Week 11

Hey All,

It's time for your favorite column, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Stanford 55- USC 21: There weren't a whole lot of Trojan fans left in the Coliseum when the clock hit triple zero and the Cardinal had hung the most points ever on a USC team. Yes, even more than the 51 that ND hung on USC in'61 or the 52 that Russell White's California squad scored on USC in '91. Funny thing is that USC was actually in the game here, trailing only 28-21 at the start of the fourth quarter. That was when the roof fell in. The Trojan defense which had been poor all game, completely collapsed in the fourth quarter allowing the Cardinal to move the ball at will. Meanwhile, the offense continued to sputter. Couple that with a few gift interceptions thrown by QB Matt Barkley and you can see how this one got way out of hand. Not a lot of stats to talk about here. The Trojans were simply physically manhandled by Stanford. The Trojans got pushed around for three quarters, then quit in the fourth. Yes folks, the Trojans quit in the fourth quarter.
Telling Stat: 41/0. USC was held to 41 yards and 0 points in the fourth quarter of this debacle.

California 24- Arizona 16: A funny thing happened to the Wildcats on their way to this week's showdown with Oregon. The Golden Bears jumped up and slapped the Wildcats on Senior Day, in Berkeley. Cal kept UofA in check all day, holding an 18-16 lead thanks to four Giorgio Travecchio field goals and a Kevin Riley TD pass. However, the Bears found themselves staring defeat in the face as UofA had a third down and 3 to go at the Cal 25. Then came one of the biggest mistakes of the year by UofA QB Nick Foles. Foles threw a pass only to have it knocked back into his face. He caught the ball and then threw it again. That was two forward passes. That's illegal. After the penalty from the spot and loss of down, the Wildcats were staring at a 55-yard field goal attempt on fourth down. UofA went for the first down and failed to convert. Then on Cal's first play from scrimmage TB Shane Vereen took the ball 61 yards to house for the game-clinching TD.
Telling Stat: They missed Nic. Wihtout TB Nic Grigsby, Cal held Arizona to 73 yards rushing for the game.

UCLA 43- Washington State 7: The death march known as Washington State's football season continued with the bRuins dismantling the Cougars, in Pullman. Cougar QB, Marshall Lobbestael threw interceptions the first three times his team had the ball and the rout, as they say, was on. UCLA QB Kevin Prince threw for 314 yards and a TD while FB Chane Moline chipped in with three short TD runs to aid the bRuins cause. UCLA rakced up 28 first downs to Wazzu's seven. The bRuins also outgained the Cougars 556-181 in total yardage.
Telling Stat: Not in regulation. The Cougars have not led a game this year in regulation. Their only lead came when they won in overtime against SMU.

Oregon State 48- Washington 21: Mix two TD passes from QB Sean Canfield with two TD runs by Jacquizz Rodgers and throw in two TD receptions from James Rodgers and you have the recipe for a rout. This game wasn't as close as the score shows. The Beavers dominated this game, running up a 41-7 lead in the third quarter before emptying the benches and giving up a couple of late scores to the Dawgs.
Telling Stat: It was the worst. UW's 27 point loss was the Huskies worst to OSU in school history.

Oregon 44- Arizona State- 21: The Ducks got back in the win column in impressive style after suffering their first Pac 10 loss of the season to Stanford last week. The Ducks used three TD runs from TB LaMchael James and a TD pass from QB Jeremiah Masoli to build up a 31-7 halftime lead over the Sun Devils. The second half was a not much more than a glorified scrimmage with both sides emptying their benches in the final quarter. James finished the day as the Ducks offensive star with 150 yards rushing to go with his three TDs.
Telling Stat: 84/82. ASU rushed for a meager 84 yards in the game, but to make it worse, they were penalized for 82 yards.

Observations

...And then there were three. With Rice coming from behind to beat Buffet Bob Toledo's Tulane squad, only New Mexico, Eastern Michigan, and Western Kentucky remain winless this season.

...Simple math time. 34 bowls= 68 teams needed to fill those slots. As of today, only 61 teams are bowl eligible. Now factor in that 34 teams have already been eliminated, that leaves 25 teams to fight for the remaining seven bowl slots. So here's three games to watch this week with bowl eligibility hanging in the balance.
1. UCLA- ASU: The Sun Devils need a win to keep their bowl hopes alive, while a UCLA win would kill ASU's bowl hopes and earn bowl eligibility for the bRuins.
2. Nebraska- Kansas State: Big XII North Title is on the line in this, and KSU would reach bowl eligibility as well if they win.
3. Tennessee- Vanderbilt: Lane Kiffin can get to a bowl in first season as a HC and the Vols can be the 10th team in the SEC to become bowl eligible this season. Ahhh, playing those 1-AA schools does pay off, huh?

....Stanford HC Jim Harbaugh's try for two at the end of the USC-Stanford game was a Woody Hayes inspired, bush league manuever. However, continuing to score TDs wasn't. If a team can't stop a simple dive play at the end of the game, then that team deseves to get scored on.

...You always remember the games played in November, but do Florida and Alabama fans really want to remember watching their teams take on Florida International and UT Chatanooga this week? I doubt it.

...The Pac 10 has five teams ranked in the BCS top 25. That equals the total of the Big XII and the SEC combined.

...On the flip side of Pac 10 success is Washington State. They've only won 2 conference games in their last 17 tries with both of those wins coming against Washington.

...Norm Chow could get the Trifecta of coaching this year. As OC, his bRuins have already beaten Tennesee who is coached by Lane Kiffin, they have also beaten Washignton who is coached by Steve Sarkisian. A win over USC in two weeks and Norm Chow's team will have beaten his former boss and his two replacements at USC.

...I would like to welcome the Temple Owls back to the land of the living in college football. Remember folks, this was the same school that is the only team ever asked to leave a BCS conference because they were so bad. HC Al Golden has his team at 8-2 overall and 6-0 in MAC play. Somewhere, Bill Cosby is proud.

...The NCAA Division III playoffs start this week, and as always the Mount Union Purple Raiders are the team to beat. However, I will cheer for Cal-Lutheran because they are the only far western team in the playoff field.

...There are a few good rviarly games to be played this week across the country, and as with rivarly games, throw the records out the window, pride and bragging rights are at stake. In the Big Ten, Ohio State will take on Michigan, while Indiana will face Purdue with the old oaken bucket at stake. In the Pac 10, California and Stanford will meet in "The Big Game", while in the Ivy League, Harvard and Yale will meet in "The Game." There are a few others out there this week, but these games always appeal to me.

...I was at the supermarket last nigh and saw that the USC defense's picture on the back of my milk carton.

...Time to give a cheer for the Penn Quakers. The Quakers clinched the Ivy League title last week with a 17-7 over Harvard. The Ivy League schools don't participate in the FBS Subdivision playoffs, so the Ivy League title is a big deal indeed.

...The NCAA Division II playoffs are going into their second round this week. A lot of the usual D-II suspects are in the playoffs, but two outside teams to watch are Central Washington and Arkansas Tech. CWU is the only team from the far west left in the playoffs and Arkansas Tech could upset the whole bracket if they beat North Alabama this week.

...Would somebody tackle Stanford TB Toby Gerhart? He's still running at the Coliseum.

...Arizona has lost two games in Pac 10 play on the strangest of plays. First, they lose at Washington on the kicked/hit the ground interception at Washington, then they lose at California due to an illegal second forward pass. UofA could be 8-1 and 6-0 in the Pac 10.


Until Next Time Folks, watch for the draw on third and long and put a spy on the quarterback.
-The Commissioner