It's time for another edition of the column that makes your Tuesdays great, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud
Summaries
USC 27- Texas 24 2OT: It's hard to describe this thriller at the Coliseum. I still can't wrap my head around it. I know the USC defense held Texas out of the end zone for the first 59:15 of the game, yet the Trojans needed a Sam Darnold, cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow drive in the final :45 of regulation to send this game to OT thanks to the foot of true freshman, walk-on PK Chase McGrath. Then, the USC defense came up huge in the second OT when DT Christian Rector ripped the ball out of UT QB Sam Ehlinger's hands and was recovered by his teammates. The game would then end when the walk-on PK that nobody heard of, calmly nailed a 43-yarder to send the home crowd to the exits ecstatic with the win, but also frustrated and freaked out too. This game left this intrepid reporter with some blatantly clear observations. One, USC's Wide Receivers need to step up their game. Two, USC's defense is far better than last year's squad. Three, Sam Darnold continues to be flat out tough as nails under pressure. Four, never underestimate the pride and toughness of one of college football's historical powers in a big game. Texas should not have been in this game with the Trojans, but USC's miscues combined with the pride and intensity of the Longhorns turned this game into the thriller that it was. Sometimes, you just have to gut out a win when you aren't hitting on all cylinders and USC did that. That's what championship level teams do. USC is one of those teams. Darnold finished the game with 397 yards passing, three TDs and two interceptions. Texas QB Sam Ehlinger competed 21 of 40 passes for 298 yards with two TDs and two interceptions in the loss.
Telling Stat: 27 in 3:20; That was the total elapsed time of USC's scoring drives in this game. 10 USC points came in OT where no time runs and 10 more USC points came in the 19 seconds before the half and the final 45 seconds of regulation play.
Arizona 63- UTEP 16: The Wildcats needed to jump start their struggling offense and they did just that in El Paso. After a scoreless first quarter, UofA exploded for 35 second quarter points to take a 35-9 lead over the Miners into the break. UofA QB Brandon Dawkins Threw for TDs of 2 and 36 yards and ran for TDs of 5 and 3 yards to go with a 63-yard punt return by PR Shun Brown in the 35 point barrage. If that scoring barrage didn't send the crowd home early, Dawkins then lit the scoreboard up again with a 13-yard run and a 1-yard pass in the third quarter to really empty the place out. Throw in two more Wildcat scores after the benches emptied and the rout was complete. Dawkins' day was his best yet. He completed 18 of 21 passes for 155 yards and three TDs, while also rushing for 133 yards on 14 carries and three more TDs. QB Zack Greenlee threw for 104 yards, a TD and an interception in the lopsided loss.
Telling Stat; 288-218; Arizona's Brandon Dawkins gained 70 more yards than UTEP's entire offense in this laugher.
Memphis 48- UCLA 45: After a sluggish first quarter, this game turned into a shootout with the Memphis Tigers having the more efficient gunslinger. bRuin QB Josh Rosen, lit up the stat sheet. He completed 34 of 56 passes for 463 yards and four TDs. He also ran for 32 yards and a TD. However, he did throw two interceptions. The first one he threw was retuned for a TD and that was the difference int he game. Meanwhile, Memphis QB Riley Ferguson completed 23 of 38 passes for 398 yards, six TDs and one interception on the day. When it was over, the two squads combined for 93 points, 57 first downs, and 1,193 yards of offense.
Telling Stat: No third downs needed; Memphis walked away with the win here despite converting on just 3 of 12 third downs.
Colorado 41- Northern Colorado 21: The Buffaloes squared off against the Bears from Greeley for the first time since 1934. CU overcame three turnovers, 14 penalties for 114 yards and having two defenders ejected on targeting calls to pull out the win. Northern Colorado had no real answer for Buffs QB Steven Montez. He completed 29 of 41 passes for 357 yards and four TDs to lead the CU offense. He also scrambled well, gaining 68 yards on 10 carries which further frustrated the Bears defense. CU's real rushing standout was RB Phillip Lindsay who lugged the leather 26 times for 151 yards and a TD. UNC stayed in the game due to their opportunistic defense, closing to within a TD of the Buffaloes early in the third period. However, that's as close as the Bears would get as the CU defense shutout their FCS brethren for the rest of the game. UNC QB Jacob Knipp threw for 202 yards, three TDs and a pick in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: 27:28 of 0= a W; The Colorado defense shutout UNC for final 27:28 of the game to push the Buffaloes to a 3-0 record.
