Hey All,
Welcome to the heading to conference championships week edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. WE still miss you, Jim Murray.
Summaries
USC 43- UCLA 38: Pasadena, CA- It was a barnburner at the Rose Bowl. QB Kedon Slovis' eight-yard TD fade to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown capped off another crazy comeback for the Trojans and ripped the hearts out of bRuins fans everywhere. However, it sure didn't start out that way. The Trojans sleepwalked their way through the first 30+ minutes. The offense had no rhythm and the defense looked like it hadn't tackled in weeks. That led to UCLA building up a 28-10 lead with 12:28 left in the third quarter. When UCLA RB Britain Brown went untouched thought SC defense, it looked like a big beatdown was coming for the Men of Troy. However, as they have all season the Trojans got off the deck and rallied to save their season. The Trojans answered that bRuin score with a 38-yard TD pass form Slovis to WR Tyler Vaughns. Then, SC turned a brain cramp by UCLA punter Luke Akers into a three-yard TD pass from Slovis to St. Brown to cut their deficit to just 28-23. UCLA would then extend their lead back out to 35-23 when QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson connected with TE Greg Dulcich in the seam of the zone and he took it 69 yards to the house. SC kept fighting on with a 10-yard TD run, yes run, by RB Vavae Malepeai and another Slovis TD pass to take the lead. This pass was to Drake London to give SC a 36-35 lead after a failed two-point conversion. Robinson then led UCLA on a great drive down the field as time wound down for a go ahead FG by PK Nicholas Barr-Mira to take the lead at 38-36. The Trojans were left with just :52 seconds and a single timeout to work with. Well, fortunately for the Trojans they had Gary Bryant, Jr. back to return the ensuing kickoff. UCLA didn't squib kick the ball nor put it deep enough to ensure a touchback and Bryant had his chance. With a key block form SC RB Markese Stepp, Bryant glided through the bRuins for 56 yards. That set up SC at UCLA 44-yard line. Next came a beautiful 38-yard pass from Slovis to Vaughns to set up SC with a 1st and goal at the UCLA eight-yard line. Next came the game-winner to St. Brown which was an audible called by Slovis. The Trojans the held off UCLA's last chance hail mary to ensure that the Victory Bell would reside at Heritage Hall for another year. Slovis had another big game with 344 yards through the air and five TDs. USC also had a 100-yard rusher with Malepeai gaining 110 yards on 19 carries and a TD. For UCLA, Thompson-Robinson had another big game against USC, completing 30 of 36 passes for 364 yards and four TDs. He also ran for 50 yards. His favorite passing target was Dulcich who hauled in eight passes for 167 yards and a touchdown.
Telling Stat: 43-38 is all that matters; USC was outplayed by UCLA in just a out about every facet of this game but the scoreboard.
Utah 38- Colorado 21: Boulder, CO- It was 24 degrees and snowing when the this one kicked off at 10 AM Boulder time. The Buffaloes were the media darlings of the week out west. Their cause of possibly being undefeated and not getting a shot at the Pac 12 title was told everywhere from Tucson to Pullman. However, for this cause to take hold, they had to stay undefeated. They didn't. It was game of boxing styles. Colorado went for haymakers and flash knockdowns while Utah Worked the body, counterpunched and played strong defense. Tied 7-7 with 1:30 in the second quarter, PR Brenden Rice, (Yes, he's Jerry's kid), took a punt and easily raced down the field for an 81-yard touchdown to hand the Buffs a 14-7 lead. Utah managed to force a late CU fumble and then turned that into a 42-yard field goal by PK Jadon Redding to cut CU's lead to 14-10 at the half. CU caught lightning in a bottle again to start the second half. On the first play form scrimmage, QB Sam Noyer hit Rice on a bubble screen and he again left the Utah defense stuck in the snow behind him to extend the Buffs lead to 21-10. Colorado would never see the end zone again. Utah answered that score with RB Ty Jordan running it in form 18 yards out and then their defense took over. The Utes defense picked off a pass, forced two punts and then held for downs on CU's final four drives to give their offense the chance for the upset. The Utah offense took that chance and ran with it. A 20-yard TD catch by WR Britain Covey and 66-yard TD run by Jordan were wrapped around two more FGs by Redidng to put the game away for the kids form Salt Lake City. As Utah pulled away from the Buffaloes, it was so quiet in Folsom Field you could hear a division title drop. Jordan led all rushers with 147 yards on 17 carries and two TDs. For CU, Noyer threw for 258 yards, two TDs and an interception.
Telling Stat: They didn't, then they couldn't; Colorado ignored using talented freshman RB Jarek Broussard early on. They stuck with a passing game that didn't do much for them in the snow. Then by the time they needed to rely on their running game, they couldn't. Utah had the lead and Broussard was all but eliminated from the gameplan. He quietly gained 80 yards on 14 carries in defeat.
