Hey All,
For a week without a lot of marquee games, there sure were some fun ones to watch. Here's a look back at the weekend that was with another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Joe Jares.
Summaries
Notre Dame 31- USC 16: South Bend, IN- Even after a bye week to prepare, this group of Trojans still managed to make enough mistakes to drop their fourth straight game to a less than impressive band of Fighting Irish. The usual mistakes of the Clay Helton-Donte Williams era earmarked this loss. Poor pass blocking, needless penalties, inability to convert in the red zone and poor clock management were all in evidence here. The game opened with ND marching on two long drives, yet only holding a 7-0 lead thanks to a dropped pass and a missed FG. USC would then actually move the ball thanks to all-everything WR Drake London. However, miscues and drops left SC down 17-3 at half despite all the yardage gained. Yes, the empty calories offense was in full effect. After ND had taken a 24-3 lead, the Irish seemed to take their foot off the gas and SC did what SC does and took advantage. The Trojans cut ND's lead to 24-16 with 8:51 left in regulation. Hopes raised among SC faithful for a comeback were dashed immediately on the next possession by the USC defense who committed two 15-yard penalties and failed to stop ND at all. QB Tyler Buchner ran for a three-yard TD to put the game away with 4:52 to play. SC's last offensive drive died when QB Kedon Slovis was sacked and fumbled to commit his second turnover of the game. ND RB Kyren Williams was hailed as the second coming of Jerome Bettis for his 138 yards rushing and two TD on 25 carrries, while SC's Keyontay Ingram also had a good game, gaining 138 yards on 24 carries with a touchdown.
Telling Stat: They can't finish; USC managed only 16 points despite making five trips into the red zone. Facepalm.
Washington 21- Arizona 16: Tucson, AZ- Tickets were going for a blistering nine bucks a piece for this Friday night matchup between the underachieving Huskies and the winless Wildcats. Would Washington be the unlucky squad that would suffer the nightmare and be the team that UofA finally beats to end their 18-game losing streak? It sure looked like it. The Wildcats defense had allowed one scoring drive and had forced seven punts, while the offense got field goals of 34, 50, and 35 yards from PKs Tyler Loop and Lucas Havrisik along with a one-yard TD jaunt from WR Jamarye Joiner to build a 16-7 lead through three quarters. Plans for UW HC Jimmy Lake's tarmac party were being made by the Husky faithful when one play turned the game around. On 1st and 10 at the UW 28-yard line, Wildcat QB Will Plummer had his pass intercepted by DT Tuli Letuligasenoa at the 29-yard line. The Dawgs then drove 71 yards in four plays to cut UofA's lead to just two points at 16-14. RB Cameron Davis sprinted through the Wildcats for a nine-yard TD run. The Huskies defense then forced the Wildcats to punt on their next drive. The Dawgs then drove for the wining score traveling 82 yards in seven plays to take the lead for good. The game-wining score was an eight-yard pass from QB Dylan Morris to WR Rome Odunze. The Dawgs then snuffed out Arizona's final two drives to escape Tucson with the win. Morris completed 13 of 21 passes for 217 yards and two TDs to lead the Huskies attack. RBs Steve Rocker, Jr. and Jalen John combined for 132 yards on 27 carries in what was UofA's 19th consecutive loss.
Telling Stat: Double hook up gets the W; Washington's stagnant offense got a 51-yard pass from QB Dylan Morris to WR Terrrell Bynum on each of their fourth quarter TD drives to set up the scores to win the game.
