Week 15

Hey, it's a day late, but it's here! It's another installment of Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard.

We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 28- UCLA 14: QB Matt Barkley returned from injury for USC, but it was senior RB Alan Bradford who will be forever remembered in this latest Trojan victory over the team from Westwood. All Bradford did was run the ball 28 times for 212 yards and a TD. He also scored another TD on a 47-yard screen pass. He almost single-handedly destroyed the bRuins. The USC defense held the bRuins in check all night long and chipped in with a TD of their own when LB Malcolm Smith picked up a bRuin fumble late in the second quarter and took it 68-yards to the house to put USC up at half, 14-7. UCLA's last TD was scored with :23 and the game well in hand for the Trojans.

Telling Stat: 11 out of 12; USC has won 11 of the last 12 games in this rivalry.

Washington 35- Washington State 28: UW QB Jake Locker hit WR Jermaine Kearse with a 66-yard TD pass to open the second half and the Huskies held a 21-7 lead over Wazzu and looked like they'd blow the game wide open. Then, the Cougars woke up and made it a game. QB Jeff Tuel took charge of the Cougs. He threw 2 TD passes and ran for another in a 16 minute span. The game stood tied 28-28 with 4:26 to play. Then, for the third time this season, Jake Locker took his team to victory on their final drive. He drove the Dawgs 88 yards in nine plays. The capper was a 27-yard TD pass that sealed the Apple Cup for UW, 35-28.

Telling Stat: The big 1; Jake Locker threw only one pass on UW's final drive, but it was for the winning score.

Arizona State 30- Arizona 29- 2OT: This battle for the Territorial Cup truly was a wild one. The first half was sloppy, ugly, and boring. The two squads combined for 11 three-and-outs, 14 punts, and two ASU field goals by PK Thomas Weber. ASU led at the half, 6-0. The second half saw both UofA and ASU seemingly take control of the game only to have it come down to a final drive by the Wildcats. Trailing 20-14, QB Nick Foles led the Wildcats on a 57-yard drive that ended with Foles throwing a 5-yard TD pass to RB David Douglas. An extra point would give the Wildcats the win. ASU's James Brooks leapt high on a low kick by Alex Zendejas and blocked it. The game would go to overtime. After trading field goals, the game went to a second overtime where the schools traded TDs. All UofA needed was to make the PAT and the game would go to a third OT. Zendejas hit another low kick that was blocked again by James Brooks and ASU walked off with the win.

Telling Stat: 2 blocked PATs. In ASU's losses to Wisconsin and USC a blocked PAT was the margin of loss. In their win over UofA, 2 blocked PATs were the margin of victory.

Oregon 37- Oregon State 20: The Beavers came out in retro uniforms in which they hoped to draw inspiration from their 1967 squad known as the "Giant Killers." However, the Beavers didn't have enough energy in the second half and fell to the Oregon Ducks. Duck RBs LaMichael James and Kenjon Barner combined for 267 yards rushing and 3 TDs to lead their squad past OSU and into the BCS Championship Game. The Webfoots also got 145 yards passing and 2 TDs from QB Darron Thomas in the winning effort.

Telling Stat: 3's instead of 6's; On two critical drives in the second half, the Oregon defense held OSU to field goals instead of touchdowns. These stops were key Oregon's victory.

Observations

...Bowl Math: The Final Chapter; Following this past weekend's action, 72 FBS teams were eligible for the 70 bowl spots. The two teams left at home were 8-4 Temple and 6-6 Western Michigan. I have more on Temple later.

...The SEC walked away with 10 bowl bids. It's the 10th bowl bid that outrages me. Kentucky, with a 6-6 overall record, but a pathetic 2-6 record in SEC play will play in a bowl. Temple finished 8-4 overall and 5-3 in MAC play but is sitting home for the holidays. Will people please stop drinking the SEC Kool-Aid?

...Speaking of outrage, how do Nebraska fans feel about having a rematch with Washington? The Huskers trounced the Dawgs, 56-21, in Seattle last September 18th. Now, they will face off again in the Holiday Bowl. Rematches always stink. Oh, and here's one more point to consider. The two schools hook up again in Lincoln on September 17, 2011. That's three games between the two schools in one calendar year.

...Now for some good bowl stuff. I think the Poinsettia Bowl matchup between Navy And San Diego State is a great one. San Diego is a Navy town. SDSU is playing at home. It should be a fun game.

...Hey, Rick Neuheisel! How's your passion bucket now? Neuheisel's record after three seasons at UCLA is 15-22. Karl Dorrell was 22-15 after three season at UCLA. Hmmmmmmm.

...Going bowling at home; Hawaii, San Diego State, and SMU all play their bowls in their home yards.

..Worst place for a bowl; The Bronx. Kansas State and Syracuse will play in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at new Yankee Stadium. In 1961 and '62 a bowl called the Gotham Bowl was played in New York. It was a failure. Temperatures were very low and so were the crowds. The bowl died a merciful death after Nebraska beat Miami, 36-34 in 1962.

...TCU's trip to the Rose Bowl is about 71 seasons late for some Horned Frogs. Back in 1938, the Horned Frogs were the darlings of college football. Their leader was a guy, you've heard of. There's an award named after him. It was QB Davey O'Brien. He and his TCU mates ran through their schedule and stood 9-0 with the Rose Bowl bid in their sights. However, TCU's hubris and outright campaigning for the bid ended up costing them the bid and it went to Duke and the rest was history. Just ask USC Trojan fans about Nave-to-Krueger and a 7-3 win over the Blue Devils. However, TCU did come away with the National Title in 1938 and a 15-7 win over Carnegie Tech in the Sugar Bowl.

...Other fun bowl matchups; Air Force v. Georgia Tech in the Independence Bowl: that's pure option football at it's best. Hawaii v. Tulsa in the Hawaii Bowl. 80 passes and 5 hours of football. Utah v. Boise State in the Las Vegas Bowl: by far a matchup of the best two teams ever in that bowl.

...I see Auburn is the home team in the BCS title game. That's too bad. I was looking forward to something especially ugly in the uniform department from the Ducks.

...Army, Navy, and Air Force are all going to bowls in the same season for the first time ever. I think that's pretty cool when I remember that playing football is the easiest thing that academy kids do all week. These kids are tough.

...If I had a Heisman vote, I'd vote QB Andrew Luck of Stanford. He's a stud QB, and a class act on and off the field.

...Mark it down, now. The darkhorse darling for the Pac 12 title next year will be Arizona State. The Sun Devils lose only 13 seniors and have a world of talent coming back. Four of their six losses were by a total of nine points. They forced Oregon to punt 11 times in a loss where their offense committed seven turnovers. To be great next year, the talent on this squad needs to grow up a little. These kids are playing with million dollar bodies and 10 cent brains. If ASU shuts their mouths, quits throwing punches and just plays football, they could be a very dangerous team in 2011.

...I wonder if Boise State's AD thinks of PK Kyle Brotzman when he gets that $500,000 check from the Las Vegas bowl, instead of the 18 million dollar check from the Rose Bowl.

...People are griping about the fact that Connecticut got an automatic BCS bid by being the Big East champ with a pedestrian 8-4 record. Oh well, fellas live with it. When the FBS made it's BCS deal with the devil, this was one of unintended consequences.

...A final note on this season. Well, it was only an 8-5 season, and the Trojans left a couple wins on the field, but I still have some good things to look back on. People always make a season fun. The people in my life sure did this year. From my family, to the extended family of my tailgate group, to the great friends who came to LA for games and the those who I saw in far flung college locales of Minneapolis, MN, Pullman, WA. and Palo Alto, CA., I had a great time with all of you and you all mean a great deal to me. Without you all, the season is not nearly as fun.

Until my bowl previews come out next week, take a minute to watch the Army-Navy game this week. It's what college football is all about.

-The Commissioner

Week 14

Hey All,

Here's the column that makes Tuesdays a little more fun, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard.

We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Notre Dame 20- USC 16: Suppose I told you that one team would force four turnovers, hold the opposing QB to 149 yards passing and just 5 of 15 on third downs. You would think that team would win, right? Not so, USC did all those things and still managed to lose to the Fighting Irish. Many things factored into this loss. A way too conservative gameplan from Trojan HC Lane Kiffin, numerous dropped passes, and a defense that failed at the most critical moment all combined to help ND snap their eight game losing streak to USC. Trojan backup QB Mitch Mustain got the start for the injured Matt Barkley and was victimized by his own HC's lack of confidence and his own wideouts case of the drops. Most notably was WR Ronald Johnson's drop of a sure TD pass when he was wide open with just a little over a minute to play.

Telling Stat: No room to run; With USC's inability to pass, ND was able to load the box and hold USC to just 80 yards rushing on 30 carries. That's a dismal 2.7 yards per carry.

Stanford 38- Oregon State 0: The Cardinal did a little BCS resume polishing over the holiday by crushing the Beavers in Palo Alto. SU QB Andrew Luck turned in another stellar effort completing 21 of 30 passes for 305 yards and 4 TDs. Meanwhile the Cardinal defense forced 5 OSU turnovers in a dominating effort. The Cardinal are now just hoping that they hold onto their #4 spot in the BCS and a big bowl game.

Telling Stat: 38-0/14:50; That was the score and time left when Stanford emptied the benches and a lot of hard-working kids got their letter.

Oregon 48- Arizona 29: Stop me if you heard this one before, you see Oregon was down at the half, then they came out and destroyed the other team in the second half. Well, it did happen again and the Wildcats were the victims. Duck QB Derron Thomas threw for 3 TDs and ran for another, while RB LaMichael James ran for 126 yards and 2 TDs of his own. As for UofA, Qb Nick Foles did throw for 448 yards and 3 TDs in a losing cause.

