It's time for the column that makes Tuesdays feel like Saturdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Mal Florence.
USC 38- Oregon State 10: The Trojans offense came out and put up a quick 14 points on the Beavers looking like they had put the inconsistency that had plagued them in recent weeks behind them. Then, the offense reverted to their inconsistent selves. Turnovers, missed blocks, and dropped balls handed the Beavers many opportunities to take control of the game. However, USC's defense and the Beavers blatant ineptitude made sure that USC would not fall to the Pac 12's cellar dwellers. On the bright side for USC, a ton of players saw playing time including backup QB Matt Fink who calmly took the ball on an option in the fourth quarter and raced by everyone for a 51 yard TD. Also, for USC, the injury list for the Trojans was a small one for the first time all season. When it was over, USC QB Sam Darnold completed 23 of 35 passes for 316 yards and three TDs. He also threw an interception and fumbled once. RB Ronald Jones led all rushers with 79 yards and a TD on 12 carries. OSU QB Darrell Garretson thew for 197 yards in the loss for the Beavers.
Telling Stat: They held them out; The USC defense blocked a field goal, forced another missed field goal, held for downs once and forced a Beaver fumble all in the red zone to cover a multitude of sins by the USC offense.
Washington State 33- Oregon 10: The Cougars came in with an experienced senior QB in Luke Falk, while the Ducks had to rely on true freshman QB Braxton Burmeister. Burmeister was forced into action because the Ducks lost both of their top two QBs due to injury last week v. Cal. The experience won out despite some inspired play by the UO defense. Falk did senior level work, moving the Cougars towards points on seven different drives while Burmeister just could not make the plays to keep drives alive. Falk threw for 282 yards, three TDs and no interceptions while Burmeister was held to just 145 yards passing, one TD and was picked off twice. WSU PK Erik Powell had a great night for the Cougs. He was perfect on four field goal attempts, including a career long 52-yarder in the Eugene rain.
Telling Stat; Threes are just fine: With an inexperienced signal caller on the other side, Wazzu's ability to grind out drives was the difference in the game. Each of WSU's four field goals made impacts like touchdowns.
Washington 38- California 7: The Golden Bears came out with a game plan to stop Husky wideout Dante Pettis. Cal did hold Pettis to just 48 yards receiving, however they didn't contain RB Myles Gaskin, TE Hunter Bryant or QB Jake Browining. Browning completed 27 of 40 passes for 215 yards and a pair of scores. Bryant caught nine of those passes for 121 yards and a TD. Gaskin carried the ball 24 times for 91 yards and two TDs. Those all added up to UW's 31-0 lead in the third quarter. Meanwhile, the Husky defense had an easy time with the Cal offense. They crashed through the Bear O-line with ease dumping Cal QBs eight times for sacks. Those sacks and a more than stingy rush defense held Cal to -40 rushing yards and 93 yards of total offense.
Telling Stat: 9+2+1=12=0; Cal had 12 possessions in the game. They punted nine times, fumbled twice, and were held for downs once. The Husky defense pitched a shutout. Cal's only points came on a fumble that was returned for a TD after UW already held a 31-0 lead.
Stanford 23- Utah 20: The Cardinal went to Utah and played a very solid game for 56+ minutes. Then, they made two bonehead plays in the final 3+ minutes to almost give away the game to the Utes. Stanford held a 16-10 lead with 12:02 to play. The Utah defense had stuffed the box all night and had controlled RB Bryce Love to this point. The Utes defense finally broke down and Love sliced past the line and raced 68 yards to paydirt to give the Cardinal a 23-13 lead. Utah's offense moved through fits and starts all night. QB Troy Williams flat out didn't see some open receivers and then was inaccurate on many easy throws that either became incompletions or turnovers. However Stanford helped him out Utah with 3:35 to go. In a span of four plays, the Cardinal committed two targeting fouls. LB Peter Kalambayi and NT Harrison Phillips were both ejected and Utah suddenly had the ball near midfield. Three completions later, Utah trailed only 23-20 thanks to an 18-yard TD toss from Williams to WR Darren Carrington II with :44 left. Utah then tried an onside kick which after scramble was recovered by the Cardinal to end the game. Williams finished the night with 238 yards passing, a TD and two interceptions for the Utes. Bryce Love ended up with 20 carries for 152 yards and a TD in game where he looked to have been "contained" for the most part by the Utes.
Telling Stat: -3=L; Utah played Stanford well enough to win, but the Utes were -3 in the turnover department and that was the difference in the game.
Arizona 45- Colorado 42: On the opening drive of the game, UofA QB Brandon Dawkins was knocked out of the contest when he was hit late out of bounds by the Colorado defense. That late it turned out to be one of the costliest late hits in a long time. In Dawkins stead came in current backup QB and former starting QB Khalil Tate. Tate ran around, over, and through the Buffalo defense for 327 yards rushing and four TDs on just 14 carries. Tate's 327 yards rushing set a new FBS record for yards rushing in a game by a QB. Tate also completed 11 of 12 passes for 142 yards and a TD too. UofA needed every bit of Tate's heroics as the Wildcat defense had its' own troubles. The Wildcat defense didn't really stop CU QB Steven Montez or RB Philip Lindsay. Montez competed 19 of 32 passes for 251 yards and three TDs, while Lindsay lugged the leather 41 times for 281 yards and three TDs of his own. The two squads combined for 1,118 yards of offense, 54 first downs and converted 22 of 28 third down conversions.
Telling Stat: 5:04 to Tucson; Colorado scored a TD to close within three points of Arizona with 5:04 left to play. The Buffaloes never recored another snap on offense. Arizona ran out the clock with a 10 play drive that covered 56 yards.
Observations
...Great and yet unseen; Stanford's Bryce Love might be the second Stanford RB in three years to lose a shot at the Heisman due to the Pac 12's horrendous TV contract. Thanks, Larry Scott.
...Wheels turning in Corvallis; OSU HC Gary Andersen has resigned. He was just 7-23 in 2 1/2 seasons at the helm. Andersen leaving midway through the season was unexpected. Andersen waiving the remainder his contract was too.. He left a few million on the table saying in a statement that "Coaching is not about the almighty dollar." This intrepid reporter is among the skeptics that don't buy that statement. I'm thinking that Andersen waived the deal so he could coach anywhere next year without any legal entanglements. I think he has the BYU job in mind. It would be a return to The Beehive State for Andersen as he was the HC at Utah State a few years back.
...A quiet yard; With over 12 minutes left and a 10-point deficit, the lack of confidence of the crowd in Utah's ability to come back on Stanford could be felt through the TV.
...Recipe for boredom; Mix an inconsistent USC offense with an inept opponent in Oregon State then bake the Coliseum at 97 degrees for three hours.
...The hero they knew; Iowa State former starting QB and current starting MLB Joel Lanning was simply everywhere for the Cyclones in their 38-31 upset of Oklahoma. He played 57 snaps on defense where he made eight tackles, sacked the QB once and recovered a fumble. On offense he completed two of three passes for 25 yards and ran the ball nine times for 35 yards. He also was in on eight plays on special teams. He swept over OU like a Cyclone.
...Arrogance is a four letter network; UW HC Chris Petersen's complaints about late start times were heard by the folks at ESPN and they didn't waste words slamming Petersen for his comments. From this article article from 247 Sports, ESPN's view is that the Pac 12 is just lucky that they show their games. Piling On
...The hero they didn't know; With Iowa State's starting QB out for "undisclosed medical issues", fifth year senior Kyle Kempt calmly led the Cyclones to an upset of the Oklahoma. Kempt came from nowhere to be an unlikely hero. His college career started at Oregon State under Mike Riley, but when Riley left for Nebraska, he was informed that his drop back style wasn't needed by incoming HC Gary Andersen (insert irony here). He left OSU and transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Kansas where he never played. He then reached out to the man who had once recruited him, ISU HC Matt Campbell and asked to walk on. Campbell welcomed him and the rest is now history.
...A hurting consensus; The consensus of our tailgate group is that there are far more season ending injuries around college football this year than in the past few seasons.
...Wheels turning in Corvallis- Part II; With Gary Andersen gone and OSU with money in the bank, I think the Beavers will take a shot at bringing Mike Riley back after he's fired at Nebraska.
...Broken bottles, police cars, and poor officiating; This week's Oklahoma-Texas game will feature two first-year HCs on the field. The last time that happened in this rivalry was 70 years ago and oh what a game it was. It was a wild one to say the least. Y'all need to read this!
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that the Boulder police issued a missing persons report on the Colorado and Arizona defenses that both vanished shortly after kickoff on Saturday.
...Quietly making noise; Army is 4-2. The Black Knights of the Hudson may make a bowl this year.
...Cranking up that dial; Bret Beilema's hot seat has been turned up to inferno level at Arkansas after the Hogs were embarrassed at South Carolina this week.
...And then there were five; Baylor, Charlotte, UTEP, UMass, and Georgia Southern are the only winless teams left in the FBS.
