Washington State at Washington
I know some loyal Cougar fans and I genuinely feel badly for them. Hell, I’m a Cougar fan most of the time as well-not this game-but most of the time. Washington State’s had a tough year but really started playing good ball late in the season, fortunately good enough to become bowl eligible. Considering how shakey the Washington Huskies have been this year, not just the 4 and 5 point losses to Oregon and Utah where they looked like they could have won, but the 1 point loss to Cal in their PAC-12 opener and the road losses to Stanford on The Farm and Colorado of all things just the week before-neither of which are going to be playing in a post season bowl-it seemed as though the timing was right for Washington State to pull off an Apple Cup victory, even if they were on the road in Husky Stadium.
When the game started it looked as though the Cougars were finally going to disappoint Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake and change it up a bit with an almost six minute 13 play, 81 yard, drive that had enough rushing plays by Washington State’s star RB, Max Borghi, to keep the Huskies defense honest-giving them an early 7-0 lead. But that rushing score would be their only TD of the night in another disappointing 31-13 loss to their in-state rival and as the game wore on Head Coach Mike Leach showed you why he is just as stubborn as he is an innovative football genius. On the game Borghi only rushed a total of 10 times. This is a guy that is just 10 yards shy of 800 yards rushing on the year while only averaging-you guessed it-10 carries a game. That’s amazing! But as Washington Defensive Coordinator Jimmy Lake was quoted as saying after the Huskies win in Pullman last year; “It makes it very easy when you know what you’re going to get.” And as Larry Stone, Seattle Times Sport’s Journalist, wrote in his recap; “The Cougars, averaging 41.5 points per game, managed nearly 30 fewer in their 31-13 loss. That’s after scoring 15, 14, 17, 10, 13 and 17 in previous Apple Cups against the Lake-Pete Kwiatkowski defenses. One of these years, you’d expect WSU coach Mike Leach to come up with a new wrinkle for this matchup. But the Cougars threw out roughly the same game plan as always.”
Like his predecessor, Gardner Minshew, Cougar QB Anthony Gordon leads the nation in TD’s and in passing and is almost 900 yards ahead of the next guy, Joe Burrow, QB for No. 2 LSU. Washington State is in the Top 10 nationally in scoring offense, not unusual for them, and yet over the last seven Apple Cups they have averaged a meer 14 points a game. Sometimes I get the impression that Leach is so convinced of his system that during the game he is trying to figure out what minor tweeks he needs to make in order for it to work in every situation, on every down. It’s almost like not seeing the forest for the trees. It was frustrating to watch Washington rushing just three guys time-after-time-after-time, dropping 8 back into coverage, while Leach continued to call for pass-after-pass when all he had to do was rush Borghi a bit more in order to keep more defenders up on the line thereby creating better passing opportunities for his prolific QB. I’m not saying abandon the Air Raid, but gosh darn does it have to be that exact—Borghi rushing 10 times per game period, regardless of the circumstances no matter what? As Larry Stone wrote; “Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result is not the definition of insanity, contrary to a quote that Einstein probably never actually said. But it is the definition of a losing Apple Cup strategy.”
Washington QB Jacob Eason connected on 68% of his passes, 15-of-22, for 244 yards, 1 TD, and no interceptions with most of the yards collected by TE’s Hunter Bryant and Cade Otton along with Sophomore WR Terrell Bynum who hauled in 3 passes for 77 yards and the one lone passing TD for the Huskies. On the ground, Junior RB Salvon Ahmed did the heavy lifting rushing 16 times for 85 yards while it was Richard Newton on just 9 attempts for 17 yards who got to celebrate in the end zone twice. Throw in another rushing TD by Eason himself in addition to four PATS and 1 FG for Sophomore Place Kicker Peyton Henry and you’ve got 14 less points than the Cougars normally average against their opponents, but more than enough to win this game-again.
Cougar QB Anthony Gordon threw for 60+ yards more than his Husky counterpart and was considerably more accurate connecting on 48-of-62 for 308 yards. But after throwing 11 TD’s over the two prior games he never found the end zone in this one, throwing up 2 interceptions instead while under lots of pressure from the Washington pass defense who picked up 5 sacks. Sophomore RB Max Borghi was efficient as ever with his allowed allotment of 10 carries per game collecting 50 yards and 1 TD. But after accounting for 14 more yards on the ground on 2 carries by Junior RB Deon Macintosh and a minus 33 yards by Gordon, the Cougars only accumulated 31 yards on 20 carries.
