Hey All,
What another crazy weekend it was in college football. Time to look back at it with another edition of Notes on Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Mel Durslag.
Summaries
USC 45- Washington State 14: Pullman, WA- You never know how a team will respond to having their HC fired. The Trojans seemed to not be handling it well under new Interim HC Donte Williams. They trailed 14-0 late in the first half at Martin Stadium. Outside of a goal line stand earlier by the defense, USC looked lost on the field. The Trojans were also down to backup QB Jaxson Dart after starter Kedon Slovis was injured on the first drive of the game. Dart didn't get off to a great start turning the ball over on two of his first three drives in relief of Slovis. So, you can imagine the concern that echoed through the USC fan base when the Trojans decided to go for it on 4th and 9 from the Wazzu 38-yard line with :32 left in the half. The Trojans fortunes changed on that 4th and 9 play when the true freshman QB read the coverage correctly and threw a 38-yard scoring strike to WR Gary Bryant, Jr. Things really got rolling in the third quarter, when USC forced a Wazzu fumble on the second half kickoff. Eight plays later the game was tied on a 5-yard TD pass from Dart to WR Drake London. That started a third quarter barrage that would see the Trojans score 28 points in the period. While Dart continued to slice and dice the Cougars secondary, the USC defense produced a TD of their own. DE Drake Jackson raced around the OT trying to block him and nailed Wazzu QB Victor Gabalis (who was subbing for injured starter Jayden de Laura) in the end zone for a strip sack. That strip sack turned into a Trojan touchdown when DT Tuli Tuipulotu recovered the fumble. USC would take a surprising 35-14 lead into the final period. The Trojans would tack on ten more points to finish the rout and hand Williams his first win as a head coach. Considering he was thrown into the fray suddenly due to injury, Dart had a game that reflected the experience that most of us had as college freshmen. It was pretty great overall, while also going off the rails at times. He completed 30 of 46 passes for 391 yards with four TDs, two interceptions and a fumble. He also was SC's leading rusher with 32 yards on six carries. For Wazzu, de Laura completed 10 of 19 passes for 117 yards and two scores and an interception. He saw limited time after being injured in the first half.
Telling Stat: 28 is great; After scoring only one third quarter touchdown in their last eight games, USC exploded for four TDs in the third quarter against the Cougars. USC hadn't done that since 2005 v. Hawaii.
Oregon State 42- Idaho 0: Corvalis, OR- The Beavers did what not many Pac 12 teams have done this year. They smacked around a non-conference foe in a 42-0 pasting of the Idaho Vandals. The Beavers methodically posted two TDs in each of the first three periods against the overmatched team from Moscow. QB Chance Nolan led the OSU attack completing 14 of 29 passes for 175 yards and three touchdowns. Beavers RB B.J. Baylor led all rushers with 69 yards on 11 carries and two TDs of his own. The Beavers defense did keep the Vandals off the scoreboard, but Idaho's first three drives did make their way into Oregon State territory. OSU held for downs on all three of those drives. Up 28-0 at the half, OSU would then Idaho to 60 total yards in the second half which allowed the Beavers to empty their benches in this laugher at Reser Stadium.
Telling Stat: Thats a pretty big zero; Oregon State recorded a shutout for the first time since 2008. That was when they gutted out a 3-0 win over Pittsburgh in that least desirable of Pac 12 post season contests, the Sun Bowl.
Fresno State 40- UCLA 37: Pasadena, CA- A funny thing happened on the latest stop of the Fresno State moral victory tour. Jake Haener was what happened. Well, Jake Haener and a porous UCLA secondary happened. Let me set up the scene here. With 9:23 left in the game, the Bulldogs held a 26-17 lead over a bRuins squad that had read a whole lot of their press clippings the last two weeks. However, UCLA did manage to cut the Bulldogs lead to 26-24 thanks to a very generous replay official that upheld the call on the field that WR Kyle Phillips did catch a 42-yard pass from QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. After the ensuing kickoff, FSU WR Josh Kelly was stripped of the ball and UCLA recovered on the Bulldogs 18-yard line. Three plays later, RB Zach Charbonnet muscled his way into the end zone from three yards out. Thompson-Robinson then ran for the two-point conversion. It looked like UCLA had avoided the upset and FSU would be sent back to the central valley with another near miss against a Pac 12 foe. Bulldogs QB Jake Haener said "No, not tonight." He led a 10-play, 75-yard drive scoring drive and threw the go-ahead TD 19-yard pass to WR Erik Brooks after being sandwiched by two bRuins on the play previous. UCLA then surged back ahead with a gutsy 75-yard TD drive of their own when Robinson and Phillips hooked upon for another score. This one was from 15-yards out to give UCLA a 37-33 lead with :55 seconds left. The bRuin student section was jubilant. It looked like UCLA had pulled out the win. Jake Haener again said, "No, not tonight." Visibly limping from the pain of the hit he took earlier on every play, Haener willed his squad on 75-yard game winning march. His final throw was a 13-yard TD toss to WR Jalen Cropper. The Fresno defense then swatted away UCLA's Hail Mary attempt as time ran out to claim the upset victory. Haener put up some big numbers. He completed 39 of 53 passes for 455 yards and two TDs Haener's backfield mate, Reggie Rivers ran for 136 yards on 21 carries and scored two TDs to lead all rushers. In the tough loss, Thompson-Robinson completed 14 of 24 passes for 278 yards and three TDs.
