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Pac-12 Notes
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September 4th
… Foe Pause …
Colorado into the rankings … but just at Bleacher Report
… Note … With one Week One game still to be played on Monday (No. 25 Tennessee v. Georgia Tech), the AP and USA Today Coaches poll won’t come out until Tuesday …
From the Bleacher Report … Alabama stayed atop Bleacher Report’s Top 25 thanks to a marquee victory over Florida State on Saturday, but the poll underwent a considerable shakeup because of some uneven performances from other highly ranked teams.
Beyond the losers in clashes between ranked programs, only one preseason Top 25 squad fell in Week 1. One other team dipped out of the poll, though it was due to a surge from a previously unranked school.
From the Pac-12:
USC – No. 7; down from No. 3
Washington – No. 10t – down from No. 8
Stanford – No. 10t – up from No. 12
Washington State – No. 21 – up from No. 23
Colorado – No. 24 – up from being unranked
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UCLA sets records in comeback win over Texas A&M
… Note … This may turn out to be an asterisk (*) game in the annals of UCLA football, Jim Mora’s coaching career, and the immediate future of the Pac-12 South. Every other team in the Pac-12 won their games this weekend, and UCLA was down 44-10 in the third quarter against Texas A&M … and looking bad doing it. The Aggies rushed for almost 300 yards … before halftime, with many of the Bruin faithful heading home at the break (and missing the historic comeback).
Had the second half continued like the first, UCLA would be the only team in the conference with a losing record heading into Week Two, would have a coach clearly on the hot seat, and plenty of stories about how Josh Rosen never lives up to the hype. Instead, UCLA is the talk of the college football world, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin is clearly on the hot seat, and Josh Rosen is in the discussion again for the Heisman trophy. What a difference a few plays at the end of a game can make …
… Stat of the Game … Texas A&M had more yards rushing (382) against UCLA than any back for UCLA had in all of 2016 (leading rusher: Soso Jamabo, 321 yards in ’16) …
From ESPN … Jedd Fisch wanted to take a chance. His team was in the process of erasing a monumental 44-10 third-quarter deficit, so Fisch, in his first game as UCLA’s offensive coordinator, decided to roll the dice on third-and-5 from the Texas A&M 10-yard line.
Forget that there were 48 seconds left in Sunday’s game at the Rose Bowl and history was on the line. Fisch figured that in that moment, the best answer was to get cute. He was about to ask his superstar quarterback to fake a spike and heave a prayer on a fade to the end zone to pull off the unthinkable.
It’s a chance that typically ends in ecstasy or calls for a job search in the morning.
Seconds later, that chance turned into triumph. Josh Rosen’s split-second hesitation at the line froze A&M’s already exhausted defense and gave him enough time to look up, set and float a perfectly lofted pass to Jordan Lasley’s back shoulder, giving out-of-position defensive back Myles Jones no shot to make a play.
As Lasley tip-toed into the corner of the end zone and later collapsed into the padded wall behind him from sheer exhaustion and elation, Rosen ripped his helmet off and jumped into the arms of teammates galloping toward him. Later, he did the same on the sideline with head coach Jim Mora, who for most of that game looked like a dead man walking, thanks to the gargantuan hole his Bruins had found themselves in.
But they managed to climb out, completing the biggest comeback in school history for a 45-44 victory.
“Breaking in a new offense, took a little time to get rolling. It’s a unique way to start off with a new OC and a new relationship, but I’m happy how it went,” said Rosen, who finished the game with 491 passing yards (third most in school history) and four touchdowns on 35-for-59 passing.
“The chips just fell in our favor tonight.”
Boy, did they.
… Continue reading story here …
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September 2nd
… Foe Pause …
Pac-12 goes undefeated on Saturday
… “No. 4 USC holds off W Michigan 49-31 with big 4th quarter” … from ESPN
… “Falk lifts No. 24 Washington St. over Montana St. 31-0” … from ESPN
… “Freeman runs for 4 TDs and Oregon beats Southern Utah 77-21” … from ESPN
… “Arizona rolls over Northern Arizona 62-24” … From ESPN
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Late score lifts Oregon State to 35-32 win over Portland State
From ESPN … Isaiah Hodgins caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jake Luton with about a minute left as Oregon State came back to defeat FCS-member Portland State 35-32 on Saturday.
Luton threw for 235 yards, one TD and one interception and had six completions in a row on the last drive for the Beavers (1-1), who bounced back from a season-opening loss at Colorado State.