According to the AP in their Recap on ESPN; “The seven straight wins are the longest in the series since the Huskies won eight between 1974-81. All seven have been by double-digits.” And in spite of the loss, “Gordon reached 5,000 yards passing for the season, the 16th time that’s happened in FBS history [and] has 5,228 going into the Cougars’ bowl game.” With the regular season now over both teams will be waiting to see what bowl they land in.
Utah at Colorado
Ever since their Week-4 surprising loss to USC in the first game of conference play for Utah they have been playing kind of angry football-pissed that they blew what could have been an undefeated season-possibly a national title chance-by not being laser focused on the game at hand. With USC only one game behind and holding the tie-breaker, that single loss has kept them from locking up the PAC-12 South the entire season until their very last game this past Saturday against Colorado. Maybe it was a good thing for Utah that Colorado beat Washington the previous week just in case anyone got complacent.
Deferring after winning the toss, Utah’s first three possessions consisted of back-to-back-to-back three and outs, not even able to capitalize on a fumble. QB Tyler Huntley seemed to think that the 25 degree weather in Salt Lake City had something to do with their “cold” start and was quoted as saying; “It was a little cold outside. We started out slow, but we handled business.” After being down to Colorado 7-0 at the end of the 1st Qtr, Utah came back to go up 17-7 at the break on two scoring passes by Huntley; the first at the end of an 8 play 75 yard drive on a 38 yard TD reception to WR Brant Kuithe who also caught the second strike, a 7 yard TD pass with just two minutes left in the half. After holding Colorado to a three-and-out, Utah got the ball back in good field position after a 35 yard return following a 37 yard punt. With just 41 seconds remaining on the clock, Utah was able to move the ball to the Colorado 5. Facing a 4th down and 1 with just 4 seconds left, they opted to take the easy three before the break.
Those two Utah TD’s by Brant Kuithe weren’t his only scores of the game as he picked up a rushing TD late in the 4th Qtr to put the icing on the cake in an easy 45-15 win for the Utes. Pretty efficient day all toll for him, 63 yards and 2 TD’s on just three receptions along with 2 rushing attempts for another 59 yards and a score. RB Zack Moss picked up 88 yards and a score on 20 carries while Sophomore RB Devin Brumfield rushed twice for 7 yards and another TD. All together 372 yards of Total Offense. Not to be denied, the Special Teams also kicked in some points on Senior WR Demari Simpkins 66 yard punt return for TD to put Utah up by 24 points with less than a minute left in the 3rd Qtr.
Colorado Senior QB Steven Montez connected on 65% of his passing attempts, 17-of-26, for 157 yards, 2 TD’s, and no interceptions while WR Leviska Shenault Jr. and RB’s Alex Fontenot and Deion Smith picked up the only positive yardage on the ground. All toll, with Montez’s negative yardage on 9 carries added in, the Buffaloes only gained a total of 60 yards rushing. Shenault was also their leading receiver with 43 yards on 4 receptions while Sophomore WR Daniel Arias and TE Brady Russell hauled in 45 yards and a TD a piece on just 4 receptions. Five more receivers kicked in 69 more yards on 9 receptions for a total of 157 yards in the air and a Total Offense of 217 yards.
Once overcoming their slow start and pulling ahead on a TD with two minutes left to play in the 2nd Qtr, Utah led the rest of the way picking up 14 points a piece in both the 3rd and 4th Qtr. But for a Steven Montez to Daniel Arias 27 yard TD pass and a 2 point conversion early in the 4th Qtr, Utah would have held Colorado to just 7 points which has been the average number of points they have been allowing their opponents all season. But they did hold Colorado to under 70 yards on the ground and as the AP wrote in their recap regarding that and Utah’s immediate future; “For the 10th time in 12 games, the Utes kept their opponents under 70 yards on the ground to become the first team since Michigan did it 11 times in 2006.” Regarding the CFP semi-final they wrote; “Auburn did the Utes a favor in the College Football Playoff race by outlasting No. 5 Alabama 48-45 on Saturday. The Utes could be sitting in fifth when the next selection committee rankings come out on Tuesday.” As for Colorado, Year 1 of the Mel Tucker era as well as their season is over-one game shy of being bowl eligible.
