Hey All,
It's time for the column that makes your Tuesdays feel like Thursdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Loel Schrader
Summaries
USC 48- UCLA 45: Pasadena, CA- Most of the LA media picked the bRuins to take this game and one washed up hack for the LA Times even proclaimed that UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson was the better QB entering this game. In the end, the pundits were wrong as the Trojans pulled out an incredible win at their second home, the Rose Bowl. The game didn't start out well for SC as their first two drives netted the Trojans 100 yards and no points as a failed fourth down conversion and a partially blocked field goal left the score at 0-0 midway through the first quarter. The bRuins would then sandwich a pair of TDs around an interception of Trojan QB Caleb Williams. SC found themselves down 14-0 with 1:47 left in the quarter. The rest of the half saw the Trojans dig themselves out of that hole and get back into the game. Trialing 21-10 with 3:48 left in the second quarter, SC would cut the gap to 21-20 thanks to an eight -yard TD run by RB Austin Jones, two interceptions of Thompson-Robinson and a 49-yard field goal from PK Denis Lynch. The field goal got an assist from UCLA HC Chip Kelly who called a timeout to ice Lynch just before he missed his first attempt from that distance. Lynch's second kick barely cleared the crossbar and SC trailed just one point as the break. The first half of the third quarter saw SC forge ahead and never trail again. After giving up a UCLA FG, the Trojans would get a TD on a 35-yard pass from Williams to WR Jordan Addison. Then SC forced the bRuins to fumble on their own 18-yard line and cash that fumble in for a TD when Jones crossed the double stripe from two yards out. Now up 34-24, the game turned into a slugfest with the teams trading TDs until the 6:38 mark of the fourth quarter when UCLA TE Michael Ezeike hauled in a three-yard pass from Robinson to cut SC's lead to 48-45. The Trojans needed to answer that score with another score or at least run out the clock the get the win. They SC offense ran the clock down, but didn't score. The Trojans then had to punt for the first time in the game. USC fans hearts were in their throats as UCLA took over the ball on their own 11-yard line with 2:15 left to play and two timeouts in their pocket. The bRuins moved the ball out near midfield. Then on 3rd and 5 from the their own 43-yard line, Thompson-Robinson never saw Trojans DE Korey Foreman as he threw the ball. Foreman intercepted the pass. The Trojans were elated, the bRuins were crushed. A Caleb Williams run and three kneel downs later, the game was over. The Trojans won the game, earned a spot in the Pac 12 title game and took back possession of the Victory Bell. Williams finished the game with two TDs in the air, one on the ground and 503 total yards of offense. His 503 yards are the most by any player in the history of the rivalry. Jones led all rushers with 120 yards on 21 carries and two TDs while Addison led all receivers with 178 yards on 11 receptions and a TD. For the now eliminated from the Pac 12 title game bRuins, Thompson-Robinson completed 23 of 38 passes for 309 yards, four TDs and three huge interceptions. He also fumbled once. His backfield mate, RB Zack Charbonnet had his streak of 100-yard rushing games snapped, gaining 95 yards on 19 carries.
Telling Stat: One timeout and a second FGA= W; The timeout taken by UCLA HC Chip Kelly to ice PK Denis Lynch backfired. Lynch would have missed his first attempt at the FG had the timeout not been called. Lynch's make on the second try was the difference in the game.
Washington State 31- Arizona 20: Tucson, AZ- Much was made during the week leading to this game about how former Wazzu and now current UofA QB Jayden de Laura couldn't wait to get on the field and beat his old teammates. Well, the Wazzu defense had the last laugh in this one that ended up not being as close as the score indicates. The Crimson and Grey defense held UofA for downs twice in Cougar territory which let the Wazzu offense build up a 21-6 halftime lead. The 21 points came on a four-yard TD pass from QB Cam Ward to RB Nakia Watson, a 17-yard sprint to paydirt from Ward and a two-yard run by Watson. The game turned into stalemate for the first part of the third quarter, then the Cougars defense picked off de Laura three times in three minutes. One of those picks was returned 35 yards for a TD by CB Derrick Langford, Jr. to put the Cougars up 31-6. That proved to be a hole that the Wildcats couldn't claw their way out of. They would put 14 more points on the board, but their last score came with 1:16 left and the game already decided. The Ward-Watson combo for Wazzu combined for 115 yards rushing and two TDs on 23 carries. Ward also completed 25 of 36 passes for 193 yards and a TD as well. For the Wildcats, de Laura completed 28 of 46 passes for 357 yards, a TD and four interceptions.