Stanford 27- Oregon State 24: Corvalis, OR- The nomadic Cardinal handed HC David Shaw his11th straight win over the Beavers. With nothing to worry about except football, SU QB Davis Mills had his best game of the year. He completed 21 of 29 passes for 292 yards and TD while also finding the end zone twice on pair of short TD jaunts. More importantly, Mills played a turnover free game. RB Austin Jones had a fine game too rushing for 122 yards on 22 carries. Oregon State played well with QB Chance Nolan throwing for 221 yards and three TDs. OSU RB Jermar Jefferson returned from injury this week, but the was held to just 80 yards on 18 carries. This game was tied at 24-24 with 7:18 to play. Mills then led Stanford to a go ahead field goal. The Cardinal's 10 play, 62-yard march was capped off by a 39-yard FG from PK Jet Toner. OSU's last chance to try to send the game to overtime died when Nolan fumbled at the Cardinal 35-yard line with :55 left.
Telling Stat: Corvalis over Eugene; Stanford PK Jet Toner helped erase his abysmal 0-4 performance at Oregon earlier in the season by making both his field goal attempts and his only PAT in Corvalis to sink the Beavers.
Arizona State 70- Arizona 7: Tucson, AZ- Things started off bad, quickly got worse and then moved from way past worse to pathetic for the woeful Wildcats. ASU KR D.J. Taylor recieived the opening kickoff and took it back a full 100 yards for the game's opening score. UofA would never get this close to the Sun Devils again. ASU ended the first quarter up 21-0 when they added rushing scores of four and 20 yards from RB DeaMont Trayanum and QB Jayden Daniels. UofA gave up three mores scores before notching their lone TD of the game on 20-yard run by RB Michael Wiley. The Wildcats limped into the half, down 42-7. The third quarter saw ASU go for the full humiliation of their rival with three more TDs in the third quarter and one in the fourth. By the time the Sun Devils hit 70 everyone had earned their letter, including RB Jackson He who crossed the double stripe with 7:02 left to become what is believed to be the first Chinese born player to ever score a TD in an FBS game. In the rout, Daniels completed nine of 11 passes for 203 yards and two TDs to go with one on the ground. Fellow Sun Devil, RB Rachaad White led all rushers with 133 yards on 10 carries and three TDs. HIs longest one was a 93-yard sprint six.
Telling Stat: Seven the hard way. Arizona fumbled three times, threw two interceptions and turned the ball over on downs twice in the first half. Five of those failures were turned into touchdowns by Arizona State which turned this rivalry into a rout.
Observations
...So long Sumlin; After having their losing streak extended to 12 games after being utterly embarrassed by rival ASU last Friday, Arizona HC Kevin Sumlin was fired. In his three years in Tucson, the Wildcats posted a meager 9-20 record and lost all three rivalry games to Arizona State.
...Fun Fact; Northwestern will be appearing in their second Big Ten title game. Michigan has never been.
...Memo to Colorado; If you want to whine about how you're getting shafted by the Pac 12, you have to at least win the game that would have kept your complaints somewhat valid.
...Hiring done right; The ACC's top choice to become the league's new commissioner is Northwestern AD Jim Phillips. He's been the AD in Evanston for the last 13 years. If only the Pac 12 would have hired an experienced guy for their commissioner slot way back when. The league would not have been stuck with Tennis Larry. Sigh.
...Longhorn howls; Oh you could hear the cries of pain form Austin when it was announced that HC Tom Herman will be back for another year at Texas. Heck, last week the Longhorn faithful had convinced themselves that Herman was getting fired and that Urban Meyer would be their new HC.
...An almost miracle; Western Michigan's last second bid to beat a Ball State team that thought the game was over didn't work out, but it is sure fun to watch. It wasn't over
...Gloomy Gus; Auburn has parted ways with HC Gus Malzahn. His Auburn squads complied a 68-34 record and a national title game appearance in 2013, his first season on the plains. I hear there's an opening at Springdale High or maybe his Alma Mater, Henderson State.
...Hurricanes grounded..to death; North Carolina ran over the Miami defense in a 62-26 butt-kicking. I mean ran over. The Tar Heels piled up 778 yards of offense. 554 of those came on the ground. Yes, UNC piled up 554 rushing yards. The big thing is 544 of those yards came from two RBs. Michael Carter rushed for 308 yards on 24 carries and two TDs while his backfield mate Javonte Williams rushed for 236 yards on 23 carries and three TDs. UNC averaged 10 yards per carry. Wow.
...Bow(l)ing out; Several schools including Stanford, LSU and Pitt have ended their season rather than accept bowl bids. Some schools are just done with all the testing, postponements, cancellations. I don't blame them a bit.
...New Commodore on deck; Notre Dame DC Clark Lea is now the new HC at Vanderbilt. Lea is a Vanderbilt grad who jumped at the chance to lead his alma mater. So now we have the answer to the question as to who in their right mind would want the Vandy job?
