| Stanford QB Josh Nunes threw for a career-high 360 yards and totaled five touchdowns in the Cardinal's wild 54-48 overtime shootout win over Arizona. (US Presswire) |
Pac-12 scoreboard
No. 18 Stanford 54, Arizona 48 OT: Stanford QB Josh Nunes threw for a career-high 360 yards and Stepfan Taylor rushed for a game-high 142 yards as the Cardinal fought back from 14 points down in the fourth quarter. The Cardinal (4-1, 2-1 Pac-12) trailed 48-34 with under seven minutes left, but tied the game on two late touchdown runs by Nunes. The beleaguered Cardinal QB might have finally won over the Stanford fans with 393 total yards and five total touchdowns. Arizona QB Matt Scott had a career day, going 45 of 69 for 491 yards and three touchdowns. Scott's only mistake came in overtime when a tipped pass was intercepted by Stanford's Chase Thomas. Two plays later, Stanford won the game when Taylor broke free for a 21-yard touchdown run. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog here)
No. 14 Oregon State 19, Washington State 6: Beaver QB Sean Mannion struggled, but thanks to CB Jordan Poyer and the Oregon State (4-0, 3-0) defense, it didn't matter. Mannion threw three interceptions, but Poyer bailed him out by intercepting three Washington State (2-4, 0-3) passes. Oregon State's defense forced five turnovers, intercepting Cougar QBs Connor Halliday and Jeff Tuel four times. Halliday was 8 of 19 for 70 yards before being relieved by Tuel, who went 12 of 18 for 135 yards. Halliday threw three of the Cougars' interceptions. For Oregon State, Mannion's below average day included throwing for a season-low 270 yards. Senior WR Markus Wheaton was Mannion's favorite target, catching nine passes for 95 yards and a touchdown. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog here)
Cal 43, No. 25 UCLA 17: All of the excitement of the early Jim Mora era crashed with a resounding thud as the Bruins (4-2, 1-2) lost their seventh straight game in Berkeley. The Bears (2-4, 1-2) hounded heralded redshirt freshman Brett Hundley into the worst game of his short career as he threw four interceptions and was sacked five times. Cal QB Zach Maynard responded to adversity by going 25 of 30 for 295 yards and four touchdowns, with an interception. RB C.J. Anderson had 152 yards and a score on 21 carries. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog here)
No. 2 Oregon 52, No. 23 Washington 21: The Ducks got on the board early and kept scoring. Less than 13 minutes into the game, Keith Price and the Huskies' offense faced a 21-point deficit. Oregon scored three times in less than six minutes during a first-quarter spurt and then cruised behind QB Marcus Mariota, who was 15 of 24 for 198 yards and four touchdowns. He added 40 rushing yards. The opportunistic Oregon defense continued its capitalistic ways, forcing four turnovers, including an Avery Patterson quick-pick-six. The Ducks ran for 299 yards, including 122 by Kenjon Barner and 75 by De'Anthony Thomas. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog here)
Thursday
No. 13 USC 38, Utah 28: The Trojans trailed 14-0 early, but when you have QB Matt Barkley, no deficit is too big. Barkley threw three touchdown passes as USC (4-1, 2-1) rallied. Barkley finished 23 of 30 for 303 yards and more than half of both went to sophomore WR Marqise Lee. Lee caught 12 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown. Robert Woods and Randall Telfer also caught touchdown passes for the Trojans. Utah QB Jon Hays had a relatively quiet night, throwing for just 160 yards. Hays also threw a pick-6 to USC CB Nickell Robey. With the loss, the Utes drop to 2-3 on the season and 0-2 in Pac-12 play. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog here)
Play of the weekend: It wasn't the longest play or the flashiest play of the weekend, but Stepfan Taylor's 21-yard game-winning TD run against Arizona was the biggest. Taylor's run capped a 14-point comeback for the Cardinal, who move to 2-1 in the Pac-12 and 4-1 overall. Taylor finished the game with 142 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries.
He said what? "I think Matt Scott is a stud," Arizona coach Rich Rodiguez said of his starting QB. Scott threw for 491 yards in the Wildcats' 54-48 OT loss to Stanford.
RapidReports offensive star of the day: QB Scott, Arizona. The quarterback of the losing team isn't usually the star of the day, but it's hard to ignore what he did against the vaunted Stanford defense Saturday. In the Wildcats' 54-48 overtime loss, Scott set the Arizona school record for completions and attempts, going 45 of 69 for 491 yards and three touchdowns. The 491 yards was the third-highest passing total Stanford's ever allowed.
RapidReports defensive star of the day: CB Poyer, Oregon State. Poyer pulled off the rare defensive hat trick against Washington State, intercepting three passes in the Beavers' 19-6 win. Poyer picked off Cougars QB Halliday in the the first and third quarters, then intercepted QB Tuel late in the fourth to clinch the win for Oregon State.
His seat is getting uncomfortable: Pac-12 rookie coaches. Jim Mora, Mike Leach and Rich Rodriguez lost Saturday, and we're almost positive that if the Sun Devils would've played, Todd Graham would be doomed as well.
A possible spot on the bench for: QB Halliday, Washington State. It's not as if Tuel commanded the position with a two-interception, 107.4-rated afternoon, but Halliday's QB rating of 52.0 on 8 of 19 passing certainly does not endear him to Leach.
Why you care about these three stat lines:
- Cal QB Maynard breaks out of slump with five total touchdowns: The Cal veteran quarterback has been so beaten, bruised and bullied this season that it felt like all of the fan anger and media criticism was just piling on. If it was affecting Maynard, he didn't show it Saturday. Aside from an interception, Maynard was just about perfect, going 25 of 30 for 295 yards and four touchdowns, a 203.3 rating, and also ran for a score. All of a sudden, the once-buried Bears, who started 1-4, have momentum and a forgiving schedule ahead. Maybe Jeff Tedford's seat cools down a bit.
- Stanford QB Josh Nunes throws for 360 yards: Like Maynard, Nunes was heavily criticized for his role in Stanford's loss to Washington. Like Maynard, he shook it off. Nunes racked up a career-high 360 yards as the Cardinal outlasted Arizona in a back-and-forth midday matchup. More importantly than the yardage, though is that Nunes avoