It is time once again to look back at the week that was with another editor of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
USC 41- Arizona 14: After a three week period that featured losses at Washington and ND sandwiched around a bye, the Trojans returned home for this sparsely attended Homecoming game v. the Wildcats. This game was an injury riddled affair that showed two things. One, SC is a pretty deep squad and two, Arizona's O-line was no match for the USC defense. The combination of those two things led to this blowout. The USC defense spent most of their time in the Arizona backfield, making UofA's dangerous QB Khalil Tate nothing to worry about. In fact, Tate was so ineffective in the face of SC's defensive pressure that he was benched in favor of backup Grant Gunnell in the second half. The Trojan offense slowly ground down the Wildcats and built up a 27-0 behind pair of TD passes by QB Kedon Slovis, a TD run by RB Markese Stepp and a pair of field goals by PK Chase McGrath. Injuries then led to the two most exciting plays of the game. With RBs Stephen Carr and Stepp both knocked out of the game, true freshman Kenon Christon was forced into action. On his second carry, Christon ran through a hole you could drive a truck through and sprinted 55-yards to paydirt. Yes, I do mean sprinted. After all, he was the California state 100 and 200 meter champ in high school last year. Christon turned on his jets one more time, this time covering 30 yards for a score to put the finishing touches on this much needed win for the Trojans. He finished the game with 103 yards and two TDs on eight carries. Slovis had a decent night for SC as well completing 19 of 28 passes for 232 yards and two scores. For UofA, Gunnell threw for 196 yards and a pair of scores in the latter stages of the lopsided loss.
Telling Stat: Red Zone Freeze Out; USC's defense put a lid on the red zone. Arizona didn't run a play in the red zone until the 6:12 mark of the fourth quarter when the Trojan has emptied the benches with a 41-7 lead.
Oregon State 21- California 17: Berkeley, CA- The Beavers came to town looking to put their thumping at the hands of Utah last week behind them against a Cal team still missing their starting QB Chase Garbers. The Beavers did that in dramatic fashion having to engineer a comeback after surrendering a 14-0 lead late in the third quarter. OSU built up their 14-0 lead on a seven-yard TD pass form QB Jake Luton to RB Artavis Pierce in the first quarter and a four-yard toss from Luton to WR Isaiah Hodgins in the second period. The Golden Bears then clawed back to take the lead on a 39-yard field goal by Greg Thomas right before the half and two third quarter scores. The first one was a one-yard blast by RB Chris Brown and the second was a 33-yard TD pass form QB Devon Modster to WR Jordan Duncan. The fourth quarter saw the teams trade punts and OSU take over the ball at their own 20-yard line with 9:33 to play. They then marched 80 yards in 13 plays on Cal's much heralded defense for the go-ahead score. The TD came on a 13-yard rumble by RB B.J. Baylor where he stayed off the ground and crawled over a pair of Cal defenders to cross the double stripe. Cal had one last chance to comeback in the game. True freshman QB Spencer Brasch has subbed in for Modster who was injured on the previous series. Brasch had his second down pass tipped and intercepted by the Beavers to put a capper on the upset win. Neither team had a good day offensively but Lution did complete 18 of 34 passes for 174 yards and two TDs. The real story of the game was the OSU defense. They sliced up the Cal O-line recording nine sacks and 14 other tackles for losses and came up with the game's only turnover which set up their game-wining drive.
Telling Stat: 3 for 24 for the win; The Oregon State defense held Cal to just 24 yards and forced the an interception on the Bears final three drives to ensure a hard fought victory.
Washington State 41- Colorado 10: Pullman, WA- Both these squads have had some frustrating times as of late. In fact, neither team has looked that good lately and something had to give. What gave was the Colorado defense. Wazzu raced out to a 21-3 first quarter lead then cruised the rest of the way to a big win. QB Anthony Gordon completed 35 of 51 aerials for 369 yards, four TDs and an interception. Another high point for the Cougars was the 105 yards rushing and a TD on 12 carries from RB Max Borghi. The Buffaloes had a rough night all the way around. QB Steven Montez had an off night completing 16 of 30 passes for a meager 129 yards and two interceptions. He was replaced in the fourth quarter by backup Tyler Lytle. Lylte's backup stint was short as he was injured on his first play from scrimmage. That left Blake Stentstrom, the son of former Stanford QB Steve Stentstrom, to do the mop up duty.
Telling Stat: A quick 14=W; In the first quarter, Wazzu turned a missed Colorado FG and an interception into a quick 14-0 lead that they would never surrender in this rout in the Palouse.
