It's Tuesday and that means another editor of the column that lets you know that anybody with a keyboard can write a blog, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Tom Kelly.
Summaries
Washington 17- USC 12: This is where I speak about the problems on the field for USC. A Trojan team that looked totally unprepared took on a very well prepared Husky team last Thursday night at the Coliseum. The late arriving crowd settled into an early malaise as USC stunk up the joint. The fact the Trojans held a 6-3 lead at the half is amazing considering that the USC offense continually set up the Huskies deep in Trojan territory with turnovers. UW made USC QB Cody Kessler's night a bad one by getting plenty of hard hits on him and forcing two interceptions. Kessler finished the night completing 16 of 29 passes for 156 yards. One thing that USC's offense could do was run the ball. Tre Madden and Ronald Jones II combined to carry the ball 25 times for 185 yards and a TD. Even with as bad as they played, the Trojans still has a shot to pull it out, but inexplicably bad play calling ended that last chance. The Huskies played inspired football. They were led by RB Myles Gaskin who gained 134 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown. The UW defense did a number on USC, forcing numerous three and outs to allow their offense control the clock.
Telling Stat: Couldn't move the chains; The Washington defense held USC to just 1 for 13 on third downs to keep the Trojan offense on the sideline and off the scoreboard.
Arizona State 48- Colorado 23: The Sun Devils easily handled the Buffaloes down in the desert Saturday. ASU QB Mike Bercovici tied his career high with five TD passes as part of performance that saw him complete 21 of 30 passes for 260 yards. His favorite target was WR Tim White who caught a career high seven aerials for 144 yards and two TDs. ASU's defense shut down CU's rushing attack and QB Sefo Liufau had to try and win it on his own. Liufau completed 25 of 40 passes for 389 yards and one touchdown.
Telling Stat: They bent, but didn't break; ASU's defense gave up 450 yards and 19 first downs to Colorado, but allowed the buffs to convert on only 6 of 16 third downs to control the game.
Washington State 45- Oregon 38- 2OT: Despite the wind, the rain and a handful of blown calls by the officials, Washington State pulled off a stunner in Eugene. Wazzu's game-winning TD in the second overtime came on one of the weirdest plays of the year. WSU QB Luke Falk threw a short slant to WR River Cracraft who looked like he broke the plane of the goal. However, as he was going down the ball popped out laterally. Fellow Cougar WR Robert Lewis scooped the ball out of the air and charged into the end zone. After a few seconds, the officials called the play a TD. It was then up for review. After several minutes of review, the call was upheld and the Cougars held the lead while Oregon had their turn to tie the game. The Cougar defense stood their ground and picked off UO QB Jeff Lockie to end the game. The Cougars took an early lead in this game and put the Ducks on notice it would not be an easy day. Falk finished the game completing 50 of 74 passes for 505 yards and five TDs. With starting QB Vernon Adams still injured, the Ducks offense revolved around the rushing game where RB Royce Freeman rushed for 246 yards on 27 carries and scored two TDs. As a team the Quacks gashed WSU for 410 yards on the ground.
Telling Stat: A grand Cougar comeback; Down 31-21 with 8:20 left, Wazzu outscored the Ducks 24-7 while also outgaining the Ducks 233 yards to 30 through the end of regulation and overtime to claim the upset win.
Arizona 44- Oregon State 7: The Wildcats took out a couple of weeks worth of frustrations on the Beavers. QB Anu Solomon was back in the lineup for the Cats for the first time since being injured v. UCLA a couple of weeks ago. All he did was complete 17 of 30 tosses for 276 yard before sitting out the fourth quarter. UofA's rushing game returned as well with the Cats rushing the ball 58 times for 368 yards. RB Jared Baker carried the ball 10 times for 123 yards, while backfield mate Orlando Bradford gained 83 yards on 19 carries with three TDs. Not to be forgotten, RB Nick Wilson ran for 78 yards and two TDs of his own. The Wildcat defense made a good showing as well, holding the Beavers to 249 total yards, with only 98 of those coming through the air. QB Seth Collins provided the Beavers lone score on the day to go with 112 total yards.
Telling Stat: Dammed Beavers; Arizona's defense never let the OSU offense get untracked. OSU's average drive on this game lasted just 5 plays and covered 17 yards.
