Week 3

Hey All, I'm back from a not so successful trip to Seattle. However, I did get to attend three ball games in 36 hours. Let's now get to the column you love to read, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. (We still miss you, Alan Malamud.)

Washington 16- USC 13: It's hard to win a game when you don't have a quarterback. It became evident early on that QB Aaron Corp had no idea what was happening on the field. Couple that with three turnovers and an inspired UW defense that dared USC to throw and you get this debacle in Seattle. Yes, the defense gave up the game winning drive, but this loss lies at the feet of QB Aaron Corp and the HC Pete Carroll. Corp showed he couldn't get it done, so why wasn't Mitch Mustain or Garrett Green given a chance to do something with the offense? I also find it amazing that the staff couldn't get Corp prepared for this game. Just sickening. It was just sickening.
Telling Stat: Zero. 0 for 10 on third down, 0 for 1 on fourth down, and 0 turnovers forced = loss.

Oregon 31- Utah 24: That Boise State game must seem like years ago to the Ducks with this win over the Utes. It wasn't an easy win though as the Ducks overcame four turnovers and a Utah comeback in Eugene. The Duck running game got back into gear this week as RB LaMichael James rushed for 152 yards on 27 carries and a TD. QB Jeremiah Masoli chipped in 47 yards rushing and two TDs of his own. The Utes made a game of this one by putting up 21 points in the third quarter to close the gap to 28-24, but the Duck defense shutout the Utes in the fourth quarter, sealing the win with an interception by DB John Boyett with a little over two minutes to play. UO's win snapped Utah's 16 game winning streak, which was the longest active streak in the nation.
Telling Stat: Grounded Ducks. QB Jeremiah Masoli completed only 4 of 16 passes for 95 yards and an interception in the Duck victory.

Arizona State 38- Louisiana Monroe 14: KR Omar Bolden took the opening kickoff back 89 yards for a TD for ASU. That was the flashy part of the game for ASU. The rest of the game was a grind it out affair in which the Sun Devils got in their own way more than the Warhawks defense. ASU was penalized 12 for 122 yards which kept the game closer than it really was. ASU QB Danny Sullivan threw for 220 yards and a TD. He also ran for a TD to lead the ASU offense. Meanwhile the Sun Devil defense forced three turnovers and held ULM in check for the game. Up next for ASU is a trip to Georgia. So, let me be the first this week to say the Sun Devils went down to Georgia.
Telling Stat: That just ain't right. ASU had more penalty yards, 122, than they had rushing yards, 118.

Cincinnati 28- Oregon State 18: A big second quarter by the Bearcats coupled with Jacquizz Rodgers' sore ankle to spell doom for the Beavers last Saturday. Cincinnati outscored OSU 21-2 in the second quarter to go into the half with a 21-8 lead. The Beavers did mount a comeback in the second half, but the Bearcat defense stiffened in the fourth quarter. Bearcat QB Tony Pike completed 31 of 49 passes for 332 yards and 2 TDs. Meanwhile, OSU's Jacquizz Rodgers managed only 73 yards rushing and 1 TD on his bum ankle. The Bearcats put the game away with a 19-yard TD pass from Tony Pike to Marshwan Gilyard with 8:03 to play.
Telling Stat: Cincinnati held the Beavers to just a field goal in their final five drives of the game.

California 35- Minnesota 21: The Golden Bears did something they hadn't done in a while. They won a road game outside of the Pac 10. They handed the Golden Gophers their first loss in their new digs thanks to TB Jahvid Best. Best ran for 131yards and five TDs. His last two scores gave Cal the game after being tied 21-21 to start the fourth quarter. Cal's defense did a good job too. They held the Gophers to 37 yards rushing and forced four turnovers in the game.
Telling Stat: Best's five TDs tied the Cal record held by Duke Morrison. Morrison scored his five TDs back in 1921.

Iowa 27- Arizona 17: Iowa used strong defense and a steady, ball control offense to tame the Wildcats at Kinnick Stadium. UofA's offense was dealt a huge blow when TE Rob Gronkowski didn't even make the trip. His problem was listed as a back strain, but since then it's been announced it is a major back injury and he is out for the season. Meanwhile, back in Iowa the Wildcats were shutdown by the Hawkeye defense. The Iowa defense held UofA to eight first downs, 2 for 12 on third down conversions, and 253 total yards. As for the Iowa offense, freshman RB Adam Robinson creased the Wildcat defense for 101 yards rushing and 2 TDs. This game wasn't as close as the score indicated as UofA got their last TD with 1:53 left and the game already decided.
Telling Stat: They couldn't move the ball, UofA's average drive in this game lasted four plays and covered just 21 yards.

