Hey All,
It's tine for that column that makes your Tuesdays feel like Saturdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We Still miss you, Joe Jares.
Summaries
USC 41- California 35: Los Angeles, CA- It might have been a bit of an omen that things would not go easily for the Trojans against the Golden Bears when Traveler had to dodge the Trojan Marching Band in the pregame show. However, despite falling behind early 7-0, the Trojans did manage to take a 20-7 lead into the half thanks to one-yard sneak from QB Caleb Williams, a 12-yard TD run by Travis Dye and a seven yard TD catch by WR Michael Jackson III. The Trojans would the extend that lead to 34-14 to start the final period thanks to another TD reception from Jackson III where he took a short pass and sprinted through the Cal defense for 59 yards and an eight-yard TD catch from WR Tahj Washington. Then the fourth quarter began. Cal's offense woke up and started riddling the SC defense with QB Jack Plummer's passes. With 2:31 to play the Bears cut SC's lead to just six points on a four-yard run from RB Jaydn Ott and a two-point conversion pass from Plummer to WR Monroe Young. The Trojans then needed to run out the clock and Williams was to man make that happen. On 4th and 1 from Cal 43-yard line, Williams snaked his way through the Cal defense for 15 yards and a first down. A run from RB Travis Dye and two kneel downs later, SC escaped with the win. Despite being without his two top receivers again this week, Williams completed 26 of 41 passes with four TDs while also running for 38 yards one seven carries and another score. Williams's favorite targets were Jackson and Washington. Jackson caught five balls for 115 yards and two TDs while Washington grabbed seven passes for 112 yards and a TD. Meanwhile, the SC defense did its' best to turn Cal's Plummer into the second coming of Aaron Rodgers. Plummer completed 35 of 49 aerials for 406 yards with three TDs and an interception.
Telling Stat: He's a thriller; USC WR Michael Jackson III broke California with two TDs in a breakout game where he picked up the slack left after both of SC's top WRs sat another game due to injury.
Washington 24- Oregon State 21: Seattle, WA- Wind gusts up to 40 MPH greeted both squads as they took they field at Husky Stadium. A few bad calls and a delay of 25 minutes due to a power outage early in the fourth also were hurdles for both teams to contend with. In the end, the Huskies had just enough to outlast the Beavers. That just enough came in the form of a 18 play, 92-yard drive that ended with PK Peyton Henry making a 22-yard FG with :08 left to win the game. The Beavers held a 21-14 lead to start the third period, but couldn't hang on for the win. QB Michael Penix, Jr. completed 30 of 52 passes for 298 yards, a TD and an interception for the Dawgs. For the Beavers, RBs Damien Martinez and Deshaun Fenwick combined to rush for 144 yards and two TDs on 24 carriers.
Telling Stat: They owned the 4th; Washington shutout Oregon State, 10-0 in the final quarter, outagaining the Beavers 136 yards to 51. The Dwwgs defense also forced a fumble on OSU's final drive to seal the win.
Oregon 49- Colorado 10: Boulder, CO- The Bo Nix showed sponsored by Nike rolled into Boulder and did everything but plant a Webfoot flag on top of the Flatiron Mountains in their rout of the Buffaloes. The Quack QB sliced up the Buffs secondary completing 20 of 24 passes for 274 yards and two TDs, while running for two scores and also catching a score. The Buffs didn't have much luck stopping the Ducks running game either with RB Bucky Irving toting the rock 11 times for 120 yards. UO LB Noah Sewell also scored on a one-yard run and OT Josh Conerly, Jr. caught a TD pass. So, the Ducks just toyed with CU for a full four quarters. In the loss, CU QB J.T. Shrout completed 17 of 34 passes for 247 yards, a TD and two interceptions.
Telling Stat: 7 of 9 = Rout; Oregon scored TDs on seven off their first nine drives to run away with this game. The Ducks other two drives ended in a punt and a turnover on downs at the CU five-yard line.
Utah 45- Arizona 20: Salt Lake City, CA- When snow covered Rice-Eccles Stadium earlier in the week, it seemed to be a sign that the Wildcats would have a tough time in Salt Lake City. Honestly, nobody really thought the Utes would have a tough time with UofA and they didn't. The only surprise in this game is that Utah actually wore helmets that didn't depict deceased players. The Utes used their rushing game to wear down the Wildcats and control the clock. The Utes held a 31-10 through three quarters thanks to four TD runs by three different RBs and 27-yard FG by PK Jadon Redding. The fourth quarter saw the Utes extend out to 45-10 lead before their second teamers allowed a late 10 points from the Wildcats. Utes RB Ja'Quinden Jackson led all rushers with 97 yards on 13 carries with a TD. QB Cam Rising was back in the lineup for Utah and completed 13 of 25 passes for 151 yards and a TD. For UofA, QB Jayden de Laura completed 10 of 20 passes for 159 yards. He also ran for a score.
Telling Stat: They ground it out; Utah held the ball for 37:59 by rushing for 306 yards on 55 carries en route to the win.