Telling Stat: 2nd half magic; After a lackluster first half, the Oregon offense came out and scored TDs on their first 5 possessions of the second half to turn this game into a rout.

Arizona State 55- UCLA 34: After the first 13 minutes of play, UCLA had run and thrown at will on the ASU defense, building up a 17-0 lead. The bRuin defense had dominated as well. They even knocked out starting QB Steven Threet. Then, the roof caved in on the bRuins. Backup QB Brock Osweiler came in and calmly completed 27 of 36 passes for 380 yards and 4 TDs. Those four TD passes were part of ASU's 55 point explosion in the final 47 minutes of the game. RB Cameron Marshall ran for 147 yards and a TD to lead the ASU rushing attack. As for the bRuins, QB Richard Brehaut had a good game throwing for 321 yards and 3 TDs of his own, but his day paled in comparison to the ASU backup. The Win by ASU kept their faint bowl hopes alive while ending UCLA's bowl hopes for 2010.

Telling Stat: Long Road; In their comeback win, ASU scored on drives that covered 78, 51, 63, 86, 99, and 82 yards.

Washington 16- California 13: It was a thriller in Strawberry Canyon, where the Huskies pulled off one of the gutsiest calls of the season and came away with a victory. The Huskies were down, 13-10 with 4:39 to play and the ball on their own 21-yard line. QB Jake Locker then led his team on a nine play march that put the UW on the Cal one-yard line with :02 left on the clock. Husky HC Steve Sarkisian shunned the field goal and decided to end the game right then and there. On the tenth play of the drive, Locker handed off the RB Chris Polk who crossed the goalline as time ran out. The Huskies won and are now a win away from bowl eligibility.

Telling Stat: 2012; That's the next time us fans will see either Husky Stadium or Memorial Stadium in use. Both are undergoing major facelifts in 2011.

Observations

...The last taste; The late start of the USC-UCLA game this week would make everyone think that it wold be the last regular season college game of the year. It's not. On December 11th, the Army-Navy game will finish the FBS regular season.

...Stones and glass houses; I know Ohio State President Gordon Gee had a point to make about Boise's weak schedule, but Gordon, your Buckeyes played 8 home games, and your non-conference slate featured Miami, Marshall, Ohio U., and Eastern Michigan and your squad didn't play a road game until October 2nd.

...Bowl Math- The Return; There are right now 70 bowl eligible schools for the 70 bowl slots. However, there are four schools left who are on the bubble of bowl eligibility. Those five are Arizona State, Oregon State, Washington, Middle Tennesee State and Louisiana Tech. We could have 75 bowl eligible teams for the 70 slots after this week.

...Hey this isn't what we signed up for; Sorry, Boise, but with TCU's defection to the Big East Conference, that means Utah, BYU, and TCU won't be there for you as you play in what's left of the Mountain West Conference. Can you say WAC 2.0?

...Way to go, San Diego State! Your new HC Brady Hoke has turned your program around and you're going to bowl for the first time in a while. Enjoy it now, Hoke looks like he'll be on Minnesota's sideline next year.

...And then there were NONE! With Akron's big 22-14 win over Buffalo, there are no winless teams in the FBS! So, at least every team got to feel like a winner at some point this season.

...Circle of life; USC beat Hawaii who beat Nevada who beat Boise State who beat Oregon State who beat USC. Whoa, I'm dizzy now.

...Ice, Ice, Replay; I never thought I'd ever see officials ice a kicker, but it happened in Reno. After Boise's Kellen Moore threw an incredible hail-mary to Titus Young that put BSU in line for a chip shot game-winning field goal, out came Kyle Brotzman and the FG unit. Then, the refs called for a review. Brotzman then paced around during the review and started to really think about it. By the time the review was done, he was iced. Nevada needs to send the replay ref a thank you gift.

...You don't love me anymore; Miami HC Randy Shannon was fired this week. That's a pretty funny thing to do after Miami gave him a four year contract extension in August. That's gotta be a big buyout.

...Coming home; The Michigan AD, Dave Brandon may say he's waiting until after the bowls to evaluate HC Rich Rodriguez. He's just waiting for Jim Harbaugh to be available. Rich-Rod is a dead coach walking.

...Passed by; Can we all, and by we all, I mean the USC coaching staff included, realize that the Tampa 2 defense has become outdated in the college game? It happened to the 6-1, the 5-3 Stack, 7 Diamond, and the Wide Tackle 6. Let's embrace some change here.

...Important news; this year's Family Turkey Bowl winners this year were the Cranberry Crushers who beat the Tough Turkey's 56-28. Your author here was doubtful for the game, but came off the bench to throw a couple of TDs a la Brett Favre, but brother-in-law Robert was the Defensive MVP of the game with his many interceptions and my mother got offensive MVP for running the coolest center sneak for a TD I've seen in many years.

Until next week folks, remember that you can ask for a free kick after a fair catch.

- The Commissioner

Week 13

Hey All,

The column you love to read is back. The author is still on the DL, but at least he could get it together this week. Here's another edition of Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Oregon State 36- USC 7: It was another nightmare for the Trojans in Corvallis. USC came out for this game flat and lazy. The Beavers made them pay for it by physically pounding the Trojans up and down the field. OSU QB Ryan Katz torched USC's poor pass defense by completing 17 of 24 passes for 154 yards and a pair of TDs. Meanwhile, RB Jacquizz Rodgers toted the leather 26 times for 128 yards and a TD of his own. As for the star of this game it had to be OSU DT Stephen Paea. Paea made the USC O-line look like a bad JC squad. Hey, and I should know, I was a bad O-lineman on a bad JC squad. Then to top off the horrible night, the Trojans lost QB Matt Barkley due to injury right before halftime.

Telling Stat: An all-time low; The last time OSU scored a 30+ point win over USC was the first time the two schools ever met back in 1914.

Stanford 48- California 14: The two squads almost came to blows before the game with a lot of bluster and fire, but Stanford was the only squad to keep that fire throughout the game as they smacked the Golden Bears around at Strawberry Canyon. SU QB Andrew Luck threw for 235 yards and a pair of TDs, but it was a long run by Luck that showed his dominance in this game. He took the ball after being flushed from the pocket in the first quarter and ran over a Cal DB on the way to a big first down that showed Stanford would take no prisoners. Behind Luck's performance and RB Stepfan Taylor's 3 TDs, SU led 45-0 at the end of three quarters. Then they emptied the bench so everyone could say they played in "The Big Game."

Telling Stat: a long time ago; Stanford's 48 points were the most they have scored on Cal since the Cardinal beat Cal 41-0, in 1930.

Washington 24- UCLA 7: It was a blackout night in Seattle, The fans wore black, the cheerleaders wore black, and the Huskies came out in all black uniforms. Then the Huskies made it a black night for the bRuins. The Dawgs' defense caused UCLA's pistol offense to misfire early and often. They forced three turnovers while holding UCLA to 163 total yards of offense. Meanwhile, Husky QB Jake Locker was no great shakes either, but he directed the offense well enough to get UW the win. UW RB Chris Polk ran for 138 yards and the game clinching TD with 4:24 to left in the fourth quarter.

Telling Stat: Jake Locker completed only 10 passes for 68 yards, yet he had more completions and more yards than UCLA's three QBs combined.

Observations

...Bowl math; there are 35 bowl games this year. That means you need 70 teams to be bowl eligible at season's end. Right now 64 teams are bowl eligible.

...I don't really like bench clearing incidents in sports, but it was fun to see a little good old fashioned hatred between California and Stanford last week.

...Bowl math part II; There are 20 teams left to trying to get bowl eligible. The Sun Belt Conference has 5 of those teams. However, it is quite possible that none of those 5 teams will be bowl eligible, rendering them the only conference to go through a season without a bowl eligible team.

...Wazzu beating Oregon State a couple of weeks ago has done more damage to Boise State than any loss the Broncos have ever suffered on the field.

...If San Diego State beats UNLV this week, the Aztecs will finish the year at 8-4. Their four losses have been by a total of 14 points. SDSU HC Brady Hoke has done a great turnaround job at Montezuma Mesa.

...With all the talk about the rules changes for the Illinois-Nortwestern game last week at Wrigley Field, it's amazing how quickly those were all forgotten once the game started.

...So, how long does Jeff Tedford remain the HC at Cal?

...Bowl math part III; As of this week, the Pac 10 has only 3 bowl eligible teams. It is almost certain that the conference will not fill all of it's bowl tie-in slots.

...The "From the Penthouse to the Outhouse" award goes to the Texas Longhorns. Last year they were in the National Championship Game, this year they are last place in the Big XII South. Also, please note, that Longhorns have had no major injuries, scandals, or any other major incidents within the program. They just stink.

...So, Hawaii will be joining the Mountain West Conference. Doesn't that mean that all the old original WAC teams are together again? Maybe they can ask for their old league name back.

...Talk about a clash of styles; The Rose Bowl might end up being a matchup between Wisconsin and Boise State.

...Army and UCLA rank dead last in the nation with 5 TD passes thrown this season. That's pretty bad, but even worse for bRuin fans when they realize they've thrown the ball 116 more times than Army.

...Hawaii fun fact; The Warriors average 44 pass attempts per game. That's tops in the nation. They run the ball 20 times a game. That's last in the nation.

...The playoffs began last week for the teams in D-II and D-III. This week they begin for the FCS schools. Funny how every level of football has managed to run a playoff system well except for the big boys.

