Hey All,
Here's hoping everyone had a great Halloween! It's now time for the first November 2022 edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Stu Nahan.
Summaries
USC 45- Arizona 37: Tucson, AZ- The Trojans came into this game down their top two receivers, top OL and several defensive starters, but managed to hold on for a shootout win in the desert. The Trojans fell behind early, 7-3 when UofA WR Dorian Singer made a spectacular one-handed grab for a 23-yard TD pass from QB Jayden de Laura. USC answered that score on the ensuing drive when RB Raleek Brown hauled in a nifty little six-yard TD pass from QB Caleb Williams. USC would not trail again, but the Wildcats didn't go down a fight. Williams and de Laura racked up yards and points seemingly at will as neither defense seemed able to stop their opponent. The game was not without controversy. The Pac 12 refs let the clock operator run out the last five seconds of the first half with the Trojans poised to spike the ball and get a field goal attempt in before the break. It was such a fail that USC HC Lincoln Riley went screaming after the officials as they ran off the field to their locker room. Those same officials apologized to Riley before the start of the second half for letting the clock run out. After the apology, It looked like USC was on the verge of breaking the game open in the third period after a 47-yard TD pass from Williams to WR Tahj Washington put the Trojans up 31-16. Then SC went for the jugular and it backfired. An onside kick after Washington's TD failed and that set up the Wildcats with great field position. Two drives later, UofA trailed SC just 31-29 going into the final period. The Trojans would win the fourth quarter and the game with a pair of TDs. The last one being a true plunge into the end zone by RB Travis Dye who channeled his inner Sam Cunningham. Arizona would put a late TD on the board leaving the Trojans to sweat out an onside kick attempt. The Men of Troy recovered the kick and ran out the clock to escape Tucson with the win. The good news from this game was seeing Caleb Williams complete 31 of 45 passes for 411 yards and five TDs with a depleted receiving corps and watching Dye gain 113 yards on 20 carries and a TD. The bad news was watching the Trojan defense get torched by de Laura for 380 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: The turnover killed; Clinging to 24-16 lead with 5:20 left in the 3rd quarter USC DB Bryson Shaw picked off UofA QB Jayden de Laura. The seven points SC scored off that turnover put UofA in a hole they never got of.
Utah 21- Washington State 17: Pullman, WA- Everyone knew that Utah would be down to their fourth string RB v. Wazzu this past Thursday. What many folks did not know was that the Utes would be without the services of QB Cam Rising either. Add in the fact that WSU would be without a few key members of their offense and you had a real low scoring grinder of a contest at hand. A contest that would see Utah backup QB Bryson Barnes guide his team to a hard fought win. As good as Barnes was in leading the Utes to victory after finding out he was gonna be the QB just minutes before game time, this game was tainted by another bad call that shifted the game into the win column for the team from Salt Lake City. With :30 left in the second quarter, WSU's Brennan Jackson stuffed Utah RB Jaylon Glover on third down near the goal line. Utah then let the clock run down to :02 before calling timeout for a field goal attempt. It was at this point the replay officials decided to review the previous play. After the review, Jackson was called for targeting. He was ejected, but more importantly, the officials handed Utah a first and goal at the WSU two-yard line and put 30 seconds back on the clock. Gardner then burst over the goal line form a yard out for a 14-7 lead. The extra four points from the targeting review were the difference in the game. Barnes finished the game 175 yards passing and a TD to go with 51 yards rushing. For the Cougars, QB Cam Ward completed 27 of 31 passes for 222 yards and a TD in the bitter defeat.
Telling Stat: +4 = W; The suspect targeting call tilted the game dramatically in Utah's favor. Facepalm.