Notre Dame 41- Navy 24: A week isn't much time to prepare for Navy's triple option. ND's defense struggled at times. To be Prosise, it took a Kizer to sink Navy. ND QB DeShone Kizer cooly completed 22 of 30 passes for 281 yards and a TD. He also ran for a score too to lead the Irish attack. As for the rest of the rushing game, RB C.J. Prosise slashed through the Middies for 129 yards on 21 carries and three TDs. The ND defense did have its' problems with the Midshipmen, but gave up only a field goal in the second half to allow the offense to pull away. Navy RB Quentin Ezell ran for 75 yards on six carries and a pair of TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: Hard to fight back; Navy's offense is not a great one for mounting comebacks. With ND ahead and running the ball well in the second half, Navy only had three second half possessions. Navy kicked a field goal, missed a field goal and threw an interception on those possessions.
Observations
...Incoming!; This season in college football has one bombshell after another dropping all over the landscape.
...Hard to fathom; So, what were odds that both USCs would lose their HCs on the same day? Happy trails, Steve Spurrier. Get to rehab, Sark.
...They got the axe too; Without much fanfare, Dan McCarney got fired from the North Texas job, while Randy Edsall was shown the door at Maryland. No drama firings, what a concept!
...Thank you note; (insert Jimmy Fallon here) Dear Bob Stoops, thank your for failing to have your team prepared for another big game. We love all love you at Choke-lahoma. Sincerely, Charlie Strong.
...That natural high; North Carolina is the only FBS teams that will play all its' games on natural grass this season.
...Cold be an omen; While starting to write this week and contemplating the rest of USC's season, I heard something hit the floor in the living room. When I investigated, it was my USC schedule poster that fell off the wall. Hmmmm
...The game has changed; If you need to a stat to show just how the passing game has taken over the college game, here's the stat for you. 63 times QBs that have thrown for over 4,000 yards in a season in college football. 51 of those 63 times have happened since the year 2000.
...This just in; Kansas still stinks.
...The Altitude Bowl; Air Force beat Wyoming, 31-17 in the matchup of teams that play at the highest altitude in the FBS.
...Great company; LSU's Leonard Fournette is just the 10th RB in FBS history to have rushed for over 1,000 yards through five games. Some of the real notables in this group are Barry Sanders, Ricky Williams, Marcus Allen, Ricky Bell, and Ed Marinaro. Oh, and Troy Davis did it twice in 1995 and 1996.
...And then there were still five; There are five winless teams in the FBS. They are Central Florida, Kansas, North Texas, Wyoming and New Mexico State.
...If an upset happens on the Pac 12 Network, did it really happen? Being down in San Juan Capistrano last Saturday, I was one of the sixteen people that get the Pac 12 Network. I saw it folks, Wazzu did beat Oregon.
...Better late than never; As he left the Coliseum on Thursday, one of the disgruntled Trojan fans leaving the Coliseum shouted in reference to then USC HC Steve Sarkisian, "He better be fired by the time I get to my car!" Even though it happened a few days later, I think that guy is in a better mood now.
...Money, it's about the shoes; In a rivalry that is only important to The Commissioner, Occidental pounded Whittier, 62-15 to claim the trophy known as "The Shoes." Go Tigers!
...59 minutes; That's how long everyone involved with Nebraska wishes their games were. The Cornhuskers are 2-4, with all four losses coming after 59 minutes of play. That's just painful.
It only hurts when I laugh; It was just one of those sports week's that tests your faith as a fan for The Commissioner. Last Sunday, the Angels were eliminated from the playoffs in game 162. Then, USC looks horrible in a loss to Washington on Thursday, That was followed by SC's season going from bad to worse when the HC is fired. Cap that off with the fact that the LA Kings started the hockey season at 0-2. Ouch.
... Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that Oregon will wear a uniform depicting the disappearance of D.B. Cooper to celebrate the fact that their Pac 12 title hopes disappeared last Saturday.
...Trying not to kill the buzz; A note to the folks in Ann Arbor, remember that Jim Harbaugh has a shelf life. Just ask Stanford and San Francisco.
...Epic Gameday Sign Fail at Utah; If you're gonna make fun of anther school's entrance requirements, at least make sure your sign is grammatically correct. SMH.
