After a fun, but not victorious trip to NorCal, it's time to look at the week that was around the league with another edition of Notes On a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Mal Florence.
Summaries
Stanford 17- USC 3: The Trojans traveled to Palo Alto with everything they needed to beat Stanford except for two things. They didn't bring an offensive line and competent play calling. That's what cost the Trojans the game. Yes, True Freshman QB JT Daniels was in over his head in his first true road game, however, it was the Trojans lack of an offensive line that really did in USC. Many times to Trojan OL whiffed on blocks and didn't pick up simple blitzes and stunts which killed almost every SC drive. The poor OL showing overshadowed a fine effort by the USC defense. Even with all their offensive woes, USC only trailed the Cardinal, 7-0 late in the second quarter. Thats when USC HC Clay Helton decided to go for it on 4th and 2 from the Stanford 40-yard line. USC's O-line whiffed on their blocks, Daniels fumbled and the Cardinal had a first and 10 at their own 49. Five plays later the Cardinal led 14-0 after a TD pass from QB K.J. Costello to TE Colby Parkinson. The two TD deficit proved insurmountable for the Trojans. Meanwhile, Stanford did what they usually do in these kind of games; they executed their offense and defense better than their opponent and picked up the win. Stanford RB Bryce Love, grinded on the USC defense for 136 yards and a TD on 22 carries and Costello competed 16 of 27 passes for 183 and a TD . PK Chase McGrath provided USC's only true highlight his 35-yard field goal in the third period.
Telling Stat: They didn't sniff the red zone; The Stanford defense held USC's inept offense out of the red zone for most of the night. USC only drove into the Cardinal red zone twice in 12 drives, never penetrating deeper than the 12-yard line.
California 21- BYU 18: The Golden Bears held off a late charge by their opponent for the second straight week in a game that provided only one big surprise. Evidently, starting QB Ross Bowers is now third string. He didn't see the field while Chase Garbers and Brandon McIlwain split the QB duties. Garbers saw the majority of the playing time and completed 18 of 28 passes for 176 yards, 2 TDs and an interception, while McIlwain completed only five of seven tosses for 38 yards, but he did rush the ball 16 times for 74 yards and a score. The Cal offense also gave away a score. RB Derrick Clark grabbed a pass out of the backfield and fumbled when he was hit. BYU LB Dayan Ghanwoloku picked up the lost leather and raced 36 yards to paydirt to keep the Cougars in the game. The Cal defense had a great game, they didn't allow a BYU offensive TD until :51 left in the contest. That score did allow BYU to cut down their deficit to just three points. Cal's hands team then recovered the ensuing onside kick for the second straight week to preserve the win.
Telling Stat: A tough 79; Cal's defense gave up only 79 total yards to BYU in the second half and 73 of those came on their final drive.
Arizona State 16- Michigan State 13: Let's talk heat, a very late start time for the Big Ten and a motivated, tough bunch of Sun Devils. First, it was still over 100 degrees in Tempe for the 7:15 PM start which was 10:15 Spartan time. However, Michigan State seemed to have a handle on this game and the conditions when they took what seemed to be a commanding 13-3 lead into the final period thanks to pair of field goals by PK Matt Coghlin and 31-yard TD pass from QB Brian Lewerke to WR Cody White. Then, the Sun Devils took over the fourth quarter. It starts with a 24-yard field goal by PK Brandon Ruiz to cut the deficit to seven. Then, after trading a few punts back and forth, ASU drove for the game tying score with he aid of a questionable PI call. The tying score came on a 27-yard TD pass form QB Manny Wilkins to WR N'Keal Harry. The Sun Devils then forced another MSU punt and mounted one final drive. The tired Spartan defense couldn't hold and ASU drove down to the MSU 10-yard line. After a couple of kneel downs to center the ball, Ruiz came on and nailed a 28-yarder to hand ASU the upset.
Telling Stat: They owned the final period; ASU's defense shutout Michigan State in the fourth quarter while their offense completed scoring drives of 70, 65, and 69 yards to pull of the upset in the desert.
Oklahoma 49- UCLA 21: After last week's poor showing at the Rose Bowl, a scant few held out hope for the bRuins pulling off an upset or maybe just even looking decent as they headed to Norman this week. The bRuins did show some resolve early on by talking a 7-0 lead on a three-yard jaunt by RB Bolu Olorunfunmi and some competent defense, but then OU woke up, scored the final 35 points of the half to end this one early. QB Kyler Murray, who is the property of the Oakland A's, completed 19 of 33 passes for three scores and ran for 679 yards and two more scores to lead the Sooner attack. As for UCLA, they did put a couple of cosmetic TDs after the game had already been decided.
