I hope all of you enjoyed a great Labor Day Weekend. Even though summer will hang on for a couple more weeks, the traditional end of summer is upon us and the true first weekend of the football season has come and gone. Let's celebrate these things with another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Bill Fleming.
Summaries
USC 49- Western Michigan 31: They officially said the temp was 98 degrees at kickoff at the Coliseum. However, the weather gauge at the Old Gray Lady was pegged over 100 and so were most people's Weather Apps when their phones weren't shutting down because of the heat. Western Michigan looked every bit as good as they were last year, but USC had more left in the tank and avoided the upset at the hands of the Broncos. USC looked impressive on its' first drive, marching 75 yards in six plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard run by RB Ronald Jones II. Then they went mostly dormant until the end of the third quarter. The USC defense spent a great deal of time in the heat unable to stop a Broncos rushing attack that ate up lots of clock, but didn't produce many points. TD runs by RB Jamauri Bogan and QB Jon Wassink gave WMU a 14-7 lead early in the second period. That lead became a 14-14 tie at the break thanks to another TD run by Ronald Jones II. Down, 21-14 late in the third quarter, USC went on a 35-10 run to avoid the upset and leave the heat of the Coliseum with a win. Four of the five TDs scored by the Trojans were on the ground as USC's O-line had finally worn down the Broncos front seven. A TD run of 11 yards by SC QB Sam Darnold, scampers of 1 and 52 yards for scores by true freshman RB Stephen Carr and a 37-yard dash to paydirt by Ronald Jones II put the Trojans ahead to stay. SC's final score was a 37-yard pick six by DB Marvell Tell III. The Trojans won this game despite being sloppy in many areas from dropped passes to being out of position on defense to poor special teams coverage. This game was a lot closer than it looked.
Telling Stat: They won the 4th Quarter +; USC dominated the final 19:04 of the game, outscoring WMU 35-10 while outgaining the Broncos 388-64 in the process to come away with the victory.
Utah 37- North Dakota 16: Utah started slow but kept grinding and eventually pulled away from the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux. The Utah defense did their job, keeping the North Dakota offense in check so that the Ute offense could find its' way. The offense did just that. QB Tyler Huntley competed 23 of 32 passes for 227 yards and a TD to go with 70 yards rushing on 18 carries and two more scores to lead the way for Utah. RB Zach Moss also had a good night, rushing for 128 yards on 22 carries and a score. For UND, QB Keaton Studsrud threw for 175 yards and score in the loss.
Telling Stat: Clamping down for the W; After giving up a TD early in the fourth period, Utah held North Dakota to just 41 yards over the final 14:10 to ensure the victory.
Arizona State 37- New Mexico 31: ASU jumped out to a 14-0 lead midway through the first period thanks to a 7-yard TD run by Karen Ballage and a 53-yard TD pass from QB Manny Wilkins to WR Jalen Harvey. Then the Sun Devil offense took the rest of the first half off. The Aggies scored two TDs of their own in the second quarter. They trailed at the half, 14-13 due to a blocked PAT. The ASU offense then showed agin inn the third quarter to put 16 more points on the board to take a 30-13 lead in to the final period. The Sun Devil defense put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter when DB Kobe Williams picked of an errant Aggie toss and returned it 49 yards for a TD. NMSU did mount a comeback scoring three TDs in the final 8:27, but the last score came on the final play of the game. Manny Wilkins was the offense for ASU competed 22 of 27 aerials for 300 yards and a pair of TDs. RB Karen Ballage was held to 79 yards on 18 carries, but two of his carries were for TDs. NMSU's Tyler Rogers completed 40 of 57 passes for 398 yards, three TDs and two interceptions in the losing effort.
Taking time off; New Mexico State made this a close game when ASU took the final 9:33 off. NMSU outgained ASU, 201 yards to 34 and scored the game's final 18 points.
Washington 30- Rutgers 14: The Huskies made their first cross-country trip for a regular season game in a little over a decade and looked thoroughly jet-lagged for the first half. Rutgers took a 7-0 lead early on a three yard TD pass from QB Kyle Bolin to WR Janarion Grant. The Scarlet Knights held UW's offense in check for the first half allowing only 76 total yards. However, Rutgers went into the half trailing, 10-7 thanks to a fine effort by the UW defense and a 61-yard punt return for a TD by UW's Dante Pettis. The Dawgs offense did wake up in the second half with QB Jake Browning finding WR Lavon Coleman for a 7-yard TD pass. He also hit RB Myles Gaskin for an 18-yard score. Throw in a 23-yard FG from PK Tristan Vizcaino and the Huskies held a 27-7 fourth quarter advantage and control of the game.
