Oregon State at Cal
Oregon State Head Coach Jonathan Smith must be thinking, “why me,” having traveled South to Berkeley expecting to face a Cal team that had been averaging just 18 points per game in conference this season and ended up trying to catch up to a Cal team that scored more than twice that, accumulated over 517 total yards of offense, converted thirds downs almost 7-out-of-10 times, and had the ball for eight more minutes. Cal did to Oregon State what I expected Oregon State to do to Cal which was take the lead and never let go. But it’s tough when right out of the gate your team fumbles on their very first possession at your own 25 yard line and just three minutes into the game you’re down 7-0.
Then you get held to a couple three-and-outs before giving up a field goal, now down 10-0. You finally put up a field goal but they match it. You get a TD before the half and they get one right after the half, score now 24-10. And on-and-on it went for Oregon State this past Saturday. It looked as though they were going to finally catch up but they never did and Cal, who lost five of their first six games this year, have now won two in a row—this one by a score of 39-25 while the Beavers join four other teams in the PAC-12 who are still one game shy of being bowl eligible.
Senior QB Chase Garbers had a really solid game for the Bears connecting on 17-of-26 for 262 yards and 3 TD’s in the air along with 58 yards rushing and another score on the ground. Sophomore RB Damien Moore, averaging 10 yards per rush, picked up another 111 yards and a TD to go along with Senior RB Christopher Brooks’ 83 yards on 20 carries. Junior Place Kicker Dario Longhetto chipped in four extra points and a 45 yard field goal to round out the score. For the Beavers, Sophomore QB Chance Nolan was 15-of-26 for 242 yards and 2 TD’s, but got picked twice. On the ground Sophomore RB DeShaun Fenwick got their only rushing TD while picking up 48 of the team’s 134 yard total on 10 carries. In the AP write-up for ESPN they noted that the Beavers were done in by three fumbles and a partially blocked punt that turned into a TD right at the end of the 3rd Qtr. Most glaringing however was their inability to get RB B.J. Baylor untracked who came into the game as the nation’s sixth leading rusher averaging 118+ yards per game, picking up just 42 on the night.
In spite of the loss you could tell that the Oregon State players were certainly aware of and owning what happened on the field. As Defensive Back Jaydon Grant said after the game; “There’s nobody feeling sorry for themselves, because we put ourselves in this position. We’re the ones who came out and didn’t execute. We’re the ones who came out and got out-physicaled from top to bottom. We’re the ones who are accountable for losing this game — not the coaches, not the game plan. It’s us. It’s not being able to execute for four quarters throughout the duration of the game. It’s don’t feel sorry for yourself and back to work tomorrow.” With that attitude I think Oregon State might be finally enjoying their first trip to a bowl in eight years before the season’s out. Up next, the Beavers head to Boulder to take on the Buffaloes while Cal heads to Arizona hoping to help keep their losing streak alive for yet another week.
Washington at Stanford
When your place kicker is responsible for 60% of your points on the board you know your offense has a problem. You’re certainly grateful for the points, and in this case the win, but you know you have a problem. The Huskies continue to rack up yards, 146 in the air and 229 on the ground, but they just can’t seem to score TD’s–waiting until the last 21 seconds of their game against Stanford to hit pay dirt as their QB Dylan Morris finally connected with Jalen McMillan for a 20 yard TD pass and a 20-13 win on the road in Palo Alto. Fortunately, and thanks to Washington’s Place Kicker Peyton Henry, they already had twelve points on the board when that happened as he matched his career-high with four field goals on the night. Senior RB Sean McGrew and Freshman Cameron Davis teamed up to carry the ball 37 times for 213 of the Huskies season high 229 yards rushing. Morris was 17-of-25 in the air for 146 yards and the last second game saving TD.
In spite of Washington’s ineptitude at scoring, Stanford was even worse having put up only 3 points on the board through three quarters and whose fumble and interception led to half of the few points the Husky’s had at the time. But down only 12-3, the Cardinal went on a 7:25 minute, 16 play 75 yard drive that started in the 3rd Qtr and ended a couple minutes into the 4th with QB Tanner McKee running into the end zone for a TD. Now down by just two points, 12-10. On their ensuing possession and after being unable to move the ball 2 yards in three attempts Washington turned the ball back over to Stanford on downs who seven plays later hit a field goal to go up 13-12 with seven minutes left in the 4th Qtr. And that’s the way it stayed until the last second game winning heroics of Washington QB Dylan Morris.
Stanford Sophomore QB Tanner McKee connected on 21-of-32 for 194 yards, no TD’s and two interceptions, but did pick up their only TD on the ground where they were even less effective rushing 27 times for a mere 71 yards—just over 2.5 yards per carry. Plagued by 2 interceptions, a fumble, 3 sacks, and four tackles for loss, Stanford struggled all game long to just get it going against a Washington team that certainly had plenty problems of their own. The Huskies, at 4-4 overall, are running out of time to become bowl eligible—needing two more wins with just four games left, three against teams they could easily lose to the way they are playing. Up next is No. 4 Oregon—that’s right the PAC-12 is back up in the Top-4 in the first iteration of the College Football Playoff rankings. Even though they’ll be back home in Husky Stadium I suspect Washington will still need to win two more games after it’s over. Stanford, at 3-5, needs three wins against their last four opponents which include Utah, this coming Friday, then Oregon State, Cal, and finally at home against Notre Dame. Not looking good.