It's Tuesday and that means yet another edition of that column you can't do without, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Jim Murray.
Summaries
USC 59- Idaho 9: While some teams choked on their cupcakes this past weekend, USC downed their sweet treat in one bite as they destroyed the Vandals at the Coliseum. In just about three quarters worth of work, USC QB Cody Kessler, with all day to throw, completed 26 of 31 passes for 410 yards and three TDs. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster was Kessler's main target hauling in 10 passes for 192 yards and a pair of scores. In all, 14 different receivers caught passes for the Trojans on the day. As for the running game, nine different Trojans would carry the ball with RB Ronald Jones leading all rushers with 83 yards and a TD on just eight carries. RB Justin Davis had two TDs on the ground to go with 74 yards on a scant five carries. Meanwhile, the Trojan defense had the Idaho offense bottled up from the opening kickoff, forcing nine punts and a turnover on downs on 10 of Idaho's 12 drives in the contest.
Telling Stat: At 'em early; USC took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in seven plays to grab a quick 7-0 lead and never looked back in this laugher at the Coliseum.
Utah 24- Utah State 14: This was a hard-hitting affair that stood deadlocked at 14-14 at the half. Ute QB Travis Wilson looked good, leading his team to two TDs before he was knocked out of the game in the second quarter with a left shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Utah State QB Chuckie Keeton led the Aggies to a pair of scores and managed to stay in the game after taking a low shot to his knees. With Wilson gone and Keeton limping, the question was which team would take control of the game in the second half. The Utes answered that question with the strong running of RB Devontae Booker and an opportunistic defense to come away with the victory. Booker toted the rock 31 times for 120 yards and a TD. Wilson's replacement, Kendal Thompson completed 8 of 10 passes for 56 yards to go with a rushing TD that put Utah ahead for good. The Ute defense shut down the Aggies in the second half, not allowing a first down until the fourth quarter then coming up with two big turnovers to put this game squarely in the win column.
Telling Stat: Shutdown Six Pack; The Utah defense forced three punts, recovered a fumble, intercepted pass and had the clock run out on Utah State's six second half drives to bring home the win over the Aggies.
Washington 49- Sacramento State 0: It was the Huskies home opener and they swatted the Hornets from the Big Sky Conference for their first win of 2015. True frosh QB Jake Browning connected on 17 of 24 passes for 326 yards and two TDs while RB Myles Gaskin gained 146 yards on 14 carries and scored three TDs to lead the Husky attack. The UW defense shutout Sac State allowing the Hornets to gain just 212 total yards for the afternoon. Hornet QB Daniel Kniffin threw for 181 yards in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: 11/11; Washington held to Sac State to 11 first downs and 11 yards rushing in this rout.
Colorado 48- Massachusetts 14: The Buffaloes stampeded their way over the Minutemen for an easy win in Boulder. CU rushed the ball 59 times for 390 yards and five TDs. RBs Michael Adams and Christian Powell both eclipsed the 100 yard mark. QB Sefo Liufau had a an easy day too, completing 15 of 24 aerials for 168 yards and a TD. He also ran for a score. As for the Minutemen, QB Blake Frohnapfel threw for 225 yards and a TD in defeat.
Telling Stat: 34 in 26; After Umass tied this game at 14 early in the second period, CU scored 34 points over the next 26 minutes of play to turn this game into a blowout.
UCLA 37- UNLV 3: The week after true freshman bRuin QB Josh Rosen was given every award from the Heisman Trophy to the Nobel Peace Prize after his fine debut against Virginia, he looked like an ordinary kid v. UNLV. However, UCLA's running game and defense were in midseason form to pave the way to a rout of the Rebels. RB Paul Perkins rushed the ball 18 times for 151 yards and two TDs. The bRuins led 17-0 at the half, then scored on four of their first five possessions of the second half to put this game out of reach. UCLA emptied the benches in the fourth quarter and QB Jerry Neuheisel threw two interceptions in relief. Rosen finished the game completing 22 of 42 passes for 223 yards, a TD and an interception. UNLV RB Keith Whitley rushed for 73 yards on 12 carries in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: No passing zone; UCLA completely shut down UNLV's passing game, allowing the Rebels to complete only 6 of 23 passes for 56 yards and an interception that the bRuins returned for a TD.