Washington State 52- Stanford 14: Palo Alto, CA- The Cougars came to The Farm looking to snap a three-game losing skid and the Cardinal did every thing they could to help their friends from the Palouse do just that. The first quarter saw the Stanford defense implode as Wazzu built up a 21-0 lead on a three-yard run from WR Leyton Smithson, a three-yard TD pass from QB Cam Ward to WR Adrian Glover and 15-yard scamper by Ward. Stanford would cut that lead to 21-7 when QB Ahston Daniels scored form a yard out. However, that would be the lone highlight for the Cardinal in the first half. Stanford's offense then proceeded to fumble on four of their next five drives. Wazzu would turn three of those turnovers into TDs with DB Jaden Hicks returning one of those for a TD. The Cougars went into the intermission with a 42-7 lead. The competitive portion of the contest was over at that point. The second half was basically 30 minutes of garbage time. Ward completed 16 of 32 passes for 176 yards and two TDs to go with 38 yards and a TD on five carries. His backfield mate, Make Watson just couldn't be stopped by the Cardinal, rushing for 116 yards on 16 carries and a TD. For the hapless Cardinal QB Tanner McKee completed 23 of 40 passes for 236 yards.
Telling Stat: Turnovers kill; Turning over the ball four times after they were already down 21-7 wiped away whatever comeback chances Stanford had against the Cougars.
UCLA 50- Arizona State 36: Tempe, AZ- Trenton Bourget news of being the established starting QB for the Sun Devils filled the pregame stories this week as he gave the Sun Devils a real shot at upsetting the bRuins. Then, as the game began, the story quickly turned to the UCLA not having Pac 12 leading rusher RB Zach Charbonnet in the lineup. Charbonnet was on the sideline in uniform with his left arm and calf wrapped. He never played and the he didn't need to. QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and WR turned RB for this game Kazmeir Allen more than picked up the slack as they accounted for most of the bRuins 402 rushing yards that were hung on the ASU defense. UCLA came back from an early 10-7 deficit to build up a 35-10 lead on the Sun Devils early in the third quarter. ASU then mounted a comeback and cut their deficit to just 42-36 with 6:24 to play. However, UCLA was able to put the game away seven plays later when RB Colson Yankoff found paydirt from one-yard out. A two point conversion followed and UCLA won by 14 points. Allen ran for 137 yards on 11 carries with a TD and Thompson-Robinson ran for 120 yards on 10 carries with two TDs. Thompson-Robinson also completed 13 of 20 passes for 169 yards, two TDs and an interception. For the Sun Devils, Bourget completed 38 of 49 aerials for 349 yards, two TDs and an interception.
Telling Stat: Ground Control; UCLA gashed the ASU defense for 402 yards rushing on 42 carries. That's a nifty 9.6 yards per carry.
Observations
...Paging Mr. Allen; USC RB Travis Dye has a rushing TD in eight straight games for the Trojans, the longest such streak since Marcus Allen in 1981.
...They move the chains; At 56.6% Minnesota leads the nation in third down conversion percentage. Hot on the Gophers tails are a trio of Pac 12 schools. Washington, UCLA and USC rank 2nd, 3rd and 4th converting on 54.6, 54.1 and 53.3 % of their third downs respectively.
...Easy like Sunday morning; I'll say it again, it doesn't get much better than rolling out of bed on Sunday morning, plopping on the couch and turning on NFL RedZone.
...Begs the question; If five of the top ten leaders in scoring defense are Big Ten teams, does it that mean that those defense are all incredible or that Big Ten offenses are just weak? Hmmmmmmmm.
...Blocking Irish; Notre Dame has blocked six punts this year, that leads the nation.
...Tom calling; As USC's defense was collapsing in the fourth quarter against Cal, the voice of old Trojan radio legend Tom Kelly's words rang in my ears saying, "The Trojans just can't stand prosperity!"
...A new record; In case you missed it, SMU beat Houston 77-63. The 140 total points make this the highest scoring game in NCAA history that did not go to overtime. The teams combined for 1,352 yards of offense, 65 first downs, and 154 plays from scrimmage. Wow.
...Still undefeated?; Clemson is still undefeated in ACC play. How? Well, despite Notre Dame's affiliation with the league, games between the Irish and full ACC members only count towards your overall record.
...Schadenfreude in action; The happiness throughout the land experienced by millions of fans when Alabama lost to LSU felt like the celebrations when the Empire fell in Return of the Jedi.
...Huge mess looming; Six of the seven teams in the Big Ten West are separated by a total of two games in conference play. Illinois is 4-2, four teams are 3-3 and Nebraska is 2-4. Gonna be a wild next few weeks.
...Irsay you say, Idiots I say; The Irsay family has owned the Baltiomore/ Indianoplis Colts since 1972 and have been a just a dysfunctional group to say the least. Now, Jim Irsay continues the stupidity with the firing of HC Frank Reich and the hiring of Jeff Saturday as the interim HC. Reich deserved to finish the year. Saturday comes in as an interim HC without being a member of the current coaching staff. This makes as much sense as when Robert Irsay, Jim's father, moved the team from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. Facepalm.
