It's time for that Tuesday treat, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Loel Schrader.
Summaries
USC 41- Arizona State 20: Behind the dynamic play of QB Sam Darnold, the Trojans came out and blew the doors off the undefeated Sun Devils. Darnold's ability to extend plays and hit receivers in stride led to his completing 23 of 33 passes for 352 yards and three TDs. WR JuJu Smith-Schuster caught all three of those scoring passes with the last one being a long catch and run that covered a rambling 67 yards. Justin Davis had a good night as well for SC racking up 123 yards on the ground on 14 carries and a TD of his own. The Trojan defense had a very good game, generating a good deal of pressure on ASU. The defense effectively ended this game with USC up 24-6 in late in the second quarter when they knocked out ASU QB Manny Wilkins with a knee injury.
Telling Stat; Way too little, too late for ASU; The Sun Devils gained 146 of their 303 total yards and scored 14 of their 20 points long after USC had emptied the benches with a 41-6 lead.
Washington State 51- Oregon 33: The pass happy Cougars returned to the ground this week and ran the Ducks out of Pullman. RBs Jamal Morrow, Gerard Wicks and James Williams each scored twice while helping the Cougars to amass 280 rushing yards on a Duck defense that looked lost all game long. The Cougars also did it on defense too. Yes, RB Royce Freeman rushed for 138 yards and three TDs for UO, but Wazzu shutdown all of Oregon's other weapons and scored a safety as well. This game was not nearly as close as the score indicated with Oregon getting a garbage time TD late.
Telling Stat: A feather soft defense; The Oregon defense gave up 51 points, 651 yards, 36 first downs, and lost the time of possession battle by almost 20 minutes to a Wazzu team that values T.O.P less than the Ducks do in this rout.
California 28- Utah 23: The Utes came into Berkeley riding high after defeating USC last week the previous Friday in the final seconds. The Utes found themselves in a battle from the get go. The Golden Bears came out quick and strong, racing out to 14-0 lead after the first quarter on TD passes 40 and 39 yards from QB Davis Webb to WRs Chade Hansen and Demetrius Robinson. Utah fought back and seemed to take control of the game going up 17-14 with 4:05 left in the third quarter when RB Armand Shyne scored from a yard out. However Cal fought back back and held a 28-23 lead over the Utes with just 4:21 to play. The Utes looked like they would pull off another last second win as they stood poised to score at the Cal one-yard line with just :03 left. However, the Cal defense, yes the Cal defense, made a stand. Utah RB Zack was tackled short of the goal line as time ran out and the Bears had the win.
Telling Stat: A big 3 for the D; Cal's defense stood tall on the goal line with three stops of the Utah offense when it mattered most to come away both the win.
Washington 44- Stanford 6: The Dawgs did what most dogs to trees in their dismantling of the Cardinal. The Dawgs came out hungry and strong. The UW offense took full advantage of both of SU's starting corners being out due to injury and torched the Cardinal secondary. QB Jake Browning only threw 21 passes, but completed 15 of them for 210 yards and three TDs. The UW rushing game was pretty good too with RB Myles Gaskin toting the rock 18 times for 100 yards and a pair of scores. The Husky defense was the true star of this game as they shut down Stanford quickly and easily. The Dawgs were able to make life miserable for SU QBs all night long with just a four man pass rush. Stanford's O-line had a terrible night giving up eight sacks and generating nothing close to a running game. The Cardinal were held to just 29 yards rushing with Heisman Candidate RB Christian McCaffrey being rendered a non-factor by the Dawgs.
Telling Stat: Long chains; 3rd and 9; Washington shut down Stanford's offense so thoroughly that the Cardinal's average distance to convert on third down was nine yards.
Colorado 47- Oregon State 6: The Buffaloes dialed some long distance to thrash the Beavers. Freshman QB Steven Montez, still subbing for the injured Sefo Liufau, connected with WR Shay Fields for TD tosses of 51, 33, and 63 yards. Those TDs along with a 1-yard TD plunge by RB Phillip Lindsay, a 20-yard interception return by LB Rick Gamboa, and a 54-yard field goal by PK Davis Price put the Buffs up 37-6 at half the half. The second half was merely a scrimmage as Colorado emptied the benches in this laugher. Yes, Colorado emptied the benches because they were ahead by 30 points. For the hapless Beavers, RB Artavis Pierce rushed for 61 yards in the loss.
