I am pleased to write that it's time again for the column that makes you just love Tuesdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud
Summaries
USC 31- Fresno State 23: When this game kicked off it marked the end of a very, very, very long offseason that included the head scratching move to retain HC Clay Helton after last year's 5-7 debacle of a season that many of us who read this blog have discussed ad nauseam. USC started the game with the promise of change and a whole new offense, a version of the Air Raid. What Trojan fans got was an eerie replay of last year's games just wrapped in new packaging. Despite getting a penalty for having two guys wearing the same jersey number on the opening kickoff, USC managed to race out to a 14-0 lead on the Bulldogs thanks to slick passing form QB J.T. Daniels and a pair of TDs form RB Stephen Carr. Most USC fans hoped that this would be a blowout and a return to dominating Trojan football. Uhhhhhh, no. USC reverted to 2018 form the rest of the game, barely hanging on to beat the kids from Fresno. Oh, and the O-line managed to get Daniels injured and lost for the rest of the season. Deep into the second quarter, the OL failed to pick up a Fresno blitz and Daniels went down awkwardly, tearing his ACL and meniscus in the process. In Daniels' place came in true freshman backup Kedon Slovis. Slovis played like a true freshman thrown into the fire for the rest of the game and that placed USC in survival mode. The Trojans did survive thanks to a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD by Velus Jones and a late interception in the end zone by FS Isaiah Pola-Mao. In the loss, FSU QB Jorge Reyna threw for 256 yards, two TDs, and that huge interception. Daniels did complete 25 of 34 passes for 215 yards and a score before he was lost for the year.
Telling Stat: 100 +1= Shaky W; Without the Velus Jones kickoff return and Isaiah Pola-Mao's pickoff USC goes down to an absolutely embarrassing loss in the Coliseum.
Hawaii 45- Arizona 38: Back on August 24th Arizona went out and promptly embarrassed the Pac 12 in a painful loss that served up a variety of thrills to those who stayed up and watched this late night affair. It became clear early on that the only team that could stop Hawaii in this game was Hawaii. Hawaii built up a 14-0 early lead and held a 28-21 halftime advantage behind the erratic arm of QB Cole McDonald. McDonald threw four TD passes and three interceptions in the first half. Hawaii built-up a 35-21 lead to start the third quarter when RB Dayton Furuta ran through the Arizona defense from three yards out. Hawaii then proceeded to stop themselves with three consecutive turnovers. The third one was McDonald's fourth interception of the contest and led to a 21-yard TD pass form UofA QB Khalil Tate to WR Stanley Berryhill that tied the game at 35-35. Warriors HC Nick Rolovich had had enough and benched McDonald. In stepped Chevan Coedeiro who guided Hawaii to a field goal on his first drive, then threw a 30-yard TD pass to WR Cedric Byrd III on his second drive to stake the Warriors to a 45-35 lead with 5:02 to play. The Wildcats then stumbled and bumbled their way to a field goal to cut the Hawaii lead to 45-38. Hawaii then managed two run off a little over four minutes off the clock before the Wildcats got the ball back with no timeouts and :51 seconds left. Tate drove his team down to the Hawaii 31 with :10 seconds left. He then dropped back, got flushed from the pocket and took off for the end zone. Tate was tackled at the one-yard line and Hawaii claimed the victory. Tate pretty much was the UofA offense completing 22 of 39 passes for 361 yards, 3 TDs and two picks. He also ran for 108 yards on 13 carries. For Hawaii, Cole McDonald, in a little over two quarters work, completed 29 of 41 passes for 378 yards, four TDs and four big interceptions while his replacement Cordeiro completed five of seven tosses for 58 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: 3 for 15 +1= L; With 3:58 left in the fourth quarter, UofA committed three straight false starts on a field goal attempt that led to a timeout being called to get their act together. The Wildcats sorely needed the time out as Hawaii burned most of the clock on their next possession.
Utah 30- BYU 12: Ain't nothing like a rivalry game in week one. This one had all the elements of a rivalry game. It had hard hits, acrimony between both sides, big plays, and even a weather delay. The first half was a defensive struggle with BYU managing to put two filed goals on the board while Utah kicked one field goal and then took a 9-6 lead into the half when LB Francis Bernard snagged an ill-advised passes form BYU QB Zach Wilson and rumbled 58-yards to paydirt. The PAT was missed. The Utes came out for the third quarter and just shutdown the Cougars. A pair of TD runs by RBs Jayden Dixon and Zack Moss along with another pick six by Utah DB Julian Blackmon gave the Utes a 30-6 lead that they wouldn't give up. With 9:19 to go the Cougars got a TD run from RB Ty'Son Williams. Then the rains and the lightning and the thunder came. With the weather came a 54 minute delay. After then teams returned to the field, Utah ran off a 14-play, 68 yard drive to kill the clock. The Utes final three plays were kneel downs inside the BYU five-yard line. Moss amassed 187 yards rushing on 29 carries and a TD to lead the Utah offense, while BYU QB Zach Wilson threw for 208 yards with two pick sixes in the loss.
