the old Keith Jackson line, UCLA picked up the win in this game when they turned Brett Hundley loose in the second OT. He accounted for all 25 yards on the final drive, including the 8-yard TD run to win it.
Oregon 59- California 41: The Ducks took on the Golden Bears at Levis Stadium and toyed for the boys from Berkeley for awhile before turning most of the second half into garbage time in this rout. UO QB Marcus Mariota had another great night, completing 18 of 30 passes for 326 yards and five TDs. UO RB Royce Freeman had a great day too. he rushed the ball 22 times for 112 yards and two TDs of his own. Despite being pulled from the game at times, Cal QB Jared Goff completed 32 of 52 passes for 360 yards and two TDs.
Telling Stat: 24-0, 21-0; Just at the moment when most fans thought that Califronia had a shot at upsetting the Ducks, they went on one of their patented quick scoring runs. UO's 24-0 run in the first half and their 21-0 run in the second half left no doubt as to who the big boys in the Pac 12 North still are.
Observations
...More bang for your buck; What's the difference between a Stanford game and a Wazzu game? The answer is 58 plays. Stanford and OSU ran a total of 138 plays last week , while Arizona and Washington State ran 196 total plays. That total includes all plays from scrimmage, kickoffs and punts.
...Still not the sharpest tools in the shed; USC's football IQ wasn't great to begin with and seems to be dropping with each game.
...Hoopin' it up at TCU; The Horned Frogs football squad up 82 points on Texas Tech. The TCU basketball team has scored only 82 points once in the last two seasons.
...One is the loneliest number; SMU is the only FBS team without a victory. Oh, and things don't look good for the Mustangs getting a win either. SMU has been shutout twice and they have lost their seven games by an average of 41 points. Not too early for basketball season in Dallas.
...Enjoy the Citrus Bowl; It has become increasingly clear this year that the Big Ten looks like the conference that won't get a team in the playoff.
...Open roads; After Oregon had turned their game with California into a rout at Levi's Stadium, longtime Cal announcer Joe Starkey quipped, "A lot of folks worried about traffic getting into Santa Clara for the game tonight, but they won't have to worry about traffic on the way home."
...Carolina Blue BS; The current academic fraud case being investigated by the NCAA at North Carolina is now said to involve over 1,500 athletes in various sports over the past 18 years or so. You can imagine how disingenuous it looked as former UNC football HCs and now ABC-ESPN employees Mack Brown and Butch Davis proclaimed no knowledge of such improprieties on ESPN2 on Saturday. Every HC knows where easy classes are in their respective schools. What a joke.
...That Mora-look; The look on UCLA HC Jim Mora's face as their game with Colorado went to overtime was priceless. It was a look of, "WTF? we're going to OT with f#%@k&^G Colorado?!"
...At FSU I can see this happening, but Army?; The United States Military Academy self-reported to the NCAA that they treated recruits to a dinner with female cadets, cheerleaders, alcohol and booster payments. This story really isn't that big of a deal nowadays, but who reported this story is. It was reported by The Gazette of Colorado Springs. Hmmmmm.
...#1 meet #1; After South Carolina's Hail Mary fell short in a 42-35 loss to Auburn, SEC officials say that Aubrun should have been called for a penalty on the play and the Gamecocks should have had another Hail Mary shot. It seems Auburn had two players wearing #1 on defense for the final play. DT Montaviuos Adams and WR D'haquille Williams were both wearing #1 on the play. Williams was inserted into the game as a defender for this one play as the Tigers Hail Mary defense package. Two players cannot be wearing the same number on the field at the same time for a team. Auburn should have been penalized five yards and South Carolina given one additional snap.
...Rolling in the perks of the Tide; Alabama HC Nick Saban's 3.1 million dollar home was paid off for him last January by the Crimson Tide Foundation, which is the big booster group at Alabama. They also pay his property taxes as well. In a related story it has been discovered that most USC fans are willing to take up a collection to send HC Steve Sarkisian and DC Justin Wilcox on a bus out of town.