Fellow signal-caller Darell Garretson ran for 29 yards and a TD as Oregon State used two quarterbacks, sometimes changing multiple times on the same drive.
Portland State backup quarterback Josh Kraght came in during the fourth quarter and scored on a one-yard run with 2:43 left to give Portland State to a 32-28 lead.
He led the Vikings to within field goal range on a final drive, but a 46-yard attempt was wide right to end the game.
Kraght also had 82 yards receiving and two receiving TDs before starting QB Jalani Eason departed the game.
Eason threw for 164 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and zig-zagged his way to 95 yards rushing and two TDs for the Vikings (0-2).
The Vikings outgained the Beavers 515 yards to 389 yards, but the lack of a quality kicker proved costly.
Portland State has missed all three PATs this season, including two on Saturday. The team made one of three two-point conversions against Oregon State.
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Cal upsets North Carolina in debut of head coach Justin Wilcox
From ESPN … Ross Bowers threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns in his first college start, helping California beat North Carolina 35-30 on Saturday in the Golden Bears’ first game under Justin Wilcox.
Bowers, a sophomore, had never thrown a pass in a college game and had to win a preseason battle for the starting job. But he shook off two interceptions and came up with several good throws to help Cal (1-0) win its first East Coast day game since 2012.
Vic Wharton III had five catches for 156 yards for Cal, which trailed 17-7 in the second quarter. But a targeting penalty on UNC’s Jalen Dalton extended a drive to set up Wharton’s 67-yard score just before halftime, a game-changing sequence that helped Cal outscore UNC 28-7.
Michael Carter scored twice for UNC (0-1), which started LSU graduate transfer Brandon Harris at quarterback but leaned more on redshirt freshman Chazz Surratt.
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September 1st
… Foe Pause …
Washington sluggish early, pulls away from Rutgers for 30-14 win
From ESPN … Dante Pettis woke up No. 8 Washington just before halftime with his sixth career punt return for a touchdown and Jake Browning threw two second-half touchdown passes in a tougher-than-expected 30-14 victory over rebuilding Rutgers on Friday night.
Pettis’ blistering 61-yard return gave the Huskies their first lead at 10-7 with 3:50 left in the half. He tied former California star DeSean Jackson’s Pac-12 career record for punt returns for scores.
A senior receiver, Pettis actually set up the Huskies’ first three scores this season. His 51-yard catch set up the first of three field goals by Tristan Vizcaino and his catches of 10 and 24 yards ignited an early third-quarter drive that Browning capped with a 7-yard swing pass to halfback Lavon Coleman for a 17-7 lead.
Browning was 17 of 30 for 284 yards. He also found halfback Kyle Gaskin on an 18-yard TD pass on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 27-7 lead.
Louisville transfer Kyle Bolin threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Janarion Granton Rutgers’ first possession for a 7-0 lead and a 34-yarder to Dacoven Bailey with the game pretty much decided. Bolin finished 24 of 34 for 178 yards and had two passes intercepted by Byron Murphy.
The Scarlet Knights have lost 10 straight under second-year coach Chris Ash, but Rutgers showed a lot of improvement, especially against Washington. The Huskies, who were returning a big chunk of their team, beat Rutgers 48-13 last year in the opener in Seattle en route to a 12-2 record that included a Pac-12 title and a trip to the college football playoffs.
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ESPN Pac-12 Power Rankings
… CU was ranked as low as 11th at one point last year, and then as high as first, so you never know …
From ESPN …
1. USC … 2. Washington … 3. Stanford … 4. Washington State
5. Colorado: The defending Pac-12 South champs might have the best collection of offensive skill players in the conference with running back Phillip Lindsay and receivers Shay Fields, Devin Ross and Bryce Bobo all coming back. They have a lot to replace on defense, but for now, Mike MacIntyre — the reigning national coach of the year — gets the benefit of the doubt.
6. Utah … 7. UCLA … 8. Oregon … 9. Arizona State … 10. Oregon State … 11. Arizona … 12. Cal
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Arizona State holds off New Mexico State, 37-31
… Related … “ASU underwhelms in opening 37-31 win over New Mexico State” … From the Arizona Republic
From ESPN … Arizona State stumbled on offense in the second quarter and its defense gave up three late touchdowns.
The Sun Devils were pretty good the rest of the night, leading to another home-opening win.
