Washington
I haven’t had season tickets since Chris Peterson retired, and just as well since last year turned into a shortened season. However, I do like to go to the Husky home opener. Season tickets are pricey, around $3k for two decent seats-half for the tickets and half for the university as a required donation to get the good seats. The after market isn’t much better, but if you aren’t planning on going to all the games it’s probably a safer bet than reselling tickets you’re not going to use whose value can fluctuate based on rankings, injuries, the weather-just about anything. When I go, I leave really early so that I can get a spot in the parking lot which is an easy walk to both University Village-if you’re from So Cal think small Fashion Island-and Alaska Airlines Husky Stadium where the game is played. By early I mean 6.5 hours early-otherwise the small lot I park in, which is already more than half-filled with University cars when I get there, will be full.
As I sat and took in the 13-7 debacle against Montana any concern I had about the amount of money I spent, to get 2nd row seats around the 40 yard line added to the $40 parking fee and opportunity cost, paled in comparison to the sinking feeling I had as I watched our QB, Dylan Morris, walk back into the huddle and realized that he was the smallest guy in the room! He appeared to be the size of our terrific RB Myles Gaskin from a few years back who was listed between 5’ 9” and 5’ 10”. Morris is listed at six feet, but if he’s six feet tall then the Huskies have a 7’ tall offensive lineman that he was walking back to the huddle with. Please don’t lecture me about Drew Brees or Doug Flutie or even 5′ 10″ Pat Hayden who made it to three Rose Bowls and won two national championships playing for USC under John McKay while handing the ball off to Anthony Davis and throwing it to Lynn Swann-both consensus All Americans-because Morris isn’t any of those guys or, in the case of Hayden, surrounded by that kind of talent.
What the hell is Head Coach Jimmy Lake thinking. I mean Lake is a great defensive coordinator but as a head coach in 2020 he bypassed 6’ 3” Freshman Ethan Garbers for Peter Dinklage. What happens? Ethan Garbers, who ends up never playing a down last year, hits the portal and lands on Chip Kelly’s bench as back-up to Senior Dorian Thompson-Robinson. UCLA has my team’s best QB! A QB who was rated as the No. 4 pro-style passer in his class and led Corona Del Mar High School to a perfect 16-0 record and a Division 1A CIF state title in 2019, throwing for 5,034 yards with 83 touchdowns (12 rushing) and five interceptions in the process.
How did Morris do Saturday against Montana? He was 27-of-46 for 226 yards and three picks. Yeah, you read that right-no TD’s, three interceptions. Two of those were tipped, big surprise, and if Washington is hoping to avoid more of the same this coming Saturday in The Big House against Michigan and their 109k+ fans they better bring a ladder. Well, with a big offensive line that averages over 300lbs per man Washington’s talented RB’s must have been productive on the ground, right? Wrong! The Husky’s managed only 65 yards of rushing offense and a sole TD which came on their first possession of the game after which they scored diddly squat the rest of the way.
It was one of those games where you were embarrassed to be a fan, where on your way home you take the team hat off your head and hide it in your pocket least someone find out that you’re a fan and start pointing their fingers and laughing. It was horrible, the worst game I ever watched in person, maybe the worst game in the history of the program. I may need a therapist!
Oregon
Before we make too many judgements about Oregon’s tough out against Fresno State let’s not forget that the Bulldogs, just two full seasons ago in 2018 and led by Cal’s former Head Coach Jeff Tedford, won the Mountain West Conference outright for the 28th time, landing at No. 18 nationally on the final AP Top 25. Are they as good this year as that squad—maybe, as their offense did finish the shortened 2020 season at No. 1 in the Mountain West and 5th in the nation in passing led by YET ANOTHER TALL Washington PORTAL TRANSFER, QB Jake Haener, who connected for 300+ yards in four of the six games played and returned this year with all of his top receivers as well as their two top running backs. On the other side of the ball almost all of the Bulldog starters came back, including their Top 20 tacklers. Lastly, lets also remember that almost half of Cristobal’s 19 four-star and sixth ranked national recruiting class took the field on opening day. That said, how did everyone fare?