...Here's a cheer for the Penn Quakers. Last week they beat Cornell to claim the Ivy League crown. The Quakers went 7-0 in league play and 9-1 overall with their only loss being to FCS power, Villanova.

...They fly jets, but love the ground attack. Air Force has run the ball 699 times this season.

...Huge game in the WAC this week, folks. Boise State plays at Nevada. It should be a great game.

...Gotta love Thanksgiving week. Family, food and football. It doesn't get much better.

Until next week folks, remember football is something to be thankful for.

-The Commissioner

Week 9

Hey All,

Here's that column that makes you glad it's Tuesday, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud

Summaries

Oregon 53- USC 32: The Ducks and Trojans traded punches for almost three quarters before the depleted Trojans ran out of gas while Oregon found their passing gear and showed USC and the nation why they are number one. UO QB Darron Thomas shredded USC's sieve of a defense for 288 yards and 4 TDs through the air, while RB LaMichael James ran for 239 yards and three TDs to lead the Ducks rushing attack. USC had a 32-29 lead with 11:19 to go in the third quarter, then they faded and were outscored 24-0 down the stretch by the Ducks whose high energy, high octane offense proved to be too much for USC's weak defense to handle.

Disturbing Stat: In USC's first 668 home games they had given up 50+ points only once. It's happened twice in games 669-675.

Arizona 29- UCLA 21: UofA's fake punt trumped the bRuins flea-flicker and the Wildcats came away with a hard fought win at the Rose Bowl. UofA backup QB Matt Scott filled in as the starter again for the injured Nick Foles and lit up the UCLA secondary for 319 yards and a TD. However, the Wildcats held a slim 26-21 lead after bRuin QB Richard Brehault connected with WR Josh Smith on the flea-flicker for a 49-yard TD. With 6:23 left, the Wildcats executed a fake punt to perfection with P Jake Fischer running for 29 yards and a big first down. Then the Wildcats put the game away with an Alex Zendejas 30-yard field goal with 1:21 to play.

Telling Stat: They couldn't cash in; UofA ran up 583 yards, 32 first downs and held the ball for 37:55, but could only manage to put 29 points on the board.

Stanford 41- Washington 0: The Cardinal went into Husky Stadium and just whipped the Dawgs. The Stanford defense harassed QB Jake Locker all day. They held him to 7 of 14 passing for 64 yards and two interceptions. Then, they nailed Locker, breaking his ribs, possibly ending his season. The Huskies finished with 107 total yards of offense and a meager seven first downs. Meanwhile, QB Andrew Luck threw for 192 yards and a TD. He also ran for 92 yards and another score. RB Stepfan Taylor ran for 104 yards and 2 TDs for the boys from Palo Alto. The Cardinal are 8-1 for the first time since 1970.

Telling Stat: 36 seasons; Stanford picked up their first road shutout since beating Oregon 17-0 in 1974.

Oregon State 35- California 7: It was a road game, so Cal got blown out. This time it was at the hands of the Beavers who got 119 yards and 4 TDs from RB Jacquizz Rodgers to go with 184 yards and a TD through the air from QB Ryan Katz. The Beavers kept the Golden Bears caged, allowing only 206 total yards and 10 first downs on the afternoon. Cal's lone score game with :20 left on 45-yard TD pass from QB Brock Mansion to WR Anthony Miller.

Telling Stat: Meaningless yards; 93 of Cal's 206 total yards came on their final drive of the day after the Beavers had emptied the bench with the game well in hand.

Arizona State 42- Washington State 0: After being embarrassed by Cal last week, the Sun Devils came out and declawed the Cougars, in Tempe. Sun Devil QB Steven Threet threw for 300 yards and 3 TDs. Not bad for a kid just coming back from a concussion the week before. The Cougars got 200 yards out QB Jeff Tuel, but the ASU defense picked him off twice and held WSU's ground attack to 8 yards on the day.

Telling Stat: Long fields; Wazzu's average starting field position in this game was their own 21-yard line.

Tulsa 28- Notre Dame 27: What was a horrible week at ND got a little bit worse when the Fighting Irish threw away a win over Tulsa. The game started poorly for ND as QB Dayne Crist was lost for the year when ruptured the patella tendon in his left knee. That put true frosh QB Tommy Rees on the spot and the kid responded by completing 33 of 54 passes for 334 yards and 4 TDs. He also threw 3 interceptions. One of them was returned for a TD and his final one handed Tulsa the win. ND was on the Tulsa 19-yard line with :39 left and Rees threw into the endzone where it was intercepted by DB John Flanders. It was Tulsa's first win over a BCS school since 1998.

Telling Stat: Man, he hates Halloween; This is the second straight year that ND's Dayne Crist has suffered a season-ending injury on Halloween weekend.

Observations

...Something you don't see every day; After UTEP's Kris Adams scored on a 23-yard TD pass from Trevor Vittatoe, the Miners attempted a two-point conversion. Vittatoe's pass was intercepted and taken back 100 yards for a defensive conversion.

...My heart goes out to the family of ND undergrad Declan Sullivan. It just hurt to read of a young life cut short in a senseless accident.

...Bowling Math; There are 35 bowl games this year. That means there are 70 slots for teams out of the 120 teams in the FBS. That's a lot of teams considering there were barely enough bowl eligible teams with fewer bowls last year. This will be interesting to watch how it plays out down the stretch.

...Something you don't see every day Part II; Nebraska's Roy Helu, Jr. had a 300 yard rushing game. He actually ran for 307 yards and 3 TDs on 28 carries in the Huskers' 31-17 win over Missouri. That's a nifty 10.9 yards per carry.

...You know things have hit the skids at Notre Dame when the ND message board moderator has to post warnings to their fan base to quit calling the players and coaches names in their posts.

...Big, big, game in the Mountain West this week as TCU visits Utah. This battle of unbeatens serves as an elimination game for a BCS berth.

...Quietly making noise; Baylor is 7-2 after their 30-22 win at Texas. Wouldn't it be cool if the Baylor-Oklahoma game meant a trip to the Big XII title game was on the line for both schools?

...And then there were still two. Akron and New Mexico are the only two winless teams in the FBS. Akron is losing their MAC games by an average of 28.2 PPG. UNM gave up 720 yards and 72 points to Oregon back in week one of the season.

...As of this week, the Big East and Sun Belt conferences have no bowl eligible teams.

...Michigan is in ninth place in the Big Ten. I never, ever thought I'd write that sentence.

...So, just how bad has USC's secondary been this season? The Trojans are ranked 114th in the nation against the pass. Hell, Wazzu is ranked 107th.

...The battle for the WAC title is this week as Hawaii travels to Boise State. Heck, the halftime score could be 51-49.

...Speaking of big games, Arizona plays at Stanford this week. This one will be a smashmouth affair. No spread finesse here.

...This is Joe Paterno's 45th year as Head Coach at Penn State. That is equal to the tenure of all the head coaches in the Pac 10 combined.

...If Air Force can beat Army this week, they will take home the Commander-in-Chief Trophy. USAFA comes into the game ranked 2nd in the nation in rushing offense and 116th in passing. USMA comes ranked 7th in rushing offense and dead last, 120th in passing offense. This game could be over in under two hours.

Until next time folks, remember that the Tampa 2 defense wasn't designed with spread offenses in mind.

-The Commissioner

Week 8

Hey All,

It's time to read that column you all love, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

California 50- Arizona State 17: The Golden Bears bounced back in fine fashion after last week's demolition at the hands of USC. With the game tied at 3-3 in the first quarter the Cal offense put three touchdowns on the board in a little over 10 minutes to take a 23-3 lead. The Sun Devils never got off the deck and Cal cruised to a huge win. Cal QB Kevin Riley threw for 240 yards and 2 TDs while RB Shane Vereen ran for 91 yards and 2 TDs of his own. Meanwhile, the Bear defense held ASU to just 57 yards on the ground and forced three turnovers en route to the win.

Telling Stat: 14-3; ASU's defense and special teams combined to score 14 points, the ASU offense only scored 3.

Oregon 60- UCLA 13: The Ducks came out with their high tempo offense and ran and passed their way around, over, and through a hapless bRuin defense to the delight of the faithful that filled Autzen Stadium. Duck QB Darron thomas lit up the bRuin secondary for 308 yards and 3 TDs while RB LaMichael James ran for 123 yards and 2 TDs. He was the spearhead of an Oregon running attack that averaged 6.8 yard per carry in the game. UCLA cosmetic TD came with 1:53 to go.

Telling Stat: 8/56/1:04; Oregon's average scoring drive took 8 plays, covered 56 yards and took 1:04 off the clock.

Stanford 38- Washington State 28: The Cardinal cruised through the first three quarters and the game had the makings of a blowout with SU up 31-7 to start the fourth quarter. Wazzu's offense then came alive with QB Jeff Tuel throwing three fourth quarter TD passes turning the rout into a real game. However, Wazzu did come up short and extend their Pac 10 losing streak to 14 games. For the victorious Cardinal, QB Andrew Luck completed 20 of 28 passes for 190 yards and three TDs. Stepfan Taylor led the SU rushing attack with 142 yards on 27 carries and 2 TDs.

Telling Stat: 57.3; Wazzu P Reid Forrest averaged a whopping 57.3 yards per punt in the contest. Folks, that includes two punts that were touchbacks.