Manny Wilkins threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, Kalen Ballage had two scoring runs and Arizona State opened the season with a 37-31 victory over New Mexico State on Thursday night.
Arizona State jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, allowed the Aggies back in it, then pulled away in the second half to win its 19th straight home opener.
“Lots of good things, lots of positive things on both sides of the ball,” Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. “The biggest thing was we were rolling, probably should have been up 21-0. But (the Aggies) did a good job, had some good things they were doing.”
Wilkins showed off his strong arm on a 60-yard scoring strike to John Humphrey and finished 22 for 27. Ballage had scoring runs of 7 and 20 yards, carrying most of the load with Demario Richard on the sideline with a right-knee injury.
New Mexico State’s Tyler Rogers threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns on 40-of-57 passing. He also had two interceptions, including one returned for a 49-yard touchdown by Kobe Williams.
… Continue reading story here …
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Utah pulls away from North Dakota, 37-16
… Related … “Utes show inexperience, explosiveness in 37-16 win over North Dakota” … from the Salt Lake City Tribune
From ESPN … Zack Moss has seen this before.
The sophomore running back started in the Utah backfield alongside sophomore quarterback Tyler Huntley, his Hallandale (Fla.) high school teammate, and the pair shined in the Utes’ season opener on Thursday night.
Huntley threw for 227 yards, rushed for 70 and accounted for three touchdowns as the Utes overwhelmed FCS North Dakota 37-16.
“It was great, bringing back some memories,” Moss said. “We’ve been doing it since high school, so it was kind of familiar to me.”
Utah debuted its new fast-paced, pass-first, spread offense with first-year offensive coordinator Troy Taylor and the difference was apparent from the start.
“Oh no, no nerves,” Huntley said with a smile. “We all just had to adjust at the beginning and then we started playing from there.
“During practice (Darren Carrington and I) had a lot of plays set up where we were connecting together. We just came out and performed today.”
Huntley had his mistakes with some bad decisions and some errant throws, but he repeatedly made plays with his arms and legs and posted career-highs in passing and rushing yards. Moss finished with a career-high 128 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries. Oregon transfer Darren Carrington had 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown.
… Continue reading story here …
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Stuart
Continue reading...
Pac-12 Notes
—
September 4th
… Foe Pause …
Colorado into the rankings … but just at Bleacher Report
… Note … With one Week One game still to be played on Monday (No. 25 Tennessee v. Georgia Tech), the AP and USA Today Coaches poll won’t come out until Tuesday …
From the Bleacher Report … Alabama stayed atop Bleacher Report’s Top 25 thanks to a marquee victory over Florida State on Saturday, but the poll underwent a considerable shakeup because of some uneven performances from other highly ranked teams.
Beyond the losers in clashes between ranked programs, only one preseason Top 25 squad fell in Week 1. One other team dipped out of the poll, though it was due to a surge from a previously unranked school.
From the Pac-12:
USC – No. 7; down from No. 3
Washington – No. 10t – down from No. 8
Stanford – No. 10t – up from No. 12
Washington State – No. 21 – up from No. 23
Colorado – No. 24 – up from being unranked
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UCLA sets records in comeback win over Texas A&M
… Note … This may turn out to be an asterisk (*) game in the annals of UCLA football, Jim Mora’s coaching career, and the immediate future of the Pac-12 South. Every other team in the Pac-12 won their games this weekend, and UCLA was down 44-10 in the third quarter against Texas A&M … and looking bad doing it. The Aggies rushed for almost 300 yards … before halftime, with many of the Bruin faithful heading home at the break (and missing the historic comeback).
Had the second half continued like the first, UCLA would be the only team in the conference with a losing record heading into Week Two, would have a coach clearly on the hot seat, and plenty of stories about how Josh Rosen never lives up to the hype. Instead, UCLA is the talk of the college football world, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin is clearly on the hot seat, and Josh Rosen is in the discussion again for the Heisman trophy. What a difference a few plays at the end of a game can make …
… Stat of the Game … Texas A&M had more yards rushing (382) against UCLA than any back for UCLA had in all of 2016 (leading rusher: Soso Jamabo, 321 yards in ’16) …
From ESPN … Jedd Fisch wanted to take a chance. His team was in the process of erasing a monumental 44-10 third-quarter deficit, so Fisch, in his first game as UCLA’s offensive coordinator, decided to roll the dice on third-and-5 from the Texas A&M 10-yard line.