Washington State 37- Rutgers 34: The Cougars have an offense built for shootouts and QB Kevin Falk shined in victory on Saturday. Falk completed 47 of 66 passes for 478 yards and four TDs. His last TD toss was an 8-yard strike to WR River Carcraft with just 13 seconds left to lift the Cougars to victory. The Cougars held a 20-12 lead at the start of what would be a crazy fourth quarter where the lead would change hands four times as the teams combined to scored 39 points. The Wazzu defense played well in this game, it was their special teams that put this game in doubt. The Cougs allowed a 100 yard kickoff return and a 55-yard punt return for a TD in that crazy fourth quarter. Outside of those returns the Scarlet Knights did put up over 400 yards of offense on the board with QB Chris Laviano completing 23 of 29 passes for 204 yards and a TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: 2R+3D= Shootout; Wazzu ended up in a shootout with an overmatched Rutgers squad by allowing two returns for TDs and having three drives stopped on downs deep in Scarlet Knights territory.
Michigan 35- Oregon State 7: The hero for the Michigan wore #4 just like the old man roaming the sidelines did when he wore the Maize and Blue in the 1980s. #4 is RB De'Veon Smith and he lugged the leather 23 times for 126 yards and three TDs to lead the Wolverines to a win. The win was the first for Jim Harbaugh as HC in Ann Arbor. The game was a pretty even affair with the Beavers trailing, 10-7 late in the second period. Facing a 4th and 3 at the UM 39-yard line, the Beavers elected to punt. The snap sailed over the head of Punter Nick Porebski and kept rolling until it was recovered by the Wolverines at OSU's three-yard line. Smith squirted into the end zone just before halftime and the Maize and Blue dominated the rest of the way. OSU QB Seth Collins was bottled up by the UM defense completing only 9 of 16 passes for 79 yards and a TD to go with 28 rushing yards in the loss.
Telling Stat: 16 for 12; Michigan's defense owned Oregon State's offense in the second half. Not only did Wolverines shut them out, they allowed only 12 total yards on 16 plays in the final 30 minutes.
Arizona 44- Nevada 20: The Wildcats hit the road for the first time this season and did what many of us have not done. They walked out of Reno as winners. The Wolfpack was a fired up bunch, taking after the volatile nature of their HC Brian Polian who would pick up not one, but two unsportsmanlike penalties in the game. The Wildcats managed to run away from the Wolfpack behind their dynamic backfield duo of QB Anu Solomon and RB Nick Wilson. Solomon hit on 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards and two TDs while Wilson gashed the Pack for 203 yards on 21 carries and three TDs. The Cats defense stopped the Nevada offense cold while the UofA offense went on a 20-0 run to put the game away. Nevada QB Tyler Stewart completed 18 of 32 passes for two TDs in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: Too little too late; Nevada's lone TD and 66 of their 104 second half yards came late in the fourth quarter, long after UofA had the victory well in hand.
Stanford 31- Central Florida 0: It took a flea-flicker, but with 4:23 left in the second quarter, Stanford scored their first TD of the season. QB Kevin Hogan connected with WR Michael Rector to give the Cardinal a lead they wouldn't surrender. They also won by throwing the ball. Yes, Stanford threw the ball. Hogan completed 17 of 29 passes for 341 yards and three TDs. RB Barry Sanders, Jr. tallied SU's other TD with a 20 yard run. UCF managed to gain only 181 total yards on the night with their only TD coming in garbage time. RB Taj McGowan rushed for 70 yards, while WR Tre'Quan Smith hauled in a pass for the Golden Knights only score.
Telling Stat: A long time to get off the schnide; After nearly a game and a half or a full 85:37 of game time, Stanford scored their first TD of 2015.
Arizona State 35- Cal Poly SLO 21: After being whipped by Texas A&M last week, the Sun Devils didn't exactly bounce back well, having to rally to beat the Mustangs. It looked like ASU would run away from Cal Poly after taking a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Then the Mustangs woke up and outscored ASU, 21-7 over the next two periods. The game stood tied at 21-21 midway through the fourth quarter and it looked like the Sun Devils may just lose their first game in newly renovated Sun Devil Stadium. QB Mike Bercovici then threw two TDs in the last eight minutes and the the Sun Devils came away with a much harder than expected win. Bercovici finished the game with 283 yards passing and three TDs. Cal Poly's option offense racked up 323 rushing yards with RB Joe Protheroe gaining 130 of those yards on 28 carries and a TD on the night.
