It's time for yet another edition of the column that makes Tuesday feel like Saturdays, Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Summaries
Oregon 36- USC 27: Eugene, OR- When this game kicked off, USC still controlled their own destiny in the Pac 12 race. Wins over Oregon and UCLA the next week would have given the Trojans a berth in the Pac 12 title game. However, it was just another bad loss for the Trojans. A loss that was a not as close as the score indicated. Like just about every other team SC faced this year, the Ducks moved the ball with ease against the lackluster SC defense. In fact, after his first two passes thrown, UO QB Bo Nix completed both passes for 161 yards and two TDs. The Trojan secondary gave up TDs of 77 and 84 yards. However, QB Caleb Williams almost single handedly kept the Trojans in the game. Oregon dominated both sides of line of scrimmage, but only held a 22-14 lead at the half. The second half would see the Webfoots press their advantage in the trenches, content to run clock and keep the Trojans at bay. UO took a 29-14 lead when Nix hit WR Tez Johnson with a 21-yard TD pass. The Quacks would extend the lead after they recovered a fumble by SC RB Austin Jones at the Trojans 48-yard line. five plays later, UO RB Bucky Irving raced untouched 19 yards into the end zone for a 36-14 lead. Oregon seemed to lose interest at this point. The Ducks slacked off while the Trojans put up two TDs to cut their deficit to nine points at 36-27. SC could have cut the deficit to eight points with a PAT, but as he has done all season HC Lincoln Riley elected to go for two-points at the wrong time. The conversion failed and whatever chance the Men of Troy had to pull out the game disappeared now down nine points with just 3:44 on the clock and one time out left. Oregon recovered USC's onside kick, then ran out the clock to secure the win. For the Ducks, Nix compared 23 of 31 passes for 412 yards and four TDs. WR's Johnson and Troy Franklin combined to catch nine passes for 273 yards and three TDs. Irving led all rushers with 118 yards on 19 carries and a score. For the now 7-4 Trojans, Williams completed 19 of 34 passes for 291 yards and a TD. He also ran for a score. WR Brenden Rice caught five of Williams tosses for 82 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: Limited stops= L; The hapless USC defense forced Oregon to punt once. The other Duck drives ended in six scores, a missed FG, and a kneel down to end each half.
Arizona 34- Colorado 31: Boulder, CO- The Wildcats were on a hot streak, winners of four straight games when they took the field against a Colorado squad that had fallen to 4-5, and couldn't protect their QB. So naturally this turned into a barnburner at the base of the Flatirons. The teams traded punches all game with CU QB Shedeur Sanders giving the Buffs a 14-7 lead in the first period with a 16-yard TD scamper and a 20-yard scoring strike to WR Jimmy Horn, Jr. UofA would tie the game at 14-14 on a three-yard TD pass from QB Noah Fifita to TE Jacob Cowing. However, CU would take a 24-17 lead into into the break thanks to one-yard TD run from RB Sy'veon Wilkerson and a 39-yard FG from PK Alejandro Mata. UofA's final points of the half came on a 52-yard FG from PK Tyler Loop. The third quarter and first play of the final quarter saw the teams reach a 31-31 deadlock on two Cats TDs which were a two-yard pass from Fifita to WR Tetairoa McMillan and a seven yard run from RB D.J. Williams. CU's score came on Sanders' second TD pass of the contest. This one was a seven--yarder to RB Michael Harrison. The defenses then asserted themselves. Four punts were exchanged with Colorado getting the better of the field position. They looked to be in prime position, (pardon the pun), to win the game with a 1st and 10 at their own 49-yard line to start their next drive. Sanders drove his team down to the Wildcats 25-yard line where they faced a 4th an 7. The Buffs elected to go for the field goal. The 44-yard attempt from Mata sailed wide and UofA took over the ball at their 25-yard line. As of late, Arizona has had some defining drives this year and this was one of them. Fifita marched the Wildcats 67 yards in 11 plays. That left the Cats with a 4th and Goal at the CU seven-yard line with :02 left on the clock. On came Loop who calmly nailed the 24-yard FG attempt and Arizona sent the Buffaloes down to defeat, 34-31. For the now 7-3 Wildcats, Fifita completed 21 of 35 passes for 214 yards and two scores. McMillan hauled in nine of those completions for 107 yards and a score. RB Jonah Coleman spearheaded the Cats ground attack rushing for 179 yards on 11 carries. For the Buffaloes, Sanders completed 22 of 35 passes for 262 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 29 yards and score.
Telling Stat: They finished strong; Arizona owned the last 4:57 of the game, driving 67 yards for the game-winning score. That's what good teams do.
