It's time for that final look back at Last weekend's week that was with another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Owen Bird.
Summaries
USC 45- California 24: Despite turning the ball over three times and racking up 13 penalties, the Trojans still managed to put up 45 points and gain 629 yards of total offense to make it a baker's dozen over the Golden Bears. USC QB Sam Darnold, the pride of San Clemente High, continued to impress as he completed 18 of 25 passes for 231 yards and five TDs. The Trojans shredded Cal's run defense as well with RBs Ronald Jones II and Aca'Cedric Ware combining to rush for a 353 yards on 38 carries and a TD. Cal QB Davis Webb had a subpar night hitting on 33 of 54 passes for 333 yards and two TDs. The USC defense had a great game too. They held Cal to about 20 points under their season average despite not getting much of a pass rush on Davis Webb.
Telling Stat: 1/2 a red zone; USC's defense held Cal under their season scoring average by protecting the red zone. USC only allowed Cal to run 15 total plays in the red zone with none of the plays occurring inside USC's 10-yard line.
Washington 31- Utah 24: ESPN College Gameday made a rare appearance in the west. Salt Lake City was buzzing with the chance to take down the undefeated Huskies. However, it was not to be, as a rare kicking game mistake let the Huskies escape Rice-Eccles Stadium with a win. With 9:07 left, Utah had tied the game when TE Evan Moeai grabbed a 24-yard TD pass from QB Troy Williams. The teams then traded possessions until Utah faced a fourth down deep in their own territory with 3:25 to play. Punter Mitch Wishnowsky outkicked his coverage. UW PR Dante Pettis shook one tackle, then found a wall of blockers in front of him and he streaked down the field 58 yards to the end zone. UW had a 31-24 lead and the game in hand. Offensively, the Huskies showed a balanced attack with QB Jake Browning completing 12 of 20 passes for 186 yards and two scores, while RB Myles Gaskin carried the ball 19 times for 151 yards and a TD. In the loss, Utah QB and former Husky, Troy Williams completed 14 of 31 passes for 163 yards and two TDs. RB James Williams led the Utes rushing attack with 172 yards on 35 carries and a TD.
Telling Stat: 58 hidden yards; Dante Pettis' 58-yard punt return TD was the difference in this game that featured two evenly matched squads.
Stanford 34- Arizona 10: An Arizona squad that is still decimated with injuries despite getting two QBs back was no match for a Cardinal squad that had a healthy Christian McCaffrey return to the lineup. McCaffrey gained 225 all-purpose yards and scored three TDs to lead the Cardinal attack. Meanwhile, UofA got spotty play form QB Brandon Dawkins who completed only 5 of 15 passes for 116 yards, a TD and an interception. UofA also used QBs Anu Solomon and Khalil Tate. However, they failed to complete a pass and rushed for a combined 15 yards on the night. Dawkins led the Wildcats in rushing with 65 yards as WR Sammjie Grant started at RB due to a significant number of injuries to that position group. For Stanford, QB Ryan Burns was benched in favor of Keller Chryst who completed 14 of 30 passes for 104 yards and two TDs. The Stanford defense forced three turnovers to further shutdown UofA's stunted offensive attack.
Telling Stat: (-QB) + O RBs= L; Arizona's woeful quarterback play plus having no active running backs equaled a loss for the Wildcats.
Washington State 35- Oregon State 31: At halftime, Wazzu trailed the Beavers, 24-6 and it looked like the Cougars' feel-good story had come to an abrupt end. Then the third quarter happened. The Cougars shut down OSU and tallied 22 straight points to take a 28-24 lead into the fourth quarter. OSU RB Ryan Nall put OSU back on top, 31-28 after with a three-yard TD jaunt. That TD was made possible when the Beavers recovered PR Kaleb Fossum's fumble at his own three-yard line. Wazzu then jumped back ahead immediately when QB Luke Falk hit WR Robert Lewis with a one-yard pass. WSU would hold that 35-31 lead the rest of the way for the win. Falk had another ho-hum day passing for 415 yards and five TDs. WR Gabe Marks was once again his favorite target, snagging eight aerials for 110 yards and two TDs. For the Beavers, Nall rushed for 131 yards and two TDs, while QB Marcus McMaryion threw for 327 yards and a pair of scores.
Telling Stat: A tale of two Cougars; After a first half where WSU had given up 24 points and 398 yards, the Cougar defense shined in the second half. They held OSU to 7 points and 107 total yards. WSU forced five punts, held for downs twice and allowed one TD drive of three yards in OSU's final eight drives.
Oregon 54- Arizona State 35: It looks like they've found a new QB-RB combination in Eugene. The QB, Freshman Justin Herbert torched the Sun Devils secondary, completing 31 of 42 passes for 489 yards and four TDs,. The RB, Tony Brooks-James toted the rock only nine times. but he gained 132 yards and scored a TD. Those two along with a surprisingly decent defensive effort from the quacks set up this blowout win. It is a win that snaps a five-game losing streak for the Quacks. ASU used Dillon Sterling-Cole at QB with starter Manny Wilkins out once again after being injured last week v. Wazzu. Sterling-Cole passed for 302 yards and a TD, but his three interceptions really hurt ASU's cause. Injuries did not help the Sun Devils either. When LG Stephon McCray was injured early, that left ASU down 10 starters for this game.
Telling Stat: Turnovers kill; Oregon scored 14 points off three ASU turnovers. The Ducks defense also snuffed out ASU's final drive with a third interception to seal the victory for UO.
Observations
...Rushing is fundamental; It doesn't matter how great a passing offense you might have, you still have to run the ball to win. Case in point, in his tenures at Texas Tech and Wazzu, Mike Leach's record as HC is 66-18 when his Air Raid offense runs the ball for 90+ yards in a game.
...2K on Montezuma Mesa; SDSU RB Donnel Pumphrey has 1,469 yards with four games left in the regular season with a good shot at breaking the 2,000 yard mark. It's about time he got a little publicity.
...Ragtime Cowboy Joe is getting rowdy; Wyoming handed Boise State their first loss of the season and are now in first place in the Mountain Divison of the Mountain West Conference. The Cowboys now have an inside track to the MWC Championship game.
...Hurry up and lose; The SC-Cal game went so long on Thursday night it reminded of one of those bugs you swat and swat and spray and spray and won't die. Cal calling a time out down 21 points with 22 seconds left did help form this assessment.
...Their Sunday Gig; The Raiders picked up and NFL single-game record 23 penalties Sunday. I had no idea the Pac 12 refs also worked on Sundays.
...One for the Orange and Black; It was a battle of the tail-enders in the SCIAC, but the Occidental Tigers beat the Whittier Poets, 56-38 to claim another win in the storied rivalry and grab possession of the trophy known as "The Shoes".
...SC knows how it feels; Cal HC Sonny Dykes made a big deal about how Cal had to go on the road and play a game at SC on just six days rest with SC coming off a bye. Well, where were the sympathetic ears when USC had to play Stanford team on the road when the Cardinal were coming off a bye, then had to play at Utah six days later? Hmmmmmmmmm.
...Someone ok'd this; The UTSA football teams are known as the Roadrunners. They were sporting new helmets with a "BIRDS UP" sticker on the back of helmets. I can see a lot of "Birds" coming their way now.
...Cardinal upswing; Don't be surprised to see Stanford go 3-1 or 4-0 down the stretch. The Cardinal will face four of the six worst defenses in all of the FBS in their final four games.
...Streaking series; USC's win over Cal was their 13th in a row over the Golden Bears. Oregon's win over ASU was their 10th straight over the Sun Devils.
...Only a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that several Pac 12 officials have been scheduled for Tommy John surgery due to throwing too many flags this season.
...A good nod; It's good to see that Oregon State and Duke are sporting uniforms this year to salute their 1942 Rose Bowl squads. The 1942 Rose Bowl was the only one not played in Pasadena. Fears of Japanese attack forced the game to be moved to Duke.
...This just in; ASU stinks.
...There's no O in Buckeyes; Theee Ohio State University better find an offense or Michigan will wipe the floor with them this year.
...Eating their own; The Big XII had an "Uh-oh" weekend when Texas and Okie State upset the league's only undefeated teams, Baylor and West Virginia.
...The Anti-Oregon; Feeling a lot of love for Craig Bohl who came in as Wyoming a couple of years ago and declared that the team has just two uniforms. One home, one road is all you need.
...Ummm, it's cool I guess; I like the copper chrome helmet ASU broke out for their game at Oregon. Only problem is that it's not their school colors at all.
...Not even his six; Duke's leading rusher, Jela Duncan tore his achilles celebrating a teammate's touchdown and will miss the rest of the season.
...Back from the dead; After being embarrassed by Houston and being crushed at home by Ohio State, Oklahoma is now 6-2 with a 5-0 league record and is in first place in the Big XII.
...Bulled over; I don't think anybody expected USF to take it to Navy the way they did last week. Good news for Navy fans is that they may see a rematch of these teams in the AAC title tilt.
...Penciled in; I have Clemson penciled in for the College Football Playoff. With their win over FSU, I don't see another serious threat in their way.
...Go Coach O; I would love to see LSU beat Alabama this week. Hell, I'd like to see anybody beat 'em.
...Upward Dawgs; Everyone out west knew Washington was good, but their win at Utah finally garnered the Dawgs some national respect.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
This week's nod goes to Iowa State. I love Cardinal and Gold. How did you screw it up this bad, Cyclones?
Departments
It is not often that in this section that the next three games all happened in the same league. Here's to Division II's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for hitting this rare trifecta.
Low Score Game of the Week: Gunnison, CO- PK Nathan Taylor from 34 yards out with 2:59 left in the third period to give the CSU-Pueblo Thunderwolves a 10-7 lead over the Western State Colorado Mountaineers. The Thunderwolves made that lead stick and came away with the 10-7 win. Pueblo forced two punts and held for downs on the Mountaineers final three drives to secure the win.
Blowout of the Week: Las Vegas, NM- The first half wasn't kind to the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys. They trailed the Colorado Mesa Mavericks, 38-14 and were looking to get back into the game. Well, that didn't happen. The Mavericks tacked on 49 more points in the second half and whipped the Cowboys, 87-14. RB David Tann was had a big night for Mesa, lugging the leather 27 times for 273 yards and four TDs. That's a nifty 10.1 yards per carry for the non-math majors out there. In all, Mesa rushed the ball 66 times for 708 yards. They also gained 225 yards through the air for a total of 933 yards of offense. The Mavericks made 40 first downs and never punted.
Best Game Nobody Saw Last Week: Rapid City, SD- In the first Overtime period, Fort Lewis QB Bo Coleman crossed the double stripe for a two-point conversion, Coleman's two-pointer gave Fort Lewis a 53-52 win over the South Dakota Mines Hardrockers. The teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of offense and 51 first downs. FLC rushed for 415 yards with RB Drake Griffin rushing for 168 yards on 22 carries and four TDs. Coleman ran for 141 yards and passed for 141 yards with two TDs rushing and one passing. In the loss, SD-Mines QB Evan Sanders passed for 230 yards and four scores.
C.W. Post Press: Brookville, NY- The Pioneers wrapped up the Northeast-10 regular season title with a 35-17 over the Pace University Setters. Post trailed the winless Setters early, 3-0. Then, with QB Jeff Kidd still out due to injury, the Pioneers used their three-headed rushing attack of QB Mike Campbell and RBs David White and Malik Pierre to grind down the Pace defense and control the game. White toted the rock 20 times for 117 yards and two TDs, while Campbell rushed for 81 yards and Pierre ran for 41 yards and a pair scores. Campbell also threw for 136 yards and a TD. The 9-0 Pioneers will finish out the regular season next week at Merrimack College. After that, they will host the NE-10 Championship Game the following week.
Razorback Report: The Hogs were on a bye this week and will host the Florida Gators on 11/5.
Georgetown Gridiron News: Easton, PA- It was another week and another loss in the Patriot League as the Hoyas fell to the Lafayette Leopards, 17-3. Leopards drove to break a 3-3 tie in the third period when QB Drew Reed galloped into the end zone from seven yards out to put the Leopards up, 10-3. On the ensuing possession, Hoyas QB Brock Johnson, (yeah with that name, he is from Newport Beach), threw an interception and Lafayette turned that into another TD in just three plays. RB Tyler West carried the ball twice and scored form 17 yards out to the put the Leopards in total control with a 17-3 lead. GU managed just 11 first downs and 174 total yards on the stingy Lafayette defense. Up next for GU is a home date with Holy Cross.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Mom's meatloaf never disappoints.
Being able to hand over a sword to my sister to conduct the Trojan Marching Band at her birthday party was a priceless moment.
Overcast hot and humid is not my preferred October weather.
Until next week folks, remember that watching a game with good friends always makes the games better.
-The Commissioner
