Week 8, 2022

Hey all,

Here's another edition of then column that lets you relive last weekend, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Mal Florence. 

Summaries

Oregon 45- UCLA 30: Eugene, OR- The marquee game of this past weekend's light Pac 12 schedule featured the undefeated, but not road tested bRuins going to Autzen to take on the once beaten Ducks.  It was also yet another homecoming in Quackland for UCLA HC Chip Kelly. What Kelly saw unfold on the field was eerily similar to what his Mallard Men used to do to visiting teams. The squads traded early blows and sat tied at 10-10 with 12:38 to play in the second quarter after UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw a short pass to RB Keegan Jones who took it the rest of the way for a 36-yard TD.  Oregon took the ball on the ensuing kickoff and in five plays later covered 75 yards to take the lead back for good when RB Jordan James crossed the double stripe form two yards out.  Then the Ducks turned the game on its' ear. UO PK Andrew Boyle executed a perfect onside kick and recovered it himself on the Ducks 46-yard line.  That was all the Men of Oregon needed to spark a 28-6 run.  The start of the fourth quarter saw the dazed and confused bRuins staring up at the wrong end of a 38-16 score. UCLA did manage to win in the final period 14-7, but it just wasn't enough. This game seemed to be a lot closer than it looked.  Neither defense played well.  Each team was only stopped once on offense on drives that didn't involve a kneel down to end a half. However, Oregon wasn't going to settle for anything less than touchdowns while UCLA settled for ending three drives with field goals. Webfoot QB Bo Nix kept his string of great games going by completing 22 of 28 passes for 283 yards and five TDs. He also ran for 51 yards on eight carries. In the jarring loss, Thompson-Robinson completed 27 of 39 passes for 262 yards, two TDs and an interception. 

Telling Stat: 1+1 = W; The one extra possession Oregon stole on the onside kick plus the fourth quarter interception in their own end zone gave the Ducks the win over the bRuins. 

Stanford 15- Arizona State 14: Palo Alto, CA- It was Homecoming up on The Farm and the small gathering that passed for a crowd at Stanford Stadium saw a vintage David Shaw-style grinder of a game.  The Cardinal trailed 7-6 early as PK Josh Karty's pair of early field goals was topped by a 15-yard TD jaunt form ASU RB Xazavian Valladay.  ASU would extend that lead to 14-6 in the second quarter when QB Emory Jones connected with WR Elijah Badger for a 39-yard TD toss.  The score stood that way into the break.  After the break Stanford dominated the game in the second half.  The Cardinal defense stymied the Sun Devils while their offense churned up yards and chewed up the clock. They also got three more field goals from Karty. Karty's fifth scoring kick came from 47 yards with 6:28 to play and ended up being the game-winning kick.   ASU's final chance to win the game did come with a bit of controversy as the Jones completed a pass to Badger at the Stanford one-yard line with five seconds left on the clock only to see the completion overturned on replay.  ASU's fourth down pass after that fell incomplete and the Cardinal had their first Pac 12 win since beating Oregon 31-24 on 10-2-2021. 

Telling Stat: A Cardinal wall;  The Stanford defense made a comeback win with just five field goals a reality by shutting down the ASU offense in the second half.  The Sun Devils Never got closer than the Stanford 34-yard line in the final 30 minutes. 

Oregon State 42- Colorado 9: Corvallis, OR- After grabbing their first win of the season last week, the Buffaloes found themselves back on the losing side of things at Reser Stadium.  The Beavers built up a 21-3 lead at the half and then put the game away early in the third quarter.  TE Jack Velling put Bucky's Boys up 28-3 with a 60-yard TD reception to start the third quarter.  Then on the ensuing possession, DB Alex Austin picked off CU QB J.T. Shrout and  took it back 42-yards for a score top put the Beavers up 35-3.  The game was basically a glorified scrimmage from that point on.  For the victorious Beavers, RB Damien Martinez carved up the CU defense, gaining 178 yards on 22 carries with three TDs. His backfield mate, QB Ben Gulbranson turned in a solid performance, completing 14 of 22 aerials for 202 yards and two TDs.  For the hapless Buffs, Shrout completed 13 of 29 for 206 yards and two interceptions. 

Telling Stat: Dammed up;  Buffaloes just couldn't move the chains, converting on just 2 of 11 3rd downs. 

Washington 28- California 21: Berkeley, CA- The night cap of the Pac 12 slate featured a strange affair that saw the Huskies dominate every statistical category in the first half and hold just a 6-0 lead over the Golden Bears to start the third quarter.  Then Cal took the third quarter kickoff and drove right down the field to take a 7-6 lead over the Dawgs when QB Jack Plummer threw an eight-yard TD pass the WR J. Michael Sturdivant. The Huskies would strike right back to retake the lead when RB Cameron Davis took a six-yard walk to the end zone through the Cal defense. The Huskies then ran one of the cooler two-point conversion plays I've ever seen to go up 14-7.  On their next possession, Cal worked the Plummer to Sturdivant connection again to tie the game. This time the pass covered 48 yards.  The Huskies would answer that score right away with 13-yard TD pass from QB Michael Penix, Jr. to WR Jalen McMillan.  The Huskies now led 21-14 and wouldn't trail again for two reasons.  The first reason is that they realized that they had to cover Cal WR J. Michael Sturdivant. The second reason is that Cal's OL stinks.  Cal did have chances to tie the game late, but the UW defense just snuffed out any hopes of Cal sending the game to OT with heavy pressure on the QB. In the win, Penix, Jr completed 36 of 52 tosses for 374 yards and two TDs for the Dawgs, while Plummer completed 21 of 34 passes for 245 yards and three TDs for the Golden Bears in the tough loss. 

Telling Stat: 5 keeps the win alive;  The Washington defense sacked Cal QB Jack Plummer five times and harassed him and hit him many times to secure a victory. 

Observations 

...No end zone needed; Stanford is 2-0 in their last two games and has scored just one touchdown.  In fact the Cardinal haven't found paydirt in the last 110:05 of game time.  Wow. 

...The gift of grab;  Purdue did lose to 35-24 to Wisconsin, but Boilermaker WR Charlie Jones sure made one of best catches of the season.  He caught it!

...Buzzin' in the Capitol City;  The Sacramento State Hornets are 7-0 for the first time in school history and sit atop the standings in the Big Sky Conference. 

...Pheeling Philly;  The Phillies have made the World Series, The Eagles are undefeated and the Phighting Quakers of Penn are also undefeated. Somewhere Chuck Badnarik is smiling. 

...Memo to Oregon fans and media;  Yes, the Ducks have been nothing short of stellar in their last six wins. Please quit trying to tell the rest of us to forget about your one loss.  Your butts got whipped by Georgia, 49-3 to open the year.  That loss counts.  Oh, and your epic failure on the national stage just about wiped out whatever credibility the Pac 12 had left coming into the season. Live with it, own it. 

...Hard to fathom;  I like to watch Texas lose football games like a lot of folks, but how can the Longhorns get flagged 14 times for 119 yards while their hosts, the Oklahoma State Cowboys not get penalized once? Hmmmmm.

