Hey All,
Welcome to December! Here's another edition of the the column that makes Tuesdays feel like game days, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Joe Jares.
Summaries
USC 38 - Washington State 13: Los Angeles, CA- The Trojans came out fast and strong.. for a quarter or so. They built up a big lead on the Cougars with hard hitting defense that forced two early turnovers. USC's offense took advantage of the short fields provided by the defense and engineered two other lighting quick drives that resulted in four, count 'em four TD passes from QB Kedon Slovis to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. The four TDs are the most scored in a quarter by one player in Trojan history. The Trojans notched another score through the air when Slovis found Tyler Vaughns from 35 yards out to make the score 35-0 SC with 7:11 left in the second quarter. Then the game degenerated into about 38 minutes of garbage time. USC couldn’t really run up a huge number on the hapless Cougars. In fact, USC couldn’t run period. It took until the last play of the game until the Trojans amassed a whopping five total yards rushing. Most of the second half resembled a Pop Warner scrimmage with both teams emptying their benches. USC played everyone including the walk-ons, while WSU used the their whole traveling party including two different backup QBs on their final drive. Thanks to their opportunistic defense, the Trojans traveled short distances for most of their scores and amassed only 287 total yards. Slovis threw for 282 of those yards, while St. Brown totaled just 65 yards on his seven receptions and those four touchdowns. For the overwhelmed Cougars, QB Jayden de Laura completed 18 of 29 passes for 134 yards and two interceptions.
Telling Stat: They killed their own clock; Down 38-6 with 12:15 left to play, Wazzu’s backups went on a 16-play, 93 yard drive against USC’s backups that ended in a TD, but ran 10::38 off the clock. It was a weird game folks.
California 21- Oregon 17: Berkeley, CA- The fans of the Golden Bears perched high up on Tightwad Hill were treated to a much happier ending than last week when Cal dropped a heartbreaker to Stanford. This time it was Ducks turn to cry in Strawberry Canyon. Cal trailed 17-14 at the half. UO's 17 points came by a 21-yard FG by Henry Katleman, a 39-yard scoring strike form QB Tyler Shough to WR Johnny Johnson III and 1-yard TD jaunt by RB Cyrus Habibi-Liko. Cal's 14 points came on pair of 1-yard TD dives from QB Chase Garbers and RB Bradrick Shaw. The second half was a defensive struggle with the Golden Bears keeping the Webfoots off the scoreboard to match 0 on the back of their shiny chrome helmets. Cal took the lead for good with 5:14 left in the third quarter when Garbers connected with WR Niko Remigio for a 28-yard touchdown. Cal's defense forced two Quack fumbles and held for downs once down the stretch to secure the hard fought win. Garbers led the Cal offense, completing 20 of 32 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Shough was the big gun for the Ducks, completing 14 of 26 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown.
Telling Stat: Second half shutdown; Cal bent, but didn't break v. the Ducks and pitched a second half shutout through sheer toughness. They only gave up 118 yards in the second half and forced four punts, two fumbles and held for downs once to get a big win.
Colorado 24- Arizona 13: Tucson, AZ- The Wildcats played host to the undefeated Buffaloes. For about the first 20 or so minutes of play, Arizona looked like it may just get a win. Reality then came down like a hammer on the Wildcats in the form of CU RB Jarek Broussard. The Wildcats built up a 13-0 lead through then first quarter and change via a 26-yard TD rumble by RB Gray Brightwell and two FGs by PK Lucas Havrisik that covered 38 and 42 yards. Colorado then established their rushing attack with authority when Broussard ripped off a 75-yard run from his own five-yard line to setup the Buffs with a first down at the UofA 20-yard line. Three more runs later, RB Ashaad Clayton hit paydirt form a yard out to cut UofA'a lead to 13-7. Broussard broke off a 59-yard run on CU's next possession which set up Clayton for a four-yard score and a 14-13 lead at the half. CU QB Sam Noyer then went on a 54-yard run of his own as part of an eight play, 80 yard drive that put his squad up 21-13. Arizona had their chances to regain the lead and had an 84-yard drive end in an interception at the Colorado one-yard line and an 88-yard drive end when QB Will Plummer's fourth down pass fell incomplete in the Buffaloes end zone. CU put the game away when they got another huge run from Broussard. This time he raced 72 yards from his own 20 to the UofA eight-yard line. PK Evan Price hit a 19-yard field goal four plays later to put the game out of reach. Broussard had just an incredible day for the Buffs, toting the rock 25 times for 301 yards. For the winless Wildcats RBs Michael Wiley and Gary Brightwell combined for 29 carries, 239 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: A Buffalo stampede in big chunks. Colorado ran over, around and through the Wildcats for 407 yards on 46 carries. they also ripped off single runs of 59, 75, 72, 54 yards on the hapless Arizona defense.