Stanford 42- San Jose State 17: It was the Cardinal's home opener and they left the home folks happy with a thrashing of bay area rival San Jose State. The Cardinal's Chris Owusu took the opening kickoff back for a TD and TB Toby Gerhart went over form 3 yards out for a TD to give Stanford a 14-0 lead after one quarter of play. Gerhart would score another TD on the day to give him two to go along with 113 yards on the ground. Owusu would add a TD catch to his stats to give him two TDs as well. Throw in 170 yards passing from QB Andrew Luck and you have a Stanford victory.
Telling Stat: They had many happy returns. Stanford scored TDs on a kickoff, punt, and interception return in their romp over the Spartans.

Washington State 30- SMU 27 OT: Well, we won't have to worry about anybody going winless again in the Pac 10 this year. This was a wild game that truly was both a great and rotten game for SMU QB Bo Levi Mitchell. He hit on 40 of 57 passes for 424 yards and 2 TDs for the Mustangs. He also threw four huge interceptions. Two of his picks were returned for touchdowns by the Cougar defense. However his last one really hurt. He threw it on the first play of overtime. Wazzu then took over, where PK Nico Grasu kicked a 39-yard field goal to win it for the Cougs. The Cougs only ran for 37 yards and held the ball for only 20 minutes, but came away with the win.
Telling Stat: After Grasu Kicked the game-winning field goal, it marked the first time all year that Wazzu held a lead in a game.

UCLA 23- Kansas State 9: The bRuins got another strong effort from both their defense and a solid effort from QB Kevin Craft to take home a win at the Rose Bowl. The UCLA offense moved with fits and starts as the much maligned Craft started in place of injured starter Kevin Prince. Craft put in a workmanlike effort, throwing for 186 yards and the game clinching TD when he hooked up with WR Terrence Austin on a 51-yard TD strike with just 6:11 left in the game. PK Kai Forbath's three field goals were key to the bRuins win as well. They covered distances of 39, 35, and 40 yards. UCLA's rushing defense shined as they held KSU to only 69 yards on 37 carries.
Telling Stat: The defense finished the job. UCLA's defense held KSU to 25 total yards and picked off a pass in the fourth quarter.

Observations

...I, like many USC fans love what Mark Sanchez has done so far with the Jets. We also wish he was still playing for the Trojans.

...UCLA PK Kai Forbath is nails. He will win a big game for UCLA this year with a big kick.

...Time out here for a salute to the roots of college football. The Ivy League started play last Saturday. It's always fun to watch a game from the ancient eight. If you've never read the book, Ivy League Autumns, give it a try. It's great history on the origins of the sport.

...With BYU and Utah falling by the wayside, that leaves Boise State as the best team left to be a BCS buster.

...Washington gets to find out if they are for real this week on the road at Stanford.

...And then there were 14. Three weeks into the season and there are 14 winless teams left in the FBS. Notable among the winless squads is Virginia, who is the only winless team in the big six BCS conferences. Another notable team is Ball State. They were last year's media darlings out of the MAC conference. This year they are 0-2.

...Michigan transfer Ryan Mallet is an awesome talent. With his arm and HC Bob Petrino's offense, they better buy some new light bulbs for the scoreboards in Fayetteville.

...Cincinnati better run the table for the Big East to have any credibility this year.

...USC suffered a big loss this weekend, but Arizona suffered the worst lost of the weekend when they found out that TE Rob Gronkowski is done for the season with a major back injury.

...With the way these squads play defense and run the ball, the Penn State-Iowa game may being the lowest scoring game in the Big Ten this year.

...I thinkt it's just sad that Syracuse took a kid who'd been playing basketball for the last four years and turned him into a 300 yard passer, but USC couldn't take a kid who'd been in the system for three years and get a good game out of him.

Until next week folks, watch out for jailbreak screens and double reverses.
-The Commissioner