Washington 35- Utah 28: Seattle, WA- Under rainy gray skies, the Utah Utes saw their quest for a a third straight Pac 12 title end at Husky Stadium. However, it looked early on like the Utes were gonna hand the Huskies their first loss of the year. Utah's defense hung in there while their offense had an answer for every UW score. The Utes had a 28-24 halftime lead on a pair of TD runs from RB Ja'Quinden Jackson and two TD tosses from QB Bryson Barnes. UW's points came on two TD runs from QB Michael Penix, JR, and RB Dillon Johnson along with a TD pass from Penix, Jr. and a FG from PK Grady Gross. This game would come down to who could win the battle in the trenches over the last 30 minutes. The Dawgs rose to the challenge and kept the Utes off the scoreboard the rest of the game. While that was going on, the UW offense tacked another FG from Gross and a 33-yard TD pass from Penix, Jr. to WR Rome Odunze for a 33-28 lead with 4:09 left in the third period. Then, The UW defense turned ecstasy into agony and then ecstasy again in a two play span. On a 1st and 20 at the Washington 24-yard line, Utah's Barnes was picked of by UW LB Alphonzo Tuputala who took the ball back 80 yards for a TD, or so we all thought. Tuputala got a little sloppy and started celebrating early leaving the ball at the Utah one-yard line where it was by recovered Utes OL Mike Mokofisi. The Husky Stadium crowd was shocked and Tuputala was embarrassed. Utah now had new life trialing by just five points. On first down Jackson got the handoff and never had a chance. He was taken down by a whole host of purple jerseys in the end zone for a safety. UW now led 35-28 Dawgs with :24 left in the the third quarter. The Huskies then put a stranglehold on the game. While the UW offense ate 11:55 off the clock in the final period, the defense forced a three and out and and picked off Barnes with :44 left to put this one in the win column. For the 10-0 Huskies, Penix, Jr. completed 24 of 42 passes for 332 yards and two interceptions, while Johnson lugged the leather 23 times for 104 yards and a score of his own. Penix, Jr's favorite target was TE Jack Westover who caught seven passes for 64 yards. As for the Utes, Barnes completed 17 of 30 passes for 267 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. TE Devaughan Vale caught five of Barnes' passes for 145 yards, while Jackson gained only 29 yards on 10 carries but scored two TDs.
Telling Stat: Anatomy of a shutout; In the second half, the Washington defense held Utah scoreless, allowing just 57 total yards, while forcing two turnovers and scoring on a safety.
California 42- Washington State 39: Berkeley, CA- It was another perfect day for football and another shootout at Memorial Stadium. However, this time the Golden Bears found themselves on the right end of the final score. The Bears led this one all the way with the Cougars fighting back from adversity time after time to stay in the game. The Bears held a 28-21 halftime edge thanks to two TD passes of six and 13 yards from QB Fernando Mendoza to TE Jack Endries and RB Jaydn Ott to go along with not one, but two fumble recoveries for TDs from LB Cade Uluave and OL Brian Driscoll. Uluave's score was a 51-yard fumble return on the first drive of the game while Driscoll recovered a fumble by his own team in the end zone for a score. Then in the third quarter, Wazzu PK Dean Janikowski cut Cal's lead to 28-24 with a 28-yard FG. The denizens of Strawberry Canyon then extended their lead to 42-24 on a five-yard TD jaunt from Ott and A 52-yard fumble return TD from LB Noel Williams. However, the Cougars mounted a serious comeback cutting Cal's lead to 42-39, on a 21-yard TD pass from QB Cameron Ward to WR Josh Kelly, a successful two-point conversion and a five-yard TD pass from Ward to RB Djouvensky Schlenbaker. Wazzu then needed a stop on defense to have a chance to win the game or send it overtime. The Cougs got it, they forced a 3 and Out and got the ball back on their own 34-yard line. Ward did drive his squad into FG range despite a horrific call by the refs that eliminated a first down completion when the refs retroactively allowed an injury timeout to Cal after they were initially flagged for having 12 men on the field. However, Janikowski's 48-yard FG try sailed wide with :50 left. Wazzu did get the ball back one final time, but Ward's Hail Mary pass was picked off by Uluave to end the game. For the Golden Bears, Mendoza finished the day completing 14 of 21 aerials for 150 yards and two TDs. Ott led all rushers with 167 yards on 27 carries and a TD. Ott also caught a TD pass. For the Cougars who now own a six-game losing streak, Ward completed 34 of 59 passes for 354 yards and a TD. Kelly had a huge day, catching nine balls for 130 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: 20 point swing spells doom; Wazzu gave up two one fumble returns for TDs and missed two FGs in game that they statically dominated in every other category. That 20 point swing was the difference in the game.