Washington State 52- Oregon State 23: The Beavers hung around into the third quarter with the Cougars. They trailed 28-16 midway through the third stanza, but WSU scored 21 points in a five minute span to put the Beavers away. Wazzu QB Luke Falk bounced back from being injured last week v Boise State in fine fashion. He completed 37 of 49 passes for 396 yards and six TDs. OSU QB Jake Luton did not live up to his preseason hype once again. He threw for only 179 yards with no TDs. OSU's standout was RB Rian Nall. He gained 118 yards on 15 carries and scored two TDs.
Telling Stat: Almost all between the 20s; Oregon Sate did run 70 plays and gain 354 yards on the WSU defense, however the Beavers only ran three of those plays for 30 total yards in the red zone.
Oregon 49 - Wyoming 13: This one was billed as a tough road stop for the Ducks as they would have to battle the altitude in Laramie and Wyoming's star QB and NFL prospect Josh Allen. The Ducks handled the altitude and Allen with ease in blowout fashion. after establishing a 14-10 lead after the first period, UO put up 28 unanswered in the second quarter to officially end this game at the half. Duck RB Royce Freeman just couldn't be stopped, rushing for 157 yards and three TDs on 30 carries. His backfield mate Kani Benoit only carried the ball eight times, but he ran for 48 yards and two TDs. Quack QB Justin Herbert didn't have a bad day either. He completed 18 of 29 tosses for 251 yards, a TD and an interception. As for Josh Allen, he was harassed all night by the Oregon defense, being held to just 9 of 24 passing for 64 yards and an interception.
Telling Stat: Stuck in the Corral; The Oregon defense kept Wyoming penned up all night. The Cowboys only ran 56 offensive plays in the whole game. The Ducks had taken 59 snaps by halftime.
Texas Tech 52- Arizona State 45: After a one hour weather delay in Lubbock, The Red Raiders and Sun Devils played another shootout to rival last year's 68-55 affair. Texas Tech had the upper hand in the first half, rolling out to a 35-17 halftime lead behind five TD tosses from QB Nic Shimonek. ASU's defense got its' act together in the second half, slowing Tech down just enough to allow their offense to mount a comeback. TD runs by RB Karen Ballage and Frank Darby along with a short TD pass from QB Manny Wilkins to TE Kyle Williams left ASU trailing, 45-38 to start the final quarter. ASU then tied the contest with 9:52 left when Wilkins hit WR N'Keal Harry with a 21-yard TD pass. Both teams then traded punts with ASU getting the better of the field position. Texas Tech started their game-winning drive at their own 10-yard line. Shimonek marched his Red Raiders down the field on a 12 play drive to win the game. WR Dylan Cantrell tallied the winning points when he took a handoff on a sweep and crossed the double stripe from three yards out. ASU's last chance to send the game to OT ended when Wilkins fourth down pass sailed incomplete from his own 17-yard line. Nic Shimonek had himself a game. He completed 37 of 50 passes for 543 yards and six TDs. His two favorite targets were Keke Coutee and Dylan Cantrell. Coutee grabbed 12 passes for 186 yards and a TD, while Cantrell caught eight passes for 160 yards and two TDs. For the Sun Devils, Manny Wilkins competed 27 of 41 aerials for 326 area and three scores. His two favorite receivers were the combo of Harry and Williams. N'Keal Harry caught 13 passes for 148 yards and a TD, while Kyle Williams caught seven balls for 111 yards and two scores.
Telling Stat: They made a play; With ASU facing a 3rd-and-15 from their own 32, Texas Tech defenders Zach Barnes and Eli Howard combined to sack ASU QB Manny Wilkins for a 15-yard loss to effectively snuff out ASU's last chance to win.
Washington 48- Fresno State 16: Stop me if you've heard this before. The Huskies get off to very quick start and blew out another weak out of conference team at home. This past Saturday's victim was a Fresno State squad that just got smacked by Alabama the prior week. WR Dante Pettis had himself a day to remember. He scored four TDs. He caught three TD passes from Jake Browning which included a 73-yarder. He also ran another punt back for a TD. This return covered 77 yards. Oh, and he was completed a pass for 36 yards. He finished the day with 204 all purpose yards. Browning worked into the third quarter and completed 19 of 22 passes for 255 yards and four TDs before the benches were emptied. There was no Fresno State offense to report.
Telling Stat: 9:39; That's how long took Washington to jump out to a 27-0 lead and end this game quickly.