Oregon State 42- Utah 34: Corvalis, OR- Utah came into this one having just worked over USC and ASU. They also owned the inside track to the Pac 12 South title. Oregon State didn't care. The had also spanked USC recently and figured they could take care off the Utes. Utah tested that theory early. The Utes had the best of a back and forth first half that saw them take a 24-14 lead into the break. Utah had scored on four of their first half drives and had another drive stall on the OSU two-yard line. The Beavers then climbed back into this game with a strong third quarter. In a matter of minutes the Beavers forged ahead of the Utes on a four-yard TD pass from QB Chance Nolan to WR Trevon Bradford and 27-yard blocked punt return by TE Luke Musgrave. OSU now led 28-24. Utah would go up 31-28 on a 10-yard run by RB Tavion Thomas. OSU would then go ahead for good when Bradfiord picked up another score on a 10-yard dash to paydirt. A Utah missed FG on the ensuing drive was followed up by an eight-yard jaunt to the end zone from RB B.J. Baylor which put OSU up 42-31. Utah would only muster a field goal down the stretch as the Beavers held on for the win. Baylor led all rushers with 152 yards on 19 carries and a TD for the victorious Beavers. Ute QB Cameron Rising completed 22 of 36 passes for 267 yards and two TDs in defeat.
Telling Stat: 14 point swing dooms Utes; Utah gave up a blocked punt for a score and were stopped on downs at the OSU two-yard line. Those miscues cost the Utes the game.
California 26- Colorado 3: Berkeley, CA- The Golden Bears offense played one good half while their defense played a full 60 minutes in this game that wasn't nearly as close as the score indicates. Cal QB Chase Garbers led his squad to scores on all five of their drives in the first half. Garbers threw pair of TD passes to TEs Keliki Late and Gavin Reinwald that covered 24 and 31yards. PK Dario Longhetto ended the other rather scoring drives with field goals of 49, 30, and 51 yards. A 33-yard FG by Buffs PK Cole Becker in the middle of Cal's scoring drives led to a 23-3 Cal lead at the half. The second half was a glorified scrimmage with Cal getting a 33-yard FG from Longhetto to finish off the scoring. Cal's defense allowed Colorado to Cross the 50-yard line only twice all game with one of those two possessions ending at the Cal 49-yard line, while Cal's offense only found the Colorado Red Zone twice all game. Garbers was responsible for the only real offensive production in this snoozer. He completed 22 of 30 passes for 225 yards and two TDs while also rushing for 96 yards on 10 carries. Garbers 321 total yards tripled Colorado's total yards output as a team.
Telling Stat: #7 passes ol' #22; Cal QB Chase Garbers' 96 yards rushing moved him past Joe Kapp to become the all-time leader for most career yards rushing by a QB in Cal football history. Kapp held the record for 63 years. Legends don't get surpassed easily.
BYU 21- Washington State 19:- Pullman, WA- Last Monday saw Wazzu HC Nick Rolovich and four of his assistants get fired for not complying with the state of Washington's employee vaccine mandate. How would the Cougars respond to the firing? Would they even show up against BYU who was looking to go 4-0 against the Pac 12 this year? Well, everyone did show up for Wazzu including interim HC Jake Dickert in this tough loss in the Palouse. The teams traded blows right at kickoff with Wazzu jumping out to a 7-0 lead on their first possession when RB Max Borghi slashed his way through the BYU defense 11 yards for a touchdown. The Cougars in blue and white answered right back when RB Lopini Katoa found the end zone form three yards out to tie the game at 7-7. The teams would then battle to a stalemate for the rest of the half. BYU started the scoring again on the opening drive of the second half. The Cougars marched 75 yards in 11 plays with RB Tyler Allgeier running four yards for a touchdown. WSU looked to even it up on the next drive and almost did. Borghi's 1-yard run put Wazzu within a point at 14-13. The Crimson-clad Cougars then went for two and failed when QB Jayden de Laura's pass fell incomplete. BYU then stretched their lead out to 21-13 on the very next drive. Allgeier did the honors again with slicing through Wazzu for a two-yard TD run. Wazzu did comeback one more time with Borghi's third TD run of the game. However, the point conversion attempt to tie the game failed. BYU got the ball back with 4:14 to play. Allgeier toted the rock for all seven plays of the drive that ran out the clock. Allgeier was the tabernacle for BYU, rushing the ball 32 times for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Borghi gained 83 yards on the ground with three TDs while de Laura comforted 26 of 37 passes for 257 yards and an interception in the loss.
Telling Stat: Self-inflicted scoring wounds don't heal; Wazzu's two missed two-point conversion attempts cost them the game. If the Crimson and Gray Cougars had just kicked PAT's, they had a real chance to win the game.