Telling Stat: 42-0; After UCLA jumped out a 7-0 lead on the Sooners, they then scored the next 42 points while piling up 350 yards in the process to put the game away.
Utah 17- Northern Illinois 6: On this road trip for the boys from Salt Lake, It is clear that Utah has a good defense and not so good offense and special teams. It was the Utes defense that kept the team from suffering an embarrassing upset at the hands of the Huskies from the MAC. Utah trailed 3-0 to NIU with 12:43 left in the third quarter, when their offense finally put a scoring drive together. The Utes traveled 76 yards in nine plays on a drive that was capped off by a 1-yard TD run by RB Zack Moss. The teams traded field goals down the stretch which left Utah holding a 10-6 lead with just under three minutes to play. The Utah defense then sealed an uneasy victory when LB Chase Hansen picked off NIU QB Marcus Childers and returned it for a 37-yard pick six. Utah escapes with a win and a lot of questions to answer. With not much offensively to speak of, Utah's defense did their job holding NIU to just 228 total yards in the contest.
Telling Stat: 10-7 offense; Utah's defense scored almost as much as their offense in this much tougher than it should have been game for the Utes.
Houston 45- Arizona 18: Former Houston HC and current UofA HC Kevin Sumlin had a homecoming of sorts at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Houston. Sumlin had indeed come home to UH, but he and the Wildcats were treated as trespassers by the Cougars. By the time the game had hit the 12:09 mark of the third quarter, Houston had built up a 38-0 lead which made the record setting heat and humidity feel even worse for Sumlin and company. UH QB D'Eriq King carved up the UofA defense. He threw for 246 yards and four TDs while running for 31 yards and two more scores. Mean while Arizona QB Khalil Tate puled up 341 yard passing with no TDs and two interceptions. he did score a TD on a two-yard run well after the game had been decided.
Telling Stat: They can't stop 'em; Going back to last week, in their last six quarters of play, the Arizona defense has given up 781 yards and 66 points.
Oregon State 48- Southern Utah 25: The Beavers showed some offense in their lopsided loss to Theee OSU last week. This week, the Beavers found more offense and a win over the Thunderbirds from the Big Sky Conference in the FCS. Most of that offense came from freshman RB Jermar Jefferson who ran over, around and through the SUU defense. Jefferson toted the rock 22 times for 238 yards and four TDs. Oregon State got some solid QB play too. QB Conor Blount connected on 15 of 22 aerials for 226 yards and TD. However, the OSU defense did show some holes. They gave up 488 yards of offense to Southern Utah and allowed a lot of long drives. The Beavers did eventually hold on those drives forcing field goals.
Telling Stat: Putting on the freshman 238; RB Jermar Jefferson's 238 yards rushing was the third-highest single-game rushing total in Oregon State history.
Colorado 33- Nebraska 28: The Cornhuskers didn't play in week one due to a weather cancellation and it showed early on against the Buffs. NU fumbled on their first two drives and CU turned those miscues into an early 14-0 lead. The Huskers then fought back to take the lead into halftime behind a pair of TD runs by QB Blake Martinez and third TD run by RB Devine Ozigbo. The teams traded scores in the third period and NU held a 28-27 lead as the fourth quarter started. Then defense and poor special teams took the stage for most of the final period. Nebraska missed a field goal and Colorado missed two while both teams were held on downs once. The tipping point in this game came with 2:23 to play when NU's Martinez was injured on a play that seemed routine, but has been turned in for review by the Big Ten for what appears to be a Colorado defender twisting Martinez's leg in the pile. The Cornhusker's drive then stalled and CU drove for the winning TD when QB Steven Montez found the Pac 12's new breakout star receiver, Laviska Shenault, Jr. for a 40-yard score. The Buffaloes held for downs one more time and claimed the win. Before he was injured, Martinez had a great day for the Big Red. He completed 15 of 20 passes for 187 yards, a TD and an interception while also running for 117 yards and a two TDs on 15 carries. In the victory, CU's Montez comported 33 of 50 passes for 351 yards and three TDs with Shenault, Jr. being his favorite target. He caught 10 passes for 177 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: They dug a hole; There wouldn't be any controversy over the end of this game had Nebraska not handed Colorado 14 points of turnovers to begin the game.