Arizona 44- Washington 14: The Wildcats came out and kicked the Dawgs around Memorial stadium. The UofA defense harrased and hit UW QB Jake Locker all night long, holding him to just 17 of 29 passing for 183 yards and a lone TD. As for the Wildcats, Sr. QB Matt Scott contiunued to fill in quite well for injured starter Nick Foles. Scott threw for 233 yards and 2 TDs. Scott also ran for 65 yards to outshine Locker in that department as well. RB Keola Antolin was the rushing star for UofA with 114 yards and 2 TDs. Antolin's big play was a 78-yard TD run that came on the first play from scrimmage after UW scored a TD in the second quarter.

Telling Stat: They diodn't let him get loose; The UofA defense held the mobile Jake Locker to -24 yards rushing.

Observations

...In the button-down, sweater-vest-wearin', between the tackles, smashmouth, Big Ten, I love the fact that the Wisconsin-Iowa and Michigan State-Northwestern games both turned on a trick play.

...Golden Bear whiplash.; Cal experienced a 67 point turn around this week. They lost to USC by 34 two weeks ago, then they beat Arizona State by 33 this past weekend.

...So how stunning is UCLA's win over Texas now after seeing the Longhorns embarrassed at home by Iowa State?

...USC's season opening game at Hawaii took three hours and fifty minutes to play. It took Arkansas and Mississippi not one, but two severe weather delays to exceed that mark.

...Stanford is 6-1 for the first time since 1970. They'd be 7-0 if they had brought their clock operator to Oregon.

...Iowa State beat Texas who beat Nebraska who beat Washington who beat Oregon State who beat Arizona who beat Iowa who beat Iowa State. Ahhh, the football circle of life.

...Ohio State smacked Purdue 49-0, and the reaction from the college football world was silence. Wisconsin already beat the Buckeyes and Michigan State doesn't have OSU on their slate. OSU could go 11-1 and finish third in the Big Ten.

...San Diego State is 5-2 and they have three very winnable games down the stretch v. Wyoming, Colorado State, and UNLV. The Aztecs could be in their first bowl since 1998.

...And then there were two; New Mexico and Akron are the only teams left in the FBS without a win. Western Kentucky broke their maiden with a 54-21 thumping of Louisiana-Lafayette in a Sun Belt conference tilt. UNLV's best chance for a win comes on November 13th when they host Wyoming. Meanwhile, New Mexico has two big chances left for a win with dates at Colorado State next week and at home with Wyoming on November 6th.

...The MAC holds a dubious distinction this week. They are the only conference with more teams eliminated from bowl eligibility than they have bowl eligible teams at the moment. Yes, that will change, but right now it's pretty funny.

...Golden Bear whiplash part II; Cal has a 4-3 record. 4-0 at home, 0-3 on the road. Oregon and Stanford both make trips to Strawberry Canyon this year.

...Saw the AP poll. How is Stanford only ranked 13th at 7-1 when their only loss was to the number one team in the nation on the road?

...Baylor is ranked for the first time since 1993. Mississippi State is ranked as well. It's a weird year when they're ranked and Penn State and Texas aren't.

...The myth of SEC dominance lies in the scheduling. Look at Auburn. They have 8 home games. They only leave their home state 3 times. They're non conference slate features four home games v. Clemson, Arkansas State, Louisiana-Monroe, and UT-Chatanooga.

...Golden Bear whiplash part III; Only one other team in the nation is as schizophrenic as Cal. That team is Connecticut. The Huskies are 3-4, being 3-0 at home and 0-4 on the road.

...Hawaii leads the nation in passing yards per game with 415.1 Do you know who #2 is at 369.4? It's Idaho. I never would have guessed that either. Oh, by the way, Army ranks last in this category with 78.3 YPG.

...Notre Dame fun fact of the week; Knute Rockne, Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine, and Lou Holtz all won national championships in their stints as head coach of the Fighting Irish. None of them ever lost a game to Navy.

Until next week folks, remember that Utah and Colorado have played in as many Rose Bowl games as Arizona. That's a big zero.

-The Commissioner

Week 7

Hey All,

It's now time for that column that you all love, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 48- California 14: A happy, but stunned crowd sat in the Coliseum at halftime of this rout looking at a scoreboard that read 42-0 Trojans. A couple of questions were being asked in the stands. One, who was this Trojan team out there? Two, where have they been all year? Well, the offense had been there all year for USC, but nobody expected QB Matt Barkley to throw for 259 yards and 5 TD passes in the first half Cal's defense that was ranked 6th in the nation coming into the game. More importantly, the defense finally showed up. They crushed Cal's running game and Harassed Cal QB Kevin Riley all day. USC's Mark Tyler led all Trojan rushers with 79 yards and a TD. The USC defense held Cal to 52 yards rushing as a team. After going up 42-0 at the half, the second half turned into a glorified scrimmage.

Telling Stat: It been a while; Cal RB Shane Vereen scored on a 31-yard TD pass with 2:59 left in the third quarter. It was Cal's first TD v. USC since they scored one with :59 left in the third quarter in 2007. That's a span of 177 minutes, 4 seconds between TDs.

Arizona 24- Washington State 7: The Wildcats came away with a shaky win and a big loss in their contest with the Cougars. The big loss was in the second quarter when UofA QB Nick Foles was knocked out of the game with a right leg injury. He was done for the day and the Wildcat offense struggled with backup QB Matt Scott at the helm. As Scott turned in a solid, but not great day, the running game then became the focus for UofA. RBs Keola Antolin and Nic Grigsby combined for 210 yards and 3 TDs on the afternoon. Meanwhile, even though the score was close, the Wildcat defense held the Cougars in check all day. Wazzu turned the ball over four times in the loss. Cougar QB Jeff Tuel threw for 257 yards and a TD in the losing effort.

Telling Stat: It was an ugly finish. The two teams combined for 4 tunrovers, 3 punts, and 2 turnovers on downs in the fourth quarter.

Washington 35- Oregon State 34 2OT: This one looked like a rout early. Behind three Jake Locker TD passes, the Huskies led 21-0 with 10:06 left in the second quarter. Then the Beavers fought their way back into the game. During a span of 9:45, the Beavers got a Ryan Katz TD pass and two Jacquizz Rodgers TD runs to tie the game at 21 with 11:26 to play in the third quarter. It was here that the defenses took over. The schools traded hard hits and fought to a stalemate that saw the game go to overtime tied at 21-21. OSU broke the ice in overtime with Jacquizz Rodgers' third TD of the day to go up 28-21. Then in their half of OT, Jake Locker threw a 17-yard TD strike to Jermaine Kearse. Erik Folk's PAT sent the game into a second OT tied at 28-28. Locker hit Kearse with a 21-yard TD pass and UW went up 35-28. OSU then took the ball and Rodgers scored his fourth TD of the game. Down 35-34, the Beavers sent their PAT team on to tie the game. Then, OSU HC Mike Riley called timeout and pulled his PAT unit off the field. They didn't return. Instead, Riley sent his offense out. Ryan Katz's pass fell incomplete and the Huskies walked away with another close win.

Telling Stat: Only 1; In a game in which the two teams combined to run 153 plays, make 48 first downs, commit 20 penalties and punt 10 times, there was only 1 field goal attempted.

Notre Dame 44- Western Michigan 20: After a sluggish first half, the Fighting Irish shut down the Broncos in the second half, only allowing a field goal when the game was well in hand. Meanwhile, ND QB Dayne Crist threw for 255 yards and 3 TDs while RB Cierre Wood ran for 94 yards and a TD of his own. The Irish just physically dominated the Broncos all afternoon.

Telling Stat: Who needs third downs? ND ran up 44 points and 448 yards of offense despite converting on only 5 of 13 third downs.

Observations

...It didn't work out for his team, but Mike Riley's decision to go for two against Washington was one of the gutsiest calls made all year.

...If anyone thinks Oklahoma can beat either Oregon or Boise State, they are nuts.

...And then there were three. New Mexico, Western Kentucky, and Akron are the only winless teams left in FBS play. Eastern Michigan got a 12-yard TD pass from QB ALex Gillett to WR Ben Thayer to beat Ball State, 41-38 in overtime. It was the Eagles first win since they beat Central Michigan, 56-52 in the final game of 2008.

...Hawaii beat Nevada who beat Cal who beat UCLA who beat Texas who beat Nebraska who beat Washington who beat USC who beat Hawaii. I don't have a point to make here. That's just weird.

...I'm not a Utah fan by any means, but isn't it weird that all the other undefeated teams get a ton of publicity, but the Utes aren't talked about at all?

...The athletic directors in the new Pac 12 voted for a north-south divisional aligment. The vote that put the southern california and northern california schools in different divisions was 7-5. How the hell were Utah and Colorado allowed to vote on this? They don't know anything about the history of the league and the importance of keeping the California schools together.

...It's already been mentioned that the Gameday crew might set up at the Coliseum for the USC-Oregon game in a couple of weeks. Considering how ESPN has treated USC lately, I'd tell 'em to stay away.

...The folks in Michigan love Denard Robinson, but can't stand Rich Rodriguez. Meanwhile, up in Palo Alto, Jim Harbaugh's secretary had just told him there's a call on line one. It's some guy named Dave Brandon in Ann Arbor.

...No wonder Urban Cryer checked into the hospital after Christ-in-Cleats left. The Gators suck.

...The matchups between LSU-Auburn and Oklahoma-Missouri will be the most talked about games of the week, but the most interesting game of the week could be Air Force-TCU.

...Ummm, has anyone noticed that Baylor is 5-2 this year? They have a better record than Texas, Florida, and Notre Dame. Somewhere Grant Teaff is smiling.

...For all who missed the late night games, the San Diego State- Air Force game was one of the best games of the weekend. The Falcons fought to the end as SDSU hung on by their fingernails for the 27-25 win.

