| Better late than never: Coach Mike Riley and Oregon State started their season one week late, but were still able to upset No. 13 Wisconsin on Saturday. (US Presswire) |
Pac-12 scoreboard
Oregon State 10, No. 13 Wisconsin 7: The Oregon State offense only produced 10 points Saturday, but thanks to a suffocating performance by the defense, that was all the Beavers needed. Oregon State held Wisconsin star RB Montee Ball to 61 yards, his lowest rushing total since Oct. 23, 2010, when he gained 18 against Iowa. The Beavers' touchdown was a 20-yard third-quarter strike from Sean Mannion to Brandin Cooks. Mannion threw for 276 yards in the win. The victory over Wisconsin marked the first time since 1971 that a Big 10 team traveled to Corvallis.
Sacramento State 30, Colorado 28: For the second straight year, Sacramento State knocked off a Pac-12 team. In 2011, the victim was Oregon State. An Edgar Castaneda 30-yard field goal as time expired gave Sacramento State the win. The loss overshadowed a phenomenal performance by Colorado freshman RB Christian Powell, who rushed for 147 yards on 28 carries and became the first Colorado player since 1969 to score three touchdowns in his first career start. The loss to the Hornets marks the second straight week the Buffaloes have held a double-digit first-half lead, only to watch it disappear.
Cal 50, Southern Utah 31: The scoreboard says blowout, but that wasn't exactly the case in Berkeley on Saturday. Southern Utah trailed 20-17 in the fourth quarter before the Bears were able to blow the game open, thanks in large part to three touchdowns of more than 60 yards. CB Marc Anthony returned an interception 61-yards for a TD, Keenan Allen followed with a 69-yard punt return for a score before RB Daniel Lasco capped Cal's fourth-quarter scoring with a 77-yard run. Allen also had a 19-yard touchdown catch during the Bears 30-point fourth quarter. Cal totaled 518 yards, including 229 passing from QB Zach Maynard.
Washington State 24, Eastern Washington 20: It wasn't pretty, but Washington State earned the first victory of the Mike Leach era Saturday with a 24-20 win over FCS Eastern Washington. Cougar QB Jeff Tuel threw for 146 yards and two touchdowns before leaving the game in fourth quarter with a right knee injury. WR Isiah Myers was on the receiving end of both of Tuel's touchdown passes, he finished the game with 59 yards. Although Tuel threw two TD passes, the player of the game for WSU might have been K Andrew Furney, who scored six points in the game, which included three extra points and a 60-yard field goal just before halftime. The 60-yard kick was the second longest in school history.
No. 2 USC 42, Syracuse 29: The way the USC offense is playing, the Downtown Athletic Club might want to make the Heisman Trophy a team award this year. Matt Barkley continued his Heisman campaign -- this time right in of the New York voters -- with a six-touchdown pass performance against Syracuse. Sophomore WR Marqise Lee was on the receiving end of three of Barkley's TD passes, and finished the game with 11 catches for 66 yards. Despite Lee and Barkley's performances, they both played second fiddle to WR Robert Woods. Woods caught 10 passes for 93 yards, added 76 yards rushing and a 31-yard punt return. Woods finished with 200 total yards.
UCLA 36, Nebraska 30: For the second week in a row, it was the Brett Hundley and Johnathan Franklin show for UCLA. The duo combined for 575 total yards as UCLA upset No. 16 Nebraska at the Rose Bowl on Saturday. Hundley threw for 305 yards and four touchdowns with his biggest scoring pass being a 9-yard strike to Franklin in the fourth quarter that turned a 29-27 UCLA lead into an insurmountable 37-29 advantage. Franklin rushed for 217 yards, eclipsing his Week 1 total of 214. Hundley's 21-of-33 performance included completions to eight receivers and two touchdown passes to TE Joseph Fauria.
Arizona State 45, Illinois 14: No matter the quarterback, the Arizona State offense had its way with Illinois. Starter Taylor Kelly went 18 of 23 for 249 yards and a score, Michael Eubank was 5 of 6 for 69 yards and two scores and the Sun Devil rushing attack added 193 yards on the ground. Arizona State allowed 231 rushing yards but capitalized on three interceptions, converting two into touchdowns. Junior TE Chris Coyle emerged as a major threat, registering more catches (10) and yards (131) than he did all last year, while adding two touchdowns.
Arizona 59, No. 18 Oklahoma State 38: Denard who? Rich Rodriguez' new favorite toy, Matt Scott, turned in another fantastic performance, helping the Wildcats upend the ranked Cowboys with 375 yards of total offense (320 passing) and three total touchdowns. Running back Kadeem Carey boosted the effort with 153 total yards and four touchdowns, including three on the ground, while Austin Hill added 124 receiving yards for the prolific Wildcats. Arizona survived a wild passing performance by freshman Wes Lunt -- 36 of 58 for 440 yards, four touchdowns, three interceptions -- that included 100 receiving yards by three different players.