Washington 45- North Dakota 3: The Huskies hangover from their narrow loss to Auburn last week lasted about three quarters. Sure, the UW defense had held the FCS team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux in check, limiting them to a field goal, but the UW offense lacked cohesion. Then, the offense woke up and turned a 24-3 lackluster affair into the easy-looking win most expected with 21 fourth quarter points. Browning led the first of the three final period scoring drives to put the Dawgs up 31-3 before turning the offense over to backup QB Jake Haener who threw for a TD while RB Kamari Pleasant scored UW's final TD on a 23-yard camper. The Huskies did finish with 632 yards of offense and 45 points in a game where they looked off at times.
Telling Stat: A long distance fourth; Washington scored on a drives of 88. 73. and 83 yards to put an exclamation mark on their first win of the year.
Oregon 62- Portland State 14: The Fightin' Ducks of Oregon handed out an appearance check and a whipping to their FCS neighbors from the Big Sky conference. Duck QB Justin Herbert sliced and diced the Vikings defense, completing 20 of 26 passes for 250 yards and four scores before retiring to the bench midway through the third quarter with his team up 42-7. RBs Tony Brooks-James and C.J. Vardel both eclipsed the 100-yard mark with the pair totaling three TDs. QB Jalani Eason threw for 11 yards and both of PSU's TD's in the lopsided loss.
Telling Stat: They didn't gain ground; Portland State was held to just 66 yards on 40 carries by the Oregon defense for a not-so-nifty- 1.6 yards per carry average.
Washington State 34- San Jose State 0: One QB was remembered while one hit the field for the Cougars and got the victory on Saturday. The QB remembered was Ryan Hilinski who took his own life last spring. WSU players wore decals with his No. 3 on their helmers and his parents raised the Cougar flag in pre game. Gardner Minshew was the QB who led the Cougars to a sluggish shutout of the overmatched Spartans. Three TD passes from Minshew and a field goal by PK Blake Mazza staked Wazzu to a 24-0 halftime lead. Then , the Cougars offense went MIA for the almost the whole second half, while their defense kept the Spartans safely off the scoreboard. Minshew completed 34 of 51 passes for 414 yards, three TDs and two interceptions. There were no highlights to mention for SJSU.
Telling Stat: 55/1; SJSU ran just 55 offensive plays in the game and just one play in Wazzu territory in this yawner in the Palouse.
Observations
...He wasn't impressed; Wazzu HC Mike Leach wasn't thrilled with his team's running game in the second half of their 31-0 win over hapless San Jose State. To quote The Pirate, "We were soft. We could get a fast seventh grader and hit the hole as hard as we did."
...1 > 46; With a 31-7 win over Central Michigan, Kansas snapped their 46-game road losing streak. They were just three games shy of breaking Idaho State's record for road ineptitude with 48 losses. In two weeks. the Jayhawks can go for two in a row at Baylor.
...Ummm Awkward; So, how awkward is it when Kevin Sumlin pulled QB Khalil Tate and the backup that came in to mop up at the end of UofA's embarrassing loss to Houston is the son of the guy who was fired before you got the job? Yes folks, UofA's backup QB is prior UofA HC Rich Rodriguez's son, Rhett.
...So not painful; I see that much ballyhooed "suspension" of Urban Meyer has really hurt the Buckeyes.
...He wrote it; San Jose Mercury News Pac 12 writer extraordinaire, Jon Wilner had this to say about Arizona in his latest edition of his Pac 12 power rankings, "Didn't think I'd have to type this sentence this fall, but circumstances have changed, so here goes: The Red and Blue (basketball) scrimmage is on Oct. 14th."
...This just in; North Carolina stinks. The now 0-2 Tar Heels dropped an embarrassing 41-19 decision to American Athletic Conference bottom feeder East Carolina last Saturday.
...A wide selection; I know it must be football season when my reading list expands to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Reading Eagle and the Austin Statesman.
...Costly wins; Both Oklahoma and Minnesota each lost their top RB for the year due to knee injuries in their wins on Saturday.
...A little giddy in Corvallis; Ken Goe of the Oregonian is positive about the Oregon State's chances to win a few game in the Pac 12 this year. Its a fun read for a program trying to get out of the cellar.
Better Beavers
...Jimbo might be OK; yeah, Texas A&M lost, but it looks like there might be a bright future ahead for the Aggies.
...Missing voices; I miss Pat Summerall on NFL Sundays telling me to prepare for fall and then later on winter by heading to my local True Value Hardware store. Yeah, I linked a commercial
...Sign of an FSU apocalypse; Florida State gave up 475 yards and four TDs to FCS foe Samford and their QB Devlin Hodges. This week the 'Noles head to Syracuse where all they've done is score over 100 points and average over 400 yards a game through the air.