Utah 21- Arizona State 3: Salt Lake City, UT- This was a nasty, chippy, ugly game at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Lost in all ugliness was a superior effort by the Utah defense. The weather conditions did not help matters as the game was played in near constant rain with a temp in the high 40s. The Utes defense shutdown the Sun Devils completely in the first half allowing just 47 total yards and just two first downs. However, the Sun Devils only trialed 14-0 at the half thanks to their defense forcing two fumbles and hobbling Utah QB Tyler Huntley. Huntley injured his lower left leg in the second quarter and saw limited action after the injury. The Utes two first half scores came on a 25-yard jet sweep by WR J. Dixon and a two-yard run by RB Zack Moss. ASU's offense showed very little signs of life in the second half. Utah's front seven spent most of the game on the Sun Devils side of the ball. ASU's only points came after a fumble recovery deep in Utah territory. The Utes held ASU to a meager 136 total yards. Utah put the game away with 5:33 to go in the final period when Moss raced through a big hole for a 32-yard touchdown. The run also saw Moss become Utah's all-time leading rusher surpassing Eddie Johnson, who set the career mark back in 1988 with 3,129 yards.
Telling Stat: 12=12=L; Arizona State's 12 penalties equals the total number of pass completions (4) and first downs (8) they made in this ugly road loss.
Oregon 35- Washington 31: Seattle, WA- The Huskies had the Ducks on the ropes and had control of the game all they way, until suddenly they didn't. The Ducks rallied from a 28-14 deficit to all but sew up the Pac 12 North with the huge road win. UO QB Justin Herbert had a slow start but finished strong, completing 24 of 38 passes for 280 yards and four TDs. His backfield mate RB Cyrus Habibi-Likio gained 81 yards on 14 carries and a TD. UW QB Jacob Eason had a pretty impressive game himself completing 23 of 30 throws for 289 yards and three scores. Husky RB Salvon Ahmed was the leading rusher in the game gashing the Quacks for 140 yards on 24 carries and a touchdown. The Ducks trailed 31-28 to start the final period, but their defense rose to the occasion and shutout the Dawgs the rest the way to give their offense the chance to win. The Webfoots winning drive covered 70 yards in eight plays and was capped off by Herbert's 5-yard TD toss to WR Jaylon Redd. The loss was a crusher for the Dawgs who dropped to 2-3 in conference play. Oregon remains the Pac 12's best hope for the CFP.
Telling Stat; They finished strong; After being torched for the most points and yards they'd given up in a game all year through three quarters, the Oregon defense posted a fourth quarter shutout, holding UW two just 47 yards and two first downs in the process.
UCLA 34- Stanford 16: Palo Alto, CA- The young and hungry bRuins wiped out a depleted Cardinal squad up on The Farm. UCLA gave up an early field goal then came back strong on their first two drives and built-up a 14-3 lead on a pair of TD passes from QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson to WR Kyle Phillips. Stanford then closed to within four points of UCLA at 14-10 after they blocked a bRuin punt and recovered it in the end zone for a TD. Stanford wouldn't be that close to UCLA again for a variety of reasons. The first reason is that UCLA realized that Stanford's patch work OL couldn't protect QB Jack West or open holes for the running game. The second reason was that Stanford did not have the defensive speed to keep up with UCLA. After UCLA took a 21-10 lead on a one-yard jog by Thomson-Robinson the game devolved into a glorified scrimmage. UCLA added points, but couldn't turn the game into a blowout and Stanford's pride also helped keep the score down. The only excitement late in the game came when Stanford attempted a two-point conversion. The over under for the game was 50 1/2 points, so a successful two point ry would have altered a few fortunes. Thompson-Robinson was UCLA offense with 21 completions in 34 attempts for 182 yards and two TDs. He also ran for a score as well. Stanford's ailing offense was rendered inert by the UCLA defense gaining only 198 total yards.
Telling Stat: Stuck on 55; UCLA held Stanford to an embarrassing 55 yards rushing in this win for the bRuins that snapped their 11-game losing streak to the Cardinal.
Observations
...Throw a punch, ride the bus; Clemson CB Andrew Booth, Jr. was ejected form the Tigers game at Louisville for throwing a punch in the third quarter at Louisville's Trenell Troutman. Clemson HC Dabo Swinney made Booth ride the team managers' bus the 450 miles home. No Plane For You!!!
...Sooner facepalm; The Sooner Schooner took it's nearly annual rollover at home v. West Virginia. Seriously, can't they engineer that thing better? Rollover
...Bell drops ball, things get crazy; Michigan WR Ronnie Bell dropped the potential game-tying TD pass at Penn State that ensured the Wolverines would lose 28-21. Bell was visibly upset over the drop, but that didn't stop Wolverine fans from ripping him on social media. Bell's father got involved after a particularly brutal e-mail was sent to his son. Let's do lunch
...Correction, there is another; I said last week that there are two winless teams left in the BCS. Actually there are three. In addition to Rice and New Mexico State, Akron is also winless. The Zips are truly zip in the win column at 0-7.
...Just a small chip on their shoulder; Utah's play lately screams, "Hey, there is another team in the Pac 12 with just one loss!"
...7-0; SMU is 7-0 for first time since the Pony Express Backfield roamed Texas Stadium. Wow.
...A statistical conundrum; Four of the top five scoring defenses are in the Big Ten. Are the defenses really that good or are the offenses they've played been that bad?
