I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with family, food, and football. Here's another edition of Notes on a Pac 12 Scorecard to help you look back on the long weekend that was. We still miss you, Mal Florence.
Summaries
Oregon 31- Oregon State 7: Eugene, OR- The Ducks needed one more win to clinch their shot at revenge against Washington in the Pac 12 title game while the Beavers were hoping to bounce back from a devastating loss to the Huskies the previous week. The Beavers team and admin were also busy fielding questions as to whether their HC Jonathan Smith was head out the door for greener pastures at Michigan State. Throw in a short of week of prep and it was a little too much for the Beavers to handle as the Ducks took an early lead then relied on their defense in the second half to grind out a big victory in the series formally known as The Civil War. The Quacks established a 7-0 lead when they took the opening kickoff and chewed almost nine minutes off the clock on a 15-play drive that covered 88 yards. The scoring play was a 14-yard TD pass from QB Bo Nix to RB Bucky Irving. Then after holding OSU for downs, UO went up 14-0 on 16 yard scamper to paydirt by Nix. OSU then got onto the scoreboard when QB D.J. Uiagalelei hit WR Silas Bolden for a TD from nine yards out to cut UO's lead to 14-7 wih :48 left in the half. Nix and the Webfoots offense then struck right back traveling 78 yards in :40 to take a 21-7 halftime lead on a 41-yard TD pass from Nix to WR Troy Franklin. The Ducks defense then pitched a second half shutout while the offense racked on 10 more points to finish off the scoring on a 25 yard FG from PK Cameron Lewis and one-yard TD plunge form RB Jordan James. Nix had another great game for the Men of Oregon completing 33 of 40 passes for 367 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 31 yards on six carries and another score. WR Tez Johnson caught 11 passes for 137 yards while Franklin grabbed nine aerials for 128 yards and a TD. For the Beavers, Uiagalelei completed 19 of 35 passes for 220 yards, a TD and an interception in the tough loss.
Telling Stat: Downs aren't points; Oregon's defense held for downs on Oregon State's first possession of each half while their offense then scored on the ensuing drive to control the game.
Arizona 59- Arizona State 23: Tempe, AZ- After UofA's hopes of making the Pac 12 title game were dashed on Friday when Oregon beat Oregon State, many wondered if the Wildcats would come out flat and disheartened for the battle for the Territorial Cup with Arch rival ASU. Ummm, they didn't. The Cats offense sliced and diced the Sun Devils defense all day with only a missed FG and an interception standng in the way of the Wildcats scoring every time they had the ball. To say that ASU had problems stopping UofA QB Noah Fifita is an understatement. Fifita completed 30 of 41 passes for 527 yards, five TDs and an interception. His favorite targets WR Tetairoa McMillan and TE Jacob Cowing were pretty unstoppable too. McMillan caught 11 passes for 266 yards and a TD while Cowing hauled in nine passes for 157 yards and a score. Fifita's 527 yards passing is most never in a single game by an Arizona QB. The Wildcats kept the first stringers in the whole game to get a measure of revenge for when ASU skinned the Wildcats, 70-7 back in 2020. In the defeat, ASU RB Cameron Skattebo rushed for 108 yards on 17 carries and a TD.
Telling Stat: Double the yardage, double the score; Arizona racked up 619 yards to ASU's 306 and outscored the Sun Devils 59-23 to reclaim dominance in the state and maintain possession of the Territorial Cup.