Telling Stat: Dawgs with bite; The Washington defense did their part, shutting out Rutgers for a 41:37 second span to allow the UW offense to get on track to bring home a win.
Colorado 17- Colorado State 3: In the game known as The Rocky Mountain Showdown, flags flew more than footballs and tempers flared amongst the CSU coaches and faithful. Three Colorado State TDs were wiped off the board due to penalties. Two were taken off with offensive pass interference calls and one with a hands to the face call. It was definitely a Pac 12 crew working the game with 17 total flags for 179 yards. CSU was nailed 10 times for 120 yards. Meanwhile, as laundry littered the field, some actual football was played. The first half saw all of the scoring as CU took a 17-0 lead on a 45-yard scamper by RB Phillip Lindsay, a 39-yard FG by PK James Stefanou and a 31-yard pass from QB Steven Montez. CSU's lone score came on a 31-yard FG by PK Wyatt Bryan. The second half was a penalty filled scrimmage with CSU turning the ball over three times, while the Buffs committed two turnovers and missed a field goal. There's no way to hide how ugly a game this was.
Telling Stat: 3+3=L; Colorado State's three points plus three TDs called back equaled a loss to Colorado.
California 35- North Carolina 30: Cal football has been a pretty sad spectacle of late. Not much hope was held out for the Golden Bears to travel across country to Chapel Hill and beat North Carolina in a game that started at 9:20 AM California time. However, that's just what Cal did. The Bears found themselves down 17-7 late in the first half when QB Ross Bowers hit WR Vic Wharton with a 67-yard TD strike. The Bears then took the lead in the third period when Bowers connected on another long TD pass, finding WR Patrick Laird with a 54-yard scoring aerial. UNC retook the lead just before the the third period ended when WR Thomas Jackson scored on a four-yard pass from QB Chazz Surratt. Cal retook the lead for good on a 20-yard TD pass from Bowers to WR Jordan Duncan. Then they put the game away when RB Vic Enwere crossed the double stripe form one-yard out. UNC's last gasp was a one-yard TD run by Surratt as time expired that made the final score look closer than it really was. Bowers finished the game with 363 yards passing and four TDs. The Tar Heels top player was RB Michael Carter who gained 94 yards and scored 2 TDs on 11 rushing attempts.
Telling Stat: A pair of 11s for the win; Cal put together a pair of 11-play, 70+ yard TD drives in the fourth quarter to put away North Carolina.
Oregon State 35- Portland State 32: After being whipped last week by Colorado State, The Beavers returned to Corvallis for their home opener against a Portland State bunch that gave BYU all they could handle last week. Portland State stayed even with OSU the whole game and took a 32-28 lead with just 2:43 left to play. The Beavers used two QBs most of the game, but the game-winning drive was executed by Jake Luton who competed 18 of 25 passes for 235 yards, a TD and an interception on the day. OSU took a 35-32 lead when Luton hit WR Isaiah Hodgins from 17 yards out for the go ahead score. After the Beavers reclaimed the lead, PSU drove close enough for a field goal attempt to send the game to OT, but PK Graycen Kennedy's 46-yard attempt sailed wide as time ran out. PSU's Jalani Eason was the best player on the field. The Viking QB completed 11 of 18 passes for 164 yards and two TDs and also ran for 95 yards and two more scores on 11 carries.
Telling Stat: Four missed conversions= Loss; Portland State missed one PAT, had another blocked and failed on a pair of two-point conversions which doomed the Vikings upset chances in Corvallis.
Oregon 77- Southern Utah 21: The Willie Taggart era started with a bang in Eugene as Oregon KR Tony Brooks-James returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The Quacks then kept scoring like folks used to vote in Chicago; early and often. When it was over, the Ducks had piled up 703 total yards, 37 first downs and 77 points. Duck QB Justin Herbert completed 17 of 21 passes for 281 yards and a TD to lead all passers. UO RBs Royce Freeman and Kano Benoit combined to carry the rock 30 times for 257 yards and seven TDs. The greatly outmanned Southern Utah Thunderbirds from the Big Sky Conference were led by QB Patrick Tyler who threw for 197 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: 13 seconds; That's the length of time it took for Oregon to take a 7-0 lead and basically end the competitive portion of this game.