Telling Stat: 23:01 to the win; Utah held the ball for 23:01 T.O.P in the second half v. the Cougars. That offensive domination plus a second pick six form the defense made this one a laugher for the boys from Salt Lake. It was their ninth straight win over BYU.
Arizona State 30- Kent State 7: The Sun Devils came out and smacked around the bottom feeders of the MAC as they were expected to do in Tempe. The game time temp of 102 degrees did not stop True frosh QB Jayden Daniels from having a fine debut against the Golden Flashes. He hit on 15 of 24 tosses for 284 yards and a pair of scores. He also ran for a TD. RB Eno Benjamin aided the Sun Devils cause with 102 yards on 22 carries. The ASU defense had an easy time of it with the Kent State offense, holding the Golden Flashes to 200 total yards with just 80 of those yards coming through the air. 87 of KSU's total yards and their only score came with 12:29 left in the fourth period after ASU had built up a 27-0 lead.
Telling Stat: Buying the kid time; The ASU defense gave QB Jayden Daniels a safe environment to ease into his first college game by shutting out Kent State for the first three quarters.
Cincinnati 24- UCLA 14: The bRuins came out looking good on their first drive until QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson fumbled without being touched in the red zone. Cincy recovered the ball and then drove 83 yards for a 7-0 lead and never trailed the rest of the way. Down 10-0, UCLA got back into the game when Thompson-Robinson hit RB Demetric Felton up the seam with solid pass and he took it the rest of the way for a 75-yard TD. That TD toss was the apex of Thompson-Robinson's night. He finished the game completing just 8 of 26 passes for 156 yards with 2 TDs and 2 interceptions. He also fumbled twice to account for all four of UCLA's turnovers. The bRuins didn't run the ball well either with their OL getting very little push on the Bearcats defense for a total of 62 yards on 36 carries. Meanwhile, the Bearcats controlled the clock and the game with an almost 17 minute T.O.P. advantage. This game looked closer than it was thanks to some misfires by the UC offense in bRuin territory. QB Desmond Ridder led the UC attack hitting on 18 of 26 aerials for 242 yards with 2 TDs and an interception. He also ran for 34 yards.
Telling Stat: Big D for UC; Cincinnati gave up a 75-yard TD pass on one drive, but held UCLA to a total of 143 yards on their other 12 drives of the game to pick up a big win.
Colorado 52- Colorado State 31: It was Mel Tucker's debut as the new Colorado HC and he promised a new brand of hard hitting defensive football. What he got was a full four quarters of offense from his squad while the defense arrived in the second half. CU showed up with an offense that's supposed to be based on the arm of QB Steven Montez and the hands of WR Laviska Shenault. Colorado State found out CU had a running game too. RB Alex Fontenot gained 125 yards on 19 carries with three TDs to lead the Buffs. Montez threw for 232 yards and a pair of scores with Shenault only catching three passes for 48 yards and a score. Colorado's defense did get torched a little by the Rams. CSU QB Collin Hill completed 31 of 47 passes for 374 yards and three TDs, but he also was picked off twice. CU also forced two fumbles and returned one for the final score of the night to seal the rivalry win.
Telling Stat: They adjusted; The CU defense did give up 10 second half points, but they also forced three turnovers, a punt and held for downs once to secure the first win for new HC Mel Tucker.
Auburn 27- Oregon 21: A Bo Nix TD pass with :09 left gave the Tigers a hard fought victory over the Ducks and further eroded the standing of the Pac 12 in national perception. Auburn trailed 21-6 late in the third quarter before mounting a gutsy comeback for the win. Oregon looked like they were gonna just grind down Auburn and walk out of Jerryworld with a huge victory. Then, Auburn woke up. Down 21-6, the Tigers swept down the field in four plays to cut the score to 21-13 on a 11-yard TD pass from Nix to WR Eli Stove. Following an exchange of punts, Auburn marched down the field again, this time travelling 69 yards in eight plays to cut the deficit to just 21-20 on a 1-yard TD vault by backup QB Joey Gatewood. Auburn's game-winning drive started with 2:05 left in regulation. Nix, who only completed 13 of 31 passes in the game, completed four passes including the game winner, a 26-yarder to WR Seth Williams. UO QB Justin Herbert completed 28 of 37 passes for 242 yards and a TD in the bitter defeat.