Telling Stat: Not a Fab Four; QB Jayden de Laura's four second half interceptions wiped out any chance the Arizona had to comeback to win this game.
Oregon State 31- Arizona State 7: Tempe, AZ- The Beavers offense used their now familiar mortar and pestle approach on the Sun Devils slowly grinding them into desert dust in a convincing victory. A five-yard run by RB Damien Martinez and 21-yard TD pass from QB Ben Gulbranson to TE JackVeiling gave the Orange and Black a 14-7 halftime lead. The third quarter saw the Beavers run away from ASU. Martinez notched his second rushing TD of the game on a run of 12 yards. Gulbranson would then run eight yards for a score on OSU's next drive to put his squad ahead 28-7. OSU would add a 28-yard FG form PK Everett Hayes to make the score 31-7 while the defense keep ASU shutout for the rest of the second half to ensure the win. Martinez led all rushers with 138 yards on 22 carries and two scores. Gulbranson was efficient again, completing 15 of 21 tosses for 188 yards and a TD. For the now 3-8 Sun Devils, RB Xazavian Valladay was the lone bright spot, rushing for 109 yards on 13 carries and a TD.
Telling Stat: 42 for the W; Oregon State ran the ball 42 times on ASU for 222 yards which kept the clock running and the ASU offense off the field.
California 27- Stanford 20: Berkeley, CA- This 125th edition of The Big Game featured a Cal comeback win over the Cardinal. There was also an unusual play to end the game too. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as forty years ago when "The Play" was forever etched into the minds of football fans everywhere. However, Cal did need some late heroics to come from behind to grab the victory and retain possession of the rivalry trophy known as The Axe. The Cardinal which had trouble gaining yards, much less scoring points lately jumped out to a surprising 7-0 lead on the game's opening drive. With a depleted running back group thanks to a pair of season ending injuries and a transfer, Safety turned RB Mitch Leigber scored the first TD of the game on a plunge from one yard out. Both offenses sputtered the rest of the half with a 42-yard FG by Stanford PK Josh Karty and Cal just able to muster a a pair of field goals covering 54 and 38 yards form Cal PK Dario Longhetto. The Cardinal held a 10-6 lead at the break. Then, after they forced a Cal punt to start the third quarter, they drove 71 yards in 11 plays to extend their lead to 17-6. The TD came on a nine-yard pass from QB Tanner McKee to WR Elijah Higgins. Cal's offense would remain dormant for the rest of the period. Then in a stretch of a little over four minutes in the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears would rise up and take control of the game. Cal cut Stanford's lead to 17-12 when QB Jack Plummer threw a one-yard TD pass to TE Monroe Young. Then five plays later, LB Jackson Sirmon picked up a Stanford fumble and rumbled 37 yards to the end zone to give Cal a 20-17 lead. Cal would not trail again. The Golden Bears would put the game away with :58 left when RB Jadyn Ott plunged over from a yard out to give Cal a 27-17 lead. Here's where we get the weird last play to end the game. With a few seconds left, SU HC David Shaw sent the field goal unit onto the field. He let Josh Karty try to break the school record with a 61-yard FG attempt. Karty who had not missed a kick all year, nailed this one too and the game ended at 27-20. It was weird to see Stanford players rush to congratulate Karty while Cal was celebrating the win on the other sideline. Plummer completed 23 of 43 passes for 280 yards, a TD and two interceptions while Ott led all rushers with 97 yards on 18 carries and a TD for the victorious residents of Strawberry Canyon. For Stanford, McKee finished the game with 29 completions in 45 attempts, a TD and an interception. Leigber didn't do too bad for a converted Safety rushing for 83 yards and a TD in the painful loss.
Telling Stat: All categories but the big one in The Big Game; Stanford led every statistical category in this game, but the scoreboard and in the end, the final score is all that really matters.
Washington 54- Colorado 7: Seattle , WA- Would the Huskies suffer a letdown after upsetting the Ducks last week? Could the Dawgs also be caught looking ahead to their Apple Cup matchup at Wazzu next week? A firm NO was the answer to both those questions. The Husky offense scored on five of their six first half possessions and picked up a safety on a botched punt snap by the Buffaloes to take a 33-0 halftime lead. The Dawgs put up 14 more points the third quarter before emptying the benches while a good portion of the home crowd departed for the warmth of the local pubs in the area. In a little under three full quarters worth of work QB Michael Penix, Jr. complerted 19 of 31 passes for 229 yards an a TD while RB Willie Tualapapa gained 107 yards on 11 carries and two TDs to spearhead the Huskies offense. For the bottom-dwelling Buffs, QB J.T. Shrout completed six of 18 aerials for 120 yards, a TD and an interception.