...Turf tale;  Do you want to know how a grounds crew puts a field back together after the fans storm it in celebration of a huge win?  Check out this story from ESPN on how the they did it at Tennessee last week.  The Real Field Generals

...Unexpected help;  USC's strength of schedule might improve because of Rice.  Huh? The Fightin' White Owls are 4-3 and have a shot to win Conference-USA.  

...MWC craziness; 10 of the 12 Mountain West schools are still in the running for their respective division titles. Could be a case of tie breaker craziness at the end of the year. Whoa. 

...NFL Stripes fail;  We all know referees love the game.  We also know a lot of them collect memorabilia from games, but dude this isn't allowed in the NFL Refs CBA.  Can we have your autograph?

...Another one gone;  The Charlotte 49ers have fired HC Will Healy after his team dropped to 1-7 after a 34-15 beating at the hands of Florida International.  Healy finishes with a 15-24 overall record. 

...Cruise control; TheeOSU won't be challenged until they host Michigan on 11/26. 

...A very Jersey name;  It is fitting that Rutgers, the official state college of New Jersey, has an OC named Nunzio... Nunzio Campanile. 

...Time flies; remember a few weeks ago when Kansas was undefeated?  Good times.  

...Huh?; Here's your rambling, what is he talking about, Mike Leach presser for this week. Hands? ok

...Low rent district;  You can easily tell by the feed interruptions, muffled sound, poor camera angles and flat out lack of additional cameras that ESPN just doesn't care about the quality of their late night Pac 12 games. 

...Just quad-awful; Weber State long snapper, Grant Sands had just about the the worst day that could happen to anyone playing his position.  He set an FCS record with four bad snaps that went for safeties in the Wildcats 43-38 loss to Montana State. The Wildcats were undefeated and ranked #5 in the FCS before dropping this game to the #3 Bobcats.

8 the hard way

...Mean Stat riddle;  What do Colorado, Colorado State and Massachusetts have in common?  They are the only three FBS schools to have scored less points this year than Iowa.  The absolute worst scoring offense in the nation on any level is D-III's Westminister College (MO).  The Blue Jays have scored just 26 points in seven games this year.  

...Turmoil in Aggieland;  Things haven't been good for Texas A&M this year to say the least.  Not only have the 3-4 Aggies just announced the loss of three OL starters for the year due to injury, but it has also just come down that three, possibly four, freshman from their top ranked 2022 recruiting class have been suspended indefinitely for an incident in the locker room at halftime of their game at South Carolina last Saturday.

OL Losses,  Generic Suspension story ,  

Pac 12 Overreactions

USC had a quiet bye week. Haven't seen that in awhile.

Colorado is still a 1-11 team. 

Oregon State is Sun Bowl bound.

Stanford will score another TD this year... eventually.

Oregon keeps pretending Georgia never happened. 

Arizona will whip ASU this year.

Cal will go 5-7.

Wazzu will go 6-6.

UCLA is now afraid of road trips.

Arizona State's defense still can't believe they lost last Saturday.

Utah ain't looking forward to playing at Wazzu this Thursday night. 

Washington can't believe they had to come form behind to beat Cal.

Cool Looking Uniform of the Week

I don't think anybody else in college has a sky blue and green color scheme like Tulane and they can sure make it look good. 

Departments 

Low Score Game of the Week: Valley, AL- Let's take a trip to the NAIA ranks for this Mid-South Conference game where the Point University Skyhawks defeated the Union College Bulldogs, 16-13. PK Quinn Vega's 31-yard FG with 2:49 left completed the comeback win for the Skyhawks. QB Mitchell Gossett threw for both of PU's TDs in the Homecoming victory. 

Blowout Game of the Week: Yankton, SD- We now stay in the NAIA ranks where the Morningside (IA) Mustangs traveled west and smashed the Mount Mary Lancers, 77-0.  The Mustangs are a perennial power in NAIA football while the Lancers are only in their second year as a football program. The Mustangs built up a 56-0 halftime lead then sat their starters down the rest of the way.  QB Joe Dolincheck threw for 346 yards and four TDs to lead the scoring onslaught along with RB Ryan Cole who ran for 118 yards with four TDs. 

Razorback Report: The Razorbacks had a bye and will travel to Auburn to take on the Tigers this Saturday.  I do have knowledge that at least one Razorback fan spent this past Saturday night enjoying homemade lemon meringue pie and pecan pie at the local church potluck dinner. 

This Week's Three Things About Nothing...

Picking out movies with my wife for our holiday watch list involved a lot more deliberation than I thought it would.

People who give out candy corn on Halloween are as bad the people that give out granola or pencils.

It's hard to argue against the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup being one of the top three candies of all-time. 

Until next time folks, remember that offense sells tickets, but defense wins games and special teams wins championships. 

-The Commissioner 

Week 7, 2022

Hey All,

It's time for the Column that makes your Tuesdays better, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Mel Durslag. 

Summaries 

Utah and the Refs 43- USC 42: Salt Lake City, UT- An awful game from the SC defense coupled with a huge assist from the officials led to the Trojans first loss of the 2022 campaign.  The Trojans jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and had just picked off Utah QB Cam Rising to end a drive.  It looked like SC would have the ball back and a chance to go up 21-0. However, the Pac 12 refs denied to change the game with a bad roughing the passer call.  Utah gets a TD on the next play and is back in the game at 14-7.  Still, USC did mange to build a 28-14 lead late in the second quarter, but the SC defense would give up a pair of TDs to end the first half and start the second half.  The game now stood tied 28-28 and would be a big battle to the finish. The Trojans would grab a 35-28 lead only to watch the officials change the course of the game again with another bad roughing the passer call. That and three other penalties on SC handed the Utes a 35-35 tie. Over the final minutes, the SC offense forged ahead again 42-35 only to see the their defense collapse and give up the game-winning score.  Trojan DC Alex Grinch's bend but don't break soft zone was exposed by the Utes.  The Trojans allowed TE Dalton Kincaid to catch 16 passes for 234 yards and a TD.  Rising, with the help officials, completed 30 of 44 passes for 415 yards and two TDs.  He also ran for 60 yards and three more scores.  SC QB Caleb Williams completed 26 of 42 passes for 381 yards and five TDs in the bitter, official enabled defeat.

Telling Stat: 2+14 = L;  With as bad as the Trojans defense played, the two awful roughing the passer flags altered the course of the game handing Utah 14 points and the win.  

Oregon State 24- Washington State 10: The Beavers needed a miracle comeback for a win at Stanford last week.  This week all they needed was strong efforts from their running game and their defense to beat the Cougars.  Those strong efforts protected QB Ben Gulbranson who was making his second start in place of the injured Chance Nolan. The Beavers jumped out early thanks to a 60-yard return of the opening kickoff that put them in business on the Wazzu 40-yard line.  Eight plays later, QB/FB/LB/Adjunct Professor Jack Colletto slammed into the end zone form a yard out for a 7-0 lead. The two squads traded field goals a couple of series later and the score stood 10-7 OSU at the break.  Following a Cougar punt to start the second half, the Beavers took a 17-3 lead when Gulbranson threw a 17-yard TD pass to WR Anthony Gould. The Cougars answered immediately with a TD pass that covered nine yards from QB Cam Ward to WR Jaylen Jenkins. Coletto then got his second rushing touchdown from two yards away to extend the Beavers lead to 24-10.  It looked like a shoot out might be breaking out in the second half.  Ummmm, no. Both offenses turned inept over the final quarter and OSU walked away with the victory. OSU RB Damien Martinez gained 111 yards on 16 carries and a TD to lead the Beavers offense while Ward completed 25 of 54 passes for the Cougars. 

