It's time for that column that makes you wish for Saturday on Tuesday. It's time for another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Jim Murray.
Summaries
USC 48- Arizona 14: The Trojans held a 7-0 lead when Arizona tied the game with 5:40 to play in the first period on a three-yard run by QB Khalil Tate. After Tate scored he turned to the USC bench and flashed USC's victory sign at them. 24:20 seconds later, USC held a 34-7 lead going into the half and Tate had been dramatically outplayed by Trojan QB Sam Darnold who had thrown four TD passes and a couple of hundred more yards. Darnold would throw for one more score to cap off his 5 TD day where he completed 20 of 32 passes for 235 yards and ran six times for 54 yards. RBs Aca'Cedric Ware and Jones combined to rush for 192 yards and a TD on just 19 carries. Tate finished the game with just 58 yards passing and 72 yards rushing with that lone TD in the loss. The Trojans defense also played well forcing four Wildcat turnovers. Two of those coming form Khalil Tate.
Telling Stat: 215 to Tuscon; 215 of Arizona's 343 total yards came after USC had emptied the benches up 41-7 to start the fourth quarter.
Stanford 17- Notre Dame 10: The struggling Cardinal came to South Bend to take on the staggering Irish. Notre Dame looked to have this game under control with a 10-0 Halftime lead behind an 8-yard TD run from QB DeShone Kizer and a 29-yard field goal by PK Justin Yoon. Nothing was working at all for the Cardinal with RB Christian McCaffrey out of the lineup. The Cardinal needed their defense to step up and they did. On the fourth play of the third quarter, DB Quentin Meeks picked off a Kizer pass and took it back 50 yards for a score to put the Cardinal within three points at 10-7. The teams then stumbled through the next several possessions trading turnovers and punts until an ND miscue gave the Cardinal a chance to win. On their own five-yard line, ND C Sam Mustipher snapped the ball out of the end zone for a safety. The Cardinal took the ball after the free kick and marched down the field 77 yards for the go-ahead score. RB Bryce Love fumbled as he entered the end zone but it was recovered by WR J.J. Acrega-Whiteside of the TD. Love then ran it in for the two-point conversion and the 17-10 lead. The Irish had one last shot to tie the game, but Kizer fumbled on the Stanford 14-yard line to end the threat. The struggling Cardinal walked out of South Bend with the win. Bryce Love was the Stanford offense rushing for 129 yards on 23 carries, while DeShone Kizer led the Irish attack with 154 yards passing and 83 yards rushing with a TD. Kizer also was benched for three series in second half because ND HC Brian Kelly wanted to try and jumpstart the offense.
Telling Stat: Palo Alto 9-0; The Stanford defense whipped the Notre Dame offense in the second half, outscoring the Irish 9-0 to set the stage for the Cardinal offense to claim the comeback win.
Colorado 40- Arizona State 16: Sefo Liufau returned to the lineup this week at QB for the Buffs. Some were surprised by the move, but Liufau had great success in the past v. the Sun Devils. So, did the Buffs let the ball fly in the thin air of Boulder? No. They ran around, through and over the Sun Devils. CU rushed the ball 52 times for 352 yards and five TDs. The chief punisher of the ASU defense was RB Phillip Lindsay who toted the rock 26 times for 219 yards and three TDs. The CU defense played well too. They limited ASU to seven first downs and 199 total yards. For ASU, QB Manny Wilkins was back after being injured at USC two weeks ago. However, he did not do well, completing only 13 of 35 passes for 149 yards, a TD and an interception.
Telling Stat: A Defense as Tough as the Rockies; ASU just couldn't move the ball on Colorado. Not even when they scored. Two of ASU's "scoring drives" followed big plays that set up ASU deep in CU territory. On those two drives, ASU was held to -11 yards and two field goals.
Utah 19- Oregon State 14: The Utes lived off their defense and just enough offense to rack up another Pac 12 win up in rainy Corvallis. The two teams slogged through the remnants of a Pacific typhoon that caused havoc in the state which resulted in a sparse crowd at the game. Due to injury earlier this year, Utah RB Joe Williams "retired" from football. Well, due to further injuries to the Utes, HC Kyle Whittingham called Williams to coax him out of retirement. Williams jumped at the chance and ran for 179 yards on 34 carries and a TD to lead all rushers. The Beavers hung tough in this game, down just 19-14 with 1:40 to play. However, the Beavers couldn't recover an onside kick, then couldn't make anything happen in the final :37 when the Utah defense held for downs deep in OSU territory. In the loss, RB Artavis Pierce rushed for 60 yards on nine carries and TD.
Telling Stat: 1/2 a shutout was good enough; Utah's defense shutout OSU in the first half while their offense built-up a 12-0 halftime lead to take control of this game.
Washington State 27- UCLA 20: The red hot Cougars hosted the Josh Rosen-less bRuins in what looked like it would be a Cougar blowout on paper. Well, put together a tough bRuin defense and some heavy rain and you get a game that finished way closer than most thought. For the first time in 41 games, the Cougars did not throw a TD pass, but they did get three rushing TDs from RBs Gerard Wicks and Jamal Morrow. Rosen's backup, QB Mike Fafaul still had a slim chance to tie the game with :49 left, but his second down pass was intercepted by CB Charleston White. Wazzu the took a knee and got out of the rain with another Pac 12 win.