Oregon State at Oregon
Just one game shy of bowl eligibility it was going to be a huge task for Oregon State to go onto in-state rival Oregon’s home turf, in a year in which they were ranked up in the Top-10 for a number of weeks, and hope to get that 6th game to become bowl eligible. With a season low In a Civil War Rivalry Game that probably won’t be remembered by anyone outside of the participants Duck Senior QB Justin Herbert, in his final game in Autzen Stadium, connected on just 18-of-30 for 174 yards and 1 TD in a 24-10 victory over the Beavers. But as Herbert said after the game; “The best part? The game’s not decided on my individual performance. It’s who scores the most points, and we did that today.”
Although the Beavers held Oregon to just a field goal on their first possession of the game and came back downfield 63 yards on 12 plays to tie the score with three minutes left in the first Qtr, Oregon’s Mykael Wright would grab the momentum and the stadium crowd on a 98 yard kickoff return for TD on the very next play of the game to give the Ducks the lead-a lead they never relinquished the rest of the game.
While Herbert connected multiple times with five different receivers for 133 of his 174 yards, it was Junior WR Johnny Johnson III who was the recipient of his lone TD early in the 2nd Qtr. On the ground Sophomore RB’s CJ Verdell and Travis Dye gained the bulk of the yards for the Ducks, 141 on 27 carries, but it was fellow Sophomore Cyrus Habibi-Likio who found his way into the end zone on 5 carries for 29 yards. Along with Herberts positive scrambling yards, Oregon rushed 37 times for 191 yards.
As if just beating Oregon on the road wasn’t going to be hard enough Oregon State’s Sophomore Backup QB, Tristan Gebbia, started in place of Jake Luton who had to sit this one out with an injury. Although he didn’t score Gebbia did throw for more yards than his counterpart and was also slightly more efficient doing it, connecting on 26-of-40 for 243 yards with no TD’s or interceptions. The Beavers rushed 34 times for 137 yards with Sophomore RB Jermar Jefferson picking up well more than half of those including Oregon State’s one lone rushing TD.
Oregon State trailed 17-3 for almost two entire Qtrs but found the end zone with 11:03 left in the 4th Qtr on a 19 yard TD run by Jermar Jefferson to bring them to within 7 at 17-10. On Oregon’s very next possession as reported by the AP; “Herbert appeared to hit Jaylon Redd with an 8-yard touchdown pass but a review determined Redd fumbled before scoring, giving the ball to the Beavers,” with a chance to score and go ahead. But their 10 play, 45 yard drive, got stopped when facing a 4th and 5 at midfield. With just four minutes left in the game Oregon State went for it and came up a yard short, giving the ball back over to the Ducks. They got one last chance after holding Oregon to a three-and-out on their subsequent possession but fumbled and lost the ball back on the 2nd play of the drive. With slightly over two minutes left in the game Oregon scored again three plays later to seal the victory.
Oregon State’s season is over and after going 2-10 overall and 1-8 in conference just last year, Oregon State improved to 5-7 and 4-5 in Johnathan Smith’s 2nd year as Head Coach. “I do think we’re getting better and I do think we’ve got some real momentum,” Smith said. “We’ve got a lot of players coming back that I’m excited about coaching the next couple years.” As far as the Ducks go, they’ll be facing Utah in the PAC-12 Championship Game Friday in Santa Clara, California-a game Utah has to have in order to possibly land that 4th spot in the CFP semi-final.
Notre Dame at Stanford
Both teams looked good out of the gate with Stanford taking the ball 75 yards on 7 plays capped off by a Davis Mills pass for TD to Brycen Tremayne. Not to be denied, Notre Dame came right back going further in fewer plays and in less time to tie the score at 7 a piece on an Ian Book 16 yard TD pass to Tony Jones Jr. Putting together a classic Stanford drive on their next possession the Cardinal went 82 yards in 16 plays while taking 8 minutes off the clock. They didn’t make it into the end zone but Ryan Sanborn kicked a 24 yard field goal to put them up 10-7. About nine minutes later after holding Notre Dame to a couple of three-and-outs Stanford scored again on another Davis Mills completion, this time a 27 yard TD pass to Michael Wilson to put the Cardinal up by 10. But, after holding Stanford to a three-and-out on their next possession, a missed tackle created space for Isaiah Foskey to block the Cardinal punt down near their own goal line. Three plays later the Fighting Irish were in the End Zone to come within 3 at 17-14. After holding Stanford on their next possession, Notre Dame got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining in the half. Three plays, 76 yards, and three Ian Book passes later, including a 41 yard strike to Chase Claypool who took it to the house, the Fighting Irish took back the lead at 21-17 going into the half and never trailed again.