Telling State: One big stop; The ASU defense got the stop they needed after ASU took the lead late in the game holding for downs to avoid the upset.
California 35- San Diego State 7: The Aztecs came out on their first drive of the game and went right down the field, capping of an 8-play, 71- yard drive with a 29-yard TD pass from QB Maxwell Smith to WR Daniel Brunskill. The Golden Bears then shut out SDSU the rest of the way while scoring 35 unanswered points along the way. Cal QB Jared Goff had a ho-hum day completing 17 of 24 aerials for 321 yards and three TDs. As for the Cal ground attack, RB Daniel Lasco gained 123 yards on 19 carries and a TD to lead all rushers. The Aztec offense was led by Smith who threw for 136 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: They got defensive; After allowing an early TD, Cal's defense shutout SDSU for the final 55 minutes of the game, forcing nine punts and two turnovers on SDSU's final 11 drives.
Michigan State 31- Oregon 28: It was a tough game that the Spartans controlled the whole way to earn a big win over the Webfoots. MSU's defense stopped the Ducks four times on fourth downs en route to a win where they held UO to just 28 points. The Spartans gave up plenty of yards, but held firm on the goal line. In the loss, Duck QB Vernon Adams completed 22 of 39 tosses for 309 yards, a TD and two Interceptions. MSU QB Connor Cook completed 20 of 32 passes for 192 yards and two TDs for the victorious Spartans.
Telling Stat: Couldn't move the chains; Oregon racked up plenty of yards against MSU, but converted on only 4 of 13 third downs and 2 of 6 fourth downs which was the difference in the game.
Notre Dame 34- Virginia 27: The Fighting Irish won, but lost to the Cavaliers. Redshirt freshman QB DeShone Kizer took over for injured QB Malik Zaire and led the Irish to an exciting come from behind win by throwing a 39-yard TD pass to WR Will Fuller. Kizer hit on the two-point conversion too. The Irish ended up losing starting QB Malik Zaire for the year with a broken ankle. As for Virginia they bounced back well after getting smacked by UCLA last week, Wahoo QB Matt Johns completed 26 of 38 passes for 289 yards and two TDs in defeat.
Telling Stat: Can't keep winning like this; ND is 2-0 and has lost their top RB and starting QB in those two games.
Observations
...Strange email; I received an email that was delivered to my inbox by mistake. It was addressed to the fans of Fresno State. It was from former HC Pat Hill. All it said was, "Miss me, yet? -Love Pat"
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that after Michigan's win over Oregon State went final, that one of the prop bets that became available in Las Vegas was whether or not Colorado will finish with more Pac 12 wins than the Wolverines.
...Trash talk in Evanston; Northwestern DE Ifeadi Odenigbo says he expects the Wildcats to shutout Duke as the two unlikely unbeatens meet this week at Wallace Wade Stadium. I thought the guys at the smart schools knew all about not giving the other team bulletin board material. SMH.
...Cupcake Karma; Arkansas HC Bret Bielema made headlines when he said that Ohio State doesn't play anybody (Which is true, by the way), then his Razorback squad went out and promptly got worked over by Toledo of the mighty MAC Conference . I think Bret choked on his cupcake.
...Not too hot; Anybody else underwhelmed by ASU so far this season?
...Laughing at y'all; It was so much fun to watch three SEC teams fall out of the top 25 this week.
...She's got leg; And yes, she does know how to use it. Kent State PK April Gross became the second woman to score in a college football game when she knocked through a PAT in the Golden Flashes 45-13 win over Delaware State. Her kick snuck in over the crossbar as it veered right, but in the scorebook it looks like it went down the middle with plenty of distance to spare. Way to go, April!
...3rd and 6th; USC is third in the Pac 12 passing offense, gaining 388.5 yard per game through the air behind Washington State and Cal. The three schools rank 4th, 5th, and 6th in nation in this category as well.
...A 0, not an O; Oregon just needs to change their logo to a zero to show their historical worth in big games.