Telling Stat; Dull gets a W;  Oregon State took the air out of the ball in this game. They rushed the ball 47 times to kill clock to hold on for the win. 

Washington 49- Arizona 39: Seattle, WA- The Huskies had a just little bit more defense than Arizona and that proved to be the difference in this battle of big arms.  UW QB Michael Penix torched the Wildcats and set a school record in the process.  He completed 36 of 44 passes for 516 yards and four TDs. The 516 yards shattered the school record of 455 yards set by Cody Pickett v. Arizona back in 2001.  Meanwhile, UofA QB Jayden de Laura had his way with the Dawgs defense.  He completed 25 of 34 passes for 400 yards and four TDs.  This game was an aerial shootout.  Arizona just came upon short with the UW defense making key stops early to tilt the game in the Huskies favor.  And I do mean early.  There were only four punts in the game and none in the second half.  Every drive in the second half ended with either a touchdown or a missed field goal.  The top receivers in this game were UW's Rome Odunze and UofA's Tetairoa McMillan.  Odunze caught nine passes for 169 yards and two TDs, while McMillan caught seven balls for 132 yards and two scores.  

Telling Stat: Early stops get the win; Washington forced three Arizona punts and held for downs once in the first half.  Those stops were the difference in the game.

Stanford 16- Notre Dame 14: South Bend, IN-  The Cardinal went into Notre Dame stadium with an 11-game losing streak to FBS opponents and came out with a W that had ND fans contemplating taking a leap off the Golden Dome. On their first drive of the game. the Cardinal moved the ball 64 yards in eight plays. The drive ended with SU taking a 7-0 lead when RB Casey Wilkins found the end zone from two yards out.  The rest of the half degenerated into a festival of offensive ineptitude. The two squads combined for six punts and had two drives stopped on downs.  Then just before the half, Fighting Irish QB Drew Pyne was sacked and fumbled.  The Cardinal got the ball back at midfield with :49 left. Six plays later, PK Josh Karty split the uprights from 45 yards out to give SU a 10-0 halftime lead.  Midway through the third quarter Stanford extend their lead to 13-0 when Karty kicked a 43-yard field goal.  ND got up off the deck on the next possession, capping off a 75-yard drive with a TD run of 10 yards from RB Audric Estime.  Momentum had now swung to the guys in the dark blue jerseys. After holding the Cardinal for downs on their own 41-yard line, the Irish took the lead for their first and only time in the game when Pyne hit WR Tobias Merriweather with a 41-yard scoring strike.  However, the kids from Palo Alto had a reserve tank of desire on hand.  Four minutes after ND had taken the lead, Stanford took it right back when Karty made his second 43-yard FG of the game.  After that the Stanford defense did something they hadn't done all year.  They rose to the occasion. They shutdown the Irish's final two drives to end the game.  QB Tanner McKee was efficient if not flashy, completing 26 off 38 passes for 288 yards while backfield mate Filkins gained 91 yards on 32 carries with a TD.  In the loss, Pyne completed 13 of 27 passes for 151 yards and a TD.  

Telling Stat: Classic Shaw with a twist;  Stanford threw the ball instead of running the ball to slowly throttle Notre Dame, but the stats feel similar.  The Cardinal held the ball for 36:07, ran 81 plays to ND's 61 and held the Irish just 3 of 12 on 3rd down conversions. 

Colorado 20- California 13 OT: Boulder, CO- To say that something was off with Golden Bears from the opening kickoff in this game is not an understatement. An interception on their first posession, two missed field goals and numerous drops and missed blocks led to Cal being on the wrong end of a 3-0 score with 8:53 left in then third quarter. Buffs fans were ecstatic and could not believe they were in the game. It was at this point that Cal finally put together a drive and took a 7-3 lead when QB Jack Plummer connected with WR J.Michael Sturdivant for a 14-yard score.  The final quarter would see Colorado sandwich a one-yard TD dive by RB Anthony Hankerson and a 24-yard FG from PK Cole Becker around a 27-yard FG from Cal PK Dario Longhetto. That left the Bears looking at a 13-10 deficit with 4:30 to play. Plummer proceeded to march his squad down the field where Longhetto kicked 34-yard FG as time ran out to send the game to OT.  CU had the ball first in the overtime period.  QB J.T. Shrout threw 22-yard TD pass to WR Montana Lemonious-Craig to take a 20-13 lead. The play was originally ruled an incomplete pass, but it was reviewed for several minutes and the call on the field was overturned.  Cal now had their chance to match that TD and they couldn't.  Plummer's fourth down throw from the 15-yard line fell incomplete and the Buffs got their first win of 2022.  Shrout finished the game for injured starter Owen McCown and completed 13 of 21 passes for 104 yards and the game-wining TD.  Plummer completed just 29 of 52 aerials for 262 yards, a TD and an interception in the bitter defeat. 

Telling Stat: The Big One;  Colorado now has one win.  A win they celebrated well at Folsom Field.

Observations

...Football Axiom #1;  A game featuring two great teams that goes down to the wire is a lot less stressful to watch when your team isn't involved.

...Football Axiom #2; When your team is involved and wins the game it is indeed a great game.  When your team loses, it just ain't. 

...Candles lit;  You know UCLA is praying that they don't get the referee crew that worked the USC-Utah game in Eugene for their game with the Ducks this Saturday. 

...A delay of a different color;  SMU's pony mascot, Peruna, was responsible for a 15 minute delay in Friday night's Navy-SMU game after the Shetland Pony defecated on the field during a celebration following an SMU third quarter touchdown. Craziest thing about the delay is that the crew that takes care of the pony didn't have a shovel on hand. Facepalm.  That's not a football

...This just in;  Wisconsin and Michigan State both stink.  That had to be the most boring game to ever go to OT.

...Chasing down the legends;  The Patriots win over the Browns last Sunday gave HC Bill Belichick his 324th NFL win.  The win ties Belichick with Papa Bear George Halas for second place on the all-time NFL victory list.  Another win for Belichick means only Don Shula and his 347 wins stand in the way of him being number one.   

...A huge souvenir;  The Volunteers faithful decided that they wanted the goal posts form their team's upset of Alabama and they got em. I hear the goal posts ended up in the Tennessee River.  Serious Teamwork

...The first to 1K;  Illinois RB Chase Brown is the first RB to gain over 1,000 yards this year.  His 180 yards on 41 carries were key to there Illini's 26-14 win over Minnesota last week. He now has gained 1,059 yards this season.

...Low rent move;  Tennessee setting up a GoFundMe to pay for new goalposts and the fine levied by the SEC for rushing the field after upsetting Alabama is bush league. UT needs to handle this like everyone else does with higher ticket prices for next year.  

