Week 9

Hey All,

I hope you all still have Halloween candy left to munch on as you read the column you've been waiting for, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Oregon 47- USC 20: This loss wasn't just a loss for the Trojans, it was the worst loss for USC in the Pete Carroll era and one of the worst Trojan losses of all time. USC's clueless defense gave up 613 yards, allowed the Ducks to score on nine of their 11 drives, and allowed UO QB Jeremiah Masoli to roll up 386 yards of offense and score two TDs. Meanwhile, the USC offense collpased as the Oregon offense rolled. Highly touted TE Blake Ayles showed he was no Anthony McCoy with his poor game and USC's running game was rendered irrelevant as the Trojans fell farther behind. It truly was a Hallowen nightmare for USC.
Telling Stat: Oh, did they run. The Ducks rushed for 391 yards on 49 carries v. USC. That's a cool 8.0 yards per carry.

Oregon State 26- UCLA 19: For three quarters Oregon State dominated UCLA. The Beavers held a 16-0 halftime edge, then led 16-3 after a third quarter that looked like a controlled scrimmage. Then while OSU was making postgame party plans, UCLA found their offense. bRuin QB Kevin Prince hit on 69% of his passes in the fourth quarter. He threw two TD passes and two two-point conversions to tie the game at 19-19 with 2:06 to play. Then, the bRuin defense, which had been the strength of this year's squad, collapsed. OSU drove 70 yards in 1:22 for the winning TD which came on a James Rodgers 17-yard run. The bRuins are still winless in Pac 10 play.
Telling Stat: Who knew he could throw? In addition to being a great little RB, Jacquizz Rodgers showed off his arm when he threw a 14-yard TD pass to WR Brady Camp in the second quarter.

Notre Dame 40- Washington State 14: The hapless Cougars traveled to San Antonio for a paycheck and a beatdown from ND. ND QB Jimmy Clausen shredded the Wazzu secondary completing 22 of 27 passes for 268 yards and two TDs in three quarters wirht of work. With ND up 33-7 at the end of three quarters, the Irish faithful got to see their first glimpse of Clausen heir apparent Dayne Crist. He calmly came in and threw a 64-yard TD pass to put the Irish up 40-7 . ND is now 2-1 in Pac 10 play.
Telling Stat: They played keep away. ND held the ball for almost 41:00 while running up 592 yards and 32 first downs on Wazzu.

California 23- Arizona State 21: This had to be one of the sloppiest games played in the Pac 10 this season. The Golden Bears led 17-14 after a first half in which the two squads combined for four turnovers, five fumbles, several sacks, and 145 yards in penalties. The second half wasn't much better as the two squads kept trying to give the game away. ASU finally succeeded in that effort as they allowed the Golden Bears to take the ball with 3:19 to go and march 74 yards to the seven-yard line where PK Giorgio Travecchio nailed a 24-yard field goal with :21 seconds left to give Cal the win. Cal QB Kevin Riley was the offensive star of the day with 351 yards passing and two TDs, while much maligned ASU QB Danny Sullivan threw for 244 yards and a TD, but his two interceptions had the Sun Devil faithful booing him again.
Telling Stat: He did it when it counted. On Cal's game-winning drive, QB Kevin Riley completed five of six passes to put his team in position to win.

Observations

...Iowa has to be the worst undefeated team I have ever seen. If it weren't for miracle plays and a conference that is on par with WAC, the Hawkeyes would have at least four losses.

...And then there were four. There are four winless teams left in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Rice, Eastern Michigan, New Mexico, and Western Kentucky are all 0-8. Of these four teams, it looks like New Mexico has the best shot of going winless. Rice, EMU, and WKU all play at least two under .500 teams the rest of the way. New Mexico still has 7-1 Utah, 6-2 BYU, and 8-0 TCU left to play. The Lobos only chance for a win will be in their next to last game v. 3-6 Colorado State.

...From the in case you missed it file, Houston beat So. Miss, 50-43 in a shooout where the two teams combined for a little over 1300 yards of offense. The Cougars have no defense which means that their upcoming game with SMU and the Mustangs' run and shoot offense could be a real numbers show.

...If Indiana only had to play first three quarters each week they'd be undefeated.

...I haven't seen a USC defense play that poorly in a very long time. In fact, nobody I know had ever seen USC give up that many yards in a game. Why, because the only game in which USC gave up more yards was in 1946. I talked to my mom. She wasn't at the game, so she didn't see it either.

...Maybe now, somebody on USC's defense might start covering the slot receiver.

...Is there a division worse in college football than the Big XII North? Kansas State is the cream of the division with a 3-2 conference record and is 5-4 overall with losses to Louisiana-Lafayette and UCLA. Texas fans should make their reservations for Pasadena right now.

...Somebody better tell Georgia to stop wearing uniforms that feature black instead of red. They just stink in the black uniforms.

...Hey now, let's give a cheer for Duke. The Blue Devils are on a three-game winning streak in the ACC. If they beat North Carolina this week, they will be GASP, CHOKE, GASP, bowl eligible. I don't know if the football world can handle the prospect of both Duke and Idaho being bowl eligible.

...Would somebody stop Oregon QB Jeremiah Masoli? He's still running. USC hasn't stopped him yet.

...Just when UCLA QB Kevin Prince looks like he's getting his act together, the bRuin defense fails. Nore Dame now has two more conference wins than UCLA and Washington State combined.

...If a nine win Notre Dame team gets a BCS bid and Boise State and TCU end up both being undefeated and left home, oh what furor there will be.

...I don't care what anyone says, no Pac 10 team has ever been happy going to any bowl but the Rose Bowl.

...Boy, USC could sure use Broderick Green right now.

...Arizona State is the NCAA leader in most penalty yards per game with 84.4. Last week against Cal, the Sun Devils had 85 yards in penalties by halftime, with 75 of those yards coming on five personal fouls.

...The USC defense has given up over 1,500 yards in its' last three games. Last year, the Trojan defense gave up 2,983 yards in 13 games.

...If you don't want to see Cincinnati or Notre Dame in a BCS game, you better start rooting for Pitt. The Panthers have the best shot of beating both these teams down the stretch.

Until next week folks, remember to cover the slot receiver and make sure the ball carrier is wrapped up before you go for the strip.

-The Commissioner