Stanford at Wake Forest
I wonder if Andrew Luck, currently the general manager of the Stanford football team, could come back and use his fifth year of eligibility? Maybe hiring your best friend who had zero head coaching experience to lead the team wasn’t the smartest thing to do which is really strange since Stanford is the smart school—right? In a game that could have used a mercy rule the Cardinal compiled six punts, two turnovers on downs, an interception, one made field goal, and one missed field goal as well as having possession of the ball to end both the half and the game. Wake Forest compiled twice as many first downs, 300+ more yards of total offense, made their third downs at a 77% clip, and scored two TD’s every quarter plus a successful two-point conversion for a 57-3 blowout. There’s bound to be more of the same next week as Stanford stays on the road to take on No. 3 Notre Dame this next Saturday. Maybe, being a private Catholic university, they’ll find a way to show the Cardinal a little mercy.
Cal at UNLV
Tied 7-7 at the end of the first quarter and then trailing 24-7 at the half, Cal finally took a 25-24 lead in this one at the top of the 4th Qtr after holding UNLV scoreless in the third and scoring a TD, a field goal, and then another TD after holding the Rebels to a three-and-out to start the final period. But it wouldn’t be enough as UNLV would find the end zone twice more in the 4th Qtr to outlast the Golden Bears 39-31. To say Cal had one hand tied behind their back in this one is an understatement. Their leading rusher was out with a knee injury, three minutes into the start of the game they lost their safety who was leading the country in interceptions, and then their starting QB was injured late in the first half and didn’t come back.
For Cal, starting Sophomore QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and backup Junior QB Jackson Brousseau combined on 38-of-59 for 395 yards 3 TD’s to three different receivers and 1 interception. Freshman TE Taimane Purcell led the way with 102 yards on just 3 receptions including a 91 yard TD pass from Sagapolutele to give them the early 7-0 lead. Also picking up TD passes—both from Brousseau—were Sophomore RB Carson Perry-Smith and Senior WR Ian Strong. On the ground, Sophomore RB Ashten Emory and Freshman WR Tyree Sams combined for 76 yards on 15 carries with Emory picking up the sole rushing TD. Cal led in first downs by a couple and had over 100 more yards of total offense but shot themselves in the foot repeatedly with 16 penalties for 152 yards. If they have a trophy for most penalties in a single game in the FBS, Cal’s in the running as they’re currently tied for first. Cal is currently 1-1 in the ACC and will host their third conference showdown this coming Saturday against Virginia Tech and their new coach James Franklin—Penn State’s old coach that they fired.