Telling Stat: 91-53 + 40:20 = 40-37; Fresno State ran 91 plays to just 53 for the bRuins. The Bulldogs also held the ball for 40:20. This led to a a gassed UCLA defense that helped this upset happen.
Minnesota 30- Colorado 0: Boulder, CO- This game could have been an interesting matchup of lower tier teams form the Big Ten and Pac 12. The Minnesota defense made sure nothing interesting would be happing in this game unless you were form the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The Golden Gophers defense played the roll of buzz-killers as they snuffed out the Buffaloes offense from start to finish. While the Buffs offense specialized in racking up negative yardage in the first half, the Gophers didn't really put the game away either. Minnesota took a seemingly vulnerable 13-0 lead into the half on two TD runs by RB Treyson Potts that covered 13 and two yards. The third quarter saw Minnesota add to their lead when Potts found the end zone from three yards out with :23 left in the period. The game was essentially over at this point because the Buffaloes offense couldn't cross the street, much less put together a meaningful drive. A 33-yard field goal by PK Matthew Trickett and a 14-yard TD rumble by RB Ky Thomas finished off the scoring in this snoozer of a game. Potts led all rushers with 126 yards on 26 carries and three TDs. Colorado had no offense to speak of. The Buffs finished the game with 63 total yards and an awful -19 yards rushing.
Telling Stat: -4/63/5= Shutout; Minnesota's defense held Colorado to -4 yards in the first half, 63 yards total and pushed the Buffaloes into negative yards on five separate drives on the way to recording a stone cold shutout.
California 42- Sacramento State 30: Berkeley, CA- The Capital Corridor is still firmly in control of the Golden Bears. Cal held off a pesky bunch of Hornets to grab their first win of the year. The Bears got a lead and then held that lead instead of collapsing as they had done the previous two weeks. RB Damien Moore paced Cal to a 14-6 first quarter lead with a pair of four-yard scoring runs. A 45-yard scoring pass from QB Chase Garbers to WR Jeremiah Hunter put Cal up 21-6 at the intermission. Cal, then extended their lead to 28-6 on a 99-yard kickoff return by KR Nikko Remigio to start the second half. The two squads then traded scores the rest of the way with the Hornets picking up a final TD with 1:28 left to make the score look closer than it really was. Garbers finished the day completing 22 of 34 passes for 288 yards and two TDs. Sac State QB Jake Dunniway completed 25 of 43 tosses for 370 yards, two TDs and an interception.
Telling Stat: First 30 is enough; The Cal defense got torched up and down the field yardage-wise, but gave up only six first half points which helped their offense create the separation they needed to win the game.
San Diego State 33- Utah 31 3OT- Dignity Health Park, Carson, CA- The Aztecs held a 24-10 lead on the Utes with 5:24 left in the third period. Utah QB Charlie Brewer had been ineffective in the game and had been replaced by Cameron Rising to try and jump start the Utes offense. Rising did get the offense moving a bit, but when the boys from Montezuma Mesa stopped the Utes on the SDSU four-yard line with 8:58 left in regulation, it looked SDSU was going to put the game away with a good drive. They didn't. Utah forced a three-and-out, then Rising did rise, leading his squad on a 10-play 63-yard drive to cut their deficit to 24-16. The TD came on a two-yard pass from Rising to WR Britain Covey. After another Aztec punt on the ensuing possession, Rising did it again. This time he drove the Utes 74 yards in 13 plays for the game-trying TD which came on a four yard pass from Rising to WR Theo Howard and a two-point conversion pass from Rising to WR Connor O'Toole. SDSU then ran out the clock and the game moved to overtime. In the first OT period, the teams traded TDs. In the second they traded missed field goals. The third OT period saw the new NCAA OT rule come into effect. The game would now turn into a two-point conversion shootout. SDSU scored on theirs when WR Jesse Matthews connected with QB Lucas Johnson for the two-pointer running the Aztecs version of the Philly Special. Utah's attempt to send the game to a fourth OT failed when Rising's pass to O'toole was ruled incomplete by the replay booth. The Aztecs were jubilant in victory while the Utes were stunned. Rising finished the night with 153 yards passing and three TDs in the comeback bid. SDSU threw for only 44 yards on the Utes, but did rush for 219 yards with RB Greg Bell leading the way with 126 yards on 33 carries and two touchdowns.
