Oregon
it was pretty much perfect. Urban Meyer would have had to still be at Ohio State for Oregon’s 35-28 win to have been perfect for me, but that aside, it was a great win for the Ducks and more importantly for the PAC-12 Conference. After the game Ohio State’s Head Coach Ryan Day said; “I felt like it was a game that we were never in control of.” As long as Oregon had that 14 point lead I was feeling that way too, but everytime it got down to a one possession game in the 4th Qtr I got nervous as hell. I mean as good as Oregon had played I just felt in my gut that if Ohio State was somehow able to tie the score in regulation and send the game into overtime the SEC and Big 10 College Football Gods and talking heads that love to piss on the PAC-12 would find a way to cheat us out of this well earned victory. OK, I’m a little crazy.
Oregon came into the game a 14.5 point underdog, partly because they belong to the PAC-12 and partly because they came close to losing to Fresno State, who somehow was confused as equivalent to the patsies on Alabama’s and Auburn’s schedule on a regular basis like Mercer. Prior to this past Saturday I think the last time Mercer was served up on Nick Saban’s plate was 2017 when the Tide rolled to a 56-0 victory. However, while Oregon was beating Ohio State, the Tide must have been low as they were only able to squeeze out a 48-14 win against them. Not sure how much Alabama payed this season, but back in 2017 Mercer had a great year as they were paid $450,000.00 by Auburn and $600,000.00 by Alabama to be the Washington Generals to Nick Saban’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters, but I digress-back to Oregon!
Probably no one felt as happy for Oregon’s win as their NFL bound great Defensive End Kayvon Thibodeaux, their best player on that side of the ball who injured his ankle in the first half of their game last week against the Bulldogs and was on the sidelines for this one. But his teammates weren’t about to use that as an excuse, holding Ohio State to 128 yards and just one score on the ground while also picking up two sacks—a far cry from the Buckeyes 203 yards and three rushing TD’s the previous week.
For Oregon, it was the flawless one/two punch of Senior QB Anthony Brown, kept untouched all day long by the brilliant play of the Duck’s offensive line, and Junior RB phenom CJ Verdell who rushed for 161 yards on 20 carries while scoring two of the three Oregon TD’s on the ground. Junior RB Travis Dye kicked in another score and along with Brown’s occasional scrambles added 100+ yards to their final total of 269 yards rushing and 3 TD’s. In a very balanced attack Brown connected on 17-of-35 for 236 yards, 2 TD’s, and zero interceptions. In the air for Ohio State, Freshman QB C. J. Stroud connected on just about 65% of his passes going 35-of-54 for an incredible 484 yards, 3 TD’s, and 1 critical pick-thrown with just under three minutes left in the game.
Neither team scored in the 1st Qtr, but with slightly more than three minutes left Oregon started a 10 play 99 yard drive that had them in the end zone on CJ Verdell’s first rushing TD within the first minute of the 2nd Qtr. Ohio State would tie the score two possessions later but would never lead and fell behind 21-7 within the first two minutes of the 3rd Qtr on another CJ Verdell rushing TD, this time for 77 yards. Stroud connected for the Buckeyes on their next possession to bring them within a TD at 21-14. But in a back-and-forth 3rd and 4th Qtr Oregon would score again on a Travis Dye 5 yard TD run, making it 28-14. Early in the 4th Qtr the Buckeyes would get within a single TD again on a Treveyon Henderson 2 yard TD bringing the score to 28-21. But just as the 106,000+ fans in The Shoe were beginning to believe that they would eventually catch and pass Oregon, the Duck’s QB Anthony Brown connected on a 14 yard pass in the end zone for seven more. Now 35-21 the Buckeyes came back again on another C.J. Stroud pass into the end zone making it 35-28. After holding Oregon to a couple of three-and-outs it looked as though Ohio State would have a chance to come down the field and tie the score. Starting at their own 28 yard line and with 4:37 left in the 4th Qtr Stroud throws his only interception of the day six plays later with 2:50 left on the clock. Oregon doesn’t score on their possession but leaves a mere 20 seconds on the clock after punting the ball back to the Ohio State 11 yard line. Stroud completed one pass for 12 yards but was then sacked as time ran out.