...On the way to 2K; Okie State's Chuba Hubbard lead the nation by far with 1,265 yards rushing through seven games. That puts him on pace for 2,169 yards. No wonder this kid from Sherwood Park, Alberta was sent video well wishes by The Great One, Wayne Gretzky last week.
...Pegged; Ohio U executed a real heady onside kick against Akron last Saturday. Duck!
...Just a rumor; There's no truth to the rumor that Cal and Michigan will be holding open tryouts for the quarterback position this week.
...Laying in the weeds; While SDSU and Boise get all the love in the Mountain West Conference, Utah State is quietly taking care of business in league play.
...No way; If anybody told you they predicted that Baylor and Minnesota would both be undefeated at this point in the season they are lying.
...Champaign with no buzz; Illinois' upset over Wisconsin sure took the shine off this week's Big Ten matchup between the Badgers and Ohio State.
...Just about there; Haven't done the research, but the Pac 12 circle of suck should almost be ready for 2019.
...He had space; I think USC RB Kenon Christon had decent sized hole to run through v. Arizona.
...All the good feels; Nothing but love here for Minnesota redshirt sophomore Casey O'Brien. The kid is a four-time cancer survivor and fought all the way back to hold on a PAT for the Gophers last Saturday. Way to go, kid
...Unfamiliar territory; Texas having to comeback to beat, let alone trail at home to Kansas is a pretty rare thing. So rare, that I bet you can't name who was the last Texas HC to trail at home to Kansas before last weekend.
...Best catch almost nobody saw last week; Check out this grab by Sac State WR Parker Clayton.
One Handed Glory
...Lost Mojo; The superstitious fan in me says Michigan won't be relevant again until they start wearing their maize pants on the road.
...A rarity; USC finally won the turnover battle with a +2 turnover margin v. Arizona.
...Jake Olson wins the internet, again; Former blind long snapper for USC Jake Olson won the internet again with this tweet after Lane Kiffin was fined five large for posting a photo of blind refs on his twitter page. He's got your back, Lane
...Texas trivia answer; The last Texas HC to trail at home to Kansas was John Mackovic. His 1997 Longhorns beat the Jayhawks 45-31, but trialed 21-20 late in the third period.
...Big Sky California; In case you haven't noticed, the same Sac State team that gave ASU fits earlier this year is on top of the Big Sky conference and just whipped Montana 49-22.
...He ain't happy; South Carolina HC Will Muschamp expressed his contempt for one SEC official in this posit game tirade. At his feet
Pac 12 Overreactions
Arizona is far worse than most of us thought.
Colorado is getting to be as bad as we thought.
Stanford needs an O-line transplant.
Cal is just an offense shy off making a bowl.
Arizona State' s youth is showing.
Utah still can't believe they lost to SC.
Wazzu is just happy for a W.
Oregon won't make the CFP.
USC will eventually run out of personnel.
Washington is now a spoiler team in the Pac 12.
UCLA is a 4-8 team.
Oregon State has some hope for the first time in years.
Ugly uniform of the Week
The Buffalo Bills win for their running blood clots look. Yuk.
Low Score Game of The Week: Oberlin, OH- A battle of the tail-enders of the Great Northern Athletic Conference downing D-III wins this week's award. The Oberlin College Yeomen picked u0p their first win of the year with a 7-0 victory over the still winless Hiram College Terriers. The game's lone score game with 6:59 left in the second quarter when QB Chris Allen, Jr. hit WR Ceiveon Munoz with a five yard TD toss. Oberlin won this game despite being outgained by over two hundred yards. The Yeomen defense forced five turnovers to make that lone TD stand.
Blowout Game of the Week: McMinnville, OR- In the Northwest Conference in D-II, the Linfield Wildcats crushed the Willamette Bearcats, 77-0. QB Wyatt Smith led the Linfield offensive attack, completing 17 of 22 passes for 398 yards and six TDs. The Linfiield defense stifled the Bearcats offense, holding them to 151 total yards and 11 first downs.
C.W. Post Press: It was not a pleasant Homecoming day for the Sharks as they were drubbed, 30-0 by the Saint Francis Red Flash. The score was pretty close heading onto the final period with Post down just 9-0, but a 21 point outburst by the Red Flash sealed a other loss for LIU. QB Clay Beathard threw for 157 yards in the losing effort for the Sharks. Up next for LIU is a trip to New Britain, Connecticut to take on Central Connecticut State.
Razorback Report: The Hogs got smoked by Auburn, 51-10 and will get worked over by Alabama this week. The Razorbacks horrible season can be summed up in this abysmally poor fake punt.
Embarrassing
This Week's Three Things About Nothing...
The Enchi-Carinta-Rito is this year's new great tailgate creation.
I have never liked Santa Ana winds.
The latest trailer for the new Star Wars movie is epic.
Until next time, remember every team gets their depth tested this time of the season.
-The Commissioner