...LS Shoe for the win; Ok, have to say it was fun watching Florida get upset by LSU. Mainly because their HC Dan Mullen is a tool of the highest order. However, it was far more entertaining to see how Florida DB Marco Wilson will be forever known for throwing the shoe heard 'round the college football world. Sole of a Gator
...No longer feeling the Love; Champaign and mediocre football proved not to be a good pairing for Illini HC Lovie Smith. Smith was fired Sunday after five years on the job. The Illini were a disappointing 17-39 during his tenure with the Sons of Chief Illiwinek. His league record was just 10-33 with four of the wins coming against fellow Big Ten doormat Rutgers.
...Bowl game reminder; With the NCAA removing all bowl eligibility restrictions, you will see some teams with long records playing in bowls this year.
...39 years; According to the 10 minutes or so of research from this intrepid reporter, the now-canceled Oregon-Colorado game at the Coliseum would have the first FBS game at the Coliseum to not feature USC as one of the two participants since November 14, 1981 when UCLA defeated ASU, 34-24. 1981 was UCLA's last year as a tenant in the Coliseum.
...Another year; Face it folks, USC will be stuck with HC Clay Helton for another year. SC's shaky 5-0 record, the pandemic and Helton's exorbitantly high buyout guarantees he'll be back in 2021. Helton always gets defended by the SC admin by saying he's man of great character. Great, but you notice none of them say anything about him being a great coach? Sigh.
...2021 and hold the Roses?; The Rose Bowl is serving as one of the semi-final sites for the College Football Playoff or is it? No fans are being allowed at the game this year and that is not to the liking of several of the teams expected to make it to the playoff. Quite an argument and backlash has occurred over this to the point that the idea moving the semi-final from Pasadena to Jerryworld in Dallas is gaining steam. If that happens, then the game will just been known as the semi-final as the city of Pasadena retains the name Rose Bowl. Second, and worst, the folks at the Rose Bowl have said that if the game is moved, there will be no game played in Pasadena on 1-1-2021. Hmmmm.
...Speaking of doormats; Nebraska lost again last weekend. The Huskers were shucked by Minnesota, 24-17. I guess that big hissy fit the folks in Lincoln threw about wanting to play this year was really worth it. Because I know when my team goes 2-5, I'm just thrilled to have watched them play. SMH.
...Not surprised; Less than twelve hours after the Pac 12 announced their week seven football matchups that feature seeded parings of North and South opponents, Arizona and Cal was canceled due to COVID rendering both team well short of enough players to play. That leaves me with one question? Is Arizona's Paul Rhoads still the Wildcats interim HC? There's no reason for him to be one now.
...A football constant; In this year of 2020, there are few things that have remained steady in our world. However we can all look to one unwavering one; Kansas stinks. The Jayhawks are 0-8 and their supreme suckitude is a constant we can all count on in this crazy world.
One last meme for Florida...
- USC is the shakiest 5-0 team ever to take the field.
- Arizona is just glad the year is over.
- Utah is very happy to win a road game in the snow.
- Washington won't play a road game this year.
- Oregon State is still pondering Pac 12 ball spotting procedures.
- Cal hopes to just have spring practice.
- UCLA still can't believe they lost.
- Stanford is just is happy to be home.
- ASU keeps thinking about that onside kick.
- Wazzu wants you to know they are still in the league.
- Colorado is suddenly silent.
- Oregon's second chance lottery ticket came through.
Unnecessary Uniform of the Week
This week's winner is BYU. There's no real reason for the The Cougars to ever wear a black uniform. It just doesn't fit who they are. It looks as ridiculous as when Stanford wears them. SMH.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: West Point, NY- How could any other game but Army-Navy game make it into this week's column? It was the first time the two academies have met at West Point since 1943. It also became Army's first ever win over the Midshipmen at West Point. The game was a great anachronism of purely ground and pound offenses and tough defenses played in a damp fog for the entree 60 minutes. The Black Knights of the Hudson took a 3-0 lead into the half thanks to a 37-yard field goal by PK Quinn Maretzki. The key exchange mount of the game that swung it towards Army's fair was the teams fumbled on back-to-back drives. Army's fumble wasn't recovered as Navy players tried to scoop and score worth it only to see it fall harmlessly out of bounds. On the next possession, Navy fumbled and Army fell on it right away. It then took Army five plays to travel 13 yards for the game's only TD. QB Tyhier Tyler knifed in from four-yards out. Three drives later, Army really put a strangle hold on the game when WR Mark Walker was tackled for a safety by DB Daryan McDonald. A 40-yard FG by Maretzki would finish off the scoring. It was Army's first shutout of Navy in 51 years.
Blowout of the Week: See Arizona State v. Arizona above.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- The Hogs were beat by Alabama 52-3 in game that wasn't as close as it looked.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
.Just about all my gifts are wrapped already this year.
Leftover steak and eggs is a rocking breakfast.
The Mandalorian is one of the coolest shows ever.
Until next week folks, remember that their are only so many times you can make a last-second comeback.
-The Commissioner