Utah 54 - San Jose State 16: San Jose State decided that they wanted to trade giving up 50+ points for a paycheck for the second week in row. The Utes were happy to oblige the Spartans, rolling up 501 yards of offense in the process. The Utes started off sluggish, settling for three field goals and fumbling once on the first quarter. Up 9-3 in the second quarter, the Utes put together three TDs to put this game out of reach. Two TD passes from QB Tyler Huntley to WR Darren Carrington and a five-yard TD jaunt from RB Zack Moss staked Utah to a 30-13 halftime advantage. Huntley threw two more TD passes in the seance half as the Utes cruised to the win. Huntley finished the game with 30 completions in 41 passing attempts for 341 yards, four TDs and an interception. Huntley also led all rushers with 53 yards on 14 carries. The RB Tandem of Zach Moss and Devonta'e Henry-Cole combined to rush for 86 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. SJSU QB Josh Love threw for 183 yards and a TD in the loss.
Telling Stat: They couldn't move the chains; Utah kept the SJSU offense in check all game and especially on third down. The Spartans converted only one third down in 13 attempts.
San Diego State 20- Stanford 17: Stanford entered what many folks still like to call Jack Murphy Stadium hoping to right their ship after losing last week at USC. SDSU had other ideas. The Aztec defense made the Stanford's power rushing offense look as outdated as the wishbone. SDSU held Stanford to 254 total yards and a paltry eight first downs. The Aztec offense didn't take much advantage of this defensive effort. In fact, the sons of Montezuma were trailing 17-13 with 6:03 to play. Then, they put together their best drive of the year. Four plays into the drive it looked like things would go dark for Stanford. Then, everything went dark. The lights went out at The Murph. After around an 18 minute delay, the lights were on and the game resumed. SDSU picked up where they left off and scored the go ahead touchdown when QB Christian Chapman completed a short toss to TE David Wells. Wells rumbled eight yards to paydirt. The SDSU defense put the final nail in Stanford's coffin when DB Kameron Kelly picked of SU QB Keller Chryst with 48 seconds left.
Telling Stat: Aztec sacrifice; The SDSU defense cut the heart out of the Stanford offense. The Aztec defense was so tough that Stanford only racked 18:46 time of possession and ran just 41 offensive plays.
California 27- Mississippi 16: Things looked pretty good for the Rebels as they had intercepted Cal QB Ross Bowers twice on the way to building up a 16-7 halftime advantage. Then Cal's got downright defensive about things and shutdown the Rebels the rest of the way to pave the way for a comeback win. Bowers decided it was better to throw to his own guys and guided his squad on scoring drive to open the third quarter. He capped off that drive with a 19-yard TD pass to WR Vic Wharton III to bring Cal within two points of Ole Miss. Then, Cal took the lead for good on a 19-yard field goal buy PK Matt Anderson. Another FG by Anderson would give Cal a 20-16 lead with 3:44 to play. On the ensuing drive, Cal put the game away when LB Cameron Goode picked off Rebel QB Shea Patterson and returned it 32-yards for a TD. Bowers finished the game with 24 completions in 47 attempts for 236 yards, a TD and two interceptions. For Ole Miss, Patterson completed 26 of 44 passes for 363 yards, two TDs and three interceptions.
Telling Stat: Second Half Shutdown; In the final 30 minutes, Cal's defense shutout Ole Miss while scoring a TD of their own to put this game firmly in the win column.
Observations
...9-12-09; That was the date of the Kansas Jayhawks last road win. After losing to Ohio U on Saturday, the Jayhawks road losing streak stands at 42 games. That is three shy of the NCAA record.
...2-0; Wonder what the prop bet would be in Las Vegas to see if the SDSU will finish with more Pac 12 wins than Oregon State.
...It's fun, eh?; Sometimes, you have to be reminded just how much fun it is to run with the ball. Thank you, Calgary Stampeders of the CFL. Please forward to the 3:55 mark of this video.
The Happy Punter
...Tough but true; Stanford is winless in North America this year.
...Travelling woes; We all forget to pack something when heading out on a road trip. UCLA forgot to pack their defense.
...Definiton of frustration; My recording of the USC-Texas game ends right before the second OT period begins.
...Quietly making noise; Vanderbilt is 3-0.
...Just can't do it; Most of USC Punter Reid Budrovich's punts are like in-store sale items; Nasty looking and non-retrunable.
...A double edged pitchfork; Arizona State leads the Pac 12 with 13 QB sacks, they also lead the conference in sacks allowed with 15.
...Fashionably late; The Ivy League has finally started play this past weekend.
...That is a challenge; Mississippi State HC Dane Mullen was asked about what challenges his squad will face this coming Saturday vs. Georgia. His response was, "You mean besides all the 5-star (UGA) players?"
...Definition of embarrassment; Nebraska cut an 820,000 dollar check to lose to Northern Illinois.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that USC's wideouts didn't go over the film of the Texas game because they kept dropping the key to the film room.