...Four and maybe done; There's a theory being floated near Westwood that with the new redshirt rule, UCLA may play frosh QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson just two more games, then redshirt him and chalk 2018 up as a lost cause of a season. Hmmmmm.
...Didn't think so; If anyone tells you they thought Herm Edwards was a better Pac 12 hire than Kevin Sumlin this offseason, they're lying.
...Pitt ain't it; Being shutout, 44-0 over the final three quarters against Penn State kind of takes the rivalry out for this game.
...The Fayetteville Effect; The Razorbacks decbacle at Colorado State will makes sure that no SEC team will play a western road game for the next 20 years.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that the Duke seniors were promised internships at Goldman-Sachs after beating Northwestern.
...Not fans of Chubby Checker; USC's offensive line can't pick up simple twist stunts. They probably can't dance either.
...Feeling the O, again; I'm really hoping LSU wipes out Auburn this week.
...Quiet in West Lafayette; After an offseason of hype following their first bowl win in forever, Purdue is now 0-2 after dropping a particularly ugly, 20-19 decision to Eastern Michigan. Ouch.
...Before Pearl Harbor; USC's pitiful three point effort against Stanford was the Trojans lowest point total against The Farm since they suffered a 13-0 shutout to the, as they were known then, Stanford Indians way back on November 8, 1941.
Pac 12 Overreactions
Arizona will go 0-12.
USC, Utah and Cal should put out want ads to search for an offensive identity.
Washington needs a healthy dose of Starbucks to wake up the team.
Wazzu will go 7-5.
Oregon fans just want to know when their scrimmages end and the season begins.
Oregon State will go 4-8.
UCLA will tank the season for Chip.
Colorado isn't as good as they think they are.
Stanford will bore the rest of their schedule to death.
ASU can win the Pac 12 South.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
This week's winner is the Fighting Illini of Illinois. One, because their uniforms look pretty much exactly like Syracuse's uniforms and two, has anybody there heard of using a neutral color to break up the harsh blue and orange? I guess not.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Wilberforce, OH- This week's game comes form the realm of the historically black colleges where the Central State (OH) Marauders held on for a 7-0 victory over the Clark-Atlanta Panthers. This game was played in driving rain on a muddy field. Neither team found footing on the muddy track and the game stood scoreless in the third waiter when Clark-Atlanta failed on a fourth down attempt from their own 34-yard line. Two plays later, Central State RB Jerry Lanier scored from four yards out for the only points of the game. The Marauder held off CAU the rest of the way for their first home win since 2015.
Blowout game of the Week: Reading, PA- The Albright Lions played host to the #2 ranked team in D-III, the Mary-Hardin Baylor Crusaders. The Cru, as they are known, crushed the Lions, 91-7. RB Markeith Miller had himself a day. He rushed for only 97 yards on 21 carries, but he scored six touchdowns. Everyone played in this one as MHBU built up a 71-0 third quarter lead before Albright notched their only score.
C.W. Post Press- Brookville, NY- The Pioneers of C.W. Post held a scant 3-0 lead over the American International College Yellow Jackets at the half of their season opener. The Pioneers then put a 30-spot on the board in the second half to walk away with a 33-8 victory. Post RB Malik Pierre lead the tPioneers ground game with 64 yards rushing on 15 carries and a TD. QB Chris Laviano rushed for 63 yards and passed for 156 and a TD. RB Samad Davila rushed for 106 yards on 26 carries in the loss for AIC. Up next for the 1-0 Pioneers is a their first road trip of the year to take on the Skyhawks of Stonehill College in North Easton, MA.
Razorback Report- Fort Collins, CO- The Razorbacks made a rare western road trip and fell to Colorado State in the Rockies. The Hogs held a 27-9 lead over the Rams before falling apart down the stretch. The Rams tallied the game-winner when RB Izzy Matthews crossed the double stripe with eight seconds left. Hogs RB Devwah Whaley rushed for 165 yards on 26 and score in the loss. up next for the Hogs is a home date with North Texas.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
The Farmer Boy Restaurant on State St. in Santa Barbara is a great road trip breakfast stop.
If you get a chance, take the time to visit the Steinbeck Center in Salinas.
The highway 152 cutoff from Gilroy to I-5 is a great little drive.
Until next week folks, remember that if you don't have an offensive line, you don't have a chance.
-The Commissioner