...If there is a record setting, high scoring game in the SEC, most likely Arkansas is involved. The Hogs have been on either end of the scoreboard in five of the highest scoring games in SEC history. Who could forget their 58-56 win over Ole Miss in 7 overtimes back in 2001?

...Undefeated Michigan State could easily be Big Ten Champs and finish at 12-0. The only big game they have left is at Iowa on October 30th. They've beaten Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois and don't play Ohio State this year. It might be time to get that green and white paint out for the endzone in Pasadena.

...Wazzu may be losing games still, but they have become a dangerous team to play. They're sending opponents to the hospital regularly. Just ask Arizona and Oregon.

...Betting lines I thought I'd never see; Idaho, San Diego State, and UTEP are all double digit favorites this week. Yes, they are all playing really bad teams, but wow.

Until next week folks, remember that you're only as good as your next recruiting class.

-The Commissioner

Week 6

Hay All,

Here's the column that makes your Tuesdays worthwhile, Notes on a Pac 10 scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Stanford 37- USC 35: Trojan QB Matt Barkley threw for 390 yards and 3 TDs and incredible freshman WR Robert Woods caught all three of those TDs as well as 9 other passes for 224 yards. Those remarkable performances lead a USC offense that lit up Stanford for 498 yards and 35 points only to see it all be for nothing. Thanks to a sieve of a defense and a corrupt clock operator in Palo Alto, USC fell to the Cardinal on a last second field goal, 37-35.

Telling Stat: 75%: Stanford converted 75% of their third downs on USC's sieve of a defense in the game.

Oregon State 29- Arizona 27: Let's see, last weekend was the first weekend in October, which usually means it's just about the time Oregon State gets up off the deck after a medicore start and begins playing good, tough football. The Beavers did just that in their two point win over the previously undefeated Wildcats, in Tucson. OSU HC Mike Riley unleashed QB Ryan Katz on the UofA Defense and he ate them up, throwing for 393 yards and 2 TDs. The Beaver defense bent, but didn't break and OSU got the win. What OSU didn't like was losing WR James Rodgers for the rest of the year when he was tackled after already crossing the goal line for an apparent TD in the second quarter. That TD was called back on a penalty, but the damage was done and Rodgers was lost. UofA QB NIck Foles threw for 440 yards and 2 TDs in a losing cause.

Telling Stat: They kept moving the chains; OSU held the ball for 36:23 and converted on 10 of 15 third downs.

California 35- UCLA 7: The Golden Bear defense never allowed UCLA's pistol offense to fire a shot in this rout in Strawberry Canyon. CAL's defense was the story of this game. They held UCLA to 26 yards rushing, 144 total yards and allowed the bRuins to cross the 50-yard line only twice all day. Meanwhile, CAL RB Shane Vereen ran for 151 yards and 2 TDs to lead CAL's gashing of the bRuin defense for 304 yards rushing and a 34:08 to 25:52 T.O.P. advantage. The bRuins haven't won in Berkeley since 1998.

Telling Stat: 1 is the loneliest number; UCLA ran for 26 yards on 26 carries v. CAL. That's a nifty 1 yard per carry average.

Oregon 43- Washington State 23: 558 total yards of offense and going to 6-0 on the season were good for UO, but two big injuries took the joy out of this win for the Ducks. The first big injury was on a kickoff return when Duck RB Kenjon Barner was absolutley smashed to the ground by Wazzu's Anthony Carpenter. Barner was laying motionless on the field as the UO trainers worked on him. An ambulance was brought out to the field where Barner eventually got up and walked to a waiting stretcher. He was held overnight in Pullman for observation and is supposed to be back in Eugene today. The second big injury happened in the second quarter when QB Darron Thomas was knocked out of the game with a shoulder problem. Thomas was held out of the rest of the game as a precaution. Backup Qb Nick Costa took over and led the Ducks the rest of the way to victory. Costa finished the game with 151 yards passing and one TD. He also ran for 84 yards and another score.

Telling Stat: A dirty dozen; Wazzu's Pac 10 losing streak now stands at 12 games.

Arizona State 24- Washington 14: In a game played in heavy rain for most of the night, the Sun Devils were the ones who conquered the elements and the Huskies in Seattle. ASU QB Steven Threet completed 21 of 34 passes for 288 yards and 2 TDs. His TDs helped give the Sun Devils a 21-7 halftime lead. Both defenses dominated the second half in the bad conditions, but it was ASU's defense that made the big plays down the stretch. The capper was an interception in the endzone by CB Omar Bolden to snuff out UW's hopes with a little over a minute left to play.

Telling Stat: ASU's defense held running QB Jake Locker in check, allowing him to run for only 6 yards in the game.

Notre Dame 23- Pittsburgh 17: ND and their new offense under HC Brian Kelly was firing on all cylinders in the first half, then the Fighting Irish had to hang on in the second half for the win. The key man for ND was PK David Ruffa who hit three big field goals, including a 50-yarder in the third quarter. Ruffa is still perfect in his career at ND having made all 16 of his FG attempts. However, Irish fans couldn't breathe easy until Pitt's last pass fell incomplete with 1:11 to play.

Telling Stat: The first was their worst; While ND was building up a 17-3 lead in the first half, Pittsburgh missed a field goal and turned the ball over twice to dig a hole that they couldn't crawl out of.

Special Section: How They Made Time Stand Still on The Farm

So just what did go on with the clock in the final 1:23 of the USC-Stanford game last week? Well, simply stated, an incompetent referee and a hometown clock operator gave Stanford a better chance to win the game.

1:23 to play, USC has a 2nd and 10 at the Stanford 13-yard line: Matt Barkley hands off to Alan Bradford who runs for 10 yards down to the 3-yard line. The clock stops to move the chains with 1:15 left. The clock stays stopped as the referee calls for a measurement. The measurement shows USC gained the first down.

1:15 to play, USC 1st and goal at the Stanford 3-yard line: With the clock still stopped, the referee gets a signal from the booth for a review of the spot of the ball after Bradford's run. The review upholds the ruling on the field, it is still USC's ball, 1st and 10. It is after this review that the game clock should have been started by the referee. However, HE DIDN'T SIGNAL TO START THE CLOCK! Meanwhile, USC is in the huddle calling their play. By my count, USC takes 16 seconds in the huddle which are never run off the clock.

1:15 still to play: As USC breaks the huddle and lines up, the referee sees that neither the play nor the game clock are running and signals for the 25 second play clock and the game clock to start. HOWEVER, ONLY THE PLAY CLOCK RUNS! 14 seconds tick off the play clock before USC snaps the ball. Then, and only then, the game clock starts. Barkley hands off to Alan Bradford again and he scores on a 3-yard run. The run takes 3 seconds and the game clock reads 1:12 to play. AT LEAST 25 MORE SECONDS SHOULD HAVE RUN OFF THE CLOCK! The referee realizes something went wrong with the clock after the play, but doesn't consult to run the proper time off the clock, instead he just has the operator take only 4 seconds off, so the clock reads 1:08. IT SHOULD READ AT MOST :47 LEFT, NOT 1:08!!!!!

Now, we move onto the ensuing kickoff: Stanford's Chris Owusu fields the ball 5-yards deep in his own endzone. On kickoffs, the clock starts once the kick has been touched by the receiving team. THE CLOCK DIDN'T START UNTIL OWUSU HAD MADE IT OUT TO THE 9-YARD LINE! That' s a span of 4 seconds. Owusu goes down on about his own 25-yard line and the clock reads 1:02 to play. IT SHOULD HAVE READ AT MOST :37 LEFT!!!!!

Now folks, I know this USC defense is a sieve, but I think it would have been a little more difficult for Stanford to get into field goal range with just :37 seconds left on the clock instead of 1:02 when they got the ball for their final drive.

Observations

...And then there were four. Only four winless teams are left in FBS play. The woeful four schools are Akron and Eastern Michigan out of the MAC, New Mexico from the MWC, and Western Kentucky from the Sun Belt Conference. New Mexico State fell off the list when they got a 22-yard field goal from PK Tyler Stampler with 1:56 left in the game to defeat New Mexico last week, 16-14.

...A very light schedule in the Pac 10 this week. I can't remember a week in October where four Pac 10 teams had a bye.

...New Mexico-New Mexico State Redux; The rivalry game between these two schools goes back to 1894, a full 18 years before the Territory of New Mexico was granted statehood.

...Boise State is projected to be number one in the BCS rankings provided they win this week. The eastern backlash on ESPN will fill the airwaves come Monday.

...Everyone likes to talk about TCU and Utah in the Mountain West conference. Watch out for Air Force. The Falcons have enough talent and discipline to make a serious run at the league crown.

...I've talked about teams quietly making noise in the last couple of weeks. However each team I've brought to your attention has been beaten. So, who can I curse this week? How about 5-0 Missouri. The Tigers play at Texas A&M this week.

...I'm hearing rumors that the powers that be in the Pac 10 are thinking about putting the first Pac 12 Championship game in Las Vegas. What a mistake that would be. The only stadium in Las Vegas seats about 30,000 with not enough concessions to serve the crowd. Come on, a bigtime conference should put the game in a bigtime venue.

...Pac 10 officiating has got to be the worst in college football. Everyone from Arizona to Wazzu has been hurt by the extreme incompetence of the officials.

...Sad to see Aaron Corp injured his knee and will be out for the rest of the season. The kid had a tough enough career as it was.

...One of the best games of the week will be missed by most of the country. Nevada plays at Hawaii this week. It could be the highest scoring game all year.

...While the Ohio State-Wisconsin game will be the marquee attraction in the Big Ten this week, the best game might be Illinois at Michigan State. Both teams are coming off big wins.

