Washington State at Arizona State
In the back-to-back loses at UCLA and Utah, Washington State allowed 105 points and 1,182 total yards of offense. It was enough for the Cougar Defensive Coordinator Tracy Claeys to suddenly resign and walk away a mere 72 hours after loosing to the Utes 38-13. During the bye week that followed, Head Coach Mike Leach installed Roc Bellantoni as Interim Defensive Coordinator. Bellantoni, with 26 years of college experience 14 of those as a defensive coordinator, had been added to the staff this year back in February to work with the linebackers.
As Theo Lawson of the Seattle Times wrote the day before the game, “Saturday’s game pits the team with the most pass completions in the Pac-12 (WSU at 179) against the one with the fewest (ASU at 85). The Cougars should be wary of the player who won the conference’s 2018 rushing crown, [Eno Benjamin with 6 of their 7 rushing TD’s on the season], but also true freshman quarterback Jayden Daniels, who isn’t as potent with his arm, but similar to the last two signal-callers WSU faced – Utah’s Tyler Huntley and UCLA’s Dorian Thompson-Robinson – is plenty capable with his legs.”
Those words turned out to be prescient as Eno Benjamin rushed 19 times for 137 yards and a score while Daniels hit pay dirt at the end of a 10 play drive on a 17 yard scramble and leap into the end zone with just 34 seconds left to lead a comeback and defeat of the Cougars 38-34. Both QB’s had a good day with Anthony Gordan connecting on 44 of 64 for 466 yards, 3 TD’s and no picks for the Cougars while Freshman Jayden Daniels completed 26 of 36 for 363 yards and 3 TD’s as well for Arizona State. Although 100+ yards less in the air than his counterpart, the Sun Devils made it up in spades on the ground rushing for 169 yards and 2 TD’s against a 32 yards and 1 TD for the Cougars.
Washington State looked good early in the game leading 10-0 at the end of the first Qtr. As reported by the AP on espn.com they sacked Daniels “three times in the first nine plays while holding Arizona State to 23 yards in the first quarter.” But then; “The Sun Devils came alive behind the Daniels-Aiyuk connection. The pair hooked up on a 40-yard touchdown early in the second quarter, then Aiyuk broke a tackle to turn a short completion into an 86-yard score.” Arizona State Place Kicker Christian Zendajas kicked a field goal at the end of the 2nd Qtr to tie the game at 17 a piece going into the break, but the Cougars had no answer for the Sun Devil’s Sr. Wide Receiver Brandon Aiyuk who scorched their secondary the rest of the way averaging 28 yards a catch for 196 yards and 3 TD’s.
Quoted after the game Cougar QB Anthony Gordon, who set career highs for attempts and completions, said; “What it came down to at the end is we were one play short on offense and one stop short on defense. Just as a team, we’ve got to come together and make sure that [we] keep going through this adversity and find a way to get it done next week.” Head Coach Mike Leach said; “I thought as a team we played extremely hard [but] we let them slip through our fingers too many times. There’s too many guys thinking they have to compensate for somebody else. Well, that doesn’t lead to very good play . . . “
After last year’s incredible season the Cougars sit at the bottom of the PAC-12 North Division with a record of 0-3 having given up 143 points and 1,715 yards in those three games. Washington State hopes to right the ship back in Corvallis this coming Saturday, October 19th, as they host Colorado. Arizona State hits the road to colder climate to see what kind of offense they can get going against Utah’s very stingy defense. Both teams are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the PAC-12 Southern Division, tied for first-until next Saturday.
Utah at Oregon State
We’ve all heard one step forward two steps back and Oregon State certainly knows what that feels like after beating UCLA Week 6 on the road in the Rose Bowl and then being totally dominated by Utah 52-7 at home in Corvallis this past Saturday. Having not played since coming out of the game with a shoulder injury in the first half against USC back in September, Utah’s RB Zack Moss made the most of his limited use with five carries gaining 121 yards and 2 TD’s including a thrilling 91 yard scamper to the end zone on Utah’s 2nd possession of the first half.
Not that the Utes needed any help but besides the Beavers having to punt three times in the first half, missing two field goals, and turning the ball back over on downs, QB Jake Luton threw an interception at the Utah 32 that Sophomore LB Devin Lloyd ran back 64 yards to the house. Less than a minute and a half later Oregon State turned the ball back over on downs on their own half of the field leading to another Utah TD than took less than a minute. Bottom line-the teams went in at the break with Utah up 35-0.
Utah QB Tyler Huntley was really efficient, connecting on over 80% of his passes for 247 yards, 2 TD’s and no interceptions with over 85% of those yards and both scores collected by three of his wide receivers and Sophomore Tight End Brant Kuithe. Besides the 121 yards and two scores gained by Moss, the Utes picked up two more scores and an additional 135 yards on the ground by three of their RB’s who averaged 10 carries and 45 yards a piece. On the other side of the ball, the Utah Defense held Oregon State to just 15% efficiency on 3rd down conversions leading to a 24 to 16 disparity in first downs between the two. The Utes had more than double the Total Offense, 503 yards to 217 yards which included 200 more rushing yards on 20 more attempts and picked up almost 14 yards per pass compared to 4 yards for Oregon State. Utah did have the ball 8 minutes longer but only needed about 3:15 on average for each of their 7 scores.
