After a triumphant trip to Berkley, this intrepid reporter is proud to present to you another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
USC 41- California 17: The Trojans kicked off at 8 PM in Berkeley, then after playing a mostly sluggish first half, kicked the Bears out of Memorial Stadium to earn their seventh win of the season. This game turned from a 10-10 tight looking affair into a rout after the USC defense knocked Cal QB Chase Garbers out of the game in the middle of the second quarter. The Trojan defense easily handled backup QB Devon Modster, allowing the Bears to score once more after the game was no longer in doubt. The Cal defense had major problems covering the USC receiving corps. They just really couldn't and SC QB Kedon Slovis carved them up. He completed 29 of 35 passes for 406 yards and four TDs. WR Michael Pittman hauled in 11 balls for 180 yards and a TD. RB Stephen Carr retuned from his injuries sustained a few weeks ago against Arizona to rush for 19 yard and a TD, while keeping blitzing LBs off Slovis.
Telling Stat: 31 gets a W; USC went on a 31-0 run that lasted from just before the end of the first half to the Start of the fourth quarter to take a 41-10 lead and send folks home early from Strawberry Canyon.
Oregon State 35- Arizona State 34: Corvallis, OR- ASU WR Brandon Aiyuk piled up 292 all-purpose yards, but it wasn't enough to lift the Sun Devils to a win against the Beavers. This game was see-saw affair with the Beavers holding a 35-28 lead heading into the final period. Both defense held firm in the final period until ASU QB Jayden Daniels hit Aiyk with a 44-yard strike to set up the Sun Devils at the OSU 44-yard line. Nine plays later, ASU faced a fourth and eight form the Beavers 12-yard line. Daniels found Aiyuk one more time, this time for 12 yard and what many thought would be the game-tying touchdown. However, ASU HC Herm Edwards decided to go for two instead. The Two-point converison attempt failed. The Beavers covered the ensuing onside kick and then were able to run out the clock when former Trojan and ASU CB Jack Jones was called for pass interference with just :43 seconds left. The big win was OSU's fifth of the season, which really nobody thought this team could pull off. OSU's Jake Luton completed 26 of 35 passes for 288 yards and four TDs to lead his team to victory. As for ASU, Daniels threw for 334 yards and three scores in the loss.
Telling Stat: They left points on the field; ASU fumbled twice in the second half. One led to OSU's go ahead TD and the other was on the Beavers goal line to kill a drive. Couple that with Herm Edwards' poor two-point conversion call and it all adds up to a bad loss for the Sun Devils.
Washington State 49- Stanford 22: Pullman, WA- Wazzu HC Mike Leach called his team "frauds" last week after they were trounced by Cal. This week, the Cougars exposed the Stanford secondary as frauds. Cougar QB Anthony Gordon torched the Trees, completing 44 of 60 passes for 520 yards and five TDs with one interception. WRs Brandon Arconado and Easop Winston were Gordon's favorite targets combining to haul in 20 balls for 255 yards and three scores. The Cougars did get just enough defense to turn this into a rout by blanking the Cardinal in the first and fourth quarters.
Cardinal QB Davis Mills did have a decent day, tearing up the suspect Wazzu secondary, completing 32 of 49 passes for 494 yards, three TDs and two huge interceptions in there loss.
Telling Stat: 2+6+2+6=W; The WSU defense allowed 510 yards, but registered two sacks, six other tackles for loss, picked off two passes and held Stanford to just six yards rushing to get the W in the Palouse.
Utah 49- UCLA 3: Salt Lake City, UT- The bRuins traveled to Rice-Eccles Stadium with visions of a Pac 12 South division title dancing in their heads. Those visions were dashed by a very nasty Utah defense and opportunistic offense. After surrendering a field goal on UCLA's opening drive, the Utes dominated the game. UCLA just couldn't stop turning the ball over. They did it five times with the Utes scoring 21 points off those bRuin miscues. The bRuin defense couldn't stop Utah QB Tyler Huntley or his backfield mate, Zack Moss. Huntley connected on 14 of 18 aerials for 335 yards and a pair of TDs, while Moss toted the rock 17 times for 127 yards and two scores of his own. UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson completed 20 of 36 passes for 219 yards and two interceptions in the loss.
Telling Stat: 53:05=W; Utah gave up an early field goal, then shutout UCLA over the final 53:05 of game time in this laugher in the Beehive State.
Oregon 34- Arizona 6: Eugene, OR- The Ducks got a win and a light workout in against the Wildcats. Oh, and the Quacks also secured a spot in the Pac 12 title game too. The Webfoots jumped out to an e 21-0 lead and never looked back. Grant Gunnell got the start over Khalil Tate at QB this week, but it didn't matter. Both played poorly and combined for a meager 132 yards though the air with no TDs. For the Ducks, QB Justin Herbert had a good day against the porous Wildcat defense, completing 20 of 28 tosses for 333 yards and four scores.
Telling Stat: 5:09; That was the time left in the second quarter when the Ducks went up 21-0 over the Wildcats to end the competitive portion of this game.
