Week 0, 2017

Hey All,

The first week of the season has come early with a smattering of games on what is known as week zero in prep and NCAA terms, so here's the first first regular season edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Jim Murray.

Summaries

Colorado State 58- Oregon State 27:  The Rams gave the CSU faithful a wonderful housewarming gift by opening their new stadium with a dominant win over the Beavers.  The first half was a see-saw affair with the Rams looking sharper than OSU, but holding just a 24-20 lead at the half thanks to a really bad call and even poorer replay review of what should have easily been a Beaver TD pass. It then turned out that that play didn't really matter as the Rams dominated the second half, outscoring OSU, 31-7.  CSU won this game in the trenches as their OL and DL owned the line of scrimmage. The Rams OL allowed QB Nick Stevens to complete 26 of 39 passes for 334 yards and three TDs.  WR Mike Gallup was Stevens favorite target, hauling in 11 passes for 134 yards. For the Beavers, touted QB Jake Luton completed 27 of 47 throws for 304 yards, 2 TDs and 3 big interceptions. Beaver RB Ryan Nall led all rushers with 115 yards and a TD, but 75 of his yards came on his lone TD jaunt early in the second quarter.
Telling Stat: An offensive eclipse; CSU held OSU to just 90 total yards in the second half, forcing four turnovers and scoring a TD of their own to hand the Beavers their 14th straight road loss. 

Stanford 62- Rice 7:  Stop me of you've heard this before.  Stanford used their punishing OL and Ginormous TEs to humiliate an undermanned opponent.  Everybody played but the trombone player as the Cardinal cooked Rice in Australia.  SU RB Bryce Love played about a half of football and rushed for 180 yards on 13 carries with one TD to lead the Cardinal's rushing attack.  Meanwhile, QB Keller Chryst completed 14 of 24 tosses for 253 yards and a pair of scores in about one half's worth of work.  Rice's offense didn't do much against the Stanford defense amassing a dismal 241 total yards and scored late TD well after the benches had been emptied.
Telling Stat: 75-66;  En route to their 38-0 halftime lead over Rice, Stanford marched 75 yards for their first score. Rice gained 66 total yards in the first half.

Observations

...Needn't have been revived;  Michigan is wearing all-maize uniforms for it's tilt with Florida this week.  They haven't worn all-maize since 1928.  I wished they'd keep it that way.

...A long era for Ara;  Many folks said that Ara Parseghian retired too soon from the sidelines.  However by his retirement at age 51, he had already been a head coach for 24 years.

...40 years- big deal;  Colorado State is very proud of their new yard and playing their first game on campus in 40 years.  Funny, USC hasn't played a game on campus for 94 years and nobody cares.

...Gophers pony up;  The hiring of PJ Fleck isn't the only big thing going on with the Maroon and Gold.  A new 166 million dollar athletic village is under construction to help elevate the status of Gopher athletics as a whole and football in particular.  The Gophers have eyes on returning to Pasadena for the first time since January of 1962.

...Hell and High Water; Rice went through the hell of getting embarrassed by Stanford, now they can't return home to a flooded Houston and will be staying and practicing at TCU.  Ouch.

...At the feet of the masters;  Without a doubt Ara Parseghian played for and coached for some greats. He played for Paul Brown at Great Lakes Naval Station and with the Cleveland Browns.  He also played for Sid Gillman, and was an assistant under Woody Hayes at Miami (OH).

...This just in; Oregon State stinks.

...June up north;  As of 8/24, former Hawaii and SMU HC is now in charge of the CFL's 0-8 Hamilton Tiger-Cats.  This was a feel good story until Jones decided to try to hire former Baylor HC Art Briles as an assistant coach.  The controversy over the hire, then subsequent non-hire of Birles has dominated the Canadian sports news. Here's s link to the homepage of 3 Down Nation.  It's one of the best CFL blogs around.  A lot about Art

...Underrated;  I'm thinking right about now that Oregon State folks are realizing just how good a HC Mike Riley really is.

...Wet, Sticky Rice;  With the Rice football team being in Australia while hurricane Harvey strikes Houston, I couldn't help but think of USC's hurricane connection to Rice.  The Trojans faced Rice in Houston back in 1971.  Hurricane Edith had made landfall in Louisiana three days before kickoff, but major rain was still set to hit Houston as kickoff approached.  I was filled in on how the game went by Craig Fertig a few years back, "The temperature was in the mid 90s with over 90 per cent humidity. We knew the storm was coming, so McKay did something I'd never seen him do.  We threw the ball early.  He wanted to get out fast and built up a lead before the storm hit. The storm hit around halftime and nobody could do anything in the second half." A drenched SC did throw early and walked away with a 24-0 win.

...15 minutes of vindication;  When South Florida was trailing San Jose State, 16-0 in the first quarter, you know every Texas fan thought the firing of Charlie Strong was being validated for all to see.

...Vikings, Tigers, Oh My!; After struggling to beat Portland State, 20-6 in Provo Saturday, you can see how Cougar fans may not feel very confident heading into their matchup with LSU this week.  Note: This game was supposed to be played at NRG Stadium in Houston.  It will be now be played in New Orleans at The Superdome.

...Lost in the shuffle;  If Rice and Stanford hadn't have hooked up in Australia, Hawaii's six time zone trip to UMass would have been the longest road trip for an FBS team this year.

...Clean slates;  I always like seeing the first game of the year for Ohio State. It's pretty neat seeing all those shining helmets without a single buckeye on them.

...No Game Today;  How many games on all levels will be cancelled along the gulf coast this week?

...They've met before; The Houston Cougars have left home and are now staying at the University of Texas due to hurricane Harvey.  I bet that's kind of awkward for UT HC Tom Herman to run into the Cougars squad he left behind for the Longhorns last winter.

...Pretty cool;  Larry the Dr. Pepper guy will be back for the 2017 season. I crack up at those commercials all the time.

...The new millennium is at hand;  With a birthdate of January 23, 2000, USC freshman CB Je'Quari Godfrey is the first Trojan football player born in the 2000s.

Ugly Uniform of the Week

The week zero games didn't really provide us much fodder for the award, so i'll just let this promotional pic of Michigan's all-maize uniforms they plan to wear v. Florida stand as an early entry for next week's selection.

A Lee by any other name or Irony; thy name is Lee

ESPN removed announcer Robert Lee from calling Virginia's home opener because his name is basically the same as Robert E. Lee.  I think this is a bad overreaction by the boys in Bristol.  Many folks pointed to Lee the announcer being of asian heritage and having no relation to the old general's family in their disagreement with ESPN's ridiculous decision.  This where the irony in my life kicks in.  I have an old friend named Bobby Lee.  Bobby and I have known each other since we played tee-ball together.  Bobby is half Asian.  His father met his mother while overseas as a U.S. soldier.  Bobby's dad is related to the Lees of Virginia. So, my friend Bobby is Asian and descendant of the Lees of Virginia.


Special Section: In Memoriam

Ara Parseghian (5/21/1923-8/2/2017)

You can't be a college football fan of a certain age and not know about Ara Parseghian. The tough Armenian is remembered most for his two national titles at Notre Dame, but maybe he should be equally well known for taking Northwestern to the #1 slot in 1962.  If you're a Trojan fan as many are who read this column, the series of games between his Irish and John McKay's Trojans are the stuff of legend.  Yes, John McKay holds a 6-3-2 mark over his rival, but ND's 51-0 trouncing of SC at the Coliseum by Parsghian's squad in 1966 still stings in the hearts of Trojan fans.  ESPN's Ivan Maisel wrote a piece about Pareghian on the time of his passing that I think captures the essence of the man. Here's the link.  Ara is gone...


Frank Broyles (10/26/1924-10/14/2017)

Frank Broyles pretty much did it all in college football. He starred as a QB at Georgia Tech, led Arkansas as their HC to the 1964 national title, then became the AD of the Hogs while also becoming a great broadcaster alongside Keith Jackson.  AS HC of the Hogs his battles with Darrell Royal's Texas Longhorns were epic. Under his stewardship as AD, Arkansas went form a one sport school to a legitimate power in college athletics. Broyles was the last of the All-Powerful ADs.  As a broadcaster, his ability to break down a play set the tone for all who have come on as analysts since.  Once again, I leave it to Ivan Maisel to sum up the life of a legend.  The Boss Hog



This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

Watching your baseball team play meaningful games in August is pretty neat.

Getting packages from Amazon is a novelty that doesn't wear off.

Late summer sunshine is a one of the true joys of life.

Until next week folks, remember that without an O-line, you don't have an offense.

-The Commissioner

Schedules Part III

Hey All,

Football camps are in full swing, lots of kids are out shopping for school supplies and the days keep getting a bit shorter. The days shorten in that ancient way that something inside tells us that the coming of fall is inevitable. So, here's some late summer reading that will help that transition to autumn,  Notes On a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We will always miss you, Uncle Mel.

The Pacific 12 Conference

Conference Members
North Division- California, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington, Washington State
South Division- Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, USC, UCLA, Utah

Five Big Out of Conference Games

Note: The USC-Notre Dame is purposely left off this list because most of the folks who read this blog don't need any reminder of its' importance year in and year out. Also, some games have been written about in the prior two weeks of this blog.

9/2- Western Michigan at USC: The Broncos have lost HC PJ Fleck who bolted for Minnesota.  However, this is still a team that went 13-1 last year and narrowly lost to Wisconsin in the Cotton Bowl. USC cannot take this game lightly. If the Trojans do so, the Broncos are just good enough to cause a major upset. One more thing to remember is that linebacker Cam Smith will not see the field until the 3rd quarter due his ejection in the second half of the Rose Bowl.

9/9- Boise State at Washington State: Recent losses to Portland State, Eastern Washington, and Nevada have folks wondering if the Cougs will lay yet another egg early in the year.  This year's Wazzu squad is a good one with QB Luke Falk returning along with 15 other starters. Meanwhile, BSU only returns a handful of starters but did defeat the Cougs last year, 31-28 in Boise.

9/16 Arizona State at Texas Tech:  This game is borderline for this list, but who can forget last year's 68-55 scoreboard breaker won by the Sun Devils in Tempe?  The teams also have mirror image problems at the skill positions. ASU is four deep at QB, but lost three of their top four WRs to graduation. The Red Raiders are deep at wide receiver, but don't have an experienced signal caller. However, neither returns a stellar defense, so another high scoring affair could easily occur.

9/16- Stanford at SDSU:  This game is made important because of the Cardinal's possible road weariness.  On 8/26, SU takes on Rice in Melbourne, AU.  They then have a bye then travel to USC on 9/9. All those miles with no home games make the Cardinal an upset candidate at SDSU.  All SDSU has done the last few years is become a power in the Mountain West Conference.  We will see if nearly 16,000 miles of travel and facing the Trojans the week prior will have an effect the Cardinal.

9/16- UCLA at Memphis: This shapes up as a trap game for the bRuins.  Memphis is a favorite to win the AAC West Divison and returns a potent offense. The Tigers gave UCLA all they could handle in a 42-35 loss at the Rose Bowl in '14.  The Tigers also return nine starters of offense including QB Riley Ferguson who threw for almost 4,000 yards and 32 TDs last year.  This game is also a week before the bRuins travel to Stanford and just for giggles it is an 11 AM kickoff in Memphis. That translates to 9 AM for the west coast.  If UCLA doesn't enter this game fully awake, they could find themselves having to climb out of an early hole.

Top Five Conference Games

11/4- Oregon at Washington: Last year the Huskies poured a dozen years worth of Duckin' frustration into their 70-21 road victory.  This year the Ducks have to travel to Seattle to take on the North Division favorite in their own back yard.  The folks around Eugene say that Taggart's disciplinarian style has already got the Ducks in a far better place than they were last year.  UO also has a wealth of talent coming back including RB Royce Freeman, but QB Justin Herbert is no Marcus Mariota.  Heck, he's not even Vernon Adams.   UW QB Jake Browning may keep the Duck defense guessing, but RB Myles Gaskin will be the key to victory.  If the Dawgs run, the Ducks will fall.

11/11- USC at Colorado: Last year, the Trojans were -3 in the turnover department and still managed to walk out of the Coliseum with a 21-17 win.  The Buffaloes are angry about that and probably still a little miffed about USC getting the Rose Bowl nod when Washington went to the College Football Playoff. USC will have to hold onto the ball and adjusts well to the altitude in order to beat the Buffs.

11/10- Washington at Stanford: The Huskies walloped the Cardinal, 44-6 last year while also derailing RB Christian McCaffrey's Heisman hopes in the process.  This year, the Dawgs have to travel to Palo Alto for a Friday night tilt. If UW does to Stanford's rushing game what it did last year, then the Dawgs will whip the Cardinal.  If not, then Stanford could be the North champ with just Cal left on their conference slate.

10/7- Washington State at Oregon:  Wazzu has won two in a row over the Ducks and who could forget their epic Oregon Trail twitter post after the Cougs OT in 2015? This game could feature a lot of hard, physical play.  The Cougs would love to make it three in a row and the Ducks want revenge. I hope the game lives up to expectations.

11/18- UCLA at USC: Once again this may be a game where city bragging rights and a title could be on the line. Many folks would love to see a Rosen-Darnold matchup. That could be as epic as the Marinovich-Maddox Showdown in 1990.

Observations

...Saa-Lute!; Strip joint owner and Mississippi State fan Jerry Westlund is not fond of former Ole Miss HC Hugh Freeze.  This past Saturday, Westlund held a Salute to Hugh Freeze at The Pony, his Starkville strip club.

...Needing a leg;  Placekicking woes have been the biggest worry at USC so far. That's tough to hear with one PK booted from the squad.

...Salt Lake balance;  In Utah's camp, HC Kyle Whittingham is pleased with how even the practices are between the offense and the defense with no real one-sided affairs.

...Pfeisty in the Palouse; Aside form the usual worries about depth at Wazzu, a couple of fights in practice have raised the energy level.  HC Mike Leach said he doesn't mind the fights as long as "they don't take too long. They better get about their business quick or I'll just take 'em to the other field and roll 'em."

...Not a snap;  Oregon's main concern in camp is with the C-QB exchange. The first team seems to be fine, but the second string is having a hard time getting the ball snapped.  This problem brings flashbacks to the program from their woes that helped TCU make that epic comeback in the 2015 Alamo Bowl.

...Bama B's in the West;  Alabama transfer QB Blake Barnett has been cleared to play immediately at ASU.  Couple him along with Cooper Bateman at Utah and you could have two Bama transfers starting at QB this year in the Pac 12.

...Tough Double;  UCLA plays at Utah on 10/28 then hits the road on short rest for a Friday night affair at Washington on 11/3.

...Friday Night Lights;  Arizona will travel to UTEP and then host Utah on back-to-back Fridays, 9/15 and 9/22.

...On target;  The current news out of Boulder is that they are happy with how much improved QB Steven Montez has been so far.  His accuracy is drawing praise form the staff.

...September in the Palouse;  Wazzu opens up with five straight home games to start the season.

...4 out 5 ain't bad; Washington plays four of their final five games at home, but the one road game is a Friday night trip to Stanford on 11/10.

...That's so weak;  Colorado gets the award for the single weakest opponent on a Pac 12 schedule. Yes, some Big Sky teams appear on some schedules in the league, but Sun Belt doormat Texas State is the weakest team.  The Bobcats are coming off 2016 campaign where they went 2-10 and gave up an average of 41 points per game.

...Happy Cardinal;  Word from Stanford's fall camp is just how happy HC David Shaw is with QB Keller Chryst's progress recovering form surgery following his knee injury in the Sun Bowl.  Chryst has hit camp with full mobility, but it remains to be seen if Shaw will let Chryst use his mobility in games.

...Doesn't happen much;  USC is ASU's Homecoming opponent.  I don't know the last time USC was anybody's homecoming date.

...A QB and youth;  The early talk in Tuscon is how Brandon Dawkins has really taken ownership of the QB job and how the Wildcats may play several freshman on defense this year.

...One in, one out;  Former Idaho QB Jake Luton, by way of Ventura JC, was named the starter at Oregon State a week or so ago.  Six days after that fact hit the media, backup QB Marcus McMaryion declared he was leaving OSU.  McMaryion has an upside with his talent and the fact that he is a junior who has already graduated.  He can play right away anywhere with two years of eligibility remaining.