...Lincoln Jinx;  Head Coaches Lance Leipold of Kansas, Dave Aranda of Baylor and Matt Campbell of Iowa State are a combined 0-8 since being mentioned as being in the running for the vacant Nebraska job. 

...On LSU's dime;  First Brian Kelly drops ND like a hot rock, then Coach O shows up for Stanford's upset of the Fighting Irish last Saturday.  Ol' Eddie O does know a thing or two about beating ND in South Bend. The Travels of Coach O

...Big Ten eyes; Suddenly, Stanford looks a whole better to the Big Ten than they did just a few days ago.  

...An assist to GP;  If the TCU fans don't know they need to thank Gary Patterson for handing over a very good team to Sonny Dykes, they should be ashamed of themselves. 

...An embarrassing feat;  By losing 38-33 to Maryland, Indiana became the first D-I program to lose 700 games.  

...Bye bye Byers; The NCAA overall rushing leader for all levels of football is Jada Byers of D-II Virginia Union.  Byers has rushed for 1,373 yards in seven games.  Whoa. 

...The Green Wave is rolling;  Tulane is 6-1 and sits atop the standings in the American Athletic Conference.

...New York NFL state of mind; The Bills, Jets and Giants are a combined 14-3 this year.  Nobody saw that coming. 

...Owing the Gophers; Bret Bielema owns Minnesota.  The current Illinois HC and former Wisconsin headman is 9-0 against the Golden Gophers.  

...Orange carnage;  Undefeated Syracuse travels to undefeated Clemson this week for a huge ACC showdown.  

...Holes as big as Happy Valley;  Michigan put on a clinic on how to run the ball with the 418 yards rushing they put up in their 41-17 rout of Penn State. Wolverine RBs Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum rushed for 173 and 166 yards each and scored a pair of TDs each.  Wow. 

...A cutting score;  Evidently, an unidentified Fresno State assistant coach wasn't happy when San Jose State scored on the Bulldogs late in the second quarter.  He punched out the press box window in Fresno and sent glass shards into the stands. A mother and child were among those injured in the temper tantrum. The coach has been placed on administrative leave.

A Real Glass Act

...SC-aided;  Just sayin', when a pair of USC transfers had a major hand in Tennessee's upset over Alabama, it just reinforces how bad a HC Clay Helton really was.

...Just a rumor;  There's no truth to the rumor that bookies will now offer the chance to bet the over/under on the number of penalties called in every Pac 12 game.  

Pac 12 Overreactions 

Stanford may have had their happiest flight home in years. 

Colorado, ok ok, so now they are a 1-11 team. 

Arizona is better than anyone thinks right now.

ASU is just happy to not be in the news this week.

Utah still has two more losses coming.

Washington won't win a road game this year.

Oregon State will beat Oregon this year.

Cal's embarrassment is worth two more losses.

Wazzu has regressed to being regular old Wazzu again.

USC's anger will make them an 11-1 team.

Oregon wants to know if Mark Duddy's crew is available this week. 

UCLA knows they are playing the Ducks and the officials this week.

CFL Update

Two weeks are left in the regular season of the Canadian Football League and the playoff picture is coming into focus.  Winnipeg has clinched the West Division crown while British Columbia and Calgary have also clinched playoff berths and are fighting it out as to what seed they will be.  In the East Toronto and Montreal have earned playoff spots and are going down to the wire for the division crown.  The sixth and final playoff spot will either go to Saskatchewan or Hamilton. The Commissioner's favoerite team, the Edmonton Elks are out of the playoff picture at 4-13 overall and 0-8 at home. Ouch. 

Ugly Uniform of the Week

This week's winner is Pac 12 referee Mark Duddy.  He and his incompetent crew made this outfit and the USC-Utah game a very ugly affair. 

Departments

Low Score Game of the Week:  Williamstown, MA- The Hamilton College Continentals held off the Williams Colleges Ephs, 15-13 in a New England Small College Athletic Conference clash on the D-III level.   The teams stood tied at 6-6 with 1:30 left in the third quarter when Ephs RB Joel Nicholas was tackled for a safety by Hamiton LB Alex Street.  That safety would be the difference in the game. The teams traded fourth period TDs, but the Continentals defense stay strong downs the stretch to secure the win. QB Matt Banbury accounted for both of Hamilton's TDs.  He knifed in from the one for the score and threw a 15-yard pass to WR Lucas Perez-Segnini for the second one.  

Blowout Game of the Week: Hamburg, NY-  The Lincoln University Lions started its' football program a couple of years ago and is an independent school playing anyone they can schedule from the FCS level down to NAIA schools.  The Lions easily dispatched their opponent from this week from the D-III ranks, the Hilbert College Hawks, 70-0. The Lions built up a 49-0 halftime lead and then emptied their bench for the final thirty minutes.  RBs Elijah Holmes and Otis Weah combined for 187 yards rushing on 24 carries and five TDs. The Lions defense held the Hawks to just 97 total yards for the afternoon. 

Razorback Report: Provo, UT- The Hogs made a rare road trip out west and whipped BYU, 52-35.  The Cougars had no answer for the one-two punch of QB K.J. Jefferson and RB Raheim Sanders. Jefferson threw for 367 yards and five TDs, while Sanders gained 175 yards with two TDs on just 15 carries. The Razorbacks have a bye this week before taking a trip to Auburn on 10/29.  

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

Dutch Brothers Coffee became a multiple trip stop during the family vacation in Indio last week. 

Old school silly comics like Beetle Bailey, Archie and Marmaduke still crack me up.

The shadows that clouds make over a mountain range as they pass by are beautiful things. 

Until next time folks, remember that it's hard to beat your opponent and the officials. 

-The Commissioner 

Week 6, 2022

Hey all,

It is time for another edition of the column that makes Tuesdays feel like Saturdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Keith Jackson. 

Summaries 

USC 30- Washington State 14: Los Angeles, CA-  All week long pundits were saying the Trojans needed to be on upset alert against the dangerous Cougars of Washington State. With 11:48 left in the second quarter, the Cougars had come back from 10 points down and held a 14-10 lead at the Coliseum. Fans were worried. An upset did indeed seem to be possible.  The Trojan defense then took over the game. Over the final 41:38 the Trojan defense shutout the Cougars while the SC offense ground out a comeback win. A four-yard TD run form RB Travis Dye, 24-yard TD pass form QB Caleb Williams to WR Mario Williams and two FGs from PK Denis Lynch covering 27 and 31 yards provided the margin of victory for SC.  Dye's running was once again the heart of the SC offense. He lugged the leather 28 times for 149 yards and a touchdown . Caleb Williams complimented Dye's efforts by completing 15 of 29 passes for 188 yards and two TDs.  For the Cougars, QB Cam Ward completed 19 of 32 passes for 172 yards and two TDs in the loss. 

Telling Stat: The final 41:38;  Wazzu's final seven scoreless drives of this game featured four punts, a turnover on downs, and watching the time run out to end the 1st half and also to end the contest.  