Washington
After watching Washington’s feckless performance in Week 1 the thought of them magically coming back and beating Michigan was only in the very far reaches of my sad little “go huskies” mind. But any slight hope I had was dashed when the Huskies were called for a Delay of Game Penalty before they even snapped the ball for the very first time. Instead of scoring on their first possession, like last week, and then never again—this time they spotted the Wolverines a 17 point lead before going on a five minute, 15 play, 72 yard drive in the 2nd half down to the Michigan 10 yard line where they came to the conclusion on 4th and goal after a 2 yard run, a sack, and an incompletion, that having their reliable Place Kicker Peyton Henry put three points on the board was better than no points at all with about 6 minutes left in the 3rd Qtr. They did score again, early in the fourth on a Dylan Morris 22 yard TD pass to Terrell Bynum, but unfortunately so did Michigan, twice. Final score Michigan 31, Washington 10.
With the Wolverines leading receiver out for the game Michigan’s Junior QB Cade McNamara was only able to complete 7-of-15 for a mere 44 yards thanks in part to Washington’s 4 sacks. But who needs a passing game when you’ve got Sophomore RB’s Blake Corum and Senior Hassan Haskins who, with the apparent help of a willing Husky defense, rushed for a collective 326 yards and 4 TD’s on the ground. That against Washington’s mere 50 yards of rushing on 32 carries. The Huskies fared better in the air with Morris connecting on 20-of-37 for 293 yards and 1 TD.
Early in the second quarter only up by 3 points, and seemingly sluggish, Michigan Head Coach Jim Harbaugh called a play that almost seemed like an homage to Washington and Boise State former Head Coach Chris Peterson. On 4th and 1 from their own 30 yard line Harbaugh called for a fake punt. The short snap was collected by Senior Linebacker Michael Barrett who ran for three yards and a 1st down. On the very next play Michigan’s offensive line opened up a hugh hole for RB Blake Corum who took the ball 67 yards into the end zone.
Regarding Peterson, he was definitely the “King of Trick Plays.” As head coach of Boise State they were matched and expected to lose to Oklahoma in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. But with reverse passes, hook-and-ladder-plays and a two point conversion on a Statue of Liberty play they upset the Sooners. TCU suffered the same fate in another Fiesta Bowl at the hands of Peterson when he called for a fake punt on a 4th-and-19, picked up 30 yards and eventually won the game. Regarding this game, both coaches admitted that the play made a big difference. Jimmy Lake said; “It was a huge momentum shift,” while Harbaugh acknowledge; “That was big . . . Pivotal.”
Although Michigan only had one more first down and just about 40 more yards of total offense the game was never close with the Wolverines having posssession of the ball almost 10 more minutes than Washington courtesy of 4 three-and-outs and a fumble in the first half and a Husky run defense that was MIA pretty much the entire game, allowing long, time consuming, drives in the 2nd half that resulted in rushing TD’s for the Wolveriness.
Washington comes back home to Alaska Airlines Husky Arena to take on a team they should be able to beat, Arkansas State. But before the season started I thought they’d easily beat Montana and give Michigan a good run for their money. Over the past two weeks the Huskies have lost easily to two teams whose QB’s have thrown for slightly over 150 yards and 1 TD COMBINED while giving up just 30 yards shy of 500 yards on the ground. They’ve fumbled once, thrown three interceptions, and have zero turnovers. As Larry Stone wrote in his column about the game for the Seattle Times; “Feel free to panic. Point those fingers with alacrity. But first, hold your nose and try to abate the stench emanating from Washington’s football team.”
Washington State
Well, at least one team from the state of Washington showed up on Saturday and the Cougar’s Sophomore QB Jayden De Laura, who connected on 20-of-35 for 211 yards and 1 TD last week, picked up where he left off and then some connecting on over 70% of his passes for 303 yards and 3 TD’s in their 44-24 win over Portland State. The Cougars also rushed 33 times for 159 yards and 3 additional TD’s while holding the Vikings to just 102 yards and 1 TD on 22 attempts. Portland State Senior QB Davis Alexander was 27-of-49 for just about 300 yards to four different primary receivers with Junior WR Beau Kelly picking up 10 for 152 yards and 1 TD with the other score and another 65 yards collected by Freshman Nate Bennett.
The teams weren’t that far apart regarding first downs, total yards, and time of possession. They also both picked up a couple of sacks, 1 interception, and a handful of tackles for loss. But Washington State led right from the gate, capitalizing on a Portland State fumble to go up 7-0 on a quick 4 play, 50 yard, two minute drive culminating with a 22 yard TD pass from de Laura to Jackson with almost 10 minutes still left in the first period. Portland State tied it by the end of the 1st Qtr on a six plus minute, 12 play, 79 yard drive but Washington State would score TD’s on their next three consecutive possessions, topping it off with a field goal after an interception with just 37 seconds left in the half. The Cougars went into the break 30-10 and although Portland State scored two more TD’s in the last ten minutes of the 4th Qtr it wasn’t enough as Washington State also picked up 2 TD’s in the second half for a convincing 44-24 victory at home in Pullman.