...American worth watching; 8-1 Tulane hosts 7-2 UCF in a huge game in the AAC this week. Winner has the inside track to the league crown.
...An earth shaking win; The Crowd at Tiger Stadium shook literally shook the ground twice during the Bayou Bengals upset of Alabama. Purely Seismic
...Two now, win later; The new strategy move driven by analytics that has taken the football world by storm is that when a team is down late in the game by 14 points and they score a TD to cut into the lead, they go for two points right away to cut that that deficit to just six points. Then presumably go ahead later on a standard PAT after another TD. It sure flies in the face of traditional which wisdom dictates not going for two unless you have to. It was done twice in the Pac 12 last week and it is crazy to watch.
...Not feeling Bully; South Florida has fired HC Jeff Scott following the Bulls 54-28 loss to Temple. The Bulls are 0-5 in AAC play and 1-8 overall this year. Over the past three seasons USF had gone a dismal 4-26 under Scott's tutelage.
...He's not gone; Despite earlier reports this week, West Virginia HC Neal Brown has not been fired. This may just be a just a few weeks like when everyone knew Bryan Harrison was going to canned at Auburn. Stay tuned.
...It ain't either or; There has been quite the debate in the USC message board world as to whether the lack of talent or DC Alex Grinch is to blame for the Trojans defensive woes. It's both. Even with transfers the defense has a woeful lack of talent. That's due to the recruiting malpractice of the former coaching regime. Secondly, the defensive scheme is just bad. Grinch has never produced a top 10 defense.
...A really fast brick wall; Nobody has a defense like Georgia.
...The little engine that couldn't; Purdue's Boilermaker Special that leads the team onto the field at Ross-Ade Stadium stalled while trying to lead the team out. The football team stalled too, losing to Iowa by a score of 24-3. Stalled!
...They did win the game; Iowa did beat Purdue as mentioned above, but if all of Iowa's offensive woes this year could be summed up in one play, this one is it. Facepalm
...A season ends; With the World Series over, the stark reality hits hard in my backyard. The corn didn't grow, Shoeless Joe never showed up and my Angels had another losing season. Well, there's always next year.
Pac 12 Overreactions
Oregon will go 12-1 and miss the College Football Playoff.
USC is a 9-3 team.
Cal now thinks they have a real offense.
The difference between home Utah and road Utah is staggering.
The Arizona-Arizona State game could be epic this year.
Stanford wonders how they beat Notre Dame. Really, we all do.
Washington thinks they can beat Oregon.
Colorado will think it is warm on Friday night at the Coliseum.
UCLA's chip on their shoulder is a mile wide.
Oregon State wishes games were just 59 minutes long this year.
Washington State is Sun Bowl bound.
CFL Update
The playoffs have started and the Conference Final games are set. Montreal took care of Hamilton, 28-17 and will travel to Toronto for the East Conference Final. The BC Lions beat the Calgary Stampeders, 30-16 and will travel to Winnipeg to take on the Blue Bombers in the West Final.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
I was gonna put SMU's awful black and blue uniforms in this section, but after the Ponies scored 77 points in them, they became pretty. So, this North Texas uniform makes a second appearance in a couple seasons. These slime neon green togs they wore this past weekend brings two things mind. One, the uniform looks like a really bad redesign of the old Washington Federals of the USFL. Two, the helmet looks like a possible logo for a South American airline. Ugly.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Little Rock, AR: With 10:53 left in the second quarter at old War Memorial Stadium, QB Jacob Wood hit WR Kanyn Utley with a 21-yard TD pass to give the Hendrix College Warriors a 6-0 lead over the Rhodes College Lynx. The PAT would fail, but six points would be enough for the Warriors to grab a 6-0 victory. The Warriors held the Lynx to just 172 total yards en route to the shutout. The win saw the Warriors move 2-4 on the year in the Southern Athletic Association in Division III.
Blowout Game of the Week: Appleton, WI- We stay in Division III and more specially the Midwest Conference where the University of Chicago Maroons crushed the Lawrence University Vikings, 60-0. RB Nick D'Ambrose ran for 147 yards and three TDs on 21 carries to lead a Maroons rushing attack that totaled 315 yards on 52 carries with six TDs. The Chicago defense held Lawrence to 61 yards of total offense and three first downs for the afternoon. Lawrence is now 0-9 on the year and has been shutout in each of their last four games.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- Arkansas suffered a devastating 21-19 upset loss to the Liberty Flames. Yeah, seriously they lost to Liberty. Oh well, the Hogs host LSU this week. Hmmmmm
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Hot homemade soup on a cold day is a beautiful thing.
Everyone in town is waiting for the seasonal See's Candies popup store to open.
I'm such an old man homeowner that turning back the clocks is a signal to me to check the smoke alarm batteries and change the furnace filter. Maybe I need to see Dr. Rick.
Until next time, remember that the other team can't win if they don't score.
-The Commisisonner