...Fun stat; Hawaii QB Bryant Moniz has completed 160 passes this year. Army QB Trent Steelman has attempted 52 passes this year.

Until next week folks, remember how much of an impact the clock operator can have on the game.

-The Commissioner

Week 5

Hey All,

Here's that column that makes Tuesdays worthwhile, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

Washington 32- USC 31: For the second year in a row, the Huskies got a game-winning field goal from PK Erik Folk. The Trojans wasted a 21 carry, 223 yard, 2 TD game from RB Alan Bradford because the the Trojan defense gave up 536 yards and 28 first downs to a less than stellar Husky team. UW QB Jake Locker looked like the Heisman candidate he was billed to be coming into this season by throwing for 330 yards and rushing for 110 more on USC's sieve-like defense.

Telling Stat: 1; USC's porous defense forced the Huskies to punt once in the contest.

UCLA 42- Washington State 28: Late in the third quarter, Wazzu held a 28-20 lead over the bRuins and the crowd was nervous to say the least at the Rose Bowl. However, UCLA got a big one yard TD run from RB Derrick Coleman and even bigger two-point conversion pass from QB Richard Brehaut to tie the game. UCLA then took control of the game in the fourth quarter. A pair of last period TD runs from Brehaut and Coleman along with a big goal line stand added up to a win over the Cougars. The bRuins ran for 437 yards on the Cougars with RB Johnathan Franklin carrying the ball 30 times for 216 yards and a touchdown.

Telling Stat: Running to daylight; UCLA RBs Coleman and Franklin were the first pair to rush for over 180 yards each in a game in bRuin history.

Oregon State 31- Arizona State 28: The Beavers had the services of only one half of the Rodgers brothers, but it was enough as the orange and black came away with a win in Corvalis. WR James Rodgers missed the game as he was still suffering problems stemming from the concussion that knocked him out of the Boise State game a week earlier. Little brother Jacquizz Rodgers ran for 245 yards and two TDs to lead the Beaver attack. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils kept this one close with 203 yards passing and a TD from QB Steven Threet and 104 yards rushing and a TD from RB Deantre Lewis.

Telling Stat: Fourth quarter blues; In seven fourth quarter drives v. Oregon and Oregon State, the Sun Devils have thrown five interceptions.

Oregon 52- Stanford 31: The Cardinal came out and jumped all over the Ducks, getting two TD passes from QB Andrew Luck and a TD run by RB Stepfan Taylor. SU was up 21-3 at the end of the opening stanza. Then, the Ducks started their come back. However, Stanford still held a 31-24 lead at the half. Then, the Duck defense showed up. The Duck Defense shutout the Cardinal in the second half, while the Duck offense was busy putting up 28 second half points to get the win. UO QB Darron Thomas threw for 238 yards and 3 TDs and ran for 117 yards and another TD to lead the charge for the Ducks.

Telling Stat: Long trips for nothing; Stanford had three drives of over 50 yards in the fourth quarter and came away with zero points on those drives.

Notre Dame 31- Boston College 13: The Fighting Irish came out strong with QB Dayne Crist throwing two first quarter TD passes and a TD run to put ND up 21-0 in the first quarter. BC then managed a mild comeback as true freshman QB Bobby threw a TD pass of his own and led his team on two more drives that ended in field goals. BC trailed at the half, 24-13. Then ND's defense took over, shutting out the Eagles in the second half. Throw in a a TD run by Armando Allen, and ND came away with a much needed win.

Telling Stat: They had no offense. BC's average drive v. ND lasted only 4 plays and covered 15 yards.

Observations

...In the big rivalry game in Los Angeles last week, Occidental beat Whittier, 25-22. The Boys from Oxy get to keep "The Shoes."

...Last week Air Force and Navy combined to complete 11 of 17 passes . Hawaii completed 11 of 17 passes in the first quarter v. Louisiana Tech.

...USC not going for it on fourth down against Washington made the Trojans look like a team trying not to lose instead of a team playing to win.

...Hey BYU, how's that decision to go independent looking right now?

...Can USC now end the failed experiment of Devon Kennard at MLB. He's a DE, not an MLB.

...And then there were six. The same six teams are winless this week in FBS play. I was off by one week with the New Mexico-New Mexico State game. It's this week. Something's got to give in this game. NMSU gives up 46 points a game and New Mexico gives up 54 points per game. Somebody has to win this one by default.

...Quietly making noise; Northwestern is 5-0. This week the Wildcats are home to take on Purdue. Look for the Purple to go 6-0.

...The Michigan-Michigan State game is huge this week. It'll be interesting to see what Wolverine QB Denard Robinson can do against MSU's tough defense.

...Ugly game alert! Ugly game alert! Oregon plays at Wazzu this week. The Ducks could put up triple digits on the Cougs.

...It was just sad to see that the team having fun on the sideline in the Coliseum last week was Washington.

...Let me get this straight, Nevada and Boise State are ranked in the AP top 25 and Texas and USC are not. What a weird season this is.

...It's obvious that the key player in Oregon's explosive offense isn't QB Darron Thomas or RB LaMichael James. It's wideout Jeff Maehl. Maehl is a Wes Welker type that does nothing but get open and keep the chains moving.

...Ouch, another FCS team beat a an FBS team last week. UC Davis beat San Jose State, 14-13. The game wasn't really that close. The Aggies shutout SJSU in the second half. The closest the Spartans came to scoring was a missed 52-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter.

...In one of the funny statistical oddities of the week, USC and Washington each had the ball for exactly 30:00 T.O.P.

Until next week folks, remember playing "to win" instead of "not to lose" is what makes a great team.

-The Commissioner

Week 4

Hey All,

After a victorious trip to the Palouse, I bring you the column you love to read, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 50- Washington State 16: After giving up an early score, the Trojans' Stanley Havili scored on a 59-yard TD run on USC's first play from scrimmage. USC never looked back and crushed the Cougars, in Pullman. USC QB Matt Barkley threw for 290 yards and 3 TDs, while Havili was the big star, rushing for 80 yards and a TD and racking up 107 receiving yards and another score. Freshman CB Nickell Robey led the Trojan defense with 2 interceptions, the first one being a 25-yard TD return.

Telling Stat: 119-16; In their last two trips to the Palouse, USC has outscored Wazzu, 119-16.

Oregon 42- Arizona State 31: It was 101 degrees in Tempe for the 7:00 kickoff and this game was a hot and wild one to the end. ASU outplayed the Ducks, running up almost 600 yards of offense, holding the ball for 34:26, and holding the quack attack to a season low of yards. However, the Sun Devils turned the ball over 7 times, and they went down to defeat. ASU QB Steven Threet threw for 387 yards and 3 TDs, but his 4 interceptions were the difference in the game. As for the Ducks, QB Darron Thomas threw for 2 TDs and ran for another in the winning effort. Meanwhile, the Duck defense had 2 returns for touchdowns of its' own.

Telling Stat: 0; for a game that was exciting to the end, the teams played a scoreless fourth quarter.

Stanford 37- Notre Dame 14: The Cardinal went to South Bend and slapped the Fighting Irish around in front of their home fans. SU QB Andrew Luck threw for 238 yards and a TD while directing a ball control offense that wore out the Notre Dame defense. As for the Cardinal defense, they held ND to 44 yards rushing, just 4 of 13 on third down conversions, and harassed ND QB Dayne Crist all day. What really put this one in the win column for Stanford was when FB/LB Owen Marecic scored on a 1-yard TD run, then scored a second TD 13 seconds later on a 20-yard interception return.

Telling Stat: 1; Stanford punted just once against Notre Dame.

Arizona 10- California 9: Wow, an actual defensive battle in the Pac 10. Arizona came into this one after their emotional win over Iowa, while Cal came in off their brutal loss to Nevada. Cal held a 9-3 lead with 2:41 to go play and was set up for a 40-yard game clinching field goal. PK Giorgio Tavecchio missed the kick and that gave UofA one last chance. After getting a quick first down, Wildcat QB Nick Foles hooked up with WR Juron Criner on play that covered 51 yards and gave UofA a 1st and 10 at the Cal 12-yard line. Three plays later the pair hooked up again for a 3-yard TD and the Wildcats escaped with a 10-9 win.

Telling Stat: 18/167; In this sloppy defensive struggle, the two teams combined for 18 penalties totaling 167 yards.

Boise State 37- Oregon State 24: They painted their practice field blue, but it didn't help as the Beavers fell to the Broncos in this primetime matchup. They kept it close, but as usual, Mike Riley's squad lost a key non-conference game. The turning point in this game was when OSU's James Rodgers was knocked out of the game with a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit by BSU safety Winston Venable. The Beavers were never the same offense after that and Boise secured the win. Bronco QB Kellen Moore connected on 19 of 27 passes for 288 yards and 3 TDs while RB Doug Martin ran for 138 yards in the winning effort.

Telling Stat: 57; The win was BSU's 57 th straight home win in the regular season.

UCLA 34- Texas 12: In the shocker of the year so far, the bRuins went into Austin and embarrassed the Longhorns. UCLA ran for 264 yards on a Texas defense that was number 1 in the nation against the run. bRuin RB Johnathan Franklin had 118 of those yards and a TD on 19 carries, while QB Kevin Prince ran for 50 yards and a TD and threw for 27 yards and a score. The bRuins ran so well, that they threw only 8 passes all game. As for the Texas offense they played a game of give-away, committing 5 turnovers, and never threatened to win.

Telling Stat: 22; UCLA had Texas so beaten up front, that at one point they ran the ball 22 consecutive times.