Oregon 34- UCLA 31: Pasadena, CA- College Gameday came to Westwood. Bill Walton, the self-appointed good will ambassador for The Conference of Champions, was the guest picker. A pro-bRuins crowd of the mid five figures partially filled the Rose Bowl for what turned out to be a pretty darn good game. The game started off in typical fashion for the Ducks. They again started slowly, falling behind 14-0 and it could have been worse if the Ducks hadn't gotten a gift interception from UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Quack Attack woke up on both sides of the ball and dominated the the middle portion of the contest. While the defense held UCLA to three points, the offense scored 34 points to take a 34-17 lead into the fourth quarter. It was then, the bRuins made a real game of it. Despite being bruised and battered by the opposition, Thompson-Robinson led his squad on TD drives of 75 yards and 20 yards to cut the bRuins deficit to 34-31. Then after, UCLA picked off Webfoot QB Anthony Brown for the second time in the quarter, it looked like the bRuins would win the game in dramatic fashion. However, Thompson-Robinson would not be around for the finish. All the big hits by the UO defense took their toll with one final one final blow knocking Thompson-Robinson out of the game. That left UCLA's fortunes in the hands of backup Ethan Garbers. Ethan, the younger brother of Cal QB Chase Garbers, stepped in and completed two passes to set up the bRuins with a first down at the Oregon 39-yard line. Unfortunately, Garbers next completion went to the guys in the white jerseys. CB D.J. James came up with the game-saving interception and UO walked out of the Rose Bowl with a tough win. Thompson-Robinson completed 22 of 41 passes for 220 yards with a TD and an interception in the loss. UO RB Travis Dye had the most unusual stat line of the game. He carried the ball 14 times for 35 yards with four touchdowns. At one point in the game he had a string of four straight runs for a touchdown.
Telling Stat: The stopped the run; The Oregon defense's speed on the edge and outside contain ability held the bRuins powerful rushing attack to only 110 yards rushing which was well below their season average.
Observations
...A real bad buzz; Princeton came away with an 18-16 win over Harvard in five overtimes last Saturday. It never should have gotten that far. The Ivy League has admitted that an officiating error cost Harvard the win in the third OT. Time out?
...Obi-Troy Kenobi you're our only hope; It's up to USC to keep BYU from going 5-0 v. the Pac 12 this season. The Cougars come to the Coliseum on 11/27.
...He digs gummies; Gotta love this post game dialog on Halloween Candy with Mississippi State HC Mike Leach. The Pirate Speaks
...Thanks dude; It's very nice of Penn State HC James Franklin to eliminate himself from contention for the USC HC job.
...Come on down!; When Kansas took a 10-0 lead on Oklahoma last Saturday, the admin at KU opened the gates for all to come in and cheer on the Jayhawks free of charge. The Jayhawks would lose 35-23, but seats were filled. APB for fans
...Gone; They have way more problems that just blocking, but Colorado fired OL coach Mitch Rodrigue Sunday night. (Yes, his last name is Rodrigue.)
...Five the hard way; UNLV is 0-7, but five of their losses are by eight points or less.
...Just a bit further south; The best game this week in Southern California will not be at the Coliseum where USC takes on winless Arizona. It will be in Carson at Diginity Health Park where the 7-0 SDSU Aztecs will take on 6-2 Fresno State.
...This week's sign of the coming college football apocalypse; You know things are reaching the end as we know it when even Dartmouth releases a video for their alternate helmet. SMH. A stinking tree
...Lubbock in his rearview mirror; Multiple sources reported early Monday morning that Texas Tech HC Matt Wells has been fired. Wells squads went 13-17 during his tenure and rarely beat a team with a winning record. Current Red Raider OC and former QB Sonny Cumbie has been named the interim HC.
...Fun to watch; The Detroit Lions may be the best winless team I've seen in a long time.
...Pitt is it; Not since the days when some guy named Marino played QB for the Panthers has Pitt Looked this good. If they go on to win the ACC, they'l make a New Year's six bowl only the second time since 1984.