The talented RB Max Borghi picked up one more TD in this one giving him 31 in his career, 22 rushing and 4th most in program history. The Cougars get to stay in the Palouse for one more game as they play host to USC this coming Saturday-a game I thought would not have been much of a contest until I watched the Trojans get dismantled by Stanford last Saturday.
Oregon State
The Beavers didn’t waste any time in their Corvallis home opener against Hawaii, scoring TD’s on their first three possessions of the game. The first, a ten play 65 yard gem that was a mix of QB Chance Nolan completions and runs by four different players, including Junior LB Jack Colletto’s 2 yard TD run at the end of the series. Limiting the Rainbow Warriors to a punt on their first possession, Oregon State didn’t bother to take as much time as that first drive going 80 yards in just three plays on a nine yard pass and two runs by B. J. Baylor, the first for five yards and a first down on their own 34, and the second a 66 yard dash to the end zone. After holding a stunned Hawaii team to a three-and-out on their next possession the Beavers put up another 10 play beauty, similar to their first drive just with more passing, this time ending with a six yard toss to Zeriah Beason in the end zone to put Oregon State up 21-0 with 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
The second half started off just like the first except, in a display of Aloha spirit, Hawaii threw up an interception on their very first play. The Beavers’ B. J. Baylor wasted no time cashing in this golden opportunity after the pick-running the ball 30 yards into the end zone to go up 31-7. Hawaii fought back with a TD in the 2nd Qtr and 20 more points in the 2nd half, but Oregon State would score 24 more points of their own in a contest that never looked close for a convincing 45-27 victory at home.
Hawaii’s Sophomore QB Chevon Cordeiro threw for more yards than Nolan, 366-302, and matched him with a couple of TD’s, but also threw a couple of interceptions–one, that back breaker on their very first play of the second half that gave the Beavers another seven points just one play later. Oregon State’s B. J. Baylor outrushed Hawaii all on his own, churning out 171 yards and 3 TD’s on just 18 carries-an average of 9.5 yards per rush. All together Oregon State rushed 42 times for 256 yards and 4 TD’s while holding Hawaii to 88 yards and 2 TD’s on the ground. The Beavers are at home again this coming week against Idaho before hitting the road to take on a struggling USC who just lost their head coach–finally!
Cal
Cal was probably not that unhappy to be on the road this past Saturday after loosing their home opener to Nevada the week before, and came close, but couldn’t get it done in a 34-32 loss to TCU. A two point loss that included a couple of head-scratching two point conversion attempts by Cal that failed—one on their 2nd possession of the game after scoring a TD and once again in the 2nd Qtr after a pick six. I guess I understand the second more than the first, but unfortunately it failed as well and by the end of regulation those two missed points looked huge.
TCU Junior QB Max Duggan connected on 17-of-31 for 234 yards and 3 TD’s with two of those going to his fellow WR Quinton Johnston and as the AP wrote in their recap for ESPN; “Johnston put the Horned Frogs ahead to stay with the 45-yard TD catch with 9:53 left, when he twisted around one defender who fell down near the 30 and then shed the attempted tackle by another inside the 10.” The Horned Frogs were equally prolific on the ground picking up 271 yards and 2 TD’s on 50 attempts. As the score indicates, the game was close and Cal’s Senior QB Chase Garbers did his part completing 60% of his passes for 309 yards and 2 TD’s while Sophomore RB Damien Moore rushed for 71 of the Bears 134 yard total and 2 more scores.
Cal was ahead at the break, 19-14, but TCU went out in front on their first possession of the 2nd half, a 15 play 6+ minute, 75 yard drive culinating with Duggan’s 18 yard TD toss to Johnston to go in front 21-19. They both scored two TD’s a piece the rest of the way leaving TCU out in front at the end and Cal left with an 0-2 start to the 2021 college football season. According to the AP’s history book, together with last season’s start, it’s the first time in 25+ years that Cal has started consecutive seasons at 0-2 but will head back home hoping for a better result against Sacramento State before they start PAC-12 play at Washington the next week.