Observations

...Washington State is just a couple of players away from being a good team... Mark Rypien and Rueben Mayes.

...It was fun watching Texas HC Mack Brown look so stupid in his team's epic loss to UCLA. I've been laughing about it for days.

...I know the SEC loads up on cupcakes every year, but now the Big Ten has really made a trip to the bakery this season. 10 of the 11 squads in the conference will play an FBS team and a Mid-America Conference team.

...Underneath the veneer of the America's Darlings image that Boise State has lies a bunch of cheap shot artists.

...I don't know what was the more impressive stat from the Arizona State-Oregon game. Was it the fact that ASU turned the ball over seven times or the fact that Oregon punted 10 times.

...And then there were six. There are six winless teams left in FBS play. They are Akron, Eastern Michigan, New Mexico, New Mexico State, Florida International, and Western Kentucky. Look for the number to drop to at least five next week as New Mexico takes on New Mexico State. The rivalry trophy between these two is a silver spade.

...Quietly making noise; yes, their schedule has been a weak one, but San Diego State is 3-1. The Aztecs came within an eyelash of upsetting Missouri and they open up Mountain West Conference play at BYU in two weeks.

...When USC wants to put a cupcake on their schedule they make a date with a Big Ten team.

...Wisconsin put up 70 points on Austin Peay last weekend. The Badger basketball team broke 70 points only few times last season.

...Why is it that in games in the desert heat in Tempe, that the Sun Devils always look more tired than their opponents. Don't they practice in this heat all the time?

...I love the different offenses in college football. Air Force leads the nation with 394.0 yards a game rushing, while Hawaii leads the nation with 405.5 yards per game passing.

...I think Iowa will smash Penn State this week.

...This week Navy takes on Air Force as one part of the battle for the Commander-In-Chief's trophy gets settled.

...Do you think UCLA's upset of Texas has taken a little shine off the OU-Texas game this week?

...Who thought that coming into this week's Georgia-Colorado game, that the Buffaloes would have the better record?

...Nevada and UNLV will hook up in their annual rivalry game this week. The winner gets possession of the Fremont Cannon. It's the largest rivalry prize in college football. It weighs 1,100 pounds and can fire live rounds.

Until next week folks, remember that in cover 2 defense the safeties split the filed and have responsibility for the deep middle.

-The Commissioner

Week 3

Hey All,

I'm back from a fun trip to Minnesota to bring you that column you all love, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 32- Minnesota 21: The Trojans fell behind the Golden Gophers 14-13 with 5:47 left in the third quarter. The stands were rocking and the Gophers were on fire. About 12 seconds later, the fire and the Gophers were extinguished. USC's sensational freshman, Robert Woods, took a kickoff back for a TD and USC never looked back in this one. Trojan TB Alan Bradford ran for 131 yards and a TD in the winning effort.

Telling Stat: The win was USC's 11th straight over Big Ten competition.

Arizona 34- Iowa 27: Down 27-7 at the half, things looked pretty bleak for the Hawkeyes. They had been outplayed in every phase of the game. Then as UofA was enjoying the third quarter, Iowa started a slow comeback that culminated in the fourth quarter with DE Broderick Binns intercepting a Nick Foles pass and taking it back 20 yards for a TD. Iowa then missed the go-ahead PAT. UofA QB Nick Foles picked this point to take over the game. Foles completed five of six passes including the winning TD pass to WR William Wright 3:57 to play. From there the Wildcat defense took over sacking Iowa QB Ricky Stanzi three times to end the game.

Telling Stat: They were first and last. UofA's two offensive TDs were scored on the Wildcats first and last drives of the game.

Oregon State 35- Louisville 28: Up 35-14 with 9:28 left in the third quarter, the Beaver faithful were happy in Corvalis. With a little over a minute play in the game, they were nervous. Louisville had the ball and was driving for the score that would tie the game. Then, OSU DB James Dockery picked off an Adam Froman pass and all could relax at Reser Stadium. It was the defense that saved the Beavers all day with the two most important plays coming in Louisville's first two drives. The Cardinals got stuffed by OSU on a fourth down and goal at the two and lost a fumble out the back of the endzone to stop their second drive of the game.

Telling Stat: They won the stat battle. Louisville held the edge in every stat category in this game, yet lost.

Nevada 52- California 31: Nevada's pistol offense fired shots through the Golden Bears defense all night long in Reno. Nevada QB Colin Kaepernick completed 10 of 15 passes for 181 yards and two TDs while also running for 148 yards and 3 TDs. Cal's offense ran up 502 yards on the Wolfpack, but their defense could not handle Nevada's running game. This was Nevada's second win ever against the Golden Bears. Their first came in 1906.

Telling Stat: They ran to win. Nevada ran for 316 yards and held the ball for 36:59 in their winning effort over the Golden Bears.

Oregon 69- Portland State 0: The Vikings came to Eugene, got their paycheck, took their beating, and went home. Not much to talk about in this scrimmage at Autzen Stadium. Duck QB Darron Thomas threw for 140 yards and four TDs, while LaMichael James ran for 227 yards and two TDs of his own. The Quack Attack was up 69-0 after three quarters, then emptied the benches to finish up the game.

Telling Stat: PSU was better on fourth down than third down. The Vikings converted one of three fourth downs. They were zero for 18 on third downs.

Wisconsin 20- Arizona State 19: A TD saving tackle and a blocked extra point gave the Badgers a win at Camp Randall Stadium over the Sun Devils. In the first quarter ASU's Omar Bolden returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD, now it looked like Kyle Middlebrooks was about to equal that feat with a few seconds left in the second quarter. However, UW's Shelton Johnson never gave up on the play and tackled Middlebrooks at the one-yard line as time ran out on the half. Then, in the fourth quarter, Jay Valai blocked ASU's extra point attempt that would have tied the game with 4:09 to play. The Badgers then ended the game by going to the steady John Clay. Clay carried four times on to help the Badgers run out the clock and escape with the win. It was Clay's ninth straight game with over 100 yards rushing and a TD scored.

Telling Stat: They couldn't get six. ASU had three drives of 10 plays or more that covered at least 60 yards each. They scored a total of six points on those drives.

Stanford 68- Wake Forest 24: After getting homered out of win by ACC officials last year, the Cardinal had a score to settle with the Demon Deacons. The Cardinal came out in all black uniforms and with bad intentions. They throttled Wake Forest. SU QB Andrew Luck threw for four TDs and ran for another to account for 278 yards of his team's 535 yards of offense. Meanwhile, eight different backs carried the ball through a hapless Wake Forest defense.

Telling Stat: They all played. 20 different Cardinal players got to pass, carry, or catch the ball in this rout.

Nebraska 56- Washington 21: So much for Jake Locker's Heisman campaign. The Nebraska defense held Locker to 71 yards passing with one TD, 59 yards rushing and the third worst completion percentage of any QB since 2004. Meanwhile, Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez threw for 150 yards and a TD, and ran for 137 yards and three TDs to lead his team to a very impressive road win. The 56 points allowed by Washington ties the school record for most points ever allowed at home. The Cornhuuskers rushed for 383 yards at Washington.

Telling Stat: It was a three-headed beast. Nebraska had three backs rush for over 100 yards against the Huskies.

SMU 35- Washington State 21: Wazzu couldn't stop the passing combinaton of Kyle Padron to Aldrick Robinson and got blown out in Dallas. SMU got their first win over a BCS conference team since they beat Kansas 31-17 way back in the 2000 season. Padron and Robinson connected four times for 111 yards and three TDs. Meanwhile, the SMU defense allowed the Cougars to convert on only 4 of 14 third downs as the offense built up a 35-14 lead. Wazzu's last score came on a long TD pass with just over a minute to play.

Telling Stat: No offense at all. On their last 11 drives of the game, Wazzu punted six times, turned it over on downs twice, missed a field goal, scored one TD and ran out of time once.

UCLA 31- Houston 13: The bRuin defense smacked around the Cougars, knocking QB Case Keenum out of the game, while their offense finally showed some life as UCLA picked up their first win of the year at the Rose Bowl. After giving up an early field goal, the bRuins put up 31 straight points on the Cougars. bRuin Rb Johnathan Franklin was the offense star for UCLA by rushing for 158 yards and three TDs. As for the defense, UCLA defended Houston's spread offense well, allowing a good amount of yards, but making key plays to stop UH when they needed to.

Telling Stat: They needed the win. UCLA's win kept them from going 0-3 to start a season for the first time since 1971.

Observations

...Michigan State HC Mark Dantonio made one of the gutsiest calls I've seen a coach make in a few years when he went with that great fake field goal against Notre Dame. Get well soon, coach D.

...Northwestern is the BCS Champions!!! Well, they won the Brainy Championship Series. To start the year they beat Vanderbilt. This past weekend they beat Rice.

...And then there were 12. They are 12 winless teams left in FBS play. I think Eastern Michigan has the best shot at going winless this year. However, don't count out the loser of the New Mexico-New Mexico State game.

...Notre Dame may have lost a couple of heart breakers in the last two weeks, but this Irish squad looks light years better right now than at any time during the Charlie Weis era.

....I think the Stanford-Notre Dame game will be pretty good this week.

...Quietly making noise; don't look now, but Temple is 3-0 for the first time in forever.

...The Arizona-Iowa game was a hard-hitting, dirty game. I saw a lot of cheap shots and late hits on both sides. It was just nasty.

...It was weird being in Minnesota last weekend, coming out of a Twins-A's game and realizing that the Cal game was only in the first quarter.

...If USC's o-line could get it together, the offense could really start rolling.