...Better ask mom; Utah has suffered through some bad snaps on their special teams unit the last few weeks. However, if HC Kyle Whittingham wants to change long snappers he may have to get permission from his wife. Utah's long snapper is Whttingham's son Alex.
...The unspoken of tradition; After Jim Harbaugh spoke up about bad accommodations for visiting teams, this article popped up on ESPN. There are a couple classic quotes by WSU HC Mike Leach which make it worth the read. Dumps
Special Section: Seven Fun Facts About Western Michigan's 71-68, 7 OT win over Buffalo
1. It was the highest scoring FBS game ever. The 139 total points eclipsed the mark of 137 total points when Pitt beat Syracuse 76-61. Oh, and the Pitt-Syracuse game never went to overtime.
2. There have only been three other 7 OT games in FBS history with Arkansas winning two of those games. In 2001 The Hogs beat Ole Miss, 58-56. Then in 2003, they beat Kentucky, 71-63.
3. The losing QB put up crazy numbers. Buffalo's Drew Anderson completed 35 of 61 passes for 597 yards and seven TDs. Three of his receivers had over 100 yards receiving in the game.
4. Buffalo covered the spread; Buffalo came into the game as seven point underdogs. Also, in case you were wondering, the Over/Under for the game was 51 points.
5. The two teams combined to run 186 offensive plays for 1,328 total yards. They also combined for 63 first downs and converted on 20 of 38 third downs.
6. Oddball stat; There were 22 scoring plays in this game, which is one more scoring play than actual offensive plays ran by Stanford in the second half v Utah last Saturday.
7. There was one really happy sister. She rushed the field!
Pac 12 Overreactions
Cal's only other win this year will be over OSU.
Colorado won't make a bowl.
USC will lose at least two more games without a change at OC.
Utah's special teams will cost them a game.
Washington won't be challenged until they play at Stanford.
Stanford is boring.
Wazzu is getting the breaks they just don't normally get and can win the Pac 12 North.
Oregon State will go 0-9 in Pac 12 play.
Arizona will go 3-6 in Pac 12 play.
Oregon may hold open tryouts at QB this week.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
Who says you can't go home again? We proudly return to the school that is the inspiration for this part of the blog, Oregon. Their all-yellow ensemble v. Wazzu easily out-uglies all others. Way to go, Quacks!
Departments
Low Score game of the Week: Shawnee, OK- The Henderson State Reddies stopped a two-point conversion attempt with :10 left to hold off the Oklahoma Baptist Bison, 14-13. HSU moved to 3-3 on the season, but extended their road winning streak to 29 games which is a record for D-II football. HSU's scoring came on a pair of short TD runs by RB Andrew Black. Black only gained 16 yards on five carries, but he made those carries count. His backfield mate, Blake Faulk gained 146 yards on 13 carries.
Blowout of the Week: Burnaby, BC- Well, here's another blowout featuring Simon Fraser University. They are the NCAA's only Canadian team and maybe they should switch back to the 110 yard game. The Wolves of Western Oregon whipped SFU, 82-21. QB Nick Duckworth completed 14 of 23 passes for 294 yards and six TDs to lead the WOU attack. Simon Fraser has given up an average of 74 points per game in conference play. They are members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference which only has five football members. Each school plays each other twice in conference play. That means that SFU is likely facing four more similar losses.
C.W. Post Press: The Pioneers had a bye this past Saturday and will host Assumption College for Homecoming this week.
Georgetown Football News: Princeton, NJ- The Hoyas came out strong and took a quick, 10-0 lead on Princeton. The Tigers then scored the next 50 points to take a 50-10 lead midway through the third quarter. GU mounted a mild comeback, but ended up on the wrong end of a 50-30 final score. GU QB Gunther Johnson ran for 24 yards and one TD while also passing for 146 yards in the losing effort. For Princeton, QB Chad Kanoff completed 25 of 29 passes for 313 yards and four TDs. Up next for the Hoyas will be their Patriot League opener at Lehigh.
Razorback Report: The Hogs went to South Carolina and were embarrassed by the Gamecocks, 48-22. South Carolina scored three defensive TDs to put away the Hogs. Two TDs came on interception returns and the third came on a fumble return. Throw in three TD passes form SoCar's Jake Bentley and the rout was complete. Up next for the Hogs is a trip to Alabama to face the Crimson Tide.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
AA Batteries are the under appreciated pillar of society.
Fire ash and fog are a bad combination.
The Cutco spreader is the essential kitchen tool.
Until next time folks, remember that a good defense can hide a multitude of offensive sins.
-The Commissioner
