Hey All, is time for yet another wonderful trip through the weekend that was in football with another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Observations
...Sorry, not sorry; TheeeOSU HC Ryan Day apologized for not taking a knee in the final seconds of the Buckeyes blowout of Nebraska. His explanation for punching it in the end zone one more time was, " I had a younger quarterback in the game, and I didn't feel like we had the personnel to take a knee, and I probably should have done that." What a joke. Every QB at some point has taken a knee to end a game. Really, telling the QB to just take the snap and fall down required a special personnel package with a 45-17 lead? Facepalm.
...Just call dad; This story slipped by me a week or so ago and was b brought to my attention by this blog's field office rep in La Quinta, California. FCS power Stephen F. Austin HC Colby Carthel tested positive for COVID on 10/14. Did Carthel panic when he had leave his team to play without him that week? No, he just called his dad, Don, a retired FCS football HC to take over the team for the week. Dad coached SFAU to a win over Angelo State. Read all about it here, He left the tractor running
...Not crying for Nick; I am sorry that Alabama star wideout Jayklen Waddle blew out his ankle on the opening kickoff v. Tennessee. I'm not sorry for Nick Saban. Saban has someone just as talented on the bench ready to take Waddle's place.
...1987; That was the last time an Indiana team upset a top ten team. The Hoosiers incredible win over Penn State took a little shine off the penny that was TheeeOSU at Penn State this week for College Gameday who had already announced they would be in Happy Valley.
...You're right, we were wrong, here's your fine; Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin was fined for being right last week. In the Rebels, 35-28 loss to Auburn, A kickoff return in which it appeared that Auburn kick returner Shaun Shivers touched a ball that then rolled into the end zone and was called a touchback. The game was never stopped by the replay official so a review could take place. The Rebels held a 28-27 lead at the time and could have gone up 35-27 if a review had been made and the call gone their way. The SEC admitted their mistake and then fined Kiffin for criticizing the officials. It's good to know that the SEC has picked up the slack for bad officiating since the Pac 12 hasn't started up yet this year. 25K
...Memo to Rutgers; Way to go on getting a Big Ten win for the first time in forever! Just remember you needed to force seven turnovers to get a 37-28 win over a Michigan State team that has an offense so poor it needs Waze to find the end zone.
...Fall color; Snapped this screen shot of the trees turning just outside of Purdue's Ross-Ade Stadium during a replay in the Iowa-Purdue game. (Sorry for the window reflection in the shot)
...A thin line between Friday night and Sunday morning; Wisconsin QB Graham Mertz had a great game for the Badgers in their 45-7 rout of Illinois. Then Sunday Mertz found out he had tested positive for COVID. Wisconsin's third string QB has tested positive too. That means with the training camp injury to original starting QB Bert Coan, the Badgers top three QBs are out for this week's game.
...Buzz on hold; Simple reason why 6-0 Clemson and 5-0 Notre Dame aren't grabbing many headlines right now. The pair play each other in two weeks. If they both get by their next opponent, just watch the hype machine set this up as the game as the next "Game of the Century" Oh, and you count on College Gameday being in South Bend too.
...Can you really call it a game then?; possibly for the first time since the 1930s, TheeeOSU played a game where nobody dotted the I in the script Ohio.
...NDSU South?; Kansas State is 4-0 and on top of the Big XII. HC Chris Klieman has the Wildcats playing hard and tough like his North Dakota State Bison did while had a stranglehold on the FCS.
...Gone in 60 minutes; In one game, Va Tech went from contender in the ACC to irrelevant. The Hokies lost to Wake Forest, 23-16. The loss invokes the little known ACC humiliation rule that states that any team that loses to Wake Forest must be treated as a joke for the rest of the season.
...Just a rumor; There's no truth to the rumor that Graham Mertz is related to Fred and Ethel.
...The kid is good; Nebraska is gonna have their struggles this year, but Husker QB Luke McCaffrey is really good. Well, he is Ed McCaffrey's son, Christian's brother and his mother, Lisa was a star athlete in college too. So, there is some talent in the bloodline.
...Westwood Foodies; Evidently UCLA HC Chip Kelly is a foodie and his team doesn't win, but they sure eat well according to the very large amount of money the spent on gourmet fare. Food unequal to Wins
Dull Uniform of the Week
This week's award goes to UNLV for sporting this ensemble v. San Diego State. These all whites with the silver numbers and letters are dull. They are especially dull for a team from flashy, gaudy, Las Vegas. The team played as dull as these togs in a 34-6 loss to the Aztecs.
Departments
Blowout Game of the Week: Newton, KS- Once again we find ourselves in the NAIA ranks, where the Threshers of Bethel College walloped the Ottawa University (KS) Braves, 78-23. Thresher QB Zach Esau only completed six of nine passes in the game, but they went for 164 yards and three TDs. He also ran the ball 13 times for 100 yards and two more scores. Bethel racked up 358 rushing yards as a team with six different ball carriers scoring seven TDs on the ground. This was the Threshers second straight game topping the 70 point mark and they are scoring on average 60.2 points per game.
Making Your One Game Count This Week: This newly made up award goes to Bluffton University who played their one and only game of the fall and made it count with a 28-21 lead over Adrian College. The Beavers of Bluffton ran for 372 yards, with RB Darian Greeley having a huge game. He lugged the leather 42 times for 297 yards and three TDs.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
While a good portion of the country got hit with snow, it finally felt like fall in Southern California. Which means it dropped below 70 here.
Not looking forward to turning the clocks back this weekend.
Fifth Avenue candy bars rock.
Until next week folks, remember that just getting to game day for these teams is an achievement this year.
-The Commissioner