Telling Stat: Out with a whimper; After fighting their way back into this game, Wazzu stonewalled the bRuin offense. The Cougars forced a fumble and an interception to send the bRuins meekly into the Pullman night and a long bus ride to Spokane.
Observations
...So long, West Lafayette; Purdue parted ways with HC Darrell Hazel Sunday morning. Hazell's Bolermakers went 9-33 under his tenure with a 3-24 mark in Big Ten play. It didn't help that Purdue has a new AD this year. New AD Mike Bobinski made noises that he wanted his guy in job over the last few weeks and now he'll choose that guy.
...Note to Western Michigan HC P.J. Fleck; You ever get a chance to go to West Lafayette, take it from me, pass it by.
...Not so fast Houston, USF and the 10 dwarves; The Big XII snuffed out all the talk about expansion without even bringing the matter to a vote in their league meeting Monday. I even think I heard the Big XII Commissioner Bob Bowlsby say, "Thank you for playing, we do have some lovely parting gifts." as he exited the meeting hall.
...Memo to the Larry Scott; A 12:30 game in Tucson with an air temp of 96 and an on-field heat index of 137 should never happen. That is all.
...One out of three is bad; If UCLA's offense and special teams played as well as their defense, they could win the Pac 12.
...Bama Breeze; Alabama smashed Tennesee, 49-10 and left the Volunteers feeling like a jilted West Nashville Grand Ballroom gal.
...A bayou crime of passion; Who else thinks that coach Ed Oregon will have his LSU squad ready to blow the doors off his former employer, Ole Miss this week?
...Bold Buffs; If a few weeks ago, had anybody had told me that Stanford's role in their game this week v. Colorado would be one of spoiler, I'd tell them to quit sniffing glue.
...bRuins Eve; UCLA came out and warmed up on Washington State's end of the field during pregame to their contest. This bush league stunt garnered these comments from Wazzu WR Gabe Marks. Enjoy.
He said it!
...And then there was one; Rice is the only winless team left in the FBS. Good thing Stanford scheduled them so they can end the season on a high note.
...He's the ing of somewhere hot; ND HC Brian Kelly is on a hot hot hot seat at ND and his going after a Stanford assistant coach who popped off to him after his squad lost to the Cardinal doesn't help. #Bye-Bye Brian.
...Hotter than a Tucson taco; UofA HC Rich Rodriguez is riding one of the hottest seats in the nation. He may beat Texas HC Charlie Strong to the unemployment line.
...No tears for the Irish; ND is 2-5 and nobody cares.
...Pushing the Pile; Check out the Oregon State O-line effort on this run.
Beaver blockers
...Aggies in line; Looks like Texas A&M has the last legitimate shot to derail Alabama on the way to the SEC title game.
...For all the apples; If current trends hold, this year's Apple Cup might finally garner the folks in Pullman that elusive visit from College Gameday.
Dumb Uniform of the Week
Arizona wins this week's award for wearing this all-blue ensemble. I know UofA had the wether report stating how hot it was going to be on the field for this game, yet the Wildcats still chose to don all-dark blue uniforms in the heat, which allowed USC to wear their cooler white road jerseys. SMH.
Departments
Best Game Nobody Saw This Week: LaVerne, CA- With 1:04 left on the clock, QB Zak Tomlinson found WR Alex Arellano for a two-point conversion to lift the LaVerne Leopards to a 57-56 win over the Occidental Tigers. This game was quite the shootout. The two teams combined for 152 plays, 53 first downs and 1,288 total yards of offense.
Low Score Game of the Week: Springfield, MA- In the Atlantic 10 Conference, Bentley LB Joey Platnik sacked QB Kwamme Jarvis for a safety in the first period. Then in the second period, PK Grant Buchanan nailed a 30-yard field goal and tha's all the Bentley would need in a 5-3 win over American International College. Yes, it was a defensive struggle. The teams combined for 14 three-and-outs and just one drive of of 10 plays or more.
C.W. Post Press: The Pioneers found themselves down, 13-0 midway through the second period to the Southern Connecticut State Owls. QB Jeff Kidd and the rest of the Pioneers dug out of that hole and took the lead in the third quarter when Kidd hit WR Kyle Ward with a 41-yard scoring strike for a 20-16 lead. The Pioneers would hold that lead the rest of the way in a 30-23 win. Kidd finished the game completing 19 of 28 passes for 255 yards and 3 TDs. He also ran for a score. In the loss, SCSU QB Rich Catapano completed 19 of 45 passes for 318 yards and a pair of scores. Up next for the 7-0 Pioneers is a home date with the American International College Yellow Jackets.
Georgetown Gridiron News: The Hoyas entered Patriot League play this week and were whipped by Lehigh, 35-3. Not much went right for the Blue and Gray in this one. The Hoyas were held to 177 total yards while Lehigh QB Brad Hayes completed 19 of 26 passes for 247 yards and two TDs. Up next for the GU is a trip to Frodham to take on the Rams.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Butternut squash soup is pretty good.
There's nothing like a lazy Sunday in the backyard. All that was missing was tin cup chalice.
I'm pretty stoked about going to Jimmy Buffett this weekend.
Until next time folks, remember that an ugly win is still a win.
-The Commissioner