Fresno State didn’t lack confidence coming in after already kicking their season off with a 45-0 drubbing of Connecticut the week before. And although getting off to a rocky start—helping Oregon to a 14-0 lead by the end of the 1st Qtr–the Bull Dogs closed to 21-13 by the half and had the game tied by the end of the 3rd. In the other dugout Oregon came in as the favorite of course, No. 11 in the AP Preseason Poll, with their eye towards a Week 2 matchup against then No. 4 Ohio State. And during that first quarter it certainly looked as though the Ducks were going to easily walk away with this one, helped along by Fresno State’s two lost fumbles-one ending up at the 3 yard line and the other just outside the red zone-both leading to TD’s. Things settled down after that for the Bull Dogs as they scored on their next three possessions of the half, two field goals and a Jake Haener 17 yard TD pass to Jalen Cropper with just seven seconds left in the half–going downfield in just slightly over a minute after Oregon had scored their third TD, this one without an assist from the Bulldogs. Score at the break, Oregon up 21-13.
Having won the toss and deferring to the second half Oregon took the ball, after the kick off, 59 yards in 10 plays down to the Fresno State 14 yard line. Sitting at 4th and 1 Head Coach Mario Cristobal decides to go for it and hands the ball off to their uber talented RB CJ Verdell. But instead of picking up the first down the Ducks lose a yard and the ball. Nine plays and 85 yards later the score is tied on a Jake Haener 2 yard keeper and successful 2 point conversion pass. Two possessions later, after an Oregon fumble, Fresno State goes ahead 24-21 on a 22 yard field goal. Oregon ties the score, after a Bulldog fumble, on a 25 yard field goal and it looks at this point that whoever has it last, or whoever doesn’t screw up anymore, is going to win this one. As it turned out it was Oregon that prevailed after holding Fresno State to a three and out their next possession and putting up seven more points on an Anthony Brown 30 yard QB keeper. The Bulldogs had a chance to tie it but between a sack and a penalty ended up short on a 4th and 15 at their own 20 yard line. There was an audible sigh of relief in Eugene as Oregon was able to finally put to bed their 17th straight home opening victory, 31-24. Now, off to Ohio State.
Stanford
I think at this point we’re going to have to stop saying that David Shaw is one of the greatest college football coaches because clearly he can’t possibly be. From Stanford’s rich history of running backs like Darrin Nelson in the 1970’s who became the first freshman in NCAA history to run for more than 1,000 yards in a season to Brad Muster, Tommy Vardell, Toby Gerhart, Stepfan Taylor, Tyler Gaffney and the great Christian McCaffrey we have this years version of Stanford’s ground game—39 total yards and zero TD’s against Kansas State in their opener who outrushed the Cardinal by well over 150 yards, scoring 3 TD’s in the process. Stanford was hardly better in the air with their QB’s collectively connecting on 23-of-30 for 194 yards, 1 TD, and 2 picks against 9-of-14 for 144 yards, no scores, and 1 pick for Kansas State.
This was a PAC-12 vs Big-12 matchup held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Kansas State scored in every quarter but one while Stanford’s only score of the game came with just 3:16 left on a Sophomore QB Tanner McKee pass to Senior WR Brycen Tremayne. That single score prevented the Cardinal from a humiliating shut-out that would have been the first since 2006. Senior QB Jack West started the game for Stanford but after throwing two interceptions in his first twelve attempts was pulled for McKee who was a very efficient 15-of-18 for 118 yards, 1 TD, and no picks. But Stanford’s running game is non-existent and really has been for a while. What happened to those great Stanford offensive lines?
It was all good and definitely a win-win for the Wildcats as reported in the Wichita Eagle: “It was a fun experience for everyone involved, as K-State won its first season opener against a power conference team since 2010 and then returned to Manhattan with $2.8 million from the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for playing the game inside their iconic venue.” I doubt it was a fun experience for Head Coach David Shaw and most likely will get worse this coming week as they stay on the road and head to the coliseum in Los Angeles to take on USC.
Oregon State
As pointed out by the AP, Oregon State’s 30-21 loss to Purdue makes it their fourth straight home opening failure. And in what has become a typical Oregon State game there was, after an early TD and two quarters of offensive dead space on the score board, a last minute rush to pull it off. But Purdue’s Junior QB, Jake Plummer, would have none of it—throwing two late TD passes to get the Boilermakers their 500th program win and 291st at Ross-Ade Stadium. On the night Plummer connected on 70% of his passes, going 29-of-41 for 313 yards in addition to those two game saving TD’s.