Beaver QB, Jake Luton connected on less than 50% of his passes for 131 yards, no scores, and the 1 pick six interception. The only passing TD thrown by Oregon State came via Sophomore Backup Tristan Gebbia who connected on 5 of 8 for 35 yards late in the game. backup The running game was even less effective for the Beavers who were only able to gain 48 yards on 22 carries and no rushing TD’s. It was 52-0 when Oregon State finally put points up on the board with less than one minute to play after Utah’s only miscue of the day-a fumble at their own 46 yard line.
As the AP points out in their Takeaway regarding Utah; “It was Moss’ 14th 100-yard game, tying the Utah record also held by John White and Devontae Booker . . . Huntley has yet to throw an interception this season. He has a streak of 133 passes without a pick . . . Utah is one of just three teams that hasn’t thrown an interception this season.” Zack Moss at 3,154 yards is just 54 yards shy of becoming Utah’s all time leading rusher. Utah heads home to host Arizona State on Saturday, October 19th, while Oregon State will hit the road to face another stout defensive team in Cal.
Colorado at Oregon
All the NFL Scouts and GM’s that flew into Eugene saw Oregon’s QB Justin Herbert, projected NFL First Round Draft Choice, manage a well rounded game consisting of 527 yards of Total Offense. Herbert connected for 275 yards, 2 TD’s and zero interceptions in the air while the Ducks ran for 252 yards, 171 yards by CJ Verdell alone, and 4 rushing TD’s including three by Sophomore RB Cyrus Hibibi Likio. Those NFL GM’s might have come to evaluate Herbert but I’m sure they left with notes on some of the Oregon defensive players who played brilliantly all night long picking up 80 tackles, 45 of those solo, 2 sacks, 8 QB hurries, and 10 tackles for loss in a 45-3 pasting of Colorado.
As mentioned in the AP Recap on espn.com; “The last time Colorado played the Ducks back in 2016, Montez got his first start subbing for injured quarterback Sefo Liufau. He threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 135 yards and another score in a 41-38 upset victory at Autzen.” Not this time. This time was like watching a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming car as Montez connected for just 131 yards, no touchdowns, and four costly interceptions on four consecutive drives, three of which led to Oregon TD’s.
For a while it looked as though the Buffaloes might be able to make a game of it. Late in the first half, and trailing 17-3, Colorado put a 12 play 69 yard drive together, with the help of two pass interference penalties by the Ducks, that got them all the way down to 1st and goal at the Oregon 3 yard line. After a 2 yard pickup, on 2nd and 1 Colorado picked up a false start to push them back to the 6 followed by a 5 yard Montez to Jalen Harris pass to get them back to the 1 yard line. On third and goal the Buffaloes picked up a holding call which took them back out to the 11 yard line. On the very next play, as the Denver Post describes it; “Montez tried to connect with tight end Brady Russell in the end zone, but the pass was tipped and picked off by the Ducks’ Verone McKinley III as he was falling out bounds. Eight plays, 80 yards and 67 seconds later, Oregon’s Jaylon Redd scored from 3 yards out with 20 seconds to play in the half.” Instead of going in at the break down just a score, 17-10, it was 24-3 at the half and just continued to get worse.
Quoted in the Oregon Register-Guard after the game and commenting on his Defense; “I think you look back to the spring,” coach Mario Cristobal said of the improvement the defense has made even since leading the team to a 7-6 win over Michigan State in the Redbox Bowl to end the 2018 season. “It was a complete transformation.” Chris Hansen goes on to write; “For the first time since 1958, the Oregon defense has held five consecutive opponents to less than 10 points. That’s an amazing statistic and emphasizes just how good the Ducks have become under first-year defensive coordinator Andy Avalos. The Ducks have allowed just one TD in their opponent’s last 63 drives.”
Sadly for the Ducks, that first 27-21 loss against Auburn is still hurting them, especially after Auburn recently fell to Florida, a lower ranking team at the time. With three teams in the current Top 5 still left to play on the Tiger’s schedule it will take one or two miracles for those games to benefit Oregon. Washington’s poor performance hasn’t helped either as Oregon will come into Alaska Airlines Husky Stadium on Saturday, October 19th, to play an unranked Husky team. Colorado’s next game is on the road at Washington State, also on the 19th.
Washington at Arizona
It looked pretty dicey early as a sluggish start led to the Huskies being down to the Wildcats 17-13 at the break. But they righted the ship in the 3rd Qtr putting 14 points on the board, while holding Arizona scoreless, before erupting for 24 points in the 4th Qtr to win on the road 51-27. After getting sacked just four times in his four previous games the Huskies sacked Arizona’s talented QB Kahlil Tate four times in this game alone pressuring him into his lowest completion percentage of the season, just over 50%. Additionally Washington picked up 9 tackles for loss and forced three fumbles-all lost-including 1 returned for a TD.