Stanford 31- Washington 26: Seattle, WA- The Cardinal were turned into nomads when strict COVID quarantine orders left them with leaving Palo Alto for the rest of the season as their only viable option to keep playing games. Their home game with the Huskies got turned into a road game. That gave the Washington a fourth straight home game and all the advantages that come with that. Heck, Stanford even had to have their Friday walk-through practice in a public park. So naturally the Cardinal beat the Huskies. After all it is 2020. The Cardinal also did it what has become typical Stanford style over the last decade or so. They ran the ball well and used their huge WRs and TEs to lead from start to finish. A pair of short TDs scampers by RB Austin Jones after long drives gave Stanford a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. A TD run of three yards by RB Nathaniel Peat and a 42-yard FG by PK Jet Toner in the second quarter gave Stanford a 24-3 half-time lead. The Huskies were down 21-0 to Utah last week and rallied to win. This week, UW mounted another comeback, but it would fall short. UW did close the gap to 31-26 with 7:54 left, but would never touch the ball again. Stanford pushed the Huskies around while traveling 79-yards to run out the clock. SU QB Davis Mills completed 20 of 30 passes for 252 yards and a TD, while Jones tallied 138 yards on 31 carries and two TDs in the upset win. For the Huskies, QB Dylan Morris threw for 254 yards and RB Sean McGrew ran for two TDs.
Telling Stat: An old school finish; Faced with a tired defense with a lot of time left to kill, the Stanford offense ran the ball on 12 of 14 plays in a drive that covered 79 yards to run the final 7:47 left off the clock and walk out Husky Stadium with big win.
UCLA 25- Arizona State 18: Tempe. AZ- The game time temperature of 55 degrees was the third coldest at kickoff in Sun Devil Stadium history. The Sun Devils themselves came out equally cold and were shutout for most of the first half by the bRuins. ASU hadn't played since their opener weeks ago and it looked like it. UCLA took advantage of the SunDevils rust and built up a 17-0 lead. bRuin QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson returned to the lineup after a couple of weeks of COVID quarantine and threw a TD pass to WR Delon Hunt and ran for an 11-yard touchdown. PK Nicholas Barr-Mira's 44-yard field goal accounted for UCLA's other three points in the first half. ASU managed to drive the ball to UCLA 31-yard line just before the half and PK Jack Luckhurst knocked it through the uprights from 49-yard out to cut into bRuins lead going into the intermission. The second half saw ASU flip the script on UCLA. ASU shut down UCLA's offense for most of the second half, but major mistakes in all facets of the game gave UCLA the chance it needed to win the game. ASU did manage to take an 18-17 lead with 4:26 left to play, but the Sun Devils also turned the ball over twice, (once at the UCLA one-yard line), missed a field goal but had two other TDs called back on penalties. Thompson-Robinson turned in his best drive of the night when his squad needed it most. He led the bRuins on a 75-yard drive that was capped off by rather odd TD run by RB Demetric Felton. With a first and goal UCLA was trying to run the clock down in order to set up a chip shot field goal attempt. ASU HC Herm Edwards decided that letting UCLA score a TD would give his team a better chance to comeback than to try and block a field goal. The ASU defense put up token resistance while Felton tried to stop short of the goal line. ASU's defense basically escorted him into the end zone. Robinson then found WR Chase Cota for the two-point conversion to extend the lead to seven points. The Sun Devils last chance drive died at their own 49-yard line and UCLA had the win. Robinson finished the game with 192 yards passing with a TD to go with 49 yards rushing and a TD in the win. In the tough loss, QB Jayden Daniels threw for 225 yards and a TD in the air to go with one he got on the ground.
Telling Stat: Four major miscues=L; Two turnovers deep in UCLA territory and two TDs called back by penalties sunk the Sun Devils in this game.
Utah 30- Oregon State 24: Salt Lake City, UT- The Beavers arrived at Rice-Eccles Stadium minus their starting QB Tristan Gebbia and top RB. Gebbia was out due to the leg injury he should have never suffered last week v. Oregon. Jefferson was part of a group of players that were held out for COVID reasons. The Utes took advantage of their absence to build up a 30-10 lead with 14:37 left in the final quarter. Then, while Utah began to feel good about themselves, OSU made a comeback. The Beavers put together TD drives of 65 and 61 yards against that had been a pretty stingy Utah defense. OSU QB Chance Nolan, the one-play hero of last week's upset of Oregon, tried to pull off another shocker. The kid came close, but the last two times his squad had the ball they were stopped on downs in Utah territory. Nolan finished the game completing 20 of 38 aerials for 202 yards, a TD and an interception. QB Jake Bentley threw for 127 yards and a TD, while RB Ty Jordan ran for a 167 yards on 27 carries and a TD for the victorious Utes.
