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