Telling Stat: Auburn shutdown; After falling behind 21-6, the Auburn defense held Oregon scoreless, allowing just 75 yard on 25 plays over the final 20:37 to give their offense a chance at victory.
Washington 47- Eastern Washington 14: QB controversy followed the Huskies all the way through fall camp with many pundits being critical of HC Chris Petersen. They proclaimed he didn't know what he was doing and were wary of a possible upset by FCS power Eastern Washington. All those concerns flowed away from Husky Stadium like the Seattle rain when Georgia transfer QB Jacob Eason staked the Dawgs to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter last Saturday. Eason calmly competed 27 of 36 passes for 349 yards, four TDs and zero interceptions in this laugher on Montlake. RBs Richard Newton and Salvon Ahmed combined for 135 yards on 27 carries with a pair of scores to add to the Dawgs domination of the Eagles. The UW defense had a good day too. They limited EWU to 274 total yards and a pair of scores when the game was already out of reach.
Telling Stat: Buried in 155 yards; Washington took advantage of poor punting and a ill-advised fourth down attempt to build an insurmountable 21-0 first quarter lead over Eastern Washington on drives that covered just 55, 50, and 50 yards.
Stanford 17- Northwestern 7: Stingy defenses whose hits, both legal and illegal, turned their opposing offenses into sputtering messes ruled the day in Palo Alto. This one stood scoreless midway through the second period when Stanford started to get untracked on offense. QB K.J. Costello led the Cardinal on a 15-play 90 yard drive that ended with Costello hitting WR Michael Wilson for a two-yard TD toss and a 7-0 lead. Then after Northwestern turned the ball over on downs at the SU 34-yard line. Costello would return for what would be his final drive of the day. With :10 left Costello was forced to scramble and the he did, he felt the pressure and chose to slide at Wildcats 49-yard line. He was slammed with a forearm to the jaw by Wildcats DE Earnest Brown IV. The hit took Costello's helmet off and sent him out of the game with a concussion. A personal foul was called for the hit, but how it was not deemed a targeting call escapes me. When play resumed, PK Jet Toner nailed a 51-yard field goal, the longest of his career, to give the Cardinal a 10-0 lead at intermission. Northwestern started the third quarter with an impressive drive that ended in disaster. NU had 2nd and goal at the SU 5-yard line when QB TJ Green was over whelmed by the Cardinal defense who sacked Green and forced a fumble which they recovered back a the 9-yard line. Green was also injured on the play and lost for the game and possibly the rest of the season with a foot injury. Stanford's offense did nothing in the second half with backup Davis Mills under center. He fumbled the ball away twice in six drives as the Cardinal were held scoreless. Northwestern backup Hunter Johnson fared little better than Mills as he led the Wildcats to their only TD of the day on a drive midway through the fourth quarter. NU would have one final last chance with the ball. On 1st and 10 from their own 22-yard line, Johnson was chased back to his own end zone, where he was hit and fumbled. Stanford DT Jordan Fox fell on the ball for the game clinching score.
Telling Stat: 4+1+7 = Cardinal W; Stanford's defense forced four turnovers, held for downs once and produced the game-clinching score to lift the the Cardinal to victory.
Washington State 58- New Mexico State 7: Eastern Washington transfer Chase Gubrud didn't win the starting QB job for the Cougars. That was big news in the Palouse as Cougar fans were hoping for another year of a Gardner Minshew type talent to command the Air Raid offense. Anthony Gordon won the job and he showed he's pretty good as he led Wazzu to a big rout of the Aggies. Gordon had a typical Wazzu QB performance completing 29 of 35 passes for 420 yards and five TDs. The Cougars did run the ball well too with RB Max Borghi gaining 128 yards on only 10 carries with a TD. NMSU QB Josh Adkins threw for 221 yards with two interceptions in the losing effort.
Telling Stat: 2 1/2 quarters; That's how long it took Wazzu QB Anthony Gordon to amass 420 yards and five TDs against NMSU. Now thats how you run an air raid offense.