...That's really, really weak; Arizona gets my nod for weakest non conference slate with home games against Northern Arizona and Houston and a trip to UTEP.

...Rumblin', stumblin', bumblin';  The skinny from Cal's first day of full pads was how South Carolina transfer and starter for now, Brandon Mcilwain, spent most of the practice tripping over his own feet, but still managing to complete several tough passes for TDs.

...Blind Freeze;  Do you remember Michael Oher's somewhat clueless high school HC in The Blind Side?  That coach was based on Oher's real life high school HC. That HC was Hugh Freeze.

...Need five;  UCLA has a lot of returning starters on their O-line, but the buzz from Westwood is that finding the right combo of starters is proving difficult.

...By the time they get to Tempe;  The Sun Devils have broken from their traditional start at Camp Tontozona and will practice in Tempe the rest of the way.  The Sun Devils had a scrimmage last Saturday that was almost cancelled due to rain. Yes folks, it's monsoon season in the Valley of the Sun.

...Rosen faced bRuins; I'm sure UCLA folks aren't thrilled with QB Josh Rosen declaring that football and school don't mix, but he does make an interesting point or two in this article from ESPN.
QB Speaks Up

...Huskies feeling the heat;  Not much to report from Washington other than that the Dawgs are having to learn how to battle the northwest heat wave and the ubiquitous early camp story that the defense is ahead of the offense.

Special Section

Me. Uncle Mel, and the USFL.

Uncle Mel in his playing days!

This past July, my Uncle Melvin passed away. He was my favorite uncle and I loved him very much.  This story is one I've never really told, but it shows just how kind and loving an uncle he was. I'll never forget how he got the angry, teenage me though the summer of 1983 with a little help from the USFL.

I was a 14-year old in the summer of 1983. I was with my mother on a trip to Arkansas.  I didn't want to be there.  Period.  I was mad at the world. My anger stemmed from missing the playoffs at my little league. My mother planned the trip for just after my regular season ended.  After, all I had never played on a winning team, so the dates for the trip seemed right.  So, of course I was on a winner that year.  I was looking forward to winning a title and celebrating on the field with my teammates when we won it all.  That wasn't going to happen.  I was told that I was going to Arkansas no matter what.  My reaction to this hard fact of life was as bad as you can imagine.  Everyone knows I'm not a roll-with-the-punches type of person to say the least and I was far far less of one at fourteen.  (When you stop laughing, please read on)

In Arkansas, I was a city kid in the country.  I didn't fit in and had almost nobody my age around close to hang out with.  What I did have was TV and the USFL.  I listened to Keith Jackson tell me about the new league that was 3/4 of the way through their season.  Uncle Mel, was the only one who talked about the league with me.  He and I wondered if the league would last and what players we liked.  I obviously rooted for the LA Express.  Uncle Mel liked the Michigan Panthers because they had a WR from Arkansas named Derek Holloway.  Uncle Mel and I drank sodas and talked football a lot on that trip. He took the time to do it.  He chose to spend his time with me. The USFL Championship Game rolled around and Uncle Mel cleared the way for us to watch the game together.  The Philadelphia Stars were playing the Michigan Panthers.  So, being a typical teenager, I rooted for the Stars.  Michigan went on to win the game, 24-22. Holloway caught only three passes, but two were for TDs.  Uncle Mel had fun teasing me on my team selection and we had a great time.  I just loved being around him.  Those couple of hours we spent together were the highlight of my trip.  He got me through that summer.  The years would blur on by, but we had our moments together.  I can't think of many moments when I didn't have fun with him.  We even laughed the one time he tried to teach me to water ski and I couldn't even manage to keep the skis on my feet. Oh, and the stop for pancakes in Mt Ida is now an oft-told hilarious tale . I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I can't help but think of my Uncle without smiling, and I don't think that will ever change.  I'm a much better person for having had him in my life. RIP Uncle Mel.

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

Why can't lettuce taste like chocolate?

A warm summer day with a cool breeze on a lazy Sunday is priceless.

Part of me thinks I should have had that memorial service for my old TV.

Until next week folks, remember that if your offense is ahead of your defense when camps starts, you don't have a defense.

-The Commissioner