Observations
...The injury; The hip dislocation that Tua Tagovailoa suffered his awful and possibly career ending, but it's tough for me to blame Saban on this one. I can't remember seeing a coach take his starting QB out in a blowout game before the half. Even with al the circumstances around Tua's health, that's a tough knock on Saban.
...8 PM pain; The worst thing about the late kickoff in Berkeley was that ti was senior night at Cal. Instead of a decent kickoff time to allow your seniors to be celebrated in front of packed stadium against and old rival, the place was maybe 2/3 full and rather subdued. Kind of lame.
...Best sponsor ever; The replay reviews at Cal are sponsored by the UC Berkeley Optometry School.
...Tiger Trivia; LSU ran up 714 yards of offense in their 58-37 win over Ole Miss last week. That's the second highest total, ever amassed by the Bayou Bengals in a single game. The most is 746 yards by the 1977 LSU squad in a 77-0 thumping of Rice. Who was the QB of that 1977 LSU team?
...Taking one for the team; Chamberlain Smith, an Intern for the Georgia Athletic department was knocked out on the sideline when she was run over by Bulldog RB Brian Herrien. This is what int looks like on TV. Out Cold She was conscious by the time she was carted off the field. Smith also tweets this out on Tuesday. She got the shot
...The Longhorns are back... to irelevancy; Iowa State's upset of the Longhorns has many burnt orange faithful feeling burnt and wondering they hired the wrong coach in Tom Herman.
...And then there was one; At 0-10, Akron is the only winless school left in the FBS.
...Coolest punch of the year; Check out this pick six from the College fo Idaho Coyotes. Pop, Punch, Score
...Cool story, bro; Watching new USC AD Mike Bohn looking like he'd rather have a root canal than listen to anything Tennis Larry had to say during the SC-Cal game last week warmed many Trojan hearts with the hope that finally they have a guy who can't stand Scott as much as they do.
...Not so Golden; Minnesota fell from the ranks fo the unbeaten, but can still win their division and fight for a CFP spot in the Big Ten title game.
...Out of the picture; Notre Dame is 8-2 and nobody cares.
...Failing praise; Nebraska HC Scott Frost is 8-14, but that was apparently good enough for a two year extension of his current contract. Huh?
...Tiger Trivia answer; That 1977 LSU QB was Steve Ensminger who just happens to be LSU's current Offensive Coordinator.
...Shanks it every time; Former NFL punter and current ESPN Analyst Pat McAfee stinks. He's the reason why nobody cares what kickers think.
...A jug and a record; Ith-a-ca! Ith-a-ca! The Ithaca Bombers secured the their third straight Cortaca Jug victory with a 32-20 win over Cortland State last Saturday. The two teams also set a record for attendance at a D-III game with 45,161 fans filling Met Life Stadium. Here is a pic of the Coratca Jug rivalry trophy that that the two schools play for.
Stanford has reverted back to the mean.
Utah can almost taste the Roses right now.
Cal is still a QB away from a bowl game.
UCLA 's delusions of grandeur have been gutted.
ASU is an almost team, they almost won their last four games.
USC seems to be Alamo Bowl Bound.
Oregon State won't make a bowl.
Arizona needs a GPS to find a way to back to being relevant.
Wazzu will make the Cheez-It Bowl.
Oregon is in cruise control.
Colorado will finish 4-8.
Washington will finish 8-4.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
Because this is the best week to hate any form of light blue, Tulane wins for this sky blue ugliness.
Low Score Game of the Week: Throggs Neck, NY- This week's game comes form the Skyline Conference in D-III. It was senior day at the SUNY- Maritime College and the Privateers used a strong defensive effort and a final last drive from their offense to pull out an 11-9 win over the Mount St. Joseph Lions. The defensive battle stood tied at 9-9 with 6:37 to play when Privateers DE Wayne Betencourt sacked Lions QB Chaiten Tomlin for a safety. After the ensuing free kick, The Privateers rushed the ball 11 times for 31 tough yards to run out the clock and clinch the victory. RB Chistian Schiavone was the star of the drive, lugging the leather nine straight times before QB Jack Lynn took a knee on the final two plays of the game.
Blowout Game of the Week: Tahlequah, OK- The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in D-II provides us with this this week's game. The Fort Hays State Tigers crushed the Northeastern State Riverhawks, 91-7. After a 13 point first quarter, the Tigers put up 42 points in the second period to end this game early. QB Chance Fuller completed 18 of 27 passes for 254 yards and four TDs in one half of playing time.
C.W. Post Press: Villanova, PA- The Sharks fell to 0-9 on the season with a 35-7 loss to the Villanova Wildcats. Post's season will mercifully come to an end next week on senior day when the Sharks host former D-II foe Merrimack College.
Razorback Report: The Hogs were off this week, but will be accorded another chance to lose this week as they travel to LSU.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
It's easy to fall for the empty peanut trick at any age.
The Lucasfilm/ILM campus at the Presidio in San Francisco looks like the coolest place to work like ever.
A sneaky good place to get breakfast and watch NFL games on Sunday is the Greenery Bar & Grill at Diablo Hills Golf Course in Walnut Creek, CA.
Until next time folks, remember that running the ball is still the best way to win games.
-The Commissioner