Special Section: The Sarknado, USC and the Frailty of Being Human
So, all of us Trojan fans have been through the ringer again in regards to our football team. So, this intrepid reporter will look at this mess from a few angles.
...Sark needs help; The big thing here is that a man has hit rock bottom. He's in the middle of a nasty, nasty divorce. He's lost custody of his kids and his dream job in about a year. As far as Steve Sarkisian, the person, I hope the man gets the help needs and can turn things around in his life and work back towards a happy and productive existence.
...With Sark being fired, who will be the next HC at USC? I'm not speaking of Clay Helton being the interim HC to finish the year, but rather who will be the man who leads this team over the next several seasons? Many names will be bandied about in the media and on message boards throughout the land. However, only the list of names that the folks at Heritage Hall have matters. So, until that braintrust emerges with a name, I see not much use in speculating as to who the next HC will be.
...Who at Heritage Hall will make that call as to who gets the job? It's safe to say folks that Pat Haden doesn't have a stellar record in picking coaches at USC. Yes, we know he didn't hire Lane Kiffin, but the fact that he kept him too long bothers us all. Oh, and don't get me started on K.O. and Andy Enfield.
...The money hinging on this next HC hire is staggering. This isn't just basic donor money we're talking about here. USC needs a national caliber team to be able to raise the money to upgrade the Coliseum. The average guy on the street, big donors, and businesses don't donate to mediocre teams. USC being average is a nightmare of epic proportions for the administration. USC's inability to raise cash could also hinder LA's Olympic bid.
Tweet of the Week:
After pulling the 45-38 upset Oregon in double overtime on Saturday, Washington State tweeted this to celebrate their win and poke fun at Oregon's lousy Oregon Trail themed uniforms at the same time. For all those Millenials and their parents and relatives who watched their kids play the game based on the Oregon Trail in elementary school, this tweet is really funny.
Ugly Uniform of the Week: Oregon wins for their hyped yet very dull and plain looking Oregon Trail uniforms that looked like prison togs. So, I now ask who wore it best, Oregon or the Texas State Penitentiary squad from the movie Necessary Roughness.
Departments
Low Score game of the Week: FBS games usually don't make this section of the blog, but how could Wake Forest's 3-0 win at Boston College not get picked? Wake PK Mike Weaver's 25-yard field goal was all the Demon Deacons needed to win. Well, that and a little slow defense at the end. BC had a first and goal on the Deacons one-yard line with 29 seconds left with no timeouts. BC then ran the ball. RB Tyler Rouse didn't get in the end zone and Wake's defenders were in no hurry to get up. As the refs unscrambled the pile, time just ticked away. BC lined up and spiked the ball to kill the clock, but it was too late. Replay confirmed the clock had run out and Wake Forest had won. The unsuccessful run call by BC begged the following questions. One, why did they run instead of pass, where they could have several plays on the goal line? Two, why didn't they just kick it and force overtime? This BC loss is firmly on the coaches and their poor clock management.
Blowout of the Week: Hickory, NC- Well, it has finally happened. An online school has a football team. The University of Faith, in its' second year of existence as a school and a team visited the Lenoir-Rhyne University Bears and were beaten like in a video game, 92-0. The Bears ran up 838 yards of total offense on the Glory Eagles with 763 of those yards coming on ground. RB Robbie Hooks led all rushers with 10 carries for 145 yards and three touchdowns. 15 different Bears carries the ball in the game. This game also featured 23 penalties and 16 kickoffs.
C.W. Post Press: Brookville, NY- It was homecoming at C.W. Post and the Pioneers sent the home crowd home happy with a 27-24 win over the Merrimack College Bulldogs. The Pioneers trailed 3-0 at the half, but scored the 20 straight points in the third quarter to take control of the game. Merrimack mounted good comeback, but Post managed to escape overtime when Bulldog PK Stephen Camarro's 51-yard field goal attempt fell short with :02 on the clock. Post QB Jeff Kidd completed 15 of 31 passes for 172 yards and three TDs en route to the win. Up next for Post is a trip to Pleasantville, NY and a date with the Pace University Setters.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Cineflix is a really good game.
Shopping for a new vehicle is as lame as it has always been.
I still love banana pancakes.
Until next time folks, don't drink and coach.
-The Commissioner