California 27- UC Davis 13: The Golden Bears did settle on a QB for their opener going with Chase Garbers. however, the Cal passing game still lagged in a ragged first half. Cal fell behind the Aggies, 10-0 before cranking up their rushing attack to hide the deficiencies of Garber. RB Christopher Brown, Jr. had himself a pretty good debut as a starting running back by lugging the leather 36 times for 197 yards and a TD. Brown's rushing allowed Garbers to find a rhythm. He completed 16 of 28 tosses for 238 yards and two TDs with one interception. Throw in two field goals form PK Greg Thomas and that was enough to hold off the Aggies.
Telling Stat: Not really that close; UC Davis' lone TD came on a 21-yard drive after Cal fumbled the opening kickoff on their own 21-yard line. Only four of the Aggies 14 other drives crosed the 50-yard line and only one got as far as the Cal Red Zone.
Oklahoma State 52- Oregon State 36: It was an all orange and black affair in Corvallis that saw the Beavers get caught on the wrong end of a Big XII style shootout. Okie State is known for their prolific passing game over the years, but it was their rushing attack that did in the Beavers. RB Chuba Hubbard was just about unstoppable as he toted the rock 26 times for 221 yards and three TDs. QB Spencer Sanders got into the offensive act also for the Pokes. He completed 19 of 24 passes for 203 yards and three scores of his own while also rushing for 109 yards on 13 carries. Oregon State did their best to keep up with the Cowboys, but they just didn't have enough talent to do so. Highly touted RB Jermar Jefferson only racked up 87 yards on 16 carries while QB Jake Luton threw for 251 yards and three TDs in the loss.
Telling Stat: 2nd quarter blues for the Beavers; Okie State grabbed a lead they wouldn't surrender in the second quarter where they outscored Oregon State, 24-6 and outgained Oregon State 222 yards to 86.
Observations
...A long party; The 150th season of college football season will be the longest history, lasting 143 days.
...Washington 2- California 0; after week one it clear that the state of Washington has two fine Pac 12 QBs while either due two injury or ineffectiveness, California has none.
...1 out of 2 ain't good; UCLA had Chip Kelly on the sidelines, but really needed Josh Kelley in the backfield last Thursday.
...Doesn't sound good; Current New Mexico and former Notre Dame HC Bob Davie was whisked away by ambulance after the Lobos 39-31 win over Sam Houston State due to "a serious medical incident." Whisked Away
...No in/out privileges; When you're one of the guys that paints his chest for a football game, you don't get to leave your seat during the game or this kind of stuff happens...
...Toss up question; Which coach has the hotter seat? Is it Florida State HC Willie Taggart who watched his squad blew a 31-13 lead to lose to Boise State or is it USC HC Clay Helton who watched this Trojans hang for dear life in a win over Fresno State?
...Orange seeing red; Volunteer nation is plenty angry and disappointed after being smacked around by Georgia State at home 38-30 last Saturday. Oh, did I mention that Georgia State went 2-10 last year in the Sun Belt Conference? Facepalm.
...Just can't see it that way; USC HC Clay Helton is reported to have said he thought the USC O-line did a good job v. Fresno State. The line looked like a sieve for long stretches and oh yeah, got starting QB J.T. Daniels knocked out of the lineup for the year with a torn ACL. I guess Clay sets a low bar for good play.
...Everybody wants to get into the act; Watch this mascot for Jackson State get a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct call. Just stay off the field!
...Captain Obvious sighting; "Analyst" Pat McAfee on the ESPN broadcast crew for the UCLA-UC game dropped this gem of common wisdom when he said, "Fumbles count like interceptions."
...Just a hunch; I think Scott Frost at Nebraska may turnout to be everything that Minnesota's PJ Fleck wants to be.
...Ragtime Cowboy Joe rides high; big kudos to Wyoming for overcoming a 14-0 deficit to upset Missouri, 37-31.
...Only in Corvallis; The Oklahoma State-Oregon State game was delayed about 10 minutes in the third quarter because the Cowboys coaching staff was stuck between floors in the elevator at Reser Stadium.
...Army Strong; Yes, The Black Knights needed a fourth quarter drive to beat Rice, but it was a great one that covered 96 yards in 18 plays and took 8:20 off the clock.
...Still tough; Utah RB Zack Moss runs with a toughness I haven't seen since... last year. The kid is still nails.
...Not Strong enough; I wonder if Charlie Strong remembers when he was a good coach. He's got future Alabama analyst written all over him.