Forget that there were 48 seconds left in Sunday’s game at the Rose Bowl and history was on the line. Fisch figured that in that moment, the best answer was to get cute. He was about to ask his superstar quarterback to fake a spike and heave a prayer on a fade to the end zone to pull off the unthinkable.
It’s a chance that typically ends in ecstasy or calls for a job search in the morning.
Seconds later, that chance turned into triumph. Josh Rosen’s split-second hesitation at the line froze A&M’s already exhausted defense and gave him enough time to look up, set and float a perfectly lofted pass to Jordan Lasley’s back shoulder, giving out-of-position defensive back Myles Jones no shot to make a play.
As Lasley tip-toed into the corner of the end zone and later collapsed into the padded wall behind him from sheer exhaustion and elation, Rosen ripped his helmet off and jumped into the arms of teammates galloping toward him. Later, he did the same on the sideline with head coach Jim Mora, who for most of that game looked like a dead man walking, thanks to the gargantuan hole his Bruins had found themselves in.
But they managed to climb out, completing the biggest comeback in school history for a 45-44 victory.
“Breaking in a new offense, took a little time to get rolling. It’s a unique way to start off with a new OC and a new relationship, but I’m happy how it went,” said Rosen, who finished the game with 491 passing yards (third most in school history) and four touchdowns on 35-for-59 passing.
“The chips just fell in our favor tonight.”
Boy, did they.
… Continue reading story here …
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September 2nd
… Foe Pause …
Pac-12 goes undefeated on Saturday
… “No. 4 USC holds off W Michigan 49-31 with big 4th quarter” … from ESPN
… “Falk lifts No. 24 Washington St. over Montana St. 31-0” … from ESPN
… “Freeman runs for 4 TDs and Oregon beats Southern Utah 77-21” … from ESPN
… “Arizona rolls over Northern Arizona 62-24” … From ESPN
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Late score lifts Oregon State to 35-32 win over Portland State
From ESPN … Isaiah Hodgins caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from Jake Luton with about a minute left as Oregon State came back to defeat FCS-member Portland State 35-32 on Saturday.
Luton threw for 235 yards, one TD and one interception and had six completions in a row on the last drive for the Beavers (1-1), who bounced back from a season-opening loss at Colorado State.
Fellow signal-caller Darell Garretson ran for 29 yards and a TD as Oregon State used two quarterbacks, sometimes changing multiple times on the same drive.
Portland State backup quarterback Josh Kraght came in during the fourth quarter and scored on a one-yard run with 2:43 left to give Portland State to a 32-28 lead.
He led the Vikings to within field goal range on a final drive, but a 46-yard attempt was wide right to end the game.
Kraght also had 82 yards receiving and two receiving TDs before starting QB Jalani Eason departed the game.
Eason threw for 164 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and zig-zagged his way to 95 yards rushing and two TDs for the Vikings (0-2).
The Vikings outgained the Beavers 515 yards to 389 yards, but the lack of a quality kicker proved costly.
Portland State has missed all three PATs this season, including two on Saturday. The team made one of three two-point conversions against Oregon State.
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Cal upsets North Carolina in debut of head coach Justin Wilcox
From ESPN … Ross Bowers threw for 363 yards and four touchdowns in his first college start, helping California beat North Carolina 35-30 on Saturday in the Golden Bears’ first game under Justin Wilcox.
Bowers, a sophomore, had never thrown a pass in a college game and had to win a preseason battle for the starting job. But he shook off two interceptions and came up with several good throws to help Cal (1-0) win its first East Coast day game since 2012.
Vic Wharton III had five catches for 156 yards for Cal, which trailed 17-7 in the second quarter. But a targeting penalty on UNC’s Jalen Dalton extended a drive to set up Wharton’s 67-yard score just before halftime, a game-changing sequence that helped Cal outscore UNC 28-7.
Michael Carter scored twice for UNC (0-1), which started LSU graduate transfer Brandon Harris at quarterback but leaned more on redshirt freshman Chazz Surratt.
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September 1st
… Foe Pause …
Washington sluggish early, pulls away from Rutgers for 30-14 win
From ESPN … Dante Pettis woke up No. 8 Washington just before halftime with his sixth career punt return for a touchdown and Jake Browning threw two second-half touchdown passes in a tougher-than-expected 30-14 victory over rebuilding Rutgers on Friday night.
Pettis’ blistering 61-yard return gave the Huskies their first lead at 10-7 with 3:50 left in the half. He tied former California star DeSean Jackson’s Pac-12 career record for punt returns for scores.