Telling Stat: 0 as in zero chance; The Washington defense took any chance away of Colorado being competitive in this game in the first half by holding the Buffs to zero points and 60 total yards.
Oregon 20- Utah 17: Eugene, OR- The Ducks faced a tough task in taking on the Utes. They hoped to bounce back form their loss to Washington last week and get back in the Pac 12 title hunt with a win. They were supposed to try and accomplish the feat without QB Bo Nix who was injured late in the game vs. the Huskies last week. However, a hobbling Nix did start and led his squad to a huge win over Utah. It also helped that this game was at Autzen, because it is well known that Utah just isn't the same team on the road as they are at home. The Webfoots built up a 17-3 halftime lead thanks to a 10-yard TD jaunt from RB Bucky Irving, a TD pass that covered four yards from Nix to WR Troy Franklin and a 30-yard FG from PK Camden Lewis. The third quarter belonged to the Utes as their defense made it a 17-10 game when LB Karene Reid scooped up a fumble by UO WR Dont'e Thornton and raced 11 yards to paydirt. Then later in the quarter, the Utes offense finally put together a good drive and marched 86 yards in 13 plays to tie the game at 17-17. WR Jaylen Dixon did the honors when he took the ball on a jet sweep and sped 18 yards down the sideline for the touchdown. UO would take the lead again on a 15-play 52-yard drive that culminated with a 41-yard FG by Lewis that made the score 20-17 with 11:17 to play. The rest of the game saw the Duck defense hold for downs twice and intercept Utah QB Cam Rising to wrestle victory away from the team from Salt Lake City. For the Ducks, the hobbled Nix completed 25 of 37 passes for 287 yards with a TD and an interception. For the Utes, Rising completed 21 of 38 passes for 170 yards and three interceptions.
Telling Stat: Two yards= W; Oregon QB Bo Nix ran the ball only twice in the game, but his second carry of two yards picked up a first down with only 1:43 left to play. With Utah out of timeouts, Nix took a knee twice and kept Oregon's Pac 12 title game hopes alive.
Observations
...He nailed it; USC radio play-by-play man Pete Arbogast absolutely nailed the call on Korey Foeman's interception of bRuins QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson that stamped the Trojans' ticket to the Pac 12 title game. Intercepted!
...Simply true; Rivalry games are incredible when your team wins.
...A serious rival; Located only 17 miles apart, Lafayette and Lehigh have met 156 times on the gridiron. The rivalry goes back to 1884. The schools used to play each other twice a year and one year they squared off three times. The winning team keeps the game ball from each victory. I'm told a stroll through either school's collection of game balls is a crash course in the evolution of how footballs were made over the past 136 years.
...Mess of the West; Iowa, Purdue, and Illinois all still have a chance to win the Big Ten west and have the chance to lose to either Michigan or TheeeOSU in the Big Ten title game. Wow.
...One and done; Pomona Pitzer was whipped 51-24 by Linfield in the first round of the D-III playoffs. The loss eliminates the state of California from the D-III playoffs.
...19:09 and 93; Anybody else realize that for the first 12:31and the last 6:38 of the USC-UCLA game there were no points scored? That means the 93 points in the game were scored in just 41:51 of game time.
...They need hardware; Hawaii beat UNLV, 31-25. When these schools play each other, they need a trophy that features a big resort hotel on it. It cold be called the Tourist Trap Trophy. This intrepid reporter thinks that's a winner.
...Triple runners; The Big Ten boasts the top three rushers in the FBS. RBs Chase Brown of Illinois and Mohammed Ibrahim of Minnesota have both eclipsed the 1,500 yard mark this season. Michigan's Blake Corum is the third place rusher with 1,457 yards.
...Undefeated under the capitol dome; The Sacramento State Hornets beat UC Davis, 27-21 in the Causeway Classic to go a perfect 10-0 in the regular season. The Hornets are the Big Sky Conference Champions and are the #2 seed in the FCS playoffs. They have a bye this week and will face the winner of the Richmond-Davidson game on 12/3.
...lost in the shuffle; Did anybody notice that Vanderbilt beat Florida last Saturday? That means that Vandy is on a two-game SEC winning streak. Holy Moly!
...Big Sky meets The Central Valley; Boise State will face Fresno State in the Mountain West title game on 12/3.
...A tale of two conferences; four of the top ten team in scoring offenses in the FBS are in the Pac 12 while four of the top ten teams in scoring defense are in the Big Ten.