...Mediocrity transfers; The only bad spot for Utah in their beatdown of BYU was PK Andrew Strauch who went one for two on FGAs and missed a PAT. He's a transfer from UCLA.
...Grace under stupidity; High praise goes to UofA PK Lucas Havrisik who calmly nailed a 53-yard field goal after the rest of the field goal unit committed three straight false starts to make his original 38-yard attempt into a 53-yarder.
...Lots to celebrate; Not only is the 150th season of college football, it's also the 100th anniversary of the NFL, the 60th anniversary of the AFL and the 50th year on this planet for this intrepid reporter.
...Tangential to the Pirate; Big thanks to our field agent in the desert, Scott Wilson for uncovering this unknown tidbit about my life. It seems I played against current Wazzu HC Mike Leach coached players in junior college. 31 years ago I played a season at Harbor College. We had a scrimmage with College of the Desert. Mike Leach was their LB coach that year. I have no real recollection of the scrimmage. I know we didn't do well and that was a harbinger of things to come as my team went on to post an abysmal 1-10 record. It was truly one of the most forgettable season in football history.
...Mediocrity is genetic; C-USA member Western Kentucky got upset 35-28 by FCS power Central Arkansas, 35-28 last Thursday night. So, who is WKU's HC? None other than former USC staffer Tyson Helton, Clay's brother. Ouch.
Special Section: The Pain In My Backside
Just about everybody who didn't have seats in the Scholarship Tower at the newly renovated L.A Coliseum had a pretty uncomfortable evening. I'm not talking about the poor product on the field, I'm talking about the seats themselves. USC installed some of they cheapest, poorly made seats in history. These lousy seats felt like they'd break the moment you touched them, much less sat in them. Oh, and each seat only had one armrest! SMH. Also, officials in charge boasted that the seats were wider and the aisles were wider with more leg room. Technically this is true, but the way they achieved that "extra space" is by shrinking the actual depth of the seating portion of the seat. When just about everyone in your section experiences an comfortable evening with some form of back pain from the new seats, there is a problem. My family actually sits in a "donor" section too. The non donor sections had seats placed closer together for a more uncomfortable experience. Epic fail USC, epic Fail.
Ugly Uniform Of the Week
This was from a couple of weeks ago, but the "Players Weekend" uniforms that MLB trotted out for the occasion were just plain awful. Met's analyst Keith Hernandez said it best when he said it looked they were form the old MAD Magazine Spy v. Spy cartoon. Indians skipper Terry Francona joked that he wasn't going to make any pitching changes because he didn't want to be seen in public. White on White on White on White and Black on Black on Black on Black is the stupidest idea in Major League Baseball in years.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week(s): San Diego, CA- PK Matt Araiza connected on field goal attempts of 34 yards and 29 yards to lift San Diego Sate to a 6-0 win over Weber State of the Big Sky Conference in the FCS. While the SDSU offense was missing for most of the contest, the Aztec defense held the Wildcats to just 154 total yards and five first downs to help stave off the potential embarrassment from an upset.
Blowout Game of the Last Week(s): Sacramento, CA- The Hornets of Sacramento State wiped out the Southern Oregon Raiders 77-19. Sac State a proud member of the Big Sky Conference in the FCS easily crushed their NAIA opponent. the Hornets ran up almost 700 yards offense with QB Kevin Thomson completing 14 of 20 passes for 303 yards and four TDs.
C.W. Post Press: Well, where do we begin here? First, LIU- C.W. Post is combining its' Brooklyn and Long Island campuses for athletics. Second, C.W. Post's colors are changing from Green and Gold to Blue and Gold and their Pioneer mascot is no more. They are now known as the Sharks. Oh, and the football team is moving up to the FCS level and will be playing in the Northeast Conference. Whew. That's a lot of changes. The Sharks first game on the FCS level is a road trip to South Dakota State on 9/21. The same South Dakota State that almost upset Minnesota last week.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- The painful process of converting Arkansas into a high energy, up tempo team continued with a lackluster 20-13 win over the Portland State Vikings. The Hogs offense featured a full boat of 11 new starters and it looked like it. The Razorbacks took a quick 10-3 lead, then the offense fizzled the rest of the way. RB Rakeem Boyd saved the moribund Hogs passing attack by rushing for 114 yards and a TD. Up next for Arkansas is their first road trip of the year to Ole Miss.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Making the time for family and friends is just about always worth the effort.
Having foggy mornings in August is weird.
I like living where I only need my air conditioning a few days a year.
Until next time folks, remember that instead of real changes some teams just rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.
-The Commissioner