UCLA 38- Stanford 13: Pasadena, CA- The Cardinal took their vaunted field goal driven offense to the Rose Bowl and were easily whipped by the bRuins. Stanford had no answer for the bRuins rushing attack in general giving up 324 yards on 45 carries, The Cardinal specifically couldn't stop RB Zach Charbonnet. He ran them over for 198 yards and three TDs on 21 carries. UCLA built up a 24-6 lead at the half then extended that to a 38-6 lead early in the fourth quarter when Charbonnet scored his final TD of the night. Stanford did finally cross the double stripe with 4:11 left in the game when TE Benjamin Yurosek caught a two-yard TD pass from QB Tanner McKee. That TD snapped a stretch of almost 161 minutes of game time between TDs. UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson ran the offense well, completing 18 of 29 passes for 199 yards while also rushing for 50 yards on 13 carries and a TD.
Telling Stat: They could not move the ball; Even when you factor in Stanford's two long scoring drives, the Cardinal's average offensive drive lasted only five plays and covered a measly 22 yards.
Oregon 42- California 24: Berkeley, CA- Folks wondered if the Webfoots would suffer a bit of a big win hangover against the Golden Bears at Strawberry Canyon. They did for a full quarter and half. Cal held a 10-7 lead with 7:35 to play in the second quarter thanks to 28-yard FG from PK Dario Longhetto and six-yard TD pass from QB Jack Plummer to WR J. Michael Sturdivant. The Quack Attack then proceeded to shake off their sluggishness and go on a 28-0 run to forge a 35-10 lead early in the final period. Down the stretch the Golden Bears tried to make a real game of it with two more TDs, but it wasn't enough to topple the men of Oregon. An interesting note is that Oregon's final TD came when Bo Nix connected for a 40-yard TD pass with LA Charger QB Justin Herbert's little brother Patrick. Stop me if you've read this before, but Bo Nix had another great day leading his squad to victory. Nix completed 27 of 35 passes for 412 yards and three TDs while also carrying the ball 12 times for 59 yards and three more scores. For Cal Plummer completed 20 of 33 passes for 214 yards, a TD and two interceptions before being relieved in the final period by Kai Milliner who completed eight of 11 tosses for 114 yards and two TDs.
Telling Stat: D made the run happen; While the Oregon offense gets the credit for the 28-0 scoring run that put this game out of reach, the Ducks defense picked off a pass, forced two punts and watched a Cal FG try sail wide to provide the 0 in the 28-0 run.
Arizona State 42- Colorado 34: Boulder, CO- The Sun Devils came to Folsom Field in search of some offense after their dismal display at Stanford the previous week. ASU really did find some offense thanks to a change at QB and the porous CU defense. Trenton Bourget got the start over Emory Jones this week and all Bourget did was complete 32 of 43 passes for 435 yards, three TDs and an interception. All three of his TD passes went to TE Jaylin Conyers. The Sun Devils opened up a 28-17 lead in the first half and pretty much kept Colorado at arms length for most of the second half. However, the game got tight with 3:50 left in regulation. That was when PR Jordan Tyson returned an ASU punt 88 yards for a TD that cut the Sun Devils lead to 42-34. On the next drive the Sun Devils then ran out the clock with the game-clinching play coming on a 26-yard run by RB Xazavian Valladay. Three kneel downs later the game was over. Valladay led all rusher with 118 yards on 23 carries and three TDs. For the hapless Buffs, QB J.T Shrout completed 13 of 34 passes for 222 yards, two TDs and an interception.
Telling Stat: Bourget is the way; All ASU QB Trenton Bourget has done in his limited playing time this year is complete 47 of 64 passes for 617 yards and six TDs to lead the Sun Devils to wins over both Washington and Colorado.
Observations
...Throwbacks at SC? maybe?; At USC, we all know the football uniform is a sacred thing. So much so that discussion of any possible change to the uniform causes great backlash for Heritage Hall. That's why the old school rumblings from USC's official twitter account have been interesting. Single bar I'm thinking the Trojans break out the throwback triple stripe jerseys this week v. Cal. After all, these uniforms made their debut in 1972, a cool 50 years ago. If you stare at this photo long enough you can hear Are Parseghian crying.
...Gone; Auburn has fired HC Bryan Harsin. Everyone knew it was coming. The boosters tried to get him last offseason with a scandal to avoid paying him, but it never stuck. The Auburn big money boosters are making Tennessee boosters look sane. Rumored top candidate to replace Harsin is Lane Kiffin. I'd laugh hard if Lane got to coach a third different SEC team. Harsin was the HC for less than two seasons. He was hardly there.