Oregon State 28- Stanford 27: Palo Alto- The Beavers came to The Farm looking to break a two-game losing streak while the Cardinal were hoping to snap their nine game losing streak against FBS foes. Something had to give and for three quarters the Beavers were doing the giving.  The Cardinal held a 24-10 lead to start the fourth quarter.  OSU QB Ben Gulbranson, getting the start for the injured Chance Nolan, was finding receivers but not paydirt.  Oh, and OSU's long snapper was injured taking field goals away as an an option and forcing the Beavers to go for two if they managed to cross the double stripe late in the game.  Well, OSU chipped away at Stanford's lead when Gulbranson connected with WR Silas Bolden for a 21-yard TD pass. The two-point conversion failed and the Beavers trailed, 24-16. Then OSU stopped Stanford's slow mesh offense.  On the ensuing drive, the Beavers cut the lead to just 24-22 when RB Damien Martinez raced 43 yards to the end zone.  The two-point conversion failed again and Stanford still led, 24-22. SU then killed most of the clock on a drive that led to a 46-yard field goal from PK Josh Karty.  Trailing now, 27-22 with :58 left the Beavers conjured up a miracle. On 1st an 10 at their own 44-yard line, Gulbranson threw and ill-advised pass down the right sideline.  WR Tre'Shaun Harrison leaped over the DB, grabbed the ball, turned around and outran the Cardinal defense to the end zone.  The few Stanford fans in attendance were crushed while the Beavers celebrated.  Stanford did have one last chance to try to get into field goal range, but QB Tanner McKee's pass was intercepted at the Cardinal 49-yard line.  One kneel down later and OSU escaped Palo Alto with the win.  Gulbranson finished the night with 20 completions in 29 attempts for 250 yards two TDs for the fortunate Beavers.  Mckee completed 20 of 33 for 269 yards, two TDs and an interception in the bitter defeat.

Telling Stat: 3/3 = W;  QB Ben Gulbranson completed all three passes he attempted on OSU's game-wining drive. Here's that 56-yard TD pass.   Dagger in the heart!

UCLA 42- Utah 32: Pasadena, CA- Revenge had been a dish best served in the Rose Bowl for UCLA this year.  The server for this matinee at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains was bRuins QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.  UCLA had lost five straight games to the Utes by an average of 27 points.  That streak ended when Thompson-Robinson and backfield mate RB Zach Charbonnet proved a one-two punch that the Utes couldn't handle.  Thompson-Robinson roasted the Utes defense, completing 18 of 23 passes for 299 yards and four TDs and one bad interception.  Charbonnet gashed the Utes gaining 198 yards on 22 carries with a TD of his own. UCLA never trailed in this game and it never felt like Utah was ever really in the game either. Utes RB Tavion Thomas gained 91 yards on 18 carries and a TD in the loss.

Telling Stat:  Wasn't that close; If Utah DB Clark Phillips III doesn't grab a pick six with :31 left UCLA wins 42-25. 

Arizona State 45- Washington 38: Tempe, AZ- Washington had lost their previous seven trips to Sun Devil Stadium and this game just ended up being another debacle in the desert for the Dawgs.  Washington held a 10-3 lead midway through the first period when they were called for targeting ASU QB Emory Jones.  Jones was knocked out of the game with an apparent concussion. That seemed to be a mortal blow to the Sun Devils chances for a victory.  Instead, a little luck and a former fifth string, walk-on ended up giving ASU the win.  The little luck came with 2:51 left in the second quarter. Husky QB Michael Penix, Jr.  threw pass that deflected one of his O-lineman's helmet and was returned 38 yards for a TD by DB Jordan Clark.  That would give the Sun Devils a 24-10 lead.  ASU wouldn't not fall behind again.  The former fifth string, walk-on QB Trenton Bourguet played like he had been the starter all along for ASU, slicing and dicing the Huskies secondary.  This game ended up being a shootout.  The Dawgs came back from a 38-24 deficit to tie the game at 38-38 when RB Cameron Davis picked up his third rushing TD of the game from five yards out with 12:09 to play.  No problem for Bourguet who calmly marched the Sun Devils 82 yards in 10 plays for the game-winning score.  That score was a two-yard pass from Bourguet to WR Elijah Badger.  The ASU defense then held Washington for downs twice over the final 7:27 to pull off the upset.  Bourget completed 15 of 21 passes for 182 yards, three TDs and an interception in relief of the injured Emory Jones.  Penix, Jr. completed 33 of 53 passes for 311 yards in the loss. 

Telling Stat: 8 not great;  Washington's eighth straight loss at ASU hurts even worse when you see that the Huskies dominated every statistical category in this game, but the score.   

Oregon 49- Arizona 23: Tuscon, AZ- The Ducks ran over around and through Arizona for the first three quarters, then took the final quarter off in their rout of the Wildcats.  UO turned a 7-3 second quarter lead into a 28-13 halftime advantage on three short TD runs from QB Bo Nix, TE Moliki Matavao and RB Jordan James. The Quacks repeated that performance with three more rushing TDs in the third quarter.  Nix had two of them that covered 25 and two yards They were sandwiched around RB Bucky Irving's 23-yard jaunt to the end zone.  Oregon gashed the UofA defense, with six backs toting the rock a total of 41 times for 306 yards. Nix completed 20 of 25 passes for 265 yards, while rushing for 70 yards and three TDs. For the overmatched Wildcats, QB Jayden de Laura completed 24 of 42 aerials for 241 yards, a TD and an interception.

Telling Stat: 7 is Heaven; All seven TDs for Oregon came on the ground in this laugher in the desert.   

Observations

...Living on Illini time;  Illinois is 5-1 overall, 2-1 in the Big Ten west and is in the running to make the Big Ten title game. 

...Axing of assistants;  Indiana HC Tom Allen fired OL coach/ running game coordinator Darren Hiller after the Hoosiers allowed seven sacks and rushed or just 19 yards in a 31-10 loss to to Michigan.  Rutgers HC Greg Schiano fired OC Sean Gleeson after the Scarlet Knights lost to lowly Nebraska, 14-13 last Friday night. Just another reminder folks that coaching is a just temp job at best. 

...Not Don James;  After starting 3-0 , Husky fans thought they hired the second coming of Don James.  Now that they are 3-3, those same are worried that they hired the second coming of Jim Lambright. 

...The Pirate ain't a fan;  Evidently, the caffeine is all that matters to Mississippi State HC Mike Leach in this sideline interview before his Bulldogs took on Arkansas. An overrated experience

...No way west;  UCLA's beating of Utah nixed College Gameday coming to Salt Lake City this week for USC-Utah.  Instead Gameday will shockingly in SEC country, Knoxville specifically for the Alabama Tennessee game.   Hmmm must be the the third Saturday in October. 

...A Colgate from true embarrassment;  Thank God Colgate wanted a cool road trip to Stanford this year. If not, the Pac 12 could easily have been home to the only two winless teams in the FBS.  Colorado is enough of an embarrassment to the league as it is. Wow.

...The purple team will win; TCU hosts Kansas State this week. 

...Trojan stalwarts;  Gotta love two of the greatest OT's ever getting together here. The Big Men

...Trophy on their long range radar; With Army and Navy failing to meet expectations, Air Force will claim full ownership of the Commander in Chief's trophy if they beat Army on 11/5. 

