It's time once again for the column that makes the work week brighter, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Ned Miller and staff.
Summaries
USC 45- Oregon 20: The USC defense forced there three-and-outs on Oregon's first three drives, while the offense built up a 17-0 lead and never really looked back in their rout of the Quacks. USC RB Ronald Jones II took advantage of a weak Oregon rushing defense and lugged the leather 20 times for 171 yards and four TDs. His best run was a 66-yard jaunt where he broke through the line, faked a LB out of his jock and raced to pay dirt. QB Sam Darnold had another impressive day, completing 28 of 40 passes for 309 yards, two TDs and one interception. The USC defense took what had become a potent Oregon offense of late and shut it down. USC held the Ducks to just 85 yards rushing with speedster RB Royce Freeman being held to just 38 yards on 10 carries.
Telling Stat: No fly zone; The USC defense held Oregon to just 115 total yards and six point in the first half which allowed the Trojan offense to build up a 24-6 halftime advantage that the Ducks couldn't come back from.
Colorado 20- UCLA 10: This game was ugly and not even Elvis on black velvet ugly. This was like a Reno Hightower van special featuring Lady Di surrounded by sharks kind of ugly. This game featured 25 penalties for 224 yards. 11 of those flags were personal fouls, eight alone on Colorado. There were also two blocked field goals and five turnovers. In the end though, it was the Colorado special teams that made the difference . PR Isiah Oliver returned a punt 68 yards for a TD with 5:27 remaining in the fourth period to put the bRuins away. Neither team lit up the stat sheet. CU QB's Sefo Lirufau and Steven Montez combined to complete 20 of 30 lasses for only 160 yards, no TDs and three interceptions. RB Phillip Lindsay led all rushers with 73 yards on 24 carries and one TD. UCLA's Rosen-less offense generated even less with QB Mike Fafaul completing 15 of 29 for 185 yards a TD and an interception. UCLA's rushing game was non-existent again also with the bRuins rushing for a paltry 25 yards on 30 carries.
Telling Stat: 3 out of 4 is bad; UCLA only managed to score three points off the four turnovers that Colorado handed them. That cost the bRuins the game.
Washington 66- California 27: With 9:01 to play in the second quarter Cal QB Davis Webb completed a 14-yard TD pass to WR Chad Hansen. The Golden Bears pulled within a point of Washington, at 21-20 and it looked like another Pac 12 shootout was at hand. However, the Huskies defense stepped up and took away Cal's weapons, allowing one garbage time TD the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the UW offense sparkled. Jake Browning had sliced and diced the Cal secondary, completing 19 of 28 passes for 378 yards and six TDs. The Dawgs ran the ball well too. RBs Lavon Coleman and Myles Gaskin combined to rush for 182 yards on 23 carries and a pair of TDs. In the loss, Webb completed 23 of 47 tosses for 262 yards, one TD and three interceptions for the Golden Bears.
Telling Stat: A fine 39; After giving up 20 points and 203 yards to Cal in the first 21 minutes of play, the Washington defense shutdown the Cal offense, allowing only 165 yards and seven points while forcing four turnovers over the final 39 minutes to help turn this game into a late night laugher in Berkeley.
Stanford 26- Oregon State 15: In his second start, Stanford QB Keller Chryst fumbled three snaps, and looked lost on other plays, so the the Cardinal did what they do best, they ran the heck out of the ball and played defense. Stanford ran the ball 58 times for 365 yards and held the ball for 39:04. RB Christian McCaffrey rushed the ball 32 times for 199 yards and a TD. The Cardinal didn't light up the scoreboard, but PK Conrad Ukropina connected on four of five field goal attempts, with a 52-yarder in the mix. Stanford's defense didn't really do very well. The numbers look good as the Cardinal gave up 15 points and 266 total yards, however those numbers don't look so good when you see that OSU had the ball for a scant 20 minutes and ran off only 46 plays. In the loss, OSU QB Marcus McMaryion completed 10 of 24 passes for 137 yards, a TD and two picks.
Telling stat: The 29 grind; The Cardinal ran the ball 29 straight times on their final four drives to kill the clock and Oregon State's chances for a win.