...Riddle; If a tree is suspended in an empty Stanford Stadium, does it become a story? Yes, it does. The Stanford Tree has been suspended for the rest for the football season for helping the band protest against the school admin with a banner that was unfurled at halftime v. ASU on 10/22. The banner and suspension all seemed to rise from the students there thinking their right to party is being denied. Here's the banner and the background. Party rights
...He said it; Missouri HC Eliah Drinkwitz when asked about how 11 AM affects tailgating said he doesn't care and that "You probably don't want to crack your first beer before 10:30. I get that, but everybody has to make sacrifices."
...Fear in Eugene; When Bryan Harsin got fired at Auburn you could hear a collective gasp from the Duck faithful. Don't be surprised if HC Dan Lannning is just a one season wonder at UO.
...More Tree; The Stanford band, not the university admin are claiming they are the ones that suspended the Tree after the banner incident. Here's their statement. Banned by the band
...Direct answer; Now we detour to the NHL where former LA Kings and now current Calgary Flames HC Darryl Sutter gave this simple explanation on why his player, Jonathan Huberdeau, left for the locker room in the first period the other night. The Deuce
...Not in favor; UCLA legend and big time supporter of the Pac 12 Bill Walton does not care for his bRuins move to the Big Ten. He tells why in this statement he sent Pac 12 reporter John Canzano. Not Happy
...Just a rumor; There is no truth to the rumor that Stanford HC David Shaw has asked for the local Palo Alto Boy Scout troop to help the Cardinal offense cross the street.
...Footballer's brawl; The Ole Miss and LSU women's soccer teams got in fight during the second OT of their first-round match in the SEC tournament last week. Three players got red carded for the fight. They used their hands
...An orange and blue wall; Illinois leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just about nine points per game.
...That didn't take long; Recently fired ASU HC Herm Edwards is now back with ESPN as a college and pro football analyst. Hmmmm.
...15 for 17 the hard way; With their loss to ASU, Colorado is now guaranteed their 15th losing season in the past 17 years. Ouch.
...Tunnel vision; A post game altercation has resulted in four Michigan State players being suspended indefinitely while MSU, Michigan and the local authorities investigate what happened when all hell broke loose in the tunnel following the Spartans 29-7 loss to the Wolverines. Beatdown and Beatdown
...Perspectives; BYU is 4-5 and it's a disaster in Provo. Connecticut is 4-5 and there's talk of building a statue of HC Jim Mora outside their football stadium.
...Ypsilanti in October; There wasn't much to see in Eastern Michigan's 27-24 home loss to Toledo... literally. The fog announced its' presence with authority. Nothing to see here
...Mean Trivia; Who is the only player to be on five consecutive Super Bowl teams and lose all five times?
...Very cool stat; On the all-time Florida State career interceptions list, Deion Sanders is tied with Lee Corso with 14 picks each for the Seminoles.
...14 roughly; Miami beat Virginia, 14-12 in a 4 OT game that didn't feature a single TD. There were four field goals for each team with the Hurricanes winning on a two point conversion play in the fourth OT. Pathetic, yet exciting
...Nittany Lion blues; Penn State HC James Franklin's record is 2-15 against teams ranked in the top 10. Heck, all of us SC fans knew he wasn't that great of a coach when he lost a Rose Bowl to Clay Helton! Which was a game where his team scored seven straight TDs!
...He's a man, he got beat by 48; Kansas State did everything to Oklahoma State except cancel their plane flight home in a 48-0 spanking of the Cowboys. It was the biggest margin of loss of OSU HC Mike Gundy's career and the largest shutout win for an unranked team over a top ten team in history according to folks at SB Nation.
...Aztec collapse; SDSU pulled defeat from the jaws of victory late Saturday night in Fresno when they gave up two TDs to Bulldogs in the final minute to lose, 32-28.
...This just in; USC QB Caleb Williams is pretty damn good.