Telling Stat: Bad by land, Worse by air; How bad did Colorado's defense whip OSU? Well they held the Beavers to just 3.7 yards per carry and 3.1 yards per pass attempt.
UCLA 45- Arizona 24: The bRuins came into this game against and injury depleted Wildcat squad looking for a bounce back win after their gut wrenching loss to Stanford lsat week. For the first 30 minutes the defense and special teams did their job, but the offense lagged. UCLA did hold a 14-7 lead, but the sluggishness of the offense had the Rose Bowl crowd booing the bRuins. The offense did come in the second half and find itself, putting up 31 points to pull away form the Wildcats. UCLA QB Josh Rosen completed 20 of 37 passes for 350 yards and three TDs. UCLA's RB by committee combined to rush for 125 yards with Nate Starks gaining 80 of those on 17 carries with a TD. For Arizona, touted freshman QB Khalil Tate took over their stagnant offense and passed for 72 yards and 79 yards with a late TD pass after the game had long been decided.
Telling Stat: 8 is not great; Arizona ran only 8 of their 80 plays in the red zone in a game where they dominated every statistical category but the scoreboard.
Observations
...Quietly making noise; West Virginia is undefeated after taking out K-State, 17-16 last Saturday.
...From the penthouse to the outhouse; Duke football goes to Notre Dame two weeks ago and beats the Irish, then comes home the next week and loses to a Virginia squad that was whipped by FCS foe Richmond to start the season. SMH.
...If they had a good wall; USC QB Sam Darnold and RB Justin Davis make the Trojans very weak O-line look good.
...Coach O is 1-0; Interim LSU HC Ed Orgeron is now 1-0 at LSU after his Bayou Bengals dismantled Missouri 42-7. Coach O, just another good coach that Pat Haden couldn't hire.
...And then there were four; There are four winless teams left in the FBS this season. Rice, Miami of Ohio, Georgia State and Arkansas State are the dubious final four.
...The number is 54; I have seen five 54-yard field goals in college football this year. Wow.
...Not taking it well; Pac 12 Commissioner Leisure Suit Larry Scott must be pretty angry that the Pac 12 power center has shifted to Seattle after all he's done to make Palo Alto the center of the Pac 12 universe.
...11 years and a whole conference ago; Colorado was an 18-point favorite going into their game with Oregon State last week. That's the first time the Buffs were a double digit favorite in a conference game since 2005 when they were still in the Big XII.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that the Corvalis Police Department had to rescue the Oregon State offense from a busy intersection because they couldn't cross the street.
...A question for the Quacks; Plucking QB's from the Big Sky Conference doesn't seem so cool now, huh?
...Got 'em again; The Wazzu athletic department hit Oregon hard after the whistle with this 1980's throwback image to celebrate the Cougars second straight win over the Quacks.
...OC, DC, then HC; Texas HC Charlie Strong has already replace his OC this season, now he replaced his DC with himself. I think his days at UT are numbered. Texas is now another team in the Tom Herman sweepstakes.
...On pace for 2K; RB Donald Humphrey has rushed for 750 yards through four game this year. That puts him on pace for a 2,250 yards for the season.
...Memo to Penn State; If your kicker is gonna make a name for himself leveling kick returners, he's gonna get leveled himself by the return team. Live with it.
...Need that calculation; Just what are the odds that two Hail Mary passes are completed in one game like what happened in the Tennessee-Georgia game?
...Ugly winners; Tennessee has to be the worst looking good team out there.
...Just as much protection; Stanford could have saved some wear and tear on their O-line if they would have just installed turnstiles at the tackle positions last week v. Washington.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that former USC AD Pat Haden is going to be honored with a lifetime achievement award by the University of Washington at halftime of the Trojans game at UW in November. His resume though is pretty outstanding. Haden hired Steve Sarkisian when UW was going to fire him, saving the Huskies lots of buyout cash that they could use to hire Chris Petersen as their HC who Pat Haden deemed "just didn't get USC" when he turned him down for the job. Way to go, Pat.
...He had an app for that; USC WR JuJu Smith's catch and 75-yard TD run took such a long route to pay dirt that it looked like he received directions from Waze to get to the end zone.