Washington State 69- Arizona 7: The Cougars had a light workout on Saturday easily dispatching the Wildcats in the process. Wazzu came out hitting on all cylinders, building up a 24-0 first quarter lead with three TD passes from Luke Falk and a FG by PK Erik Powell. The Cougs built-up a 38-7 halftime advantage to end the competitive portion of the afternoon. Falk ended the day with 311 yards and four TDs with his backup Tyler Hilinski throwing for 163 yards and two TDs in garbage time. 14 different WSU receivers had at least one catch in this rout with Tavares Martin, Jr. hauling in a team high nine passes for 66 yards and two scores. UofA's QB situation looked pathetic once again as Anu Solomon, Khalil Tate and Brandon Dawkins combined to complete 11 of 23 passes for a paltry 128 yards, a TD and two interceptions. That ineffectiveness plus a poor rushing game led to the Cougars holding the ball for almost 40 minutes.
Telling Stat: 6-5 no pick 'em; Wazzu's QBs picked apart the Arizona defense and these stats show it. Cougar QBs threw six TD passes, with only five incompletions and no interceptions v. the hapless Wildcats.
Observations
...Less than a Dullard; With the bRuins loss to Colorado, HC Jim Mora now has a worse conference record than Karl Dorrell had when he was HC of the bRuins. Mora is now 24-19 in conference play, Dorrell was 24-18.
...Not a good pair of sixes; Cal's 66 points allowed tied the the school's modern record for most points allowed. The last time the Golden Bears allowed 66 points was in a 66-0 loss to Alabama in 1973.
..,Anchors Away on New Year's Day; Here's the scenario for Navy, yes Navy to get a New Year's six bowl game. If the middies win out, they will be 12-2 and AAC Champions. If Western Michigan and Boise State lose down the stretch, they could get the New Year's Day nod.
...The argument against; The UCLA-Colorado game was a prime example of just why there should never be Thursday night games.
...Not much impact; Two week back, ESPN's analyst Ed Cunningham, a former Husky and known Trojan-hater, declared that SC couldn't beat Cal if injured WR Chad Hansen had been in the lineup for the Golden Bears. Well, he was back in the lineup for Cal's game v. UW. That didn't work out so well for the Golden Bears I see. Hmmmmmmmm.
...Much Aggie-ado about nothing; After Texas A&M's upset by Mississippi State, it sure makes all that whining about Washington not being in the top four of the playoff ranking look pretty silly. The Aggies drop form the spotlight may accelerate with QB Trevor Knight now out for the season with a shoulder injury.
...A rare opportunity; If UCLA wins this week and Notre Dame wins their next two games, USC would have the opportunity to beat both of their arch-rivals in consecutive weeks and kill both their chances for becoming bowl eligible as well.
...Don't mess with the Middies; Navy HC Ken Niumatalolo talks about how his team is regarded and doesn't like it.
"They look at us as a team in white suits with nice uniforms. They would pat us on the head like we were nice house pets or something, but we're a good football program. Don't be confused by our uniforms. We're going to hit you in the freakin' mouth."
...It's big now; Who would have though that Wazzu's game at Colorado on 11/19 would be one of the big games this year in the Pac 12?
...6-3 ho-hum; USC's season opening thrashing by Alabama has many a Trojan fan not really too enthused about USC's current five-game wining streak.
...It's small now; In a corollary thought, who would have thought that the Stanford-Oregon game would be meaningless now?
...Huskies-wan you're our only hope; With Washington being the Pac 12's lone hope for the CFP, look for the Dawgs to be protected by the officials for the rest of the season.
...Buh-Bye; It look's like Mark Helfrich's stint as HC of the Oregon Ducks is near an end. Oregon athletic benefactor and Lord of the Athletic Sith, Phil Knight has said that he'll personally pay 10 million a year for new HC.
...The desert can be a cold, cold place; As his seats gets hotter with mounting blowout losses, Tucson has become a cold place for Rich Rodriguez. Even the UofA student newspaper the Daily Wildcat is advocating for his firing.