Telling Stat: Generous 14 leads to L; Utah gave SDSU 14 points on a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD along with a seven-yard TD run following an interception that made a huge difference in this game.
Northern Arizona 21- Arizona 19: Tucson, AZ- What could easily be called the lowest point in the history of Arizona football thankfully wasn't seen by many because it aired on the Pac 12 Network. However, this intrepid reporter saw the game and it was depressing to watch. The Wildcats came into this one hoping to break a streak of 714 days since their last win when they squared off against their little brothers from the Big Sky, the NAU Lumberjacks. Arizona did start well with PK Lucas Havrisik hitting a 51-yard FG and QB Will Plummer throwing a 49-yard TD pass to WR Boobie Curry that gave the Wildcats an early, 10-0 lead. Havrisik would tack on a short 24-yard FG early in the second period and that would be all for the UofA offense until later in the fourth quarter. The Lumberjacks found ways to chop into their deficit in that time frame. NAU got on the scoreboard just before half when DB Brady Shough picked off a Plummer pass and took it back 28-yards for a pick six. NAU took the lead when they put together a seven-play 65-yard drive that culminated in a 12-yard TD run by RB Kevin Daniels. With 7:53 to play, NAU extended their lead to 21-13 when QB R.J. Martinez completed a nine-yard TD pass to WR Hendrix Johnson. Plummer, who had thrown the interception that set up NAU's last score, was pulled and Jordan McCloud came into to play QB. McCloud led the Wildcats on a drive that covered 85 yards in seven plays for a TD. McCloud connected with Curry from three yards out for the score. However, McCloud's pass for the tying two-point conversion failed. UofA's defense would have to stop NAU for a chance to pull the game out. They didn't. NAU picked up a first down and with 2:04 left. They then just ran out the clock as the Wildcats were out of time outs. Kevin Daniels led the way for the Lumberjacks gaining 127 yards rushing on 27 carries with a touchdown. Plummer threw for 191 yards, a TD and two huge interceptions in the loss for UofA.
Telling Stat: 21-3 gets it done; Northern Arizona scored all 21 of their points off Arizona turnovers. The Wildcats could only muster three points of the Lumberjacks miscues.
Stanford 43- Vanderbilt 23: Nashville, TN- The Cardinal started off the game with a 7-yard TD run by QB Tanner Mckee and never really looked back as they simply outclassed the Commodores. The pesky Commodores did force a 14-14 tie late in the second quarter, but Stanford would go on a 20-0 over the last few minutes of the first half and the opening minutes of the second half to put the game away. Up 34-14, the game then devolved into a clock draining scrimmage until the Cardinal broke through with a drive that covered 86 yards. The final yard was gained on a one-yard plunge by former Cowboys HOF RB Emmitt Smith's son, E.J. Smith. Vandy would get a cosmetic score in the waning seconds to make the game look a little closer than it was.
Telling Stat: Short fields result in a win; Stanford's 20- 0 run to take control of the game resulted from a Vandy interception and poor punt coverage. The Cardinal drove an average of only 28 yards on the four drives that produced those 20 points.
Oregon 48- Stony Brook 7: Eugene, OR- The Hi-liter yellow clad Ducks suffered from a first half hangover from their win last week at TheeeOSU. The Quacks owned a mere 17-7 lead over their FCS foe from New York at the half. However, the Ducks did wake up in the second half and wore down Stony Brook. The Quacks put up 31 second half points in this late occurring blowout. The Webfoots forced two turnovers and held for downs once to set up three quick scores. UO held a 34-7 lead early in the final period and this game was essentially over. Anthony Brown led a flock of three different Ducks signal callers that combined for 263 yards passing and three TDs. Tyquell Fields threw for 131 yards and three interceptions in the loss for Stony Brook.