In his debut as starting QB for the Beavers, Sam Noyer struggled under pressure connecting on just about half of his throws for slightly less than 100 yards and one interception. He was pulled late in the 3rd Qtr and replaced by Sophomore Chance Nolan who was more efficient and productive as far as yards go but still no TD’s in the air for the Beavers. Both teams rushed for less than 100 yards, but Oregon State’s Junior RB’s, B.J. Baylor and Tyjon Lindsey, although only rushing for a collective 34 yards found the end zone three times. Oregon State just couldn’t get it done, going three and out five times in the first half as well as throwing an interception that led to a Purdue score. They were much better the second half, getting to within two points by the end of the third, but it was too little too late as the Boilermakers scored on a 50 yard pass just one minute later and outscored the Beavers two TD’s to one in the fourth. Oregon State heads back to Corvalis hoping to get that first win in their home opener against Hawaii this coming Saturday.
Cal
It was one of those games where, when you get to the end, both sides are thinking I probably should have put more effort into recruiting a great field goal kicker. But as it turned out, if you’re Nevada’s Junior Place Kicker Brandon Talton, making 3-of-5 isn’t so bad when your opponent is only connecting on just 1-of-3 as Cal falls to Nevada 22-17 in a game in which four of the five scores in the second half were field goals. If you add the last score of the first half that makes it five of the last six scores in the game.
The win had to feel good for a Nevada team that has been unable to practice on their home field due to smoke from wild fires and forcing, as reported by the AP on ESPN, “the Wolf Pack to travel nearly 2,000 miles and practice on basketball courts, in convention centers, and even in a hotel parking garage.” As Head Coach Jay Norvell said after the game; “What we’ve had to go through this last month just to prepare to play was something—seven different fields we practiced on, we traveled 1,953 miles to be exact to different places to practice.”
Cal looked great on their first possession, going 63 yards in 15 plays with QB Chase Garbers connecting on 7-of-8 culminating in a rushing TD by RB Damien Moore. After holding Nevada to a three-and-out Cal comes right back with a beautiful nine play seventy two yard drive for TD highlighted by three consecutive rushes by RB Christopher Brooks for 25 yards and a 28 yard pass completion by Garbers to WR Jeremiah Hunger-taking a 14-0 lead at the end of the 1st Qtr. But after that the Bears offense stalled, going three-and-out their next four possessions all the way into the 3rd Qtr after which the game became a field goal contest for both sides.
For Nevada, Junior QB Carson Strong was 22-of-39 on the night for 312 yards, 2 TD’s, and 1 interception with Garbers connecting on 25-of-38 for 177 yards, 1 TD, and 1 pick for Cal. The Bears out rushed the Wolf Pack 153 yards to 61 and also had a slight edge on first downs and total yards. Both defenses had two sacks and multiple tackles for loss. But in the end it was the kickers who decided it, scoring almost 40% of all the points in the game.
Washington State
It was a tough way for Washington State Head Coach Nick Rolovich, in his first full year, to lose as Utah State Junior QB Logan Bonner connected with Senior WR Deven Thompkins for a TD with just 11 seconds left in the game to beat the Cougars 26-23 in their Pullman home opener. Bonner connected on 17-of-24 for 143 yards, that one all so important TD, and 1 pick with Thompkins collecting not only the game winning TD but eight more of Bonner’s passes for 84 yards total on the night. Cougar Sophomore QB Jayden De Laura and Senior QB Jarrett Guarantano combined for 20-of-35, 211 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions.
The Aggies out-rushed the Cougars 222 yards to 149 yards, with both sides picking up a TD. With the Cougars averaging 5.5+ yards per carry, better than Utah State, I have to wonder why they didn’t run the ball a little more. They have one of the very best RB’s in Max Borghi who rushed for 86 yards, including a 64 yard TD run, boosting his average to almost 8 yards per carry. But as a team they rushed 20 fewer times. On the other side of the ball the Cougars offense faced a lot more pressure than they applied with the Aggies picking up 2 sacks and 8 tackles for loss against just 4 tackles for loss by Washington State and zero sacks. As the AP noted in their ESPN recap; “Washington State sputters on offense and couldn’t stop the Aggies with the game on the line.”
It’s been nine years since Utah State beat a PAC-12 team and their last road win over a power conference was fifty, yes 50, years ago. Wow, that’s got to make Rolovich feel worse than getting the vaccine—or maybe not.