...Next season for good reason; Virginia has canceled this week's season finale v. VaTech in the wake of the shooting death of three players back on 11/13. The Cavaliers won't take the field again until next season.
...An American showdown; Cincinnati hosts Tulane this week with a spot in the AAC championship game on the line. The winner will most likely face UCF in the title tilt.
...Handsome Dan stands alone; Yale came back to beat Harvard, 19-14. Couple that win with Princeton's 20-19 loss to Penn and Yale is your Ivy League Champion for 2022. Bulldog Bulldog Bow Wow Wow!
...Need a full four; For the last two weeks the Wazzu offense has taken the second half off while winning both games. The Cougs will need a full four quarters of offense if they want to upset Washington this week.
...Forgotten; Penn State will likely finish at 10-2 and nobody cares.
...The stat barely held up; UCLA was 0-2 this year when they threw the ball more times than they ran it. Make that 0-3 now. The bRuins passed the ball 38 times v, USC and ran it 37 times. Hmmmmmm.
...Painfully over; Talk about a bad beat, Stanford's meaningless field goal on the last play of the game v. Cal meant the total points of the game was 47. The Over/Under was 46.5. Howls coming form the desert could be heard all the way to Strawberry Canyon after that kick sailed through the uprights.
...Rock bottom futility; In their last three games, Colorado has been a 30+ point underdog. They have failed to cover the spread in any of those games.
Pac 12 Overreactions
UCLA will lose to CAL
Washington still has no idea how they lost to ASU.
Stanford doesn't care if you took the under.
Road Utah and home Utah are still two completely different teams.
Wazzu will find a way to “Coug it" in the Apple Cup.
Colorado might want to join the Mountain West Conference.
Oregon State just might beat Oregon this week.
USC wishes they stopped that two-point conversion a few weeks ago.
The Arizona-ASU game will come down to whoever has the ball last.
CFL Update
The Grey Cup belongs to the Boatmen. The Toronto Argonauts scored the final 10 points of the game and upset the two-time defending champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers, 24-23. Second string QB Chad Kelly led the Argos to the win coming off the bench for a struggling starter McLeod Bethel-Thompson. He drove the Argos for the wining score. However it was the Toronto defence that made the play of the game when they blocked Winnipeg's FG attempt with :45 seconds left. Blocked! What a game eh?
Ugly Uniform of the Week
Sometimes a helmet can ruin a uniform. By going with yellow helmets v. Stanford, the California Golden Bears channeled their inner West Virginia with this look. They won the game but lost the uniform battle.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Easton, PA- This week's game comes form the Patriot League of the FCS. The Lafayette Leopards crossed the double stripe twice in the first seven minutes to take a 14-0 lead over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks. The Leopards defense then made that lead hold up the rest of way for a 14-11 win in the 81st meeting between these old rivals. Lafayette's first score was a 71-yard run by freshman RB Jamar Curtis. The second was a 51-yard pick six by senior LB Billy Shaeffer. Lehigh did cut Lafayette's lead to 14-9 early in the fourth period, but wouldn't get any closer on their own. Their last two points came when Lafayette took an intentional safety while running out the clock in the shadow of their own goal line. Leopard HC John Troxell became the first Lafayette HC to win his initial game v. Lehigh in 41 years.
Blowout Game of the Week: Cleveland, MS- In the first round of the D-II playoffs, the Delta State Statesmen whipped the Fayetteville State Broncos, 51-0. QB Patrick Shegog completed 14 of 22 passes for 137 yards and a TD while also running for 62 yards and another score to pace the Statesmens' offensive attack. The Fayetteville State defense forced four turnovers to set their offense up with short scoring drives. Delta State will take on West Florida in the second round of the playoffs this week.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- The Hogs took Ole Miss to the woodshed in a 42-27 thrashing of the Rebels that wasn't even that close. Arkansas held a 42-6 lead early in the third period and coasted the rest of the way. Hogs RB Raheim Sanders ran over, around and through Ole Miss for 232 yards on 24 carries and three TDs. His backfield mate, K.J. Jefferson returned from injury and completed 17 of 22 passes for 168 yards and three TDs. He also ran for 47 yards on eight carries. Up next for the now bowl-eligible Razorbacks is their regular season finale at Missouri next week.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
I'm looking forward to putting up my model train next week.
I miss the era when baseball cards were just 20 cents a pack.
Until next time, remember to eat a bunch of turkey and hug the ones you love this week.
-The Commissioner