...Gunslingers play on the edge; USC QB Sam Darnold has that gunslinger bravado that he can get the ball into any space at any time, which scares most Trojan fans several times a game.
...Next is a bad thing; Next is bad when facing the Buckeyes after a loss under Urban Meyer. Not only do they beat the heck out of you, they send your QB out on a stretcher.
..Memo to Baylor HC Jim Grobe; People care as much about your teams' distractions and problems about as much as your football players cared about their rape victims.
...Skittles-worthy; The Marshawn Lynch injury cart bobblehead rocks.
...Rare Cougar air; Wazzu can move to 7-0 in conference play for the first time ever with a win over Cal this week.
...Something's got to give; Iowa State travels to Kansas this week in big battle of the tailenders of the Big XII. The winner, and there has to be one, will get their only Big XII win of 2016.
...Invisible; Arizona State had a bye last week. Anybody notice? Didn't think so.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
This Week's winners are the Ohio State Buckeyes for these throwbacks. Seriously, is this Ohio State or Norther Illinois? The plain crappy helmets clinched it for me.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
This Week's winners are the Ohio State Buckeyes for these throwbacks. Seriously, is this Ohio State or Norther Illinois? The plain crappy helmets clinched it for me.
Departments
Blowout of the Week: Ada, OH- The Polar Bears of Northern Ohio University scored on their first seven drives en route to an 80-3 thumping of the Wilmington College Quakers. QB Will Freed of Carlsbad, CA completed 15 of 17 passes for 264 yards and five TDs in a little over 30 minutes work. RB Christian Williams played only the first half, but ran for 103 yards on 17 carries with three TDs.
Low Score Game of the Week: Ithaca, NY- It was senior day for the Ithaca Bombers and they didn't disappoint the home folks. With 5:34 left in the first quarter, QB Wolfgang Shafer hit WR Will Gladney with an 8-yard TD pass. The Bombers made the score hold up for a 7-0 win over the Buffalo State Bengals. The Ithaca defense held Buffalo State to 195 total yards and didn't allow the Bengal to run a single play in the red zone.
C.W. Post Press: North Andover, MA- The Pioneers finished off their regular season with a 64-7 win over Merrimack College. QB Jeff Kidd returned from injury to throw for 21 of 30 passes for 266 yards and two TDs in one half of play. The Pioneers are now 10-0 and will host Assumption College next week in the Northeast 10 Championship Game. Earlier in the year Post went on the road defeated Assumption 19-18. This game has the makings of a real barn burner with the winner getting a slot in the D-II playoffs
Georgetown Gridiron News: Washington, DC- Clay Norris got the nod at QB this week for the Hoyas. He completed 25 of 37 passes for 185 yards and ran for 40 more, but the Hoyas fell 21-20 to Holy Cross. The Hoyas two TDs came on a 100-yard kickoff return by KR Michael Dereus. and a 4-yard run by Rb Alex Valles. The GU defense held the Crusaders scoreless for the final 30 minutes, but the Hoyas last chance for a comeback Norris' pass was picked off by DB Kyle Young with 1:49 to play.
Razorback Report: Things haven't been so great for the Hogs of late, but they came out Saturday and dismantled the Florida Gators, 31-10. RB Rawleigh Williams gashed the Gators for 148 yards on 26 carries and pair of TDs. The Arkansas defense had a great game holding the Gators to 12 yard rushing and not allowing an offensive touchdown. Up next for the Razorbacks is a home game with Coach Ed Oregon and his LSU Tigers.
Shoutout to the Northsiders
Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs and their fans for winning the World Series for the first time since 1908. As Pete Rose said after they won, "It's great for the Cubs to get a win in their new ballpark. To help my Chicago fan friends celebrate please click and enjoy this selection from the great Bill Murray and a few friends.
Go Cubs Go
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
I wish the weather would decide if it's gonna be fall or just stay summer.
The Sunday after moving the clocks back to standard time always feels disjointed.
I'm so happy that as of today, I will see no more political flyers in my mail.
Until Next Week, remember folks that good teams win big games on the road.
-The Commissioner