...Cute and Weird;  This costume is pretty crazy for a kid. Eight legs!

...Under the radar?;  It's hard to be under the radar the SEC, but Ole Miss has quietly gone 6-0 while Bama, Georgia, and Tennessee have grabbed all the attention from the media. 

…A man without a team; With the apparent dropping of the football program at Los Angeles Harbor College, every team I played for on the college level now no longer exists. Sigh. 

...Big two in the midwest;  Two huge games towards deciding the divisional races in the Big Ten will kickoff simultaneously at 9 AM PDT this Saturday.  #10 Penn State travels to the Big House to take on the #5 Wolverines in a matchup of undefeated squads in the East division, while Minnesota heads to Illinois for a key Big Ten West showdown. 

...Not this week;  UCLA travels to Oregon on October 22nd.  Had it in my head the game was this coming week.  I was wrong. Both have a bye this week to get ready for each other.  

...It's called defense;  For Trojans fans out there, who haven't seen it in awhile, USC has shown signs of having a real defense again.

...Mean stat of the week;  Ohio State scored seven touchdowns v. Michigan State last Saturday. Iowa has scored eight touchdowns all season. 

...#1 in something;  Colorado hasn't given up single yard on a kickoff return this year. That is tops in the FBS. 

...No defense, no problem;  North Carolina has given up 192 points already this year and more yardage than the Italian army, yet they are 5-1 and sit atop the ACC Coastal Division. Hmmmmmm

...Dumbo Jimbo; Texas A&M's final play call against Alabama was one of the worst in college football history. Aggie HC Jimbo Fisher has to be kicking himself for running that play. 

...Burnt orange stampede;  Texas destroyed Oklahoma, 49-0 in the Red River Showdown. Remember folks, Texas did not do this to Oklahoma.  Lincoln Riley did, just ask any Sooner fan.  Texas was just the innocent bystanders who hung 49 points, gained 585 yards of total offense and shutout the Sooners for the first time in the rivalry since 1965.  

...Funny and scary;  This spider costume for a dog would make me jump and run.  Oh heck no!

...Just a rumor; There's no truth to the rumor that the Iowa defense has commenced divorce proceedings against the Iowa offense.  The Hawkeyes defense already knows that they can't get any support from the offense. 

...0 so long ago; Stanford just may not win a Pac 12 game this year.  If they do, it will be the first time since 1960 that the Cardinal will have gone winless the conference. The 1960 Indians, as they were known then, went 0-10 on the year.  

...A little cheeky;  Facepalm from me and a question like, "Why the heck aren't you in the medical tent?' ran through my mind over this bizarre happening on the New York Giants sideline during their game in London v. the Green Bay Packers.  A helping hand?

 ..,Jinxed;  This intrepid reporter shed a little praise on UNLV and their 4-1 record last week, then the Rebels got smoked, 40-7 by San Jose State last Friday night.  Sorry, Rebs. 

...An update; In case anybody wanted to know, the Georgia Southern Eagles are 3-3 overall ad 0-2 in Sun Belt conference play under HC Clay Helton. 

Pac 12 Overreactions

Stanford won't get another win this year.

Washington's honeymoon with their new HC is officially over.

UCLA will go 11-1.

Cal can't wait to play Stanford.

Colorado is sad that they won't play Stanford.

Oregon is still irrelevant thanks to Georgia.

Utah can't handle a running QB.

Arizona's record does not reflect their improvement as a program.

Washington State will lose three more games. 

Oregon State is happy to be more lucky than good today.

USC will play to the level of their competition in every game this year. 

Arizona State is now in the middle of a QB Controversy. 

Ugly Uniform of the Week

They won the game, but lost the uniform battle. Arizona State wore these "desert sunrise inspired" tan togs v. Washington.  The only thing this uniform inspires in me are memories of long barren stretches of I-10 on road trips. Yuk.

Departments 

Low Score Game of the Week: Wauwatosa, WI- This game comes from the D-III ranks where the Green Knights of St. Norbert College made a two-yard TD run by RB John Trinh hold up for a 7-0 win over the Wisconsin Lutheran Warriors.  St. Norbert  moved to 3-0 in North Central Athletic Conference play. In the second half Wisconsin Lutheran drove three times deep into St. Norbert's territory only to have the Green Knights defense step up and pick off three passes to kill those drives and get the win. 

Blowout Game of the Week: Shepherdstown, WV- Let's take a trip to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.  The Shepherd University Rams wiped out the Lockhaven Bald Eagles, 72-7.  QB Tyson Bagent completed 16 of 21 passes for 211 yards and three TDs to lead the Rams to the easy win.  The Rams amassed 592 yards on only 52 plays which is a nifty 11 yards per play average. Shepherd built up a 48-0 lead at the half and cruised from there.  The 6-0 Rams are the #4 ranked team in D-II. 

Razorback Report: Starkville, MS- Well, the Razorbacks came out flat early then got buried in the second half, falling to Mississippi State, 40-17.  Bulldogs QB Will Rogers shredded the Hogs secondary, completing 31 of 48 passes for 395 yards and three TDs. QB Malik Hornsby completed only eight of 17 passes for 234 yards, a TD and two interceptions in the loss for the Hogs.  The now 3-3 Razorbacks take a rare western road trip to BYU next week. 

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

The breakfast burrito is a true staple of life in Southern California.

I wish I could get Archway raspberry filled cookies here. 

The number of pumpkins grown in the U.S. every year must be staggering. 

Until next time, remember that sometimes a good defense is your best offense.

-The Commissioner 

Week 5 2022

Hey All,

As summer keeps fighting to hang on in Southern California, here's another edition of the column that makes you think of fall beach bonfires, sweater weather and road trips to games, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard.  We still miss you, Tom Kelly.

Summaries

USC 42- Arizona State 25: Los Angeles, CA- For the first 30 minutes USC played without much energy on either side off the ball and found themselves clinging to a 21-17 lead at the half.  The USC defense had  not really stopped the Sun Devils yet and an early TD in the second half would put the Trojans behind and in trouble against a team they were favored to beat by 25.5 points. Ahhh, but the the SC defense did wake up and force three straight punts which allowed the SC offense to put up two TDs and take a 35-17 lead into the final quarter. Then, things got dicey again for the Trojans.  A penalty-aided 75-yard drive and two-point conversions cut USC's lead to 35-25 with 6:16 to play.  ASU then recovered the ensuing onside kick. But wait, the refs reviewed the play and bailed SC out when they threw flag after the fact on the Sun Devils for blocking a player trying to recover the kick before the kick traveled 10 yards. The Trojans took advantage and drove 39 yards for their final TD of the night when RB Travis Dye waltzed into the end zone from the one-yard line.  The Sun Devils last chance to get back into the game was snuffed out when DB Calen Bullock picked off QB Emory Jones near the goal line and returned it to the ASU 37-yard line.  A kneel down later and the Trojans got a much harder than expected victory. USC QB Caleb Wiliams torched the Sun Devils, completing 27 of 37 tosses for 348 yards, three TDs and an interception while RB Travis Dye gained 62 yards on 13 carries with two TDs.  For ASU, Jones completed 23 off 32 passes for 243 yards, a TD and an interception.