Washington 24- Washington State 21: Seattle, WA- It was a barn burner at Husky Stadium where Huskies played just well enough along with some help from a somewhat iffy roughing the passer call to stay undefeated against a determined bunch of Cougars. The squads traded blows in the first half which led to a 14-14 deadlock at intermission. A one-yard run form RB Dillon Johnson and a 40-yard pass from QB Michael Penix, Jr. to WR Rome Odunze accounted for the Huskies first half tallies while a pair of TD passes from QB Cameron Ward to WRs Josh Kelly and Kyle Williams that covered 21 and 25 yards accounted for WSU's scores. The third quarter saw the Dawgs take the lead at 21-14 on the final play of the quarter when Penix, Jr. and Odunze hooked up again for a 21-yard TD toss. UW then seemed to have gained control of the game when Safety Markell Eston picked off Ward at the Huskies 27-yard line with 14:11 left to play in the final period. However, the Cougs dug deep on defense and forced a Husky punt. Ward then made up for the interception by driving the Cougars 65 yards in 13 plays for the game-tying score. Ward's eight-yard TD pass to WR Lincoln Victor knotted the game at 21-21 with 5:58 to play. The teams then traded punts and that left the Dawgs with one more shot to end this game in regulation. Facing a 4th and 1 at their own 29-yard line, HC Kalen DeBoer decided to go for it. Penix, Jr.tossed the ball to Odunze on a nifty end around playing that netted 23 yards and a first down at Wazzu's 48-yard line. On the next play, WSU LB Kyle Thornton was flagged for a questionable roughing the passer call which was tacked on. to the end of the play and suddenly UW had a first down at the Cougs 27-yard line with :42 left on the clock. Four plays later, PK Grady Gross was sent on to attempt a 42-yard FG. His kick was true and the Huskies took the Apple Cup and completed the second ever 12-0 regular season in Washington football history. Penix, Jr. completed 18 of 33 passes for 204 yards, two TDs and an interception for UW, while Johnson led all rushers with 82 yards on 21 carries and a TD of his own. For the now 5-7 Cougars, Ward completed 32 of 48 passes for 317 yards, three TDs and a pair of interceptions. His favorite target was Victor who hauled in 11 passes for 88 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: Scoreboard; Washington was outplayed in many facets of this game by the Cougars, but they hung on for the win and that's all that matters in a rivalry game.
Utah 23- Colorado 17: Salt Lake City, UT- Colorado came into this game without the services of QB Shedeur Sanders due to injury while Utah was without their top QBs with Bryson Barnes being injured and Nate Johnson having left the program. That left Colorado to rely on the arm of freshman Ryan Staub to lead their attack while the Utes laid their hopes in the hands senior Luke Bottari and a strong rushing game. The game itself was a closer game than most expected with both teams seemingly going through the motions on a very gray day at Rice-Eccles Stadium. The Utes held a 20-10 lead going into the fourth quarter on the two short TD plunges from Bottari of one and two yards to go with a pair of FG's from PK Cole Becker of 34 and 22 yards. Colorado's scores came on 30-yard TD pass from Staub to WR Jimmy Horn, Jr. and a career long 48-yard FG from PK Alejandro Mata. Utah would extend their lead to 23-10 on Becker's third FG of the game which was form 31 yards out with 11:31 left in the final period. Then the Buffs offense made things very uncomfortable for the Utes and their fans by marching 82 yards in nine plays to make the score 23-17 on an 18-yard TD toss from Staub to WR Travis Hunter. Utah got the ball back with 7:31 left and needed a drive to shave some time off the clock and keep the CU at bay. They got it with a 13 play drive that covered 44 yards to send the clock to triple zeroes and claim their eighth win of the season. Bottari didn't throw much because he didn't have to. He did complete six of ten passes for 61 yards, while the Utes rushed the ball 53 times for 268 yards and the two TDs. RB's Jaylon Glover, Sione Vaki and Ja'Quinden Jackson accounted for 45 of those carries and 243 rushing yards. For the now 4-8 Buffaloes, Staub completed 17 of 24 passes for 195 yards and a TD.
Telling Stat: You can't win without the ball; Colorado only had the ball for 42 offensive snaps in this snoozer of a game in Salt Lake City.
Notre Dame 56- Stanford 23: Palo Alto, CA- This was the last live football game ever to air on the Pac 12 Network and it looked early on like it might be a good one as the Cardinal had jumped out to a 16-14 lead on a 56-yard FG by PK Josh Karty midway through the second quarter. Then ND woke upon and realized that this is 2023 and Stanford isn't the Stanford of the past decade. That realization led to six straight TDs by the Fighting Irish, the last of which was a blocked FG return of 60 yards to paydirt by DB Javontae Jean-Baptiste with 12:41 left to play in the game. After that, benches were emptied and Stanford managed to score the last TD ever on the Pac 12 Network when QB Justin Lamson rumbled into the end zone with 7:16 left to play. For the now 9-3 Irish, RB Auric Estime had himself a great afternoon. He lugged the leather 25 times for 238 yards and four TDs. QB Sam Hartman completed eight of 14 passes for 140 yards and two TDs to lead ND's aerial attack. For the Cardinal, QB Ashton Daniels compared 15 of 25 passes for 152 yards and an interception.
Telling Stat: 42-0 in 26:26 = Rout; Notre Dame scored six straight TDs in a span of 26:26 of game time to turn a 16-14 deficit into a 56-16 lead and eventual 56-23 easy win up on The Farm.