No. 25 Stanford 50, Duke 13: After opening the post-Andrew Luck era with a mediocre win over San Jose State, the Cardinal looked to make a statement in Week 2, and they did by taking advantage of Duke miscues. Stanford was outgained by the Blue Devils, 384 yards to 373, but had four takeaways, including an interception return for touchdown by Ed Reynolds. QB Josh Nunes bounced back from a so-so effort with three touchdowns and completions to nine players.
Friday
Utah State 27, Utah 20 OT: There might be a quarterback controversy in Salt Lake City this week. Starting quarterback Jordan Wynn went down with a shoulder injury during the second quarter Friday, but even before the injury, he wasn't doing much for the Ute offense. Wynn only threw for 47 yards in almost two quarters of play. Behind QB's Jon Hays and Travis Wilson -- who each threw a touchdown pass -- Utah fought back from a 13-0 deficit to send the game to overtime.
Play of the weekend: Kickers don't end up in the 'play of the week' category too often, unless they do something crazy, like kick a 60-yard field goal. That's exactly what Washington State's Andrew Furney did just before halftime of the Cougars 24-20 win over Eastern Washington. The 60-yarder was the second longest in WSU history, behind only Jason Hanson's 62-yard field goal that came against UNLV in 1991.
He said what? Washington State coach Mike Leach had an interesting answer when he was asked about quarterback Jeff Tuel's injured knee. "We don't have injuries around here so he's 100 percent and I would think, if anything, he can run a 4.5 now instead of a 4.7." Tuel left WSU's win over Eastern Washington after being hit in the fourth quarter.
RapidReports offensive star of the day: WR Robert Woods, USC. We might have to rename this award the "Trojan spirit award," because USC players have swept it so far this year. Last week, it was Marqise Lee, this week the nod goes to Woods, who had 10 catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse. The junior wide receiver also showed his versatility with a 31-yard punt return and 76 yards on the ground. Woods 76 rushing yards came on one carry.
RapidReports offensive star of the day 2: QB Brett Hundley, UCLA. If Hundley keeps playing like he did against Nebraska on Saturday, he's going to end up with more billboards in Los Angeles than Matt Barkley. Hundley totaled 358 yards and threw four touchdown passes in the Bruins 36-30 upset of No. 16 Nebraska. The redshirt freshman completed 21 of 33 passes while also running for 53 yards. Hundley has now totaled 628 yards in two career starts.
RapidReports defensive star of the day: The Oregon State defense. The Beaver defense held Wisconsin running back Montee Ball to his lowest rushing total in almost two years, but it wasn't just the Beavers treatment of Ball that wins them this award. The Oregon State D also forced two turnovers in the game, the turnovers came on consecutive Wisconsin drives after Oregon State had extended their lead to 10-0.
His seat is getting uncomfortable: Jon Embree, Colorado. Embree's only in the second season of his Colorado tenure, a tenure that might not see season three if Colorado can't beat FCS teams like Sacramento State. The Buffaloes stunning 30-28 loss Saturday -- they led 14-0 at one point -- means 0-12 isn't out of the question. Embree's seat isn't boiling yet, but if the losses keep piling up, his seat might start to smoke.
A possible spot on the bench for: QB Jordan Wynn, Utah. Wynn struggled against Utah State Friday before leaving the game with a shoulder injury late in the second quarter. Wynn completed just 6 of 11 passes for 47 yards against the Aggies and led the Utes to zero points. With Wynn out of the game, the Utes were able to fight back from a 13-point deficit and send the game to overtime behind backup quarterbacks Jon Hays and Travis Wilson.
Why you care about these three stat lines:
- UCLA totaled 653 yards in a 36-30 upset of Nebraska. The prevailing thought during Rick Neuheisel's tenure was that the Bruins had the talent but not the poise or know-how to do anything with it. But if they did, watch out. Well, redshirt freshman QB Brett Hundley sure looked poised, going 21 of 33 for 305 yards and four touchdowns. And oft-traveled offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone is certainly providing the know-how, as he's turned Johnathan Franklin into, so far, the best back in the Pac-12. Franklin became UCLA's first running back with back-to-back 200-yard games since Karim Abdul-Jabbar in 1995 as he sprints closer to the Bruins' rushing record.
- Oregon's Kenjon Barner, De'Anthony Thomas combine for 303 yards, five scores in win over Fresno State. With LaMichael James in tow, Barner and Thomas played second -- and third -- fiddle last season. Now they're just fiddling with opponents. Barner played the workhorse, Thomas the home-run hitter, and the Ducks keep running over and around people.
- Arizona's Matt Scott throws for 707 yards in first two games. Somewhat lost in all the change in the Pac-12 was the affect that individual coaches could have on individual players. A year ago, Scott redshirted behind Nick Foles and contemplated an uncertain future. Now, he has thrived in Rich Rodriguez' system, throwing for 320 yards and two touchdowns on Saturday against No. 18 Oklahoma State. He added 129 rushing yards in two games.
Key number: 2. A big reason why Oregon State was able to upset Wisconsin on Saturday was because the Beaver defense only surrendered two third down conversions. The Badgers finished the game 2 for 14 on third-down attempts, a not so impressive 14.3 percent conversion rate.
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