Washington State 31- Montana State 0: In yet another matchup between the Pac 12 and the Big Sky Conference, Wazzu passed their way to a much needed win. It was a much needed win because Wazzu had lost their prior two season openers to Big Sky members. The Cougar defense shut down the Bobcats from start to finish allowing only 7 first downs and 143 total yards. Wazzu QB Kevin Faulk sliced and diced the Bobcats, competing 33 of 39 tosses for 311 yards and three TDs. WR James Williams was his favorite target. He caught 13 passes for 163 yards and two scores. RB Jamal Morrow led all rushers with 89 yards on 10 carries and a TD of his own.
Telling Stat: They worked quickly; WSU's defensive shutdown of MSU left them with a light workload. The Cougar defense was on the field for only 47 plays. The average Bobcat drive lasted only five plays and covered a little over three yards.
Arizona 62- Northern Arizona 24: In another Pac 12-Big Sky matchup, the Wildcats hosted their in-state brethren from Flagstaff. The Wildcats had a few defensive breakdowns which led to UofA holding on to just a 21-14 lead late in the first half. Then, the UofA defense woke up, the offense kept scoring and a blowout was the result. No Wildcat gained over 100 yards on the ground, but as a team they rushed for 506 yards. QB Brandon Dawkins had a very unusual stat line. He rushed seven times and completed only seven passes out of 13 attempts, but led the Wildcat offense with 181 yards from scrimmage. He also accounted for three TDs; two rushing and one passing. For NAU, QB Case Cooks completed 21 of 38 passes for 306 yards and a pair in interceptions in the loss.
Telling Stat: 3:49 to Tuscon; Arizona scored 13 points in the final 3:49 of the second quarter to take control of the game with a 34-14 lead at intermission.
UCLA 45- Texas A&M 44: With 4:08 left in the third quarter, Texas A&M held a 44-10 lead over UCLA and all looked good in Aggieland. The bRuin fans were checking Zillow to see of Jim Mora's home had been put up for sale and rain was falling on the Rose Bowl. Then, the TAMU offense went into a shell when starting QB Nick Starkel was injured. That kept an Aggie defense on the field that thought the game was basically decided. UCLA didn't think it was over and mounted one of the largest comebacks ever in a span of just 19:08. After looking thoroughly rotten for most of the game, bRuin QB Josh Rosen started hitting everything in sight. He threw four TDs in the final period, including the game-winner with just :43 left on the clock. You can't have a great comeback without help on the other side. TAMU's play calling was just awful during their collapse. Their failure to just run the ball and kill clock greatly aided the bRuins victory effort.
Telling Stat: Long drives for the win; UCLA's comback was not a cheap one. Their five late TD drives covered 75, 85, 96, 74, and 66 yards.
Observations
...Rocky Mountain Anger; The Denver Post's Mark Kiszla wrote a column about the flag festival that was the Colorado-Colorado State game. Here's the link. Mile High Flag Festival I feel his anger, but I think he hasn't watched much Pac 12 football lately. The refs are this bad most of the time.
...Hyperbolic announcing; ASU's radio commentator described how WR John Humphrey used his "world class speed" to burn the New Mexico State secondary on a 60-yard TD catch. Nobody has needed world class speed to burn the NMSU secondary in a long, long time,
...Just a hunch; Something tells me that the real estate listings in College Station, TX area will increase by at least one home by the end of the season.
...Vessel Assist; The Minnesota team and faithful are all-in on HC PJ Fleck's "Row The Boat" mantra, but this Gophers team may need a motor for the boat after their lackluster win over Buffalo.
...Carnage in Atlanta; Florida State lost QB Deondre Francois for the year worth a broken knee cap, but Alabama lost starting OLBs Terrell Lewis (elbow) and Christian Miller (torn biceps) for the season too.
...Wrap and grab; USC found out that arm tackles didn't work against Western Michigan and they sure as heck won't work against Stanford this week.
...They came west; In a rare cross country trip for an FCS team, the Colagte Red Raiders from the Patriot League came to California and hung a 20-14 loss on Cal Poly SLO.
...Irish luck; ND should roll over Georgia with the Bulldogs QB out due to a knee injury.
...When 11-0 ain't much; The Pac 12 went 11-0 last weekend, But how impressive is that when five of those wins were over FCS opponents?
...Great call; I loved that Georgia Tech HC Paul Johnson went for two v. Tennessee.
...Crapped out in Vegas; I bet nobody from UNLV could even be comped to a bargain buffet ticket after their 43-40 loss to FCS also-ran Howard.
...Never again; USC should never allow any September home game to start before 5 PM.