California 33- UCLA 7: Pasadena, CA- The very last regular season game in Pac 12 history featured a pair old rivals coming off wins over their hated private school brethren the week prior. it was also billed as a game that could go either way as both teams boasted strong defenses and offense that showed flashes of brilliance. UCLA's offensive hopes were pinned on the ability of QB Chase Garbers to run the offense efficiently and set up scoring chances. About four minutes into the game on the bRuins first drive of the contest, Garbers was injured. He would not return and in his stead, true freshman Donte Moore would take over the offense. Moore's first year has been mix of great plays and great mistakes. On his first play in for Garbers he threw an interception that led to a Cal 43-yard FG from PK Mateen Baghani and an early 3-0 lead for the Golden Bears. Trailing now 6-0 after another FG from Bhaghani, Moore was able to take advantage of a short field after a Cal turnover and threw a five-yard TD pass to WR Logan Loya for a 7-6 bRuins lead. That lead was very short lived as on the ensuing kickoff, Cal RB/KR Jaydn Ott raced 100 yards through the bRuins coverage team to paydirt and a 13-7 lead. Its was a lead they would never relinquish. Moore could not get the UCLA offense going against the Cal defense that dared him throw the ball while the Golden Bears were content to pound the ball, throw short passes, run. the clock and steadily expand their lead. When it was over Cal had shutout the bRuins over the final 35 minutes of the game to claim the victory to become bowl eligible for the for the first time in four years. Cal QB Fernando Mendoza completed 19 of 30 passes for 178 yards, two TDs and two interceptions while Ott led all rushers with 80 yards on 21 carries. For the bRuins Moore completed 23 of 38 passes for 266 yards, a TD and two interceptions.
Telling Stat: Almost a full shutout; UCLA's only touchdown of the game came after an interception thrown by Cal QB Fernando Mendoza set the bRuins up at the Golden Bears eight-yard line.
Cranberry Crushers- Tough Turkeys: San Pedro, Ca- The Scheduled game between the Crushers and the Turkeys was a not contest as due to roster deficiencies and logistical problems at Yube Ursich Field led to the powers that be to postpone the contest to next Thanksgiving.
Observations
...Silly Season reigns; This is time of year when a vortex of Coaching Carousel movess, transfer portal moves and just flat out crazy rumors converge to dominate the college football landscape. Wow.
...37-31 and hold the title game; San Jose State beat UNLV, 37-31 last Saturday. That win should have given the Spartans a berth in the MWC title game. Ahhh, but it didn't. Boise State, UNLV and SJSU all fished 6-2 in league play. UNLV and Boise didn't play each other this year, so the conference went to a tie-breaker computer model similar to the old BCS computer system and like all those awful years of BCS rankings, the computer got it wrong. UNLV will host Boise in the title game. Oh, and the Broncos fired their HC a few games ago. Facepalm. Robbed
...A Elko for a Jimbo; With Jimbo Fisher trying to figure out how to spend his epic buyout from Texas A&M, the Aggie braintrust went out and hired Mike Elko away from Duke to be their next HC. An Elko in College Station
...Trivia Time; Nebraska's bowl drought now stands at seven seasons after they lost to Iowa, 13-10 last Friday to finish the year with a 5-7 mark. Who was the last Nebraska HC to lead the Cornhuskers to a bowl game?
...Shine off the Buffalo nickel?; Several high profile commits have de-committed from Colorado in the past couple of weeks. Hmmmmmmm
...Pins and needles; This intrepid reporter along with most other Trojan fans are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the hiring of a new DC.
...ACC! ACC!; Cal fans chanting "ACC! ACC!" after the Golden Bears worked over UCLA is one of the funniest/saddest things I've seen all season.
...Fun Fact; Arizona and Arizona State have been squaring off since 1899, yet there has only been one tie game in the series. That came in 1987 when Wildcats PK Gary Coston booted a 30-yard FG as time expired to tie the game at 24-24. Crazy thing is that was UofA's third tie of the season and their final record was 4-4-3.
...Gone with friends; Oregon State HC Jonathan Smith has taken the HC Job at Michigan State. He's also taking most of the OSU staff with him to the banks of the Red Cedar. Buh Bye Bucky, Hello Sparty
...They are just gone; Houston has fired HC Dana Holgorsen and Indiana has canned HC Tom Allen.