Oregon State 62- Stanford 17: Corvallis, OR- The Beavers retuned home after a couple of weeks on the road and clear cut The Farm on a gray November afternoon at Reser Stadium. Stanford just could not stop OSU's rushing game that featured RB Damien Martinez. He found paydirt four times in the first half on runs of 7, 59, 15 and 5 yards. Throw in a 13-yard TD toss from QB D.J. Uiagalelei to RB Deshaun Fenwick and the Beavers went into halftime leading 34-10. Any hopes of a Stanford miracle comeback were easily dashed as the Beavers scored three straight TDs in third period to take a 55-10 lead. Then up 55-17 with 5:54 left, backup QB Aiden Chiles threw a 28-yard TD pass to backup TE Riley Sharp to finish off the scoring. In an about three quarters worth of work, Martinez carried the ball 15 times for 146 yards and four TDs while Uiagalelei completed 12 of 19 tosses for 240 yards and two scores. For the overwhelmed Cardinal, QB Ashton Daniels completed 10 of 16 passes for 200 yards, a TD and three interceptions.
Telling Stat: Turnovers kill; Stanford finished -4 in the turnover battle and got hammered for it in this laugher in Corvallis.
Arizona State 17- UCLA 7: Pasadena, CA- A smattering of fans saw a pretty strange game at the Rose Bowl. ASU came into the game with a ton of injuries while UCLA would have to go with third stringer Collin Schlee at QB due to injuries that knocked both Ethan Garbers and Dante Moore out of the lineup last week at Arizona. ASU's unusual offensive game plan and UCLA HC Chip Kelly's hubris combined for a loss for the Sons of Westwood. The Sun Devils ran a good deal out their offense out of the old Swinging Gate formation. Usually a one off, trick play formation, the Sun Devils used it often and well to generate offense. ASU took a 3-0 lead into the half thanks to a 29-yard FG from PK Dario Longhetto and Kelly's arrogance. Two UCLA drives stalled inside the ASU 10-yard line. But instead of kicking short field goals, the bRuins went for it both times and were stuffed by the ASU defense. The ASU defense kept UCLA off the board for the entire third quarter and stopped another 4th conversion attempt by UCLA. This one was at their own 37-yard line. The Sons of Sparky took a 10- lead into the final stanza after RB Cameron Skatebo threw a 25-yard TD pass to WR Elijah Badger. UCLA did make a game of it when Schlee hit WR Logan Loya with a 16-yard TD pass with 9:47 to play. On the ensuing drive ASU put the game away with a drive that covered 75 yards in 12 plays. Skattebo did the honors with his feet this time, rumbling 17 yards to the end zone to cap off the drive. ASU's defense then stopped UCLA's last drive with ease and walked out of the Rose Bowl with the Victory. For the now 3-7 Sun Devils, QB Trenton Bourguet completed 19 of 34 passes for 149 yards. Skatebo completed one of three passes for 25 yards and TD. He also led all rushers with 61 yards on 12 carries and another score. For the lackluster bRuins, Schlee completed 11 of 18 passes for 117 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: Just take the points; If UCLA had just kicked field goals on those two drives in the second quarter, they would have had a far better chance to winch game,
Observations
...Dawg Drop; Here's the premature celebration by UW LB Alphozo Tuputala v Utah. At the one!
...He's gone; Penn State has fired OC Mike Yurcich after the Nittany Lons lost to Michigan. Later, dude
...Epic fail on an epic scale; Texas A&M's firing of Jimbo Fisher and agreeing to pay his buyout of 76 million dollars is the craziest thing I've ever seen in coaching circles. It's the largest buyout anyone has ever seen. Here's a couple of stories on this catastrophe in College Station. Gone$, The Explanation$
...He's gone too; Mississippi State has fired HC Zach Arnett. Arnett was tabbed the HC after Mike Leach died suddenly last December. The Bulldogs were 4-6 this year under Arnett. Aloha Arnett
...First of 12; Cal's win over Wazzu was the last Pac 12 home game ever for the Golden Bears. Sigh for all the goodbyes to the Conference of Champions.
...Imua Warriors!; Long after most of the residents of the contiguous 48 states had gone to bed, one of the biggest upsets of the year occurred. 4-6 Hawaii knocked off 8-1 Air Force, 27-13 at the Clarence T.C. Ching Complex in Honolulu. Up 20-10 in the start of the fourth quarter, LB Ashlock Profele scooped up a Falcons fumble and rumbled 32 yards to the end zone to give the Warriors a 27-10 lead with 11:09 to play.