...Just gotta love a big man with skills; Arkansas guard, Sebastian Tretola threw a six-yard TD pass in the Hogs whipping of Alabama-Birmingham over the weekend. The 6'5'' 350 lb. Tretola has lived out the fantasy all lineman young and old have. I don't know how many times, in my meager athletic career, I told my coach that I can tote and throw the rock. Oh, and they never let me kick an extra point either.
...They ran out of pyro; There's one funny consequence of TCU scoring 82 points last weekend. Ummm they used up their fireworks supply for the rest of the season. TCU celebrates scores with fireworks. The school ran out of them after TCU scored 75 points. They have to order more to get through the rest of the year.
...Feeling the Big Green; Dartmouth has the inside tack to the Ivy League crown. If they get by Harvard this week, the should wear the crown at season's end.
Who got the Memo?
Utah asked all their fans to wear black for their "Blackout" game vs. USC. Obviously, one guy didn't get the memo.
The funny thing is that one other guy must have gotten the memo.
Uniform of the Week-That-Looked-Good-But-Wasn't-Anywhere-Near-Their-Team-Colors: Illinois came out in all-grey "ghost" uniforms v. Minnesota, This intrepid reporter was told that the "ghost" uniforms were in homage of Illinois great Red Grange, the Galloping Ghost. There's even a 77 on the helmets for Grange's old jersey number. The thing is Grange wore Orange and Blue and made it famous. The Orange and Blue was such a big hit in the 1920s that some team named Da Bears adopted the Orange and Blue as their color scheme.
Departments
Close game of the Week: Hillsboro, KS- We look to the NAIA ranks as the McPherson College Bulldogs pulled out a tough, 15-14 road win over the Tabor College Blue Jays. The Bulldogs trailed 14-3 in the fourth quarter when their offense woke up. RB Kelly Cordova cut the deficit to six points with a 2-yard TD run. Then on the ensuing possession, Bulldog CB Ashton Spears picked off a pass at the Tabpr 40-yard line with 5:30 to play. Three minutes later, Cordova hit paydirt again from two yards out and McPherson walked away with the win.
Blowout of the Week: Coulmbia, KY- Well, it looks like TCU did score the most points in the FBS this week, but an NAIA team scored more. The Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders crushed the Bellhaven Blazers, 91-14. The Blue Raiders intercepted six Blazer passes and forced one fumble in which three of those turnovers were returned for TDs. QBs Brandon Creasp and Dylan Beasley threw for three TDs a piece in this laugher.
C.W. Post Press: QB Kevin Arduro capped off a 14 play, 65 yard drive with a 1-yard TD plunge with just :29 left to lift the American International College Yellow Jackets to a 27-24 win over the C.W. Post Pioneers. In the loss, QB Steve Laurino threw for 353 yards and one TD. That TD looked to be the game-winning tally with 3:51 to play, but AIC had other ideas. UP next for Post is a trip to New Haven Connecticut to take on Southern Connecticut State. Commissioner's note here: As in injured player, I stood on the sideline while his Chico State Wildcats whipped SCSU back in 1989.
Horned Frog Headlines: TCU sent Texas Tech back to Lubbock with a devastating 82-27 defeat. This game was an Old fashioned butt-kicking as the Frogs beat the Red Raiders every almost every way possible. TCU QB Trevone Boykin threw for 433 yards and seven TDs on the day. Everyone saw the field in this one as TCU ran through four QBs along with all the walk-ons seeing time in this one. Up next for the Frogs is a trip to West Virginia for a tilt between two of the top teams in the Big XII.
Razorback Report: The Hogs took a break from being the SEC West doormat and whiped up on the UAB Blazers, 45-17. The only thing you need to know about this game is that the big man threw a TD pass! Up next for the Hogs is a trip to #1 Mississippi State.
Tulane Times: The Green Wave had a bye this past weekend and will host Cincinnati this week.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing
Ebay strikes again. Picked up the thermos for my old NFL lunchbox last week.
It's amazing the conversations you can get into with people over what width of pen tip they prefer to use.
Modern Family has been really funny this year.
Until next week folks, remember that there is no such thing as a "lateral" in the rule books. A pass is either forwards or backwards.
-The Commissioner