...It's all about the ball; Washington leads the nation in turnover margin with a +11 mark.
...Eyeing the Storm; Hurricane Matthew or what's left of it will hit the eastern seaboard this weekend and impact a lot of games.
Ugly Uniform of the Week?
This week's honor goes to the Houston Cougars and it's mostly because I am conflicted here. I don't like the all-gray ensemble. I don't think the numbers would be easy to tread form the stands either. Heck, even the UH on the helmets is tough to read, but part of me really likes this uniform.
A Baseball Note
This past Sunday marked the end of the regular season in MLB. I donned one of my many Angels t-shirts and watched the final innings of the Halos final game. The Halos would finish 21 games back of first place, but I did find some positives in that final game. I saw Mike Trout get his 30th stolen base and his 100th RBI of the year. The guy plays like I wanted to as a kid and dream of as an adult. For a good deal of my friends, they get to watch their teams battle in the playoffs to try and claim that World Series crown. I'll be watching the playoffs too. There is something magical in the hard sunlight and long shadows of fall that tell us that winter is coming as the summer game finishes for another year. I always find something to like in the grand old game.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Somerville, MA- QB Ryan McDonald dodged defenders when he raced 15 yards for a TD with 9:04 left in the fourth quarter to give the Tufts Jumbos a 12-7 lead over the Bates College Bobcats. The Jumbos defense then held Bates the rest of the way for the hard fought win. McDonald only completed one of eight passes, but his 75 yards rushing on 11 carries and his TD run were enough for Tufts to win.
Blowout Game of the Week: Belton, TX- After a sluggish first half, the Mary-Hardin Baylor Crusaders scored 42 second half points to crush the McMurray War Hawks, 66-3. QB Blake Jackson completed 16 of 20 passes for 256 yards and five TDs in this laugher. Jackson's 256 yards passing were 75 yards more than the Crusader defense gave up in total yardage to the War Hawks.
C.W. Post Press: Worcester, MA- The Pioneers remained undefeated on the season by pulling off a thrilling 19-18 upset over the 15th ranked Assumption College Greyhounds. The Pioneers held a 12-10 lead at the half thanks to a 1-yard TD toss from QB Jeff Kidd to RB Malik Pierre. After a scoreless third quarter, Assumption regained the lead with 9:27 to play when QB Marc Monks hit WR Bryan Swain-Price with an 8-yard TD pass. Monks then passed for the two-point conversion and the Greyhounds held an 18-12 lead. Post came right back on the ensuing possession. Kidd drove the Pioneers 66 yards in 11 plays, capping it off with a 4-yard TD run with 4:04 to play. The PAT was good and Post was up to stay at 19-18. Assumption looked like they would have one last chance to wi this game, but a great punt by Post Punter Joey Tolgyesi was downed at the Greyhounds one-yard line. Post would then hold for downs and leave with the upset win. Up next for Post is Homecoming v. Saint Anselm College.
Georgetown Gridiron News: Cambridge, MA- The undefeated Hoyas did not fare well in the second leg of their three game Ivy league swing, dropping a 31-17 decision to the Crimson under the Friday night lights. The first half was all Harvard,who built up a 24-7 lead behind three TD passes from QB Joe Viviano, the longest of which was a 75-yarder to WR Anthon Firkser. The Hoyas did outscore the Crimson 10-7 in the second half, but it wasn't enough to get a win. RB Isaa Ellsworth ran for 109 yards on just 10 carries with a TD in the losing effort for the boys form the Capitol. Up next for the Hoyas is a home date with the Princeton Tigers.
Razorback Report: After last week's loss to Texas A&M, the Hogs returned home and took their frustration out on Alcorn state, 52-10. The Hogs took a 24-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. QB Anthony Allen threw for 208 yards and three scored, but the Razorbacks ran for 353 yards on the Braves. RBs Devwah Whaley and Rawleigh Williams III both topped the 100-yard mark with Whaley crossing the double stripe once. Next week, the Hogs et back to serious business when they host Alabama.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
...I totally enjoyed my son Jerick's Carne Asada hot dog creation this past Sunday.
...Sunday family dinners are a great thing.
...A backyard breeze and a cold drink are a winning combination.
Until next time folks remember that it really ain't over until it's over.
-The Commissioner