Telling Stat: The did it the short way; Thanks to their defense and special teams, Oregon scored on drives of 48, 11, 15, 54, and 65 yards in the second half to make this game a blowout.
Washington 52- Arkansas State 0: Seattle, WA- Ahhhh, the Huskies finally got a win. The Dawgs got a lot of early season frustrations out when they took a big bite out of the Red Wolves. The Dawgs discovered the forward pass was still legal in this game. Eight different receivers made 25 catches with three touchdowns on the afternoon. QB Dylan Morris competed 23 of those passes for 367 yards and three TDs to go with two interceptions. Two touchdowns in each of the first two quarters put the Huskies up 28-0 at the break. The second half saw the Dawgs tack on 24 more points as both teams emptied their benches in the final stanza. Eight different Huskies also carried the ball, combining for 200 yards on 39 carries and three scores. ASU QB James Blackman completed 16 of 38 passes for 176 yards in the loss for ASU.
Telling Stat: 48 is great; For the first time this year, Washington held an opponent to under a hundred yards on the ground. The Huskies held Arkansas State to 48 yards rushing en route to a lopsided win.
BYU 27- Arizona State 17: Provo, UT- The Sun Devils have suffered from slow starts, turnovers and double digit penalties in their first two games of the year. Both of those games were against very weak teams. ASU was able to overcome those mistakes and win. That didn't happen here. The Sun Devils put-up only seven first half points, turned the ball over four times and were flagged 16 times for 121 yards in their loss to the Cougars. That's the whole story of the game. ASU beat BYU in almost every other statistical category but couldn't get out of their own way.
Telling Stat: Just read the paragraph above.
Observations
...Old cynical wisdom; There's an old Croatian saying that deals with bad things that happen to you while traveling. When translated it basically means, "That's what you get for going there." (Note: The Croatian people are not a very positive bunch.) I think LSU and Auburn are feeling that right now.
...He's gone; Utah QB Charlie Brewer has quit the team. He was benched in the second half of the Utes' 33-31 triple OT loss to SDSU last week. Wow. Salt Lake City in his rear view mirror
...An odd feeling; For the first time in years, the USC fan base felt happiness while watching the Trojans. For the first time in forever the Trojans faithful didn't witness a win that felt like a loss or after the game lamented, "Yeah we won, but we're still stuck with Helton."
...Fashionably late; After spending the last days of "the season" in Newport, the Ivy League managed to start their football season last weekend. Ahhh, the Ancient Eight does enjoy their summers.
...Dusting off the Cardinal jerseys; After spending the last four weeks of last season on the road and the first three weeks of this season on the road, Stanford will finally play a home game this week v. UCLA.
...4.3 seconds; That was amount of time it took for the USC message boards to go from rejoicing over the firing of Clay Helton to arguing over who should be the next head coach.
...Bad cupcakes; The Pac 12's cupcake games on the schedule this year have been anything but that. They ended up being bran muffins topped with Kale. They have left the league with a bad taste its' mouth and feeling pretty hollow inside.
...Hero status; Jake Haener will be spoken of in reverent tones by the local populace and the memory of his great efforts against the bRuins may already have become legend in Fresno.
...Marketing with suds; Portland State HC Bruce Barnum wanted to draw fans to see his Vikings who have started the year at 0-2. Barnum offered to buy a beer for every fan who showed up for their home opener v. Western Oregon. Maybe the generosity worked. Portland State won, 21-7. There is also no truth to the rumor that the Portland Police Department set up a DUI checkpoint right outside the stadium.
...Transitive theory in action; So is Fresno State now better than LSU? Just asking for a friend.
...Humor in the Big Easy; You gotta hand it to WWL-TV New Orleans for picking a funny photo to illustrate that the Saints were losing at the half on Sunday.
...Ralphie ran farther; Colorado's Mascot, Ralphie covered more yardage in her pregame dash around Folsom Field than the Colorado offense gained in four quarters v. Minnesota.
...Sack is the term; When the USC defense actually tackled the WSU QB behind the line of scrimmage, I had to look up what that is called. It had been so long since I had seen a sack by a Trojan.
...Redundency personified; They had a white-out at the BYU game v. ASU. Isn't every day at BYU a white-out?
...Shaw miffed; Stanford HC David shaw was little miffed that his team's beatdown of USC was seen as a an ultimate firing offense by the USC admin. Face it, Dave. Even when the Cardinal are good, nobody respects your team.