In spite of the win the Huskies struggled in the red zone again at times, squandering an early 1st Qtr opportunity down at Arizona’s 8 yard line after a bobbled punt return catch went bad for the Wildcats-settling for a field goal. In spite of a poor third down conversion rate of just 25% their offense was able to get back on track after a miserable performance the week before against Stanford. QB Jacob Eason completed just under 70% of his passes for 243 yards, 2 TD’s, and no picks with WR’s Puka Nacua and Aaron hauling in well over half of the total. On the ground, RB’s Salvon Ahmed and Sean McGrew picked up all but six of the Huskies 207 yards rushing with Ahmed torching the Wildcats with three rushing TD’s.
Tate finished the day 13 of 25 for 184 yards, 1 TD, and 1 interception while RB’s Nathan Tilford and J.J. Taylor picked up 138 of the Wildcat’s 151 yards on the ground as well as a rushing TD a piece. Adding in an additional 25 yards from Arizona’s backup QB, Freshman Grant Gunnell, all toll 360 yards of Total Offense against 450 for the Huskies.
Washington has Oregon coming into Alaska Airlines Husky Stadium this coming Saturday, October 19th, at 12:30pm on ABC. If their offense can play with more consistency and the defense continues to apply pressure, as well as generate turnovers, the Huskies have a chance to upset Oregon. But they’ll have to play their very best game of the year in order to do it because right now the Ducks look unbeatable. In spite of the loss, Arizona remains tied for first place in the PAC-12 South Division with three other teams, one of which is USC who they will play in the Coliseum this coming Saturday at 6:30pm on the PAC12 Network.
USC at Notre Dame
They almost pulled it off. After being held scoreless in the second quarter and only able to put three points up on the board in the first half the Trojans came roaring back after the break to score 24 points. But as LA Times Staff Writer Ryan Kartje dramatically put it; “Left in its cold wake, in an uneven 30-27 defeat to No. 9 Notre Dame, was a series of subtle slip-ups, a football death by a thousand cuts, one that USC might never quite recover from this season. Even as USC mounted a hopeful comeback in the second half, finally finding its rhythm on offense, the hole it dug early on, with a stalled offense and sloppy defense, proved too much.” Too many missed tackles, too many unfinished drives, too many stops that could have but didn’t get stopped. In spite of all that rhetoric and the loss, USC is still in charge of its own fate as they are on top of a four way tie for first place in the PAC-12 Conference South Division and after all, they just barely lost to a Top 10 team.
USC’s Freshman QB Kedon Slovis had been out recovering from a concussion the previous month and struggled with Notre Dame’s zone defense in the first half with only 3 points and 74 yards in the air to show for it while getting sacked three times and hurried on four other occasions. After the break the passing game for the Trojans finally came alive and Slovis connected on over 75% of his passes for 181 yards and 2 TD’s, with over half of that yardage and both scores collected by Amon-Ra St. Brown and Tyler Vaughns. On the day Slovis was 24 of 35 for 255 yards, those two scores, and no interceptions but got no where trying to run the ball, taking off 8 times for minus 1 yard. But the Trojans RB-by-committee of Freshman Markese Stepp, Junior Stephen Carr, and Junior Vavae Malepai picked up 172 yards on 27 carries with Stepp picking up the one lone rushing TD.
Prior to this game Notre Dame QB Ian Book has had a solid year connecting on over 65% of his passes for 1,200+ yards and 13 TD’s against just 2 picks. Against USC he wasn’t quite as efficient connecting on just 17 of 32 for 165 yards and 1 TD, averaging 4 yards less per pass than his average of nine. USC’s pass defense definately did a better job than the run defense which gave up 308 yards and two rushing TD’s on 48 carries with most of the load on the ground taken up by Junior RB Tony Jones Jr. who picked up an average of 7 yards a carry on route to 176 yards on the day-a carrer best.
Both teams picked up 25 first downs, Notre Dame had 473 yards of Total Offense against 423 for USC and converted 3rd downs at a higher percentage rate than the Trojans, 52% to 41%. And, in spite of all the yards gained on the ground the Fighting Irish only had possession of the ball just 3 more minutes than USC. Neither team committed a single turn-over.
With the game being so close Irish Head Coach Brian Kelly had no problem determing who got the game ball. That went to Junior Place Kicker Jonathan Doerer who was perfect on the night kicking a career-long 45 yard field goal putting Notre Dame up 17-3 going into the half and then breaking his own record with a 52 yard field goal on their first possession of the 3rd Qtr as well as a 43 yarder at the beginning of the 4th to keep the Irish up by two scores.
Notre Dame takes a week off before taking a trip to the Big House to take on Michigan Saturday, October 26th while USC heads home to meet Arizona in the Coliseum this Saturday, October 19th, at 6:30pm on the PAC12 Network. By the end of the week-end that four way tie for first in the PAC-12 South Division will be down to a two-way tie.