A senior receiver, Pettis actually set up the Huskies’ first three scores this season. His 51-yard catch set up the first of three field goals by Tristan Vizcaino and his catches of 10 and 24 yards ignited an early third-quarter drive that Browning capped with a 7-yard swing pass to halfback Lavon Coleman for a 17-7 lead.
Browning was 17 of 30 for 284 yards. He also found halfback Kyle Gaskin on an 18-yard TD pass on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 27-7 lead.
Louisville transfer Kyle Bolin threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Janarion Granton Rutgers’ first possession for a 7-0 lead and a 34-yarder to Dacoven Bailey with the game pretty much decided. Bolin finished 24 of 34 for 178 yards and had two passes intercepted by Byron Murphy.
The Scarlet Knights have lost 10 straight under second-year coach Chris Ash, but Rutgers showed a lot of improvement, especially against Washington. The Huskies, who were returning a big chunk of their team, beat Rutgers 48-13 last year in the opener in Seattle en route to a 12-2 record that included a Pac-12 title and a trip to the college football playoffs.
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ESPN Pac-12 Power Rankings
… CU was ranked as low as 11th at one point last year, and then as high as first, so you never know …
From ESPN …
1. USC … 2. Washington … 3. Stanford … 4. Washington State
5. Colorado: The defending Pac-12 South champs might have the best collection of offensive skill players in the conference with running back Phillip Lindsay and receivers Shay Fields, Devin Ross and Bryce Bobo all coming back. They have a lot to replace on defense, but for now, Mike MacIntyre — the reigning national coach of the year — gets the benefit of the doubt.
6. Utah … 7. UCLA … 8. Oregon … 9. Arizona State … 10. Oregon State … 11. Arizona … 12. Cal
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Arizona State holds off New Mexico State, 37-31
… Related … “ASU underwhelms in opening 37-31 win over New Mexico State” … From the Arizona Republic
From ESPN … Arizona State stumbled on offense in the second quarter and its defense gave up three late touchdowns.
The Sun Devils were pretty good the rest of the night, leading to another home-opening win.
Manny Wilkins threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, Kalen Ballage had two scoring runs and Arizona State opened the season with a 37-31 victory over New Mexico State on Thursday night.
Arizona State jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead, allowed the Aggies back in it, then pulled away in the second half to win its 19th straight home opener.
“Lots of good things, lots of positive things on both sides of the ball,” Arizona State coach Todd Graham said. “The biggest thing was we were rolling, probably should have been up 21-0. But (the Aggies) did a good job, had some good things they were doing.”
Wilkins showed off his strong arm on a 60-yard scoring strike to John Humphrey and finished 22 for 27. Ballage had scoring runs of 7 and 20 yards, carrying most of the load with Demario Richard on the sideline with a right-knee injury.
New Mexico State’s Tyler Rogers threw for 398 yards and three touchdowns on 40-of-57 passing. He also had two interceptions, including one returned for a 49-yard touchdown by Kobe Williams.
… Continue reading story here …
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Utah pulls away from North Dakota, 37-16
… Related … “Utes show inexperience, explosiveness in 37-16 win over North Dakota” … from the Salt Lake City Tribune
From ESPN … Zack Moss has seen this before.
The sophomore running back started in the Utah backfield alongside sophomore quarterback Tyler Huntley, his Hallandale (Fla.) high school teammate, and the pair shined in the Utes’ season opener on Thursday night.
Huntley threw for 227 yards, rushed for 70 and accounted for three touchdowns as the Utes overwhelmed FCS North Dakota 37-16.
“It was great, bringing back some memories,” Moss said. “We’ve been doing it since high school, so it was kind of familiar to me.”
Utah debuted its new fast-paced, pass-first, spread offense with first-year offensive coordinator Troy Taylor and the difference was apparent from the start.
“Oh no, no nerves,” Huntley said with a smile. “We all just had to adjust at the beginning and then we started playing from there.
“During practice (Darren Carrington and I) had a lot of plays set up where we were connecting together. We just came out and performed today.”
Huntley had his mistakes with some bad decisions and some errant throws, but he repeatedly made plays with his arms and legs and posted career-highs in passing and rushing yards. Moss finished with a career-high 128 yards rushing and a touchdown on 22 carries. Oregon transfer Darren Carrington had 10 receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown.
… Continue reading story here …
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Stuart
Continue reading...