...Not a cool wheelie; USC's team plane did a wheelie on the tarmac in Pullman last week. Wheels Up!
...No doubt about it; Best throw I saw all Saturday was when my sister, Luci nailed a perfect shot in Cornhole with the game on the line. She was nails under pressure.
...45 years; After being whipped by Wake Forest, Florida State is 0-3 for the first time since 1976. Which incidentally was Bobby Bowden's first year as the HC at FSU.
...The Visor can design an offense; In six off their last eight games, Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss squad has put up over 600 yards of offense. Wow.
...It does happen; When the students move in and classes actually are set to start in Westwood, you can count on UCLA blowing a game.
...Anothewr week, another Hail Mary; SMU pulled off the feat to beat Louisiana Tech. Another one
...Too bad and anticipating; With the way they have started the season, it's pretty sad that BYU won't face SDSU this year. However, it will be really fun to see Fresno State travel to SDSU on 10/30.
...Only the CFL punts on third down; In the Auburn- Penn State game, the SEC officiating crew cost Penn State a down and the Nittany Lions were forced to punt early on a series because of the error.
...Two other errors for the SEC; Earlier in the day, the SEC crew in the Memphis-Mississippi State game made two errors on what would be a 94-yard punt return TD for the Tigers. If either of the missed calls had been made, the punt return would have been nullified and the Bulldogs would have still had a real shot to win the game, Facepalm. Double Fail
...Shade from the Valley; Fresno State Football wasted no time throwing down a serious burn towards UCLA after the Bulldogs pulled off their upset of the bRuins. Serious Shade
...Unthinkable; BYU still has games with Wazzu and USC coming up. So it is possible for the Cougars to sport a 5-0 record v. the Pac 12 this year. SMH.
...I've been asked a lot this week who I think should be the next HC at USC. I'm so bad at picking coaches. I thought Lane Kiffin would be good and originally hated the hiring of Pete Carroll. However, I think Danny O'Shea deserves a shot. I mean who wouldn't want to see SC run The Annexation of Puerto Rico?
Pac 12 Overreactions
USC has shot at the Pac 12 title.
Utah will lose three more games.
Wazzu won't win three games.
Oregon State will make a bowl.
ASU is a 6-6 team.
Cal will give up 500 yards passing twice this year.
Arizona will go 0-12.
Stanford will parlay the no respect card into a Sun Bowl bid.
Oregon will sleepwalk to two losses.
Washington will go 4-8.
UCLA will go 8-4.
Colorado will eventually score a touchdown.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
Oregon wins again fort this Hi-Liter Yellow ensemble. It's just painful to see.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Milton, MA- The Curry College Colonels of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (Alliteration is cool!) crossed the double stripe twice in the second quarter to grab a 14-7 non conference win over the Hartwick College Hawks of the Empire 8 Conference. Trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, the Colonels tied the game on a 14-yard pass from QB Gabe DeSouza to RB Justin Mullnaey. They then went ahead when Mullaney found the end zone on a three-yard run. The Curry defense protected the lead the rest of the way for the win.
Blowout Game of the Week: Durango, CO- The Orediggers of the Colorado School of Mines dominated all phases of the game in a 76-0 grounding of the Fort Lewis Skyhawks in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game. Six different backs combined to rush for 300 yards on 54 carries for CSM with five TDs. The Oredigggers also threw for five TD as well with QB John Matocha completing 12 of 16 passes for 186 yards and three scores in one half's worth of work. The CSM defense was as tough as the Rockies allowing just 23 total yards and two first downs.
Razorback Report: After throttling Texas last week, the Hogs showed no real signs of let up this week in there 45-10 win over the Georgia Southern Eagles. QB K.J. Jefferson has a great day completing 13 of 23 passes for 366 yards and three TDs. Jefferson's great day included a 91-yard scoring strike to WR Treylon Burks. Meanwhile the Razorback defense held GSU in check allowing 235 yards. Next week, the Hogs travel to Jerryworld in Arlington to take on the Aggies of Texas A&M in their SEC opener.
This Week's Three Things About Nothing....
What was a beginning of fall chill last week has been replaced with mild Santa Ana winds this week. Seems like a fitting way for Autumn to begin in Southern California.
The Salted Caramel chips for baking from Trader Joe's are amazing.
The new Dug Days series on Disney Plus is pretty darn great.
Until next time folks, remove that anything can happen in college football.
-The Commissioner