...Shot Down like a bird in flight; Louisville went form ranked to irrelevant in just two weeks. They beat Clemson to the punch this year for most overrated team in the ACC.
...A Big (10) start; The Big Ten is having a great year so far while the SEC is reeling and the Pac 12 is not impressing anybody.
...The over/under is 7:30; That's my line on how much time it will take ND HC Brian Kelly to lose it in his squad's game this week v. Georgia Tech. Throw in ND's injury woes to go with the fact Kelly's squads have trouble stopping the option. The Ramblin' Wreck may ramble a great deal in South Bend.
...Crazy prediction alert; Indiana may finish with more Big Ten wins than Penn State this year.
...32 years/22 months; DeLoss Dodds was the AD at Texas for 32 years. His successor Steve Patterson lasted just 22 months. His "lack of a personality" rubbed the big boosters the wrong way and his pure business attitude rubbed the regular fans the wrong way too. He raised football ticket prices after a 6-7 season last year and installed a "loyalty program" that graded all fans, (even the big boosters), on a point system based on how much money they contributed. The feelings against Patterson had become so bad that a plane flying a banner that read "Patterson Must Go!" flew around the football stadium during the Longhorns home opener v. Rice. Bye-Bye Steve.
...He's in!; Great to see that Jake Olson has been cleared by the NCAA and will suit up as a walk on long snapper for the Trojans!!!! Fight On, kid fight on!!!!
...Byrd and The Bird in Knoxville; After Oklahoma came from behind to beat Tennessee, 31-24, at Neyland Stadium, OU safety Hatari Byrd gave the Volunteer faithful the middle finger. I'd give the kid a break on this one. Why? well, because this author did the same thing as a young man to an opposing fan base in high school. I'm sure it felt as good to Byrd to give the digital salute as it did when I gave it way back when in the era when concussions were just "dings" and Nike was just a running shoe company.
...SMH; Folks, Hawaii got shutout by the Buckeyes, but this may be a clue to why. Watch this Play where Hawaii's guards pull and run into each other. Please click on the link in gray below.
Hawaii Guards, SMH
Vegas has noticed; Cal was a 9.5 point underdog to Texas two weeks ago. Now after a 2-0 start and the Longhorns underwhelming start, the Golden Bears are 7 point favorites on the road at Austin
Cool Uniform of the Week:
Gotta love the Hawaii Rainbow Warrior throwback form the 1980s. They looked great against Ohio State this past weekend.
Departments
Blowout of the Week: Oshkosh, WI- The Titans of Wisconsin- Oshkosh hosted D-III newbie Finlandia College and whipped them, 86-0. The 86 points were the most ever scored in UWO history. 11 different Titans scored TDs in the game and everybody on the roster played. QB Brett Kasper spearheaded the offense for the Titans completing six of nine passes for 187 yards and three TDs in limited playing time.
Close Score Game of the Week: Alpine, TX- Southwestern University made a second quarter TD hold up in a 7-6 victory over McMurry College. In this old school, rushing-field position-defensive struggle, the key play of the game was provided by Southwestern DE Mason Ford. He blocked the PAT after McMurry opened the scoring with a 17-yard interception return for a TD by CB Jacob Ferguson. The teams combined to rush the ball 77 times in this tight contest.
C.W. Post Press: While the Pioneers offense sputtered and turned the ball over five times, the defense held strong and was the difference in Post's 40-31 win over the Assumption College Greyhounds. Post's defense held tough forcing six Greyhound field goals and returned two turnovers for TDs to keep their offense in the game. Post QB Jeff Kidd ran for a TD and threw for 280 yards and another TD and the Pioneers held a slim 33-31 lead late. With just 11 seconds left, LB Wayne Harris put Post in the win column when he returned an interception 46 yards for a TD. The Pioneers escaped with a win despite having a -10 minute differential in T.O.P. and allowing assumption to convert on 10 of 20 third downs. Up next for the 2-0 Pioneers is a trip to Manchester, NH and date with the Saint Anselm Hawks.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
What's with this 90% humidity garbage? This is California, not Florida.
Found a hole in the wall pizza place that serves mammoth calzones. A first for south Orange County.
Kettle Brand's Buffalo Bleu Potato Chips rock.
Until next time folks, remember that whichever team wins the turnover battle, usually wins the game.
-The Commissioner