Telling Stat: Two out, too bad for Beavers; Missing QB Tristan Gebbia and RB Jermar Jefferson from their lineup was the deciding factor int this game.
Observations
...Big Ten scramble mode- GO!; The Michigan-Ohio State game has been cancelled due COVID concerns with the Wolverines. That leaves TheeeOSU ineligible for the league title game because they haven't played enough conference games. I'm sure the Big Ten is about to come up with a rule change right now.
...They gone; Cincinnati would like to see its’ warmest regards to BYU for taking themselves out of the New Year’s Six picture.
...Fox hosed; The Michigan-Ohio State game was Fox's Big Noon showcase game this week. Ouch.
...Not qualified; No wonder the officiating in the Pac 12 is poor. The league's own supervisor of officiating isn't qualified for the job. Never worked a Power 5 game
...The got ‘em in; For the first time in this abbreviated season, the Pac 12 actually got all six scheduled games played this past weekend.
...explOsion; With all his tirades this year on the LSU sideline Coach O looks to have lost it.
...Longhorn down; RIP to former Texas HC Fred Akers who had the temerity to succeed legend Darrell Royal in Austin.
...5 pick Rice; Congrats to Rice who shutout previously undefeated Marshall 20-0. The Rice defense piked off five passes in the win.
...Good move, Gameday; Pretty stoked to see College Gameday headed to West Point this week for the Army-Navy game. Remember, football is the easiest thing the Cadets and Midshipmen do all week.
...What happens in Antigua, gets shown on Bravo; UNLV QB Max Gilliam has apologized for eating sushi off a nude model while appearing on the reality TV show Below Decks. SMH Viva Antigua
...Not giving it up; Get this straight folks, no Pac 12 North team is going to give up a spot in the Pac 12 title game if USC and Colorado both end up undefeated after this Saturday.
...Slouching towards Tucson; Keep an eye on the Arizona- Arizona State game this week. It may the last time you see HC Kevin Sumlin coach the Wildcats.
...Memo to the eastern writers; If Colorado RB Jarek Broussard doesn't get a spot on the freshman All-America team, you're just a bunch of idiots.
...No Lane Train; Sorry to see the Ole Miss-Texas A&M game was cancelled this week.
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that LSU's defensive backs will be known as Roasted, Toasted, Basted, and Burnt for the rest of the season.
...Memo to Washington HC Jimmy Lake; The game actually starts on the opening kickoff.
....So relieved; It’s great to know the TheeeOSU HC Ryan Day will be back to work this week. He was sure missed in the Buckeyes 52-12 thumping of Michigan State.
...Those incredible shrinking bowls; With the cancellation sow the Las Vegas and LA Bowls, the Pac 12 is down to four bowl tie-ins. They are a New Year's Six game, Alamo Bowl, Independence Bowl and the Armed Forces Bowl. Sigh.
Pac 12 Overreactions
- USC can't run the ball well enough to win the weak Pac 12.
- Colorado will surprise someone in a bowl game.
- Oregon keeps wondering when Phil Knight will want his money back.
- Wazzu fans all of sudden miss having Mike Leach around.
- ASU is the almost team of the Pac 12. They almost win games.
- Washington will finally play a road game.
- UCLA needs a giant jar of Stickum.
- Stanford seems to be digging life on the road.
- Utah is just happy to finally get a win.
- Arizona just might win the Territorial Cup.
- Cal loves the taste of Duck.
- Oregon State is three bad spots away from a winning season.
Not So Ugly Uniform of the Week
This all-gray ensemble for Arizona isn't bad. However, why wear this at home? Its a pretty cool road gray uniform.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Madison, WI- In this madness that is 2020, Wisconsin finds themselves as the only FBS team to be in this department twice in one season. The Badgers are the losing team again too. This time in a 14-6 loss to Indiana. The Hoosiers were without their starting QB who is out for the season and still managed to outscore the hapless Badgers. Indiana was outgained by over 100 yards, but forced a pair of TDs and allowed only a pair of short field goals on Wisconsin's two trips into the red zone.
Razorback Report: Columbia, MO- The Hogs came up just a little short in a game that featured 171 offensive plays, 1,119 yards of total offense and 71 first downs. The 50-48 loss was heartbreaking indeed. Up next form the Hogs is a date with Alabama.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Lionel trains at Christmas time are still cool.
A good pastrami sandwich can make your whole day.
I'm sick of Santa Ana winds.
Until next time, remember that you have to run the ball well to win championships.
-The Commissioner