Telling Stat: 5 feels fine; USC is 5-0 and now has more wins this year than all of last year. 

Utah 42- Oregon State 16: Salt Lake City, UT- In a rare daylight game in the Pac 12, Oregon State basically imploded in the first quarter, then rallied before being put away by the Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium.  Beaver QB Chance Nolan started out the game like he finished v SC last week with an interception.  Three plays later, Utah QB Cam Rising found WR Jaylen Dixon for a 19-yard TD and a 7-0 lead.  OSU seemed to shake off the bad start as they marched 79 yards in seven plays to tie the game on a 29-yard TD run by RB Silas Bolden.  The next time OSU got the ball, Nolan threw another interception.  This one was returned 38 yards for for TD by DB Clark Phillips III.  Utah would never trail again. Nolan would be injured a few plays later leaving backup Ben Gulbranson to guide the Orange and Black the rest of the way.  OSU's running game kept them in the contest.  They trailed just 21-13 with :37 left in the the third quarter.  That's when Utah stood up on both sides of the ball to dominate the end of the game.  A 16-yard TD pass from Rising to WR DeVaughn Vele extended Utah's lead to 28-16. On the ensuing possession, Gulbranson was picked off deep in OSU territory.  Two plays later, Dixon ran 22 yards for a TD and Utah held a 35-16 lead.  Another Beaver interception would lead to Utah's last TD and the final score of 42-16.  The Utes would then snuff out any last chance the Beavers thought they had to comeback with yet another interception. The Utes then drove 77 yards in 11 plays to kill the remaining  7:16 off the clock. 

Telling Stat:  -4 killed them again;  For the second straight week, Oregon State threw four interceptions and lost the game. 

Arizona 43- Colorado 20: Tucson, AZ- The Wildcats worked over the Buffaloes in what would be Karl Dorrell's final game on the sidelines as the HC at CU. The Buffaloes put up only token resistance as UofA QB Jayden de Laura passed for 484 yards and six TDs.  The six TDs tied the school record for most passing TDs in a single game at UofA. de Laura's favorite targets were WRs Jacob Cowing and Dorian Singer.  Cowing hauled in seven passes for 180 yards and a TD while Singer snagged nine balls for 163 yards and a TD. The Wildcats almost had a third WR eclipse the century mark, but Tetairoa McMillan came up just short with 90 yards on five catches and a TD as well.  Arizona seemed to be able to score at will and CU just could not keep up.  QB Owen McCown completed 14 of 30 passes for 186 yards and a TD, while also running for 43 yards on 10 carries and a TD For the hapless Buffs.

Telling Stat: 202 yards short;  Colorado gave up 673 yards of total offense to Arizona, but that ranks only as the fourth worst defensive effort in CU history.  Oklahoma ran up 875 yards of offense in an 82-42 beating of the Buffaloes in 1980.  

UCLA 40- Washington 32: Pasadena, CA- This game was billed as a battle of unbeatens with the big bad Huskies coming to the Rose Bowl on Friday night to take on the bRuins.  What it really turned out to be was a play in three acts.  The very short first act saw the Huskies march down the field on their first possession and take a 7-0 lead on a 33-yard TD pass from QB Michael Penix, Jr. to WR Rome Odunze.  Then, the second act began and it was all bRuins for a long time.  First, the Huskies gave up a safety when they fumbled in their own end zone and managed to fall on the ball. The UCLA offense would then score on six of their next seven drives while their defense stymied the Dawgs offense.  QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson looked unstoppable running the bRuins offense.  The second act ended with 3:46 left in the third quarter and the bRuins holding a 40-16 lead.  The third act saw the Dawgs offense come back to life and score two TDs and a pair of two-point conversion to make the score 40-32 UCLA with 3:59 to play.  UCLA then needed to run out the clock and they did.  Nine plays would net the bRuins 33 yards, three first downs and a big win over the Dawgs.  Thompson-Robinson had himself a great game, completing 24 of 33 passes for 315 yards and three TDs.  He also ran the ball 10 times for 53 yards and a TD too.  His backfield mate RB Zach Charbonnet led all rushers with 124 yards on 22 carries and a TD of his own.  For the shell-shocked Huskies, Penix, Jr. complerted 33 of 48 passes for 345 yards, four TDs and two huge interceptions. 

Telling Stat: They really only stopped themselves;  UCLA only punted once in this game.  They also failed on two fourth down conversions or else they could have hung a good 50 points on Washington.

Oregon 45- Stanford 27: Eugene, OR- Stanford's losing has become formulaic. The Cardinal start slow, get buried early then put a up few scores late to make the game look a little closer than it really was. The Ducks led after one quarter of play, 10-0 on a 38-yard FG by Camden Lewis and a 49-yard TD pass from Bo Nix to WR Chase Cota.  The Quacks then answered a 23-yard FG from Stanford PK Joshua Party with three more TD drives.  Those three TDs came one a 10-yard TD pass from Nix to WR Tony Franklin, a four yard run from Nix and a one-yard plunge by RB James Jordan.  The Men of Oregon took a 31-3 lead into halftime.  Stanford did try to make a game of it. WR Casey Filkins hauled in a 42-yard TD pass from QB Tanner McKee with 5:01 left in the third period.  But 15 seconds later, Nix dropped back, dodged the Stanford pass rush and ran down the left hashmark 80 yards to paydirt. Nix's mad dash ended the competitive portion of the game.  Stanford would outscore UO, 17-7 in garbage time before the clock hit triple zeroes. Bo Nix is just having good day after good day lately. He completed 16 of 29 passes for 161 yards and two TDs while also leading all rushers with 141 yards on six carries and two more scores. In the loss, McKee completed 19 of 33 passes for 166 yards and two TDs.

Telling Stat: Running downhill for the W; Oregon ran over Stanford. They rushed the ball 37 times for 351 yards. That equates to a nifty 9.5 yards per carry average. 

Washington State 28- Californian 9: Pullman, WA- After their soul-crushing defeat at the hands of Oregon last week, could the Cougars rally back for a win over the Golden Bears?  The Cougars did do just that, but it was a struggle.  The game stood 7-3 WSU at the half with both defenses dictating the action.  Wazzu's touchdown was set up by a good punt return and an unusual penalty thanks to the Pac 12's worst ref, Mel Mothershed. PR Robert Ferrel's 34-yard punt return brought the ball to Cal 35-yard line.  However during the return, one of Cal's defenders had his helmet knocked off and continued to try and make a tackle.  The poor kid was flagged 15 yards for continuing to play without his helmet. That gave the Cougars a 1st and 10 at the Cal 20-yard line.  Four plays later RB Jaylen Jenkins crossed the double stripe from two yards out and the Cougars held a 7-0 lead.  WSU had the ball to start the third quarter and decided to throw over the top of the Cal defense.  Four long passes were good for 75 yards and a touchdown.  The capper to the drive was a 17-yard TD strike from QB Cameron Ward to WR Robert Ferrel.  Cal would cut into Wazzu's lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter when RB Jaydn Ott topped off a seven play, 90-yard drive when he barreled into the end zone from two yards out.  Now trailing 14-9 the Golden Bears then went for two and failed.  WSU put the game away on their next two drives.  TD passes of 37 yards and one yard from Ward handed the Cougs their fourth win of the year.  Ward completed 27 of 40 passes for 343 yards, three TDs and two interceptions for Wazzu.  Cal QB Jack Plummer completed 23 of 33 passes for 273 yards in the loss.  