...Stiffarm a week; It sees that every time I see Arkansas play, QB K.J. Jefferson, he uses a stiffarm to pummel some poor defender into the turf. This Razorback is tough.
...25%; The moribund Iowa offense ran up 33 points in their win over Northwestern. That accounts for just about 25% of the total points they've scored all year. Facepalm.
...Mean Trivia Answer; Former Cal QB Gale Gilbert was on the Buffalo Bills as a backup QB for their four straight Super Bowl defeats then was a backup QB on the Chargers the next year when they lost to the San Francisco 49ers.
...Just doesn't feel right; The baseball playoffs are too long. The World Series shouldn't still be going on in November. Sigh.
Pac 12 Overreactions
USC is a 10-2 team with an awful defense.
Stanford is not making itself look good to the Big Ten.
Utah is a 4-4 team if not for the Pac 12 refs.
ASU finally found their QB.
Washington State still can't believe that was targeting.
Arizona has Sunday players in their WR group.
Colorado plays with heart, but little talent.
Oregon can't win without Bo Nix. He's the whole offense.
Cal's defense is better than most people think.
UCLA's rushing attack is a powerful thing.
Washington is happy for a quiet bye week.
Oregon State is #24 int he AP poll. Cool!
Ugly Uniform of the Week?
Ok, so I'm torn over this one. I think wearing all-black uniforms if black is not one of your official school colors just isn't a good look. However, the all-black kits Tennessee wore on this past Saturday before Halloween v. Kentucky look really good. Hmmmmmm
CFL Update
Hey! Hey! It is playoff time in the Great White North! The three weeks that determine the Grey Cup champ begins on 10/6. In the Western Semi-Final the Calgary Stampeders will head to Vancouver to take on the B.C. Lions. The winner of that game advances to the Western Final to take on the two-time defending Grey Cup champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers. The Easter Semi-Final features the Hamilton Tiger-Cats visiting the Montreal Alouettes. Whoever wins that game will advance to the Eastern Final to play the Toronto Argonauts. So, sit back, have an apple fritter and enjoy the playoffs, eh?
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Madison, NJ- This week's game comes from Division III. In a Mid-Atlantic Conference tilt, the Fairleigh Dickinson- Florham Devils downed the Albright College Lions, 10-2. The Devils took a 10-0 lead in the second period on a 30-yard FG from PK Chris DiMedio and a 33-yard TD pass from QB Ryan Thomas to WR Brendan Dennis. Albright's only points came when Thomas was sacked in the end zone by DT Eric Martin in the third quarter. The Devils defense shutout the Lions all day, holding them to just 132 total yards just 4 of 15 on third down conversions.
Blowout Game of the Week: Spearfish, SD- Let's take a step up to the D-II level where the Black Hills State Yellow Jackets clipped the wings of the Fort Lewis Skyhawks, 75-0 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference contest. The Yellow Jackets stung the Skyhawks early and often. Nine different backs combined to carry the ball 45 times for 350 yards and four TDs, while QBs Aiden Willard and Chance Eben combined for 283 yards and five TDs though the air. Black Hills outgained Fort Lewis 633 yards to 134. Most impressive stat of the game may be from Black Hills kicker Ryan Ewing. He kicked off 12 times without a single kick being returned.
Razorback Report: Auburn, AL- The Hogs went down to the plains and turned a 17-13 halftime lead into a 38-13 lead to start the fourth quarter before fending off a mild Auburn rally for a 41-27 win. Arkansas QB K.J. Jefferson completed 16 of 24 passes for 234 yards and a TD to go along with 45 yards rushing and two more scores. RB Raheim Sanders gashed the Auburn defense gaining 171 yards rushing on a mere 16 carries. Next up for the Hogs is a battle with Liberty College.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
In honor of Halloween, my three most underrated candies of all time are the Fifth Avenue, Oh Henry, Baby Ruth bars.
With all the massive publicity that Halloween and Christmas get, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.
It's that time of year. Fog horns are back as part of the morning soundtrack around here.
Until next one folks, remember that a good defense can feel as comfortable as a warm blanket on a cold night.
-The Commissioner
