Happy Halloween to all and I hope the candy rolls in for all of you tonight. Here's the treat of another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Dr. Z, Paul Zimmerman.
Summaries
USC 48- Arizona State 17: The Trojans came to Tempe and stuck a pitchfork in the Sun Devils. The Trojans that turned in that embarrassing effort last week at Notre Dame were nowhere to be seen at ASU. Last Saturday's Trojans built up a 31-3 lead in the first 29 minutes of the first half due to three TD passes from QB San Darnold, a 67-yard TD run form RB Ronald Jones II and a 51-yard field goal from PK Chase McGrath. The last minute of the half was an adventure that led to a Hail Mary TD being handed to the Sun Devils by a USC secondary that didn't knock down the pass and a Pac 12 replay crew that decided that no clear angle was good enough for them to overturn the call on the field of incomplete. The Trojans and Sun Devils were brought out of the locker room for the PAT. ASU then took the second half kickoff and drove 75-yards in 11 plays to cut USC's lead to 31-17 on a one-yard TD plunge by QB Manny Wilkins. The Trojans then dashed ASU's comeback hopes when Jones busted a 64-yard TD run through the tired Sun Devils defense. While the USC offense was having a fine game, the defense played pretty well too. SC registered six sacks with DE Uchenna Nwosu and DT Rasheem Green getting three each. The defense also scored the final points of the night when DB Ykili Ross picked off a pass and took it back 37 yards to paydirt. For USC, Sam Darnold completed 19 of 35 passes for 266 yards and three TDs. His favorite target was emerging star wideout Tyler Vaughns who grabbed six passes for 126 yards and two scores. Jones led SC's rushing attack with 216 yards on 18 carries and those two long TD runs. For ASU, Wilkins threw for 259 yards and a TD when he wasn't trying to run away from USC's pass rush.
Telling Stat: They couldn't move the chains; One of the big keys to USC's victory was holding Arizona State to just 1 of 12 one third down conversions.
Washington 44- UCLA 23: The bRuins went to Seattle and played tough for about 20 minutes, then the Huskies proceeded to blowout their visitors. The Huskies took advantage of UCLA's pourous rush defense. The Dawgs rushed for 333 yards on the day with RBs Myles Gaskin and Lavon Coleman doing the damage. Gaskin rushed for 159 yards on 27 carries and a TD while Coleman rushed for 94 yards on 14 carries with three TDs. It was a light day for UW QB Jake Browning who put up very Stanford-like stats. He completed eight of 11 tosses for 98 yards. As for UCLA, QB Josh Rosen was battered for almost a full three quarters by the Dawgs defense before exiting the game with an injury to his non-throwing hand. WR Darren Andrews was UCLA's top offense player with eight receptions for 73 yards and a TD. The UW defense held UCLA to just 232 total yards and just 3 of 14 on third downs.
Telling Stat: 58/12; When you are facing the worst rushing defense in the league why throw? Washington ran the ball 58 times and passed just 12 times to literally run UCLA out of Husky Stadium.
Stanford 15- Oregon State 14: In another one of those wacky weekday encounters, the Beavers almost took out the Cardinal. Stanford entered the game without Bryce Love and their offense suffered. The Cardinal were held to 81 yards rushing with RB Cameron Scarlett showing that he was no Bryce Love, gaining only 72 yards on 17 carries. Oregon State didn't fare much better, but did manage to put up two TDs on a 3-yard run by QB Darrell Garretson and an 18-yard run by RB Thomas Tyner. Those TDs paced OSU to a 14-9 lead as the fourth period started. With 2:30 left, it looked like the Beavers had the upset well in hand and were running out the clock. Then, OSU RB Ryan Nall was nailed in the backfield by SU NT Harrison Phillips. Phillips forced Ball to fumble and then recovered the ball on OSU's 40-yard line. Nine plays and a pair of PI calls on OSU in the end zone later, Stanford went ahead 15-14 with :20 left. QB Keller Chryst hit WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside with the game-winning TD pass.
Telling Stat: -2 = L; Oregon State won this game everywhere but the scoreboard. They finished -2 in the turnover department and that cost them the game.
Oregon 41- Utah 20: The Utes had to have known that Oregon was still pretty much a one-dimensional team. Down two QBs for the third straight week, the Ducks relied heavily on the run and an opportunistic defense to hand the Utes their fourth straight conference loss and snap their own three-game skid. UO turned a 10-3 second quarter lead into a 17-3 lead when CB Ugochukwu Amadi scooped up a Utah fumble and raced 47 yard to the end zone. Utah climbed back into the game, down 17-6 in the third quarter when QB Tyler Huntley's pass on 4th and 1 was tipped, but fell into the hands of RT Darrin Paulo who was laying flat on back in the end zone for a TD. Oregon then scored the next 17 points to put the game away. The Ducks ran all over the Utes with RB Royce Freeman gaining 139 yards on 20 carries and Tony Brooks-James gaining 105 yards on six carries and a TD. Meanwhile, Utah's Huntley threw for 293 yards and a pair of scores in the loss.