Telling Stat: No run= A win;  Wazzu stopped Cal's running game, holding the Golden Bears to just 31 yards on the ground to pave the way for the victory. 

Observations

...That look;  Utah HC Kyle Whittingham always looks like he's ready for bar fight and his team plays that way too.

...They're human after all; USC committed their first turnover of the year when QB Caleb Williams threw a third quarter interception in the end zone v. ASU. The Trojans had played 277 minutes of turnover free ball until that point. 

...We want Riggo!; College Gameday will be in Lawrence, Kansas for the first time ever this week as the undefeated Jayhawks will host the undefeated Horned Frogs of TCU.  They gotta get John Riggins to make an appearance on the set. 

...We're #130!;  Even though they were drubbed by Michigan last weekend, Iowa is now no longer last in total offense in the FBS.  They are now 130th in total offense gaining 242.2 yards per game, a whole .4 yards per game better than #131 Colorado State. 

...Religion in Sin City;  Notre Dame squares off with BYU this week at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.  Anyone else find that weird? 

...And then there were two; There are only two winless teams left in the FBS. Colorado and Colorado State are a combined 0-9 this year. 

...Quietly making noise;  UNLV is 4-1 overall and atop the West Division of the Mountain West Conference with a 2-0 mark in league play. The Rebels only loss was by just six points at Cal. 

...Tough Wildcats trivia; QB Jayden de Laura tied the UofA single game record with six TD tosses v. Colorado last Saturday. With what former UofA QB does de Laura now share the record?  Hint: 40 years ago.  

...How will it happen?; When Georgia does everything to Auburn this week short of flattening the liters on their team bus, will HC Bryan Harsin get end zoned, tarmac or just not allowed on the flight home.  It'snot a matter of if, just when he'd fired this year.   

...A huge chip;  UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson is playing with a big chip on his shoulder and no mercy for his opponents. 

...Why are they surprised? ;  Some notable USC fans have discussed how awful they've been treated on the road this year.  Hey, get used to it.  USC's leaving the Pac 12 most likely has signaled the demise of the conference. The USC hate will get a lot worse as the date to go to the Big Ten approaches. 

...W/ L mirror image; Washington went on to beat Michigan Start after forcing a safety a few weeks ago, then went on to lose after giving up a safety to UCLA last Friday. 

...Sign of the times; If you don't like it when players skip bowl games to get ready for the draft, then you're really gonna hate this. SMU players are bailing out on the season to get ready to enter the Transfer Portal. Bailing Out 

...Summer won't let go;  The floor of Rose Bowl will be over 90° for UCLA's big game with Utah this week. 

...Low expectations;  The Over/Under for the Iowa-Illinois game this week is 35.5 points. For perspective, the lowest over under in any of the other Power Five conferences is in the ACC where the number on the Va TEch-Pitt game is 44. 

...Just make a run for it; Mississippi State HC Mike Leach will answer just about any question, so why wouldn't reporter Alyssa Lang ask him about her upcoming wedding plans?  Runaway Bride

...He got rammed;  The best tackle by any Rams player lately was when Bobby Wagner nailed this idiot fan on Monday night. Play stupid games...

...Never to see the sun;  Stanford has another late game this week, an 8 PM kickoff at home v. Oregon State. Tickets on the secondary market for this snoozer of a game are going for as low as 10 bucks. 

...Another week, another firing;  For the fourth week in a row an FBS HC was fired and this week's victim was Colorado's Karl Dorrell.  Dorrell was named the HC in Boulder after then HC Mel Tucker bolted for Michigan State.  Dorrell's Buffaloes went 8-15 during his time at CU.  Dorrell will receive an 8.7 million dollar buyout. Oh, and DC Chris Wilson was canned too.  DL coach Gerald Chatman was named the interim HC. Here's CU AD Rick George's press release on the firing.  Rocky Mountain Low

...Buyer's remorse;  After dropping to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, not a lot of Michigan State fans are happy with the 10-year, 95 million dollar extension HC Mel Tucker was handed in the offseason. 

...Another week, another firing Part II;  Wisconsin made it two firings this week when AD Chris McIntosh showed HC Paul Chryst the door.  The Badgers started off 2-3 this year.  The three losses were an upset at the hands of Washington State, and two blowouts by TheeeOSU and Illinois. In seven seasons, Chryst went 67-26 in Badger land. 

...Trivia answer; Arizona's Tom Tunnicliffe threw six TD passes against Pacific on October 23, 1982. 

Pac 12 Overreactions

UCLA is an 11-1 team.

Oregon will go 10-2.

Utah will lose two games due to stubbornness.

Cal doesn't have enough offense to make a bowl.

Wazzu is the most dangerous team in the league.

Stanford will go 2-10.

Washington will barely win this week.

ASU will be a 3-9 team with many close losses.

Colorado still won't score over 20 points this year.

Oregon State is a QB away from being very good.

USC can't afford to sleepwalk through anymore games.

Arizona won't be back in the Pac 12 cellar anytime soon.  

Ugly Uniform of the Week

This week's winner is the Baylor Bears and their all-gold look v. Oklahoma State.  That's just too much gold. Yuk. 

Departments 

Low Score Game of the Week: Miami, OK- This game comes form the Southwest Junior College Football Conference.  The Tyler Junior College Apaches defeated the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen, 5-0.  Yes, 5-0.  TJC took a 2-0 lead midway through the first period when Apache LB Dontavious Burrows caused a fumble in the NEO A&M end zone that Golden Norsemen fell on for a safety.  Then, with 1:20 to go in the game PK Aaron Gallegos booted a 35-yard FG to extend the Apaches lead to 5-0. This intrepid reporter was unable to find any stats on the game, but is indebted to the Tyler Morning Telegraph for their recap. 

Blowout Game of the Week: Pueblo, CO-  The Colorado St.- Pueblo Thunderwolves wiped out the Fort Lewis College Skyhawks, 75-3 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference clash.  The Thunderwolves built up a 49-3 halftime lead and then emptied the benches in the second half.  Nine different Thunderwolves combined to gain 315 yards rushing with six TDs while QB Hunter Raquet completed five of 10 passes for 154 yards and three TDs in limited action.  The Pueblo defense held Fort Lewis to just 154 total yards. 

Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- The Hogs failed to show up in the first half,  played a good third quarter, then disappeared again in a 49-26 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide. This week the Razorbacks travel to Mississippi State. 

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

My sister's Raspberry Vanilla cake with Lemon icing is flat out amazing.

It's hard to find apple jelly in any grocery store.

A good supply of Ziploc bags is one of the basic pillars of any home kitchen. 

Until next time, remember that playing to your level of competition is a recipe for disaster.

-The Commissioner