...A Big Four in Pullman; By guiding his Cougars to victory over Oregon State, Luke Falk became the first Wazzu QB to ever notch four victories over a single opponent.
...A little shine off the penny; Not matter how good SDSU has been the last two seasons, the Aztecs' upset of Stanford takes USC's win over Stanford down a few notches.
...The kid is nails; Utah PK Matt Gay is perfect this season. He's hit on all 11 field goal attempts, including a 56-yarder and is also a perfect 11 for 11 on extra points too.
...Must be that time of year; It must be football season if I'm spending time online reading newspapers like the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
...Cancelled; Occidental College cancelled their home opener with Pacific University (OR) due to a lack of players. According to the press release by AD Jaime A. Hoffman, "Since last week's game against the University of Puget Sound, the size of the roster has diminished to the point that we cannot effectively field a team this weekend." Oxy's next scheduled game is September 30th. No decisions have been made as to whether the Tigers will take the field for that game yet.
...Teams on a mission; Right now, Oklahoma State and Penn State are looking pretty focused and hard to beat.
...The kid nailed it... twice; Here's a video you need to see to believe. Double Kick
...Further Definiton of embarrassment; Nebraska HC Mike Riley was given a contract extension before losing to Northern Illinois.
...Ugly quickly; Massachusetts is already 0-4 and will most likely be 0-6 at the end of September.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that BYU has equipped their offense with personal GPS units to help them find the end zone. BYU has scored just one TD in their last 14 quarters of play, and just three TDs total this year.
Pac 12 Week Three Overreactions
California is looking as good as it did in the early days under Jeff Tedford.
Colorado will bore three Pac 12 teams to death.
Oregon's offense will average 49 points a game.
Todd Graham will be fired soon at ASU.
Washington will score a special teams touchdown every week.
USC's wide receivers will cost the Trojans at least two games.
UCLA has no defense.
Washington State will eventually have to play a road game.
Rich Rodriguez will have to be physically restrained during an Arizona game.
Oregon State will go 0-9 in Pac 12 play.
Utah is almost as boring as Colorado.
Stanford ain't that tough.
Funny Uniform Picture of the Week
Thanks for the laugh, Louisville.
Departments
Low Score game of the Week: Athens, WV- This week's award winner comes from the Division II ranks. Specifically, the Mountain East Conference where with 6:35 to play in the fourth quarter, DB Jeremiah Johnson picked off a pass and returned it 35 yards for a TD to give the Mountain Lions of Concord University a 7-0 win over the University of Virginia- Wise Mountain Cavaliers. Concord needed their defense to win this game as their offense was held to 131 total yards and just seven first downs.
Blowout of the Week: Albion, MI- Our blowout comes from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Albion Britons walloped the Concordia University (WI) Falcons, 79-7. QB Kyle Thomas had a great day, competing 20 of 26 passes for 344 yards and two TDs. Thomas also ran for 62 yards on seven carries and another score. The Britons ran up 40 first down and 746 total yards of offense.
Georgetown Football News: Washington, D.C.- The Hoyas found themselves down 14-0 at the half to the Marist Red Foxes. The Hoyas did mount a comeback that should of at least sent the game to overtime. However a blocked PAT and a missed two-point conversion late in the final period sent the Hoyas down to defeat, 14-12. GU QB Tim Barnes competed 21 of 40 passes for 217 yards and a TD. He also sacked four times.
C.W Post Press- Part I: West Haven, CT- In a great omission last week, the Pioneers of Post did not get covered. Well, this intrepid reporter did miss a barn-burner. University of New Haven PK Danny Stock's 27-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left as time ran out and the Pioneers held on for a 35-34 victory over the Chargers. Post QB Yianni Gavalas completed 41 of 54 passes for 405 yards and four TDs in this shootout.
C.W. Post Press- Part II: Brookville, NY- This past Saturday was a little easier for the Pioneers. They whipped the Stonehill College Skyhawks, 51-16. The Pioneers did trail, 16-13 midway through the second quarter before scoring 38 unanswered points to turn this game into a rout. QB Yianni Gavalas had another big day, completing 35 of 43 tosses for 406 yards and a TD. Post also ran the ball well. seven different Pioneers combined to carry the ball 41 times for 223 yards and three scores. Up next for Post is a trip to Waltham, MA to take on Bentley University.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing
It's always fun to watch cruise ships leave the harbor.
Late September through October is the prettiest time of year in California.
You just can't beat the simplicity of ham and eggs for a great breakfast.
Until next time folks, remember that you always need a little luck to win a bunch of games.
-The Commissioner