Telling Stat: 347-91; Oregon won this game the way many games have been won for a long time, they ran the ball and stopped the run. The Ducks rushed for 347 yards and held the Utes to 91 yards to win the game.
Colorado 44- California 28: Last week at Washington State Buffs QB Steven Montez was benched in a 28-0 loss. This week, Montez bounced back in a big way at home. Montez torched the Cal secondary completing 20 of 26 passes for 347 yards and three TDs. Montez also ran for a TD too. Colorado needed all of Montez's heroics and a little more to hold off the Golden Bears. With 2:34 left and the Bears trailing 37-21, Bowers threw a pass into the end zone on 1st and 10 at the Cal 11-yard line. That pass was picked off nine yards deep in the end zone by CB Nick Fisher who didn't take a knee. He elected to bring the ball out. Luckily for him, it was a good decision. Fisher took the ball all the way back for the game-sealing touchdown. Officially, it goes down as a 100-yard return due to NCAA rules, but it covered 109 yards. Aside from that one horrible pick, Bowers finished the day with 359 yards passing and three TDs. Bowers two favorite targets were WRs Jordan Veasy and Kanawai Noa. They each hauled in seven passes for a total of 219 yards and three scores. Oh, and CU RB Phillip Lindsay had a good day too. He ran for 161 yards on 33 carries.
Telling Stat: 5 for 6; Colorado started this game with a punt, then scored on their next five drives to end the first half to establish a lead that they would never relinquish en route to a victory.
Arizona 58- Washington State 37: The Khalil Tate show entertained and thrilled the folks at Arizona Stadium and the 11 people who who have Pac 12-Arizona for the fourth straight week. Tate rushed for 158 yards and a TD and threw for 275 yards and two more scores to lead the Wildcats to the win. While the Wildcats offense was having its' way with the Wazzu speed defense, the Cougar tallied plenty of yards, but not enough points. WSU QB Luke Falk was pulled by HC Mike Leach late in the first half with the Cougars down, 20-7. In came backup QB Tyler Hilinski who would have an incredible/awful night. The incredible was that he threw for 509 yards and a pair of scores in relief. He did bring the Cougs back to take the lead at 27-23 midway through the third period. The awful was that he threw four interceptions. Two of those were turned into TDs by the Wildcats who put away the Cougars in the fourth quarter. When it was over, the stats showed this was a sloppy shootout. The teams combined for 1,231 yards of offense, 45 first downs and seven turnovers.
Telling Stat: 13 is lucky for UofA; Arizona put up 58 points despite only making 13 first downs in the game. The Wildcats picked yards by the bucketful, averaging 11.47 yards per play in this wild one in Tucson.
Observations
...0-4/4-0; Utah went winless for October while Arizona went undefeated for the month.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that Josh Rosen was held out of the end of the bRuins loss at Washington to protect his career as a hand model.
...No views for you; The Pac 12 Network and CBS don't have a content sharing agreement. Does anybody think it is wise to limit your league's exposure when you have a weak, lousy network like the Pac 12 Network? Way to go, Larry Scott.
...Another loss to the Gators; Florida firing their HC is just another thing that Florida has beaten Tennessee at this year.
...Love is one; Even with missing the Cardinal's game at Oregon State, RB Bryce Love is till the nation's rushing leader with 1387 yards. That's 19 yard ahead of SDSU's Rashaad Penny.
...Not really national; Folks are saying this is the week, the nation will see UofA QB Khalil Tate play on a national stage at USC this week. With the game starting at 10:45 on the East Coast, I don't think many will see him play even when the clocks will fall back in the fourth quarter.
...He might go home again; Current UCF HC and former Husker National Champion QB Scott Frost is at the top of most folks at Nebraska's list to replace Mike Riley at the end of this season. However, it may not be easy to get Frost back. Here's a great article on Frost in the Omaha World Herald.
A big maybe
...Ummm Duh; NCAA President Mark Emmert announced that the public is losing confidence in the NCAA and the governing of college athletics. Hey Mark, that happened many years ago.
...Penn-ciled out; Penn State does a great job blowing big leads in big games.
...Sound loss; The renovation of Sun Devil Stadium has made it a much quieter yard.
...A little chippy; Tensions were pretty high at the start of the Tennessee-Kentucky game where the teams had a confrontation after the opening kickoff and several skirmishes followed in the first quarter. This led the referees to issue personal foul penalties to every member of each team. Yes, everyone was penalized. You can see this here...He flagged 'em all!
...Larry strikes again; This Friday will mark the sixth time in the last two seasons that a Pac 12 team will play back-to-back road games with the second game being on a Friday. The previous five times, that team has lost the Friday game. UCLA will play at Utah on Friday.
...On, Brave old Army team; For the first time in forever, the Black Knights of the Hudson received a vote in the AP Poll. Army became one of the teams known as Other Receiving Votes when Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun ranked the Cadets at #24.