...He put a fork in himself; ASU AD Ray Anderson has resigned. His tenure at ASU was short but controversial with the hiring of, and recruiting scandals that occurred under, his old buddy Herman Edwards as the Sun Devils HC. Forked!
...Aggie pride; We are talking New Mexico State Aggie pride. NMSU is now 8-2 on the season and has clinched a berth in the C-USA title game with a 38-29 win over Western Kentucky last Saturday. The Aggies haven't been this good since 1960 when they went 11-0 and beat Utah State in the Sun Bowl.
...Going to the SEC Jeremy?; Liberty HC Jeremy Chadwell has a location problem. Starkville
...Waiting for 2024; Nobody in the Big Ten will be happier for the elimination of divisions in 2024 than Penn State. They've finished third so many times in the Big Ten East they might as well change their official school color to bronze.
...Viva Las Vegas!; A UNLV win at Air Force this week would give the Rebels the inside track to the MWC title game.
...An official low blow; Please excuse the caption of this play on X, but this had to hurt. Clank!
...A D-III note; Chapman University has won the SCIAC title and will be the league's representative in the D-III playoffs playing Whitworth University in the first round this Saturday at 12:00 PM.
...Says it all; This line from the their message boards sums up the frustration of Penn State fans in yet another loss to Michigan. "James Franklin was out coached by a team without a coach."
...It extends to politics; Wherever you land on the political landscape, you've got to get a laugh out of this ad that relies on the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry to get folks to vote for legalizing recreational marijuana use in the Buckeye State. Oh, the measure passed by a margin of 57% to 43%.
CFL Update
The 110th Grey Cup matchup is set! In the West Final the Winnipeg Blue Bombers put in a physical, bruising effort to beat the B.C. Lions, 24-13 to punch their ticket to Tim Horton's Field in Hamilton, Ontario. The East Final featured a huge upset as the 16-2 Toronto Argonauts were whipped 38-17 by the Montreal Alouettes. The Grey Cup will kickoff at a little past 3 PM PST next Sunday, the 19th. Winnipeg is a 7.5 point favorite on the early betting line.
Pac 12 Overreactions
Oregon can lose to Washington twice.
USC's best defense would be to let the offense play both ways.
Utah is busy booking rooms for the Alamo Bowl.
Arizona is gonna wreck the Big XII next year.
Cal is just happy to win a close game.
Oregon State is surprised they are still in it.
Colorado will not go bowling.
UCLA needs to remember that field goals count for points too.
Wazzu won't go bowling either.
ASU might switch to the Swinging Gate as their primary offensive formation.
Stanford can beat Cal.
Washington will get beat 54-10 in the playoff.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
Gotta go this week with the all-gray ensemble from TheeeOSU. These bland togs do a disservice to the Buckeyes great color palette.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Madison, NJ- This week's game comes from the D-III ranks where the Misericordia University Cougars came from behind for a 6-3 win over the Fairleigh Dickenson University- Florham Devils. Down 3-0 with 1:54 left in the second quarter, MU QB T.J. Lattimore knifed in over the double stripe from two-yards out to give the Cougars a 6-3 lead. The Cougars defense made the lead stand up the rest of the way by not allowing the Devils to cross the 50-yard line for the final two quarters.
Blowout Game of the Week: Durango, CO- The Colorado School of Mines Orediggers make a second straight appearance here with a 82-0 shellacking of the Fort Lewis Skyhawks. The win gave the #1 ranked in D-II Orediggers their fifth straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference crown. They are now 11-0 overall and 9-0 in conference play. The win featured a history making performance from QB John Matocha. He threw for three TDs and ran for one which gave him the all-time record for most TDs produced ever in a college career at any level with 181.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR-The Razorbacks didn't bother showing up in a 48-20 pasting at the hands of the Auburn Tigers. AU QB Payton Thorne threw for three TDs while Tigers rushing game shredded the Hogs for 354 yards on 55 carries. The Hogs only TD came late in final period when QB Jacolby Criswell threw an 11-yard scoring pass to WR Isaac TeSlaa. Up next for the 3-7 Hogs is a home date with Florida International.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Having Vertigo isn't fun at all.
First rain of the fall expected here this week and it may the first of a series of storms. Hmmmm
Rewatching old SCTV episodes is a blast.
Until next time, remember that you are actually allowed to cover receivers in college football.
-The Commissioner