...Is it basketball season yet? That's what the fans are asking in the ACC. Wow, this league is bad. Outside of Florida State whipping BYU, there's not much to talk about in this league.

...Stanford's black uniforms are awful. period.

...Cal played another WTF game last week. Can the Golden Bears rebound this week against Arizona or is Cal's annual slide beginning earlier this year?

...It's pretty clear, Cincinnati football died when Brian Kelly left.

...How come nobody talks about TCU the way they do about Boise State?

...Air Force almost got the win at Oklahoma. The Falcons ran for 361 yards on the Sooners.

...Arizona HC Mike Stoops needs to shut up on the sidelines. He whines about everything. Relax, Mike. You won last week.

Until next week folks,

Alway be ready for a fake field goal

-The Commissioner

Week 2

Hey All,

It's time for that column that makes Tuesdays in fall a little more fun, Notes on a Pac 10 Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summaries

USC 17- Virginia 14: The game started late in the evening and the Trojans never really got started at all in a game that should have been a blowout. You name it, missed assignments, penalties, dropped passes, no running game, and no tackling kept this one tight until the end. QB Matt Barkley led the way for USC by throwing for 202 yards and 2 TDs on the night. Throw in a late Joe Houston field goal and the Trojans escaped with a win over the Cavaliers.

Telling Stat: It was a flag fest. The two squads were flagged 22 times for 251 yards in a sloppy, sloppy game.

Washington State 23- Montana State 22: The Cougars turned the ball over three times in the first three quarters and were looking at a 22-7 deficit as the the third quarter ended. Then, Wazzu QB Jeff Tuel put together two drives ending in TD passes and cut MSU' s lead to 22-20 with a liitle over six minutes to play. On the ensuing possession, Wazzu's Alex Hoffman-Ellis picked off a Bobcat pass to set PK Nico Grasu's 18-yard game winning field goal. Tuel ended the day with 18 out of 29 passing for 204 yards and 2 TDs, while TB Jeff Montgomery ran for 116 yards on 20 carries and a TD to lead the Cougars' offense.

Telling Stat: It's about time: The win was Wazzu's first in regulation time since beating Portland State, 48-9 way back on 9-20-2008.

California 52- Colorado 7: The Golden Bears gave the Buffaloes a reason or two to reconsider joining the Pac 1o after whipping them in all phases of the game. QB Kevin Riley got the Bears off to their usual fast start by throwing for TD passes to RB Shane Vereen and WR Marvin Jones. As that was going on, the Cal defense was busy holding CU to negative yards in that quarter. In fact, CU didn't make a first down until the 10:00 minute mark of the second quarter. The Bears went up 31-0 by halftime and this game was over. Riley finished the day with 15 of 24 completions for 197 yards and four TDs.

Telling Stat: CU had no O. Of their 17 possessions, the Buffs scored one TD, missed a FG, turned it over 6 times, punted 7 times, and ran the clock out twice.

Arizona State 41- Northern Arizona 20: The Lumberjacks of NAU gave ASU all they could handle for three quarters last Saturday. Then, ASU pulled away in the fourth quarter for the win. Sun Devil QB Steven Threet completed 33 of 49 passes for 3 TDs in ASU's new look offense. It was in the fourth quarter that the ASU defense shined. They held the Lumberjacks to 23 yards and forced three punts while Threet was busy leading the team to two TDs to sela the win.

Telling Stat: Flags everywhere. ASU committed 13 penalties for 131 yards in the contest. ASU practically gave NAU a TD by committing 40 yards of penalties on one drive alone.

Michigan 28- Notre Dame 24: It was a classic battle in South Bend, but not matter how tough the Irish played, the story of this game is Wolverine QB Denard Robinson. He threw for 244 yards and ran for 258 yards which accounted for 502 of UM's 532 total yards in the game. He also led his team on a 12 play, 72 yard drive that ended with him scoring the winning TD with :27 left. Robinson is now the leading candidate for the Heisman.

Telling Stat: That's two in a row. For two straight years, the Wolverines have scored a TD in the final seconds to beat Notre Dame.

Arizona 52- The Citadel 6: The Wildcats showed up for a mild workout before their game with Iowa next week and smacked around a perennial FCS doormat in front of the home folks. OB Nick Foles threw for 214 yards and a TD, while TB Nic Grigsby gained 107 hyards and scored three TDs of his own. The UofA defense did well, holding The Citadel to 171 total yards, only 21 of those coming through the air.

Telling Stat: Everyone got their letter. 3 different QBs threw passes, 10 different players carried the ball, and 11 different players caught passes for the Wildcats in this rout.

Washington 41- Syracuse 20: With 4:29 left in the first quarter, the Orange held a 10-0 lead and a little panic had started to set in among the faithful at Husky Stadium. Then, the Huskies woke up and dominated the middle two quarters en route to their first victory of the season. The Huskies outscored the Orange, 27-0 in the second and third quarters. Heisman candidate Jake Locker threw for 289 yards and 4 TDs for UW. Jamaal Kearse was Locker's favorite target. He caught nine balls for 179 yards and three TDs. On the ground, Chris Polk went for 117 yards and a TD of his own. As for the Orange, QB Joe Nassib threw for 202 yards and a TD. He also ran for another TD in the losing effort.

Telling Stat: They bent, but didn't break. The Husky defense held SU to just a field goal in the second and third quarters despite allowing them to gain 152 yards in those quarters.

Stanford 35- UCLA 0: The Cardinal ended their six game losing streak at the Rose Bowl in impressive fashion, whipping the bRuins in the early season Pac 10 opener for both schools. The Cardinal defense was the story of this game as they smacked the bRuin offense around all game long. SU held UCLA to 233 total yards and forced four turnovers. One of which, was turned into a TD when LB Michael Thomas basically took the handoff from UCLA QB Kevin Prince in the backfield and raced 21 yards for a score to put the Cardinal up 28-0 late in the third quarter. Meanwhile, QB Andrew Luck threw for 151 yards and two TDs and ran for 63 yards as well to lead the Cardinal attack.

Telling Stat: The year was 1974. That was the last time the Cardinal record a shutout win on the road. That day they beat Oregon, 17-0.

Oregon 48- Tennessee 13: After going down 6-0, then having to wait out an hour long lightning delay, the Ducks came out and whipped the Volunteers, in Knoxville. The Ducks went in at the half with the game tied 13-13, then came out and blew the doors off the Vols in the second half. The Ducks put up 35 unanswered points that sent the home folks to the exits early. UO QB Darron Thomas threw for 202 yards and 2 TDs while LaMichael James ran for 134 yards and a score of his own. Oregon got the big plays in the second half. They had a 72-yard run, a 76-yard interception return, and an 80-yard punt return that all went for touchdowns.

Telling Stat: UO's 48 points were the most scored by a nonconference opponent at Tennessee since Wazzu beat the Vols, 52-24 back in 1988.

Observations

...The worst loss in Boise State history happened last week and they didn't even play. Virgnia Tech's embarrassing 21-16 loss to FCS also-ran James Madison is all the eastern sportswriters need to keep BSU out of the title game even if they go 13-0.

...And our winner for first team out of the Rose Bowl race in the Pac 10 this year is UCLA.

...Here's a feat of clay. Wisconsin TB John Clay has at least 100 yards rushing and a touchdown in eight straight games going back to 2009.

...It's time to cheer for everyone from old Nassau, to Franklin Field. The Ivy League begins play this week. I think the Harvard Crimson will take the league crown.

...What for me was most impressive about Air Force's 35-14 win over BYU wasn't the fact that the Falcons rushed for 409 yards, held the ball for almost 37 minutes, or completed a couple of passes on the day. It was the fact that after giving up 193 yards and two TDs in the first quarter, the Falcon defense shutout the Cougars the rest of the way, giving up only 116 yards over the last three quarters.

...Va Tech Part II: They were seriously talking about a National Title around Lane Stadium this year. Va Tech has been the most overrated team of the last 15 years.

...It must be something about shades of red and gold. USC and ASU are 1-2 atop the NCAA leader board in penalties. They have the same number of penalties with 24, but USC holds the yardage edge over ASU.

...And then there were 21. There are 21 winless teams left in FBS play after two full weeks of games. The Sun Belt Conference leads the way in losing as five of the league's nine teams are winless. The Big Ten, Big XII, ACC, and Big East have no winless teams.

...Wake Forest gave up 487 yards and 48 points in a 54-48 win over Duke last week. Next up for the Demon Deacons is a date at Stanford. Last year, the Deacs got some home cookin' from the refs and walked away with a win over the Cardinal. I don't think they'll get those call on The Farm this week.

...He's a one man gang. Wolverine QB Denard Robinson has rushed and passed for 885 of Michigan's 1005 total yards gained this season. Wow.

...Stanford is a big, physical, tough team. Just ask the bRuins.

...In the battle of the seas, the Coast Guard Academy beat the Merchant Marine Academy, 10-8.

...After being crushed by Oklahoma last week, do you think the fans at FSU really miss Bobby Bowden right now?

...I think it's clear after being whipped like a stray dog by Cal, that Colorado HC Dan Hawkins will only see the Buffaloes play as a full fledged Pac 10 member if he buys a ticket. Get that resume ready, Dan.

...This week the Arkansas Razorbacks host the Georgia Bulldogs. A big win by the Razorbacks would vault them near the top ten and make QB Ryan Mallett a true Heisman candidate.

...Hawaii made the longest road trip in school history last week by traveling 5,000 miles to take on Army at West Point. The Warriors came away with a 31-28 win and a very long flight home. The Warriors trip east covered seven time zones.

Until next week folks, remember to hit the hole quick and then run to daylight.

-The Commissioner