...Fall fun; It's that time of year when my chiropractor shows me video highlights of his son's flag football team. The kid can spin like Barry Sanders did.
...Hello Sparty!; Gameday is headed to East Lansing this week for the battle of unbeatens between Michigan and Michigan State.
...History class; All of us who have played this crazy game owe a debt of gratitude to Lafayette's George "Rose" Barclay, who had the good sense to have, what is believed to be, the first football helmet made back in the early 1890s. The Leopard who changed the game
...The duality of man; Gotta love a sport where you can see one game finish 20-18 in nine OT and another finish 70-56 in regulation.
...Still going; Tuesday the 26th of October marks 752 days since Arizona last won a football game.
...Did they loose by three?; UCLA HC Chip Kelly feels the 35-yard FG attempt ruled no good by the officials Saturday v. Oregon was actually good. It was good
...Feeling Ames; Why do I think Iowa State will win the Big XII?
A look at Conference Expansion or how C-USA became C-U-Later
The power grab that resulted in the SEC's taking of Texas and Oklahoma from the Big XII has ended up crushing Conference-USA. Here's how it happened:
The SEC raided the Big XII and took Texas and Oklahoma.
The Big XII then raided the American by taking Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston along with independent BYU.
The American then raided C-USA by taking Alabama-Birmingham, Florida-Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas, Rice and Texas-San Antonio.
The Sun Belt is taking Southern Miss from C-USA as well.
That leaves C-USA with just seven teams left out of 14.
College football is a brutal business.
Pac 12 Overreactions
USC is a 4-8 team.
Arizona will go 0-12.
Utah as two more losses coming.
Oregon State will win the Pac 12 North.
Cal is happy that they get to play at Arizona on 11/6.
UCLA is an 8-4 team.
Oregon might be the most frustrating one-loss team in America.
ASU is just happy that most of their coaches haven't been fired yet.
Washington would be well to heed the old Japanese proverb that states, "Do not be fooled by your victory."
Colorado will be held to single digits in every game from here on out.
Stanford enjoyed fine cheeses and a good 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon on their bye week.
Wazzu just wonders why Nick Rolovich thought they weren't worth a shot.
Ugly Uniform of the Week:
Oregon runs away with it this week for this truly lame ensemble. UO (Nike) folks claim these uniforms look like duck eggs. I say they look someone stole a whole bunch of used tarps from Oregon painters local #10.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Happy Valley, PA- How could the 20-18, nine overtime win by Illinois over Penn State not be this week's game? This game had it all. It had gray October skies, real grass, bone-jarring hits, tough runs, great catches, big injuries, dropped balls barely off fingertips, runners stopped inches short of the goal line, clutch kicks, and the drama of NINE FREAKING OVERTIMES! Congrats to Illinois for hanging on for the upset in this physical and emotional grinder of a contest.
Blowout Game of the Week: Lake Forest, IL- This game comes from the Midwest Conference in D-III. The Lake Forest College Foresters destroyed the Grinnell College Pioneers, 79-0. Lake Forest did everything but flatten the tires on Grinnell's team bus. The Foresters out gained the pioneers 632 yards to seven. Yes, Grinnell gained just seven total yards. QB Tre Stewart completed 19 of 26 passes for 347 yards and six TDs to lead the Forester's attack. Grinnell punted more times (9) than they total yards gained (7). Wow.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- After a few tough losses, the Hogs needed a cupcake game and they got it with the Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions. The Hogs easily rolled to a 45-3 win where they led 45-0 at the break, then gave everyone their opportunity to win their letter in the second half. QB K.J. Jefferson led the Razorbacks attack with 194 yards passing and four TDs. Nine different Arkansas backs ran the ball for a total of 291 yards rushing in this rout. Up next for the boys from Fayetteville is a bye followed by a home game with Mississippi State on 11/6.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
2-for-1 Candy sales this week can be a dangerous thing.
Still going with the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup as the best candy ever.
I still wonder if Linus will ever see the Great Pumpkin.
Until Next time folks, getting touchdowns int he red zone keeps everyone happy.
-The Commissioner