...Not Husker-like; Nebraska ranks 13th in the Big Ten in rushing offense.
...Lion letdown; I touted them all year and Columbia let me down, they fell at Yale, 23-6 and will most likely not win the Ivy League this year. It is still one of the best years in a long time for Columbia football. Got Lions!
...The coveted 2 slot; The biggest fight in the Big XII won't be over who finishes first, it will be over who finishes second. Remember, the league has no divisions and the top two teams will play in the conference title game.
Pac 12 Overreactions
Arizona State will lose two more games.
Arizona will go as far as Khalil Tate can take them.
California won't win another road game.
Stanford isn't that tough.
UCLA will be glad when the Rosen era is over.
USC without turnovers is a dangerous team.
Wazzu is Sun Bowl bound.
Washington still won't win at Stanford.
Oregon State will go 1-8 in Pac 12 play.
Oregon will lose to Oregon State.
Utah is LasVegas Bowl bound.
Colorado is Foster Farms Bowl bound.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
This week's winner are the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have a classic look with their Scarlet jerseys and silver pants at home, which makes this uniform so bad. What really makes this so bad for me are the red buckeye decals on the helmets. They look like a rash.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Washington, D.C.- RB Pedro Garcia raced into the end zone from seven yards out to give the Catholic University of America Cardinals a 10-7 win over the Norwich University Cadets in a New England Men's & Women's Athletic Conference game. CUA managed to win this game despite going a combined 0 for 12 on third and fourth down conversions.
Blowout Game of the Week: Grand Junction, CO- This week's game comes from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in Division II. It was homecoming for the Colorado-Mesa Mavericks and they did not disappoint the home crowd with a 77-14 thumping of the New Mexico Highlands Cowboys. The Mavericks ran and passed over, around and through the NMHU defense to build up a 63-0 halftime lead. QB Eystin Salum completed nine of 12 passes for 299 yards and four TDs in one half's worth of work. His backfield mate, RB David Tann rushed for 167 yards and three TDs on 14 carries. Oh, and while the Mavericks didn't attempt a field goal, they made all 11 of their PAT attempts.
C.W. Post Press: Pleasantville, NY- The Pioneers picked up their third straight win with a 41-14 pasting of the Pace University Setters. The Pioneers overcame a 7-6 second quarter deficit thanks to the combo of QB Yianni Gavalas and RB Malik Pierre. Pierre accounted for Post's first four scores as he had a pair of one-yard TD runs and TD receptions of 14 and eight yards. Pierre finished the day with only 133 all-purpose yards, but he was sure able to find the end zone. Gavalas threw four TD passes total in the game and completed 25 of 34 passes for 327 yards. The Post defense held Pace to 175 total yards with just 46 of those yards coming through the air. Next week will be Senior Day for the Pioneers and they will host Merrimack College.
Georgetown Football News: Worcester, MA- The Hoyas and Holy Cross took turns scoring in this game. GU scored in the first and third periods, while Holy Cross tallied points in the second and fourth periods. Holy Cross made the most of their periods and sent the Hoyas down to defeat, 24-10. Despite being held to zero yards rushing, the Hoyas hung tough in this one, trailing just 13-10 at the start of the fourth quarter. However, Holy Cross wouldn't let the Hoyas get any closer. Crusader PK Jackson McClarty connected on a 24-yard field goal and QB Peter Pujais worked his way into the end zone form a yard out to put the game out of reach. GU QB Gunther Johnson threw for 181 yards and a TD in the loss. Up next for the 1-7 Hoyas is Homecoming v. the Leopards of Lafayette.
Razorback Report: It looked like another horrible loss for the Hogs as they fell behind 31-7 to Ole Miss in the second quarter. The Arkansas defense then woke ups and forced two turnovers which were turned into touchdown by the offense and suddenly the Hogs were back in this game, trailing 31-21 at the half. The Razorbacks did pull within three points of the Rebels early in the third period, but seemed doomed to defeat down 37-28 and having just thrown an interception with a little over six minutes left. Ole Miss then opened the door to their defeat. A poor mesh on the RPO led to a fumble that Arkansas took back for a TD and suddenly it was a 37-35 game. Ole Miss was then forced to punt on their ensuing possession. The Razorbacks then went on a 12 play drive that covered 62 yards. It was capped off by a 34-yard field goal from PK Connor Limpert with :04 left and Arkansas walked out of Oxford with a 38-37 win. Uo next for the Hogs is a home date with Coastal Carolina.
This Week's Three Notes About Arizona Fall League baseball...
Old Scottsdale Stadium looked just about the same as the last time I'd seen the place in 1994.
Low key is the rule in the AZ fall league. Free parking, eight dollar GA tickets and a single open concession stand serve to enforce this rule.
There is may not be a quieter place than left field in a mostly empty ballpark. For the the kids in the league who are supposed to be the next wave of Major Leaguers, it shows how far a leap it still is to The Show.
Until next week folks, remember that running the ball well still wins most ballgames.
-The Commissioner