...This just in; Baylor stinks.
...No respect; Idaho has opened up as a 6 1/2 point underdog to UNLV this week.
...Anchors Aweigh; Navy sunk Lane Kiffin's home debut as Florida Atlantic's HC with a 42-19 win over the Owls. Lane will get his first road loss this week as he leads the Owls into Camp Randall Stadium to face Wisconsin.
...Feeling the wide open spaces; The Pac 12 seems to have adopted the Big Sky Conference as their FCS little brother.
...Now, it gets serious; Yes, Fresno State you pounded that football power Incarnate Word, 66-0 to go 1-0. Remember that feeling as you head off to Alabama this week.
...Baylor redux; It must have been pretty surreal for current Liberty AD and former Baylor AD, Ian McCaw to watch his new school pull off the massive, 43-40 upset of his old school.
Pac 12 Week One Overreactions
Utah still plays to the level of their competition.
ASU has no defense.
Washington's Jake Browning has no pocket awareness.
Colorado is not what they were last year.
Cal has found their next great QB in Ross Bowers.
Oregon State will go 0-9 in Pac 12 play.
USC only has one good receiver.
Oregon is an offensive juggernaut.
Washington State has an elite defense.
Arizona has no passing game.
UCLA's Josh Rosen will last the full season.
Stanford ain't that tough.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
They were the winner last week in a preview for this week and won this week going away. Yes, the Michigan Wolverines win for the hideous all-maize uniforms they wore v. Florida.
Special Section: Jake Olson
Jake snaps!
Jake Postgame
From Our Field Office In Honolulu, HI
...The CFL is just his side gig; Before recently being named the new HC of Hamilton Tiger-Cats, June Jones was the AD at the Hawaiian prep powerhouse known as the Saint Louis School. Well, he didn't really leave. He still is the AD of SLS and has people in place at "Associate Director" positions for both Athletic and Development at the school to handle the day-to-day duties while he is gone. Those associates have been keeping him informed of what's going on as he runs the Tiger-Cats. That information was distributed to the SLS family through an email. Jones will be back to SLS when the CFL season ends. I give credit to Jones for finding a great way to escape the Canadian winter.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Glassboro, NJ- PK Tyler Knighton connected on field goals of 21 and 32 yards to lead the Rowan Profs to a 6-0 win over the Widener Pride. The Rowan defense was stout, holding Widener to -15 yards rushing, 131 total yards and just five first downs for the afternoon.
Blowout of the Week: Collegeville, MN- We start off this year with the biggest blowout in the history of this department. The Johnnies of Saint John's University almost hit triple digits in a 98-0 destruction of St. Scholastica. Yes, the final score was 98-0. The Johnnies only gained 560 total yards, but they had many short fields due to averaging around 25 yards per punt return. SJU did empty their bench too. 97 different Johnnies saw the field in this laugher. Meanwhile, CSS gained only 52 total yards and were held to -7 yards rushing. SJU could have broken the century mark, but just ran out the clock deep in CSS territory.
C.W. Post Press: Brookville, NY- The Pioneers continued their winning ways from last year with a 42-13 season opening thrashing of the Virginia Union Panthers. The Pioneers fell behind early, trailing 7-0 after one period of play. VUU RB Aaron Baker found paydirt form three yards out to stake the Panthers to the early lead. Post dominated the middle two quarters, outscoring VUU, 35-6 to put a stranglehold on the game. New Post QB Yianni Gavalas was sharp, completing 15 of 22 tosses for 273 yards and four TDs. Aside form their lone TD, VUU's other points came on a pair of field goals by PK Jefferson Souza. Up next for the 1-0 Pioneers is their Northeast 10 Conference opener at the University of New Haven.
Razorback Report: The Hogs opened up their 2017 campaign with an easy, 49-7 thrashing of the Florida A&M Rattlers. Arkansas RBs Devwah Whaley and Chase Hayden cabinet to lug the leather 26 times for 180 yards and two TDs while QB Austin Allen efficiently completed 14 of 19 throws for 135 yards and a touchdown. Up next for the Hogs is a home date with old SWC foe TCU.
Georgetown Football News: The Hoyas don't start their season until September 9th where they will take a trip to Bules Creek, NC to take on the Campbell Camels.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
I love Tri-Tip tacos.
A comfortable couch is a true luxury.
There's still a pretty good thrill in finding a couple of bucks in an old jacket pocket.
Until next week folks, remember that most teams make their greatest improvements in the second week of the season.
-The Commissioner