Notre Dame would add 24 more points in the 2nd half with Stanford finally scoring again late in the 4th with about 2 minutes left on a Cameron Scarlett 9 yard run into the end zone. After using their time-outs and holding the Fighting Irish to a 3-and-out on their next possession, the Cardinal did get the ball back one last time with less than a minute left. But in a play that probably could be used to represent Stanford’s entire frustrating and less than successful season, during the process of getting sacked Stanford QB Davis Mills fumbled the ball which was recovered by Notre Dame’s Khalid Kareem in the end zone for a touch down, final score 45-24.
That end-of-the game fumble aside in a game that was already lost, both QB’s had really good outings although neither were spectacularly accurate. Stanford’s Junior QB Davis Mills, in for K. J. Costello, threw for slightly more yards connecting on 28-of-46 for 276 yards, 2 TD’s and no interceptions while Notre Dame’s Iam Book was 17-of-30 for 255 yards and twice as many TD’s at 4, also with no picks. On the ground, both schools had a committee of folks who handled the ball. Notre Dame rushed five guys 37 times for 190 yards and 1 rushing TD by Sophomore RB C’Bo Flemister while Stanford had three primary runners who carried the ball 27 times for 118 yards with Cameron Scarlett leading the way and scoring their one sole rushing TD.
Both schools set records of sorts. As reported by the AP; “Notre Dame put together three straight seasons of at least 10 wins for the second time in school history, having previously done it under Lou Holtz from 1991-93 [and] the Cardinal have lost four straight for the first time since 2007. Stanford also finished with its first losing record since 2008, ending a streak of 10 straight bowl bids.” For Stanford, their season is over while Notre Dame will await to hear what bowl they’ll be playing in.
Arizona at Arizona State
For Arizona, last year’s Territorial Cup game also known as the “Duel in the Desert” was an epic match-up of two in-state programs that were playing not only in a rivalry game that dated all the way back to 1894 but in a game that would determine which of the two would become bowl eligible, each with just 5 wins heading into their last game of the year. Arizona State came back in that game from a 19 point deficit to win and head to a bowl in Head Coach Herm Edward’s first year. Going into this year’s “Duel in the Desert” on the road in Tempe, Arizona with just four wins had no chance to become bowl eligible and would be playing against an Arizona State team who was already bowl eligible, becoming that way the previous week by not just winning any game but by knocking off the No. 6 Oregon Ducks. As it turned out, in spite of the long rivalry and in-state importance of the game, playing for pride wasn’t enough to overcome the better team in a 24-14 loss to the Sun Devils-a loss that probably should have been worse.
Neither team was very impressive through the first half which was littered with multiple three-and-outs, 7 punts, a missed field goal, and an interception. In between the mess Arizona put together a 6 play 83 yard drive highlighted by a 48 yard TD pass from Kahlil Tate to Jamarye Joiner. Those seven points were enough to go into the break one point ahead of Arizona State who scored six points in the half on two Christian Zendajas field goals.
Hitting the ground hard after the break and getting the ball first, Arizona State put one of their most lethal weapons to use in a 75 yard 11 play drive in which RB Eno Benjamin rushed 5 times for 49 yards, including a 6 yard drive into the end zone to put the Sun Devils out front 13-7. Two possessions later, they put Benjamin back to work in another 49 yard drive, this time aided by a pass interference penalty by the Wildcats, with the same result-another Eno Benjamin rushing TD to go up 21-7. During the course of the game Bejamin crossed the 1,000 yard mark on the year after rushing for over 1,600 last season. Christiam Zendajas woud punch in another field goal and Arizona would get a score late in the 4th on another Kahlil Tate to Joiner TD pass. But it was too little too late as the Sun Devils best the Wildcats 24-14 in this year’s 93rd “Duel in the Desert.”
Back to the drawing board for Arizona Head Coach Kevin Sumlin, who will return next year, while Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils will await a decision regarding their bowl game.
Cal at UCLA
In work . . .