..He's staying; Much to the chagrin of many bRuins fans, UCLA HC Chip Kelly will be back for another year in Westwood.
... A great 7-5; Northwestern's season looked like it was over before it began when HC Pat Fitzgerald was fired in the wake of a hazing scandal just before the season opener. All interim, now permanent HC David Braun did was rally the team to a 7-5 record and a bowl berth. If he isn't named Big Ten Coach of the Year, it's a travesty.
...Pain, pure pain; It's got to be awfully painful to be an Auburn fan after that collapse in the final seconds v. Alabama. The Milroe Miracle will haunt the Tiger faithful forever.
...Bad timing; Our field agent in the desert caught the fact that the clock ran during PAT attempts during the Cal-UCLA game. All conversion attempts after TDs by rule are untimed downs. Check this video out at the 4:35 mark through the PAT. The game clock runs from 5:43 to 5:39 on UCLA's PAT.
...Trivia Answer; Mike Riley was the last Nebraska HC to lead the Cornhuskers to a bowl game. His 2016 Huskers went 9-3 in the regular season and lost 38-24 to Tennessee in the Music City Bowl.
...Classic on a grand stage; The Ohio State-Michigan game was just great to watch. That is all.
The Title Tilts
Here's your lineup of conference championship games (All Times PST)
Friday 12/1
C-USA: New Mexico State v. Liberty, 4 PM on CBSSN
Pac 12: Oregon v. Washington, 5 PM on ABC
Saturday 12/2
Big XII: Oklahoma State v. Texas, 9 AM on ABC
SEC: Georgia v. Alabama, 1 PM on CBS
AAC: SMU v. Tulane, 1 PM on ABC
Big Ten: Michigan v. Iowa, 5 PM on FOX
ACC: Louisville v. Florida State, 5 PM on ABC
Pac 12 Overreactions
Washington is stumbling into a title game loss.
Oregon is hitting on all cylinders and will win the title game.
Oregon State is lost in the Pac 2 abyss.
Wazzu at least has a good HC for what comes next in the great unknown of the Pac 2.
Arizona will be haunted but their loss at SC forever.
Stanford is just happy the season is over.
Utah irrelevancy has hit their fan base and they don't like it.
UCLA only gets interested for road games.
Arizona State is a more of a mess than we all thought.
USC needs a lot more than just a DC to fix the program.
Is Colorado still keeping those receipts? Hmmmmmm
Cal going to a bowl will keep their minds off failing on that two-point conversion v. USC.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
This week we go the NFL where I believe the Seattle Seahawks wardrobe choice is fully responsible for their loss to the San Francisco 49ers. You just can't win in a uniform this ugly.
Departments
Upset of the Week: Alliance, OH- With :10 to play Alma College QB Carter St. John threw a two-yard TD pass to WR Cole Thomas. That TD pass sent shockwaves through the D-III ranks as it lifted the Alma College Scots to a 24-20 upset win over perennial D-III powerhouse Mt. Union. Trailing 10-0 to start the final period, the Scots scored the last four times they had the ball to pull off the comeback win. St. John torched the Mt. Union secondary completing 20 of 33 passes for 303 yards and three TDs. Carter drove the Scots 96 yards in 10 plays for the wining score. Wow.
Blowout Game of the Week: Naperville, IL- We stay not he D-III ranks where the Cardinals of North Central College Whipped the Trinity University Tigers, 71-28 to advance the the D-III quarterfinals. The Cardinals put 27 points on the board int the first quarter then just consistently kept piling on the points to claim the victory. Cardinals QB Luke Lehnen completed 11 of 14 passes for 245 yards and four TDs while leading all rushers with 94 yards on 11 carries.
Razorback Report: The Hogs season came to crashing halt an a 4-8 finish after they were worked over by Missouri, 48-7 on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Hogs QB K.J. Jefferson was injured early on in this one and the game went steadily downhill after that. One of the highlights of the game for this intrepid reporter was receiving unique and entertaining insights into the Hogs performance as the game unfolded from our field agent in Bismarck, AR. Up next for the Razorbacks is a long offseason.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
It's time to put out the Christmas decorations and my train set. Yay me!
Also time to put the fall display away and harvest the pumpkin seeds for next year's planting in the garden.
Anybody else remember how great the old Sears Christmas Catalog was?
Until next time folks remember that winning your rivalry game is always sweet no matter how you get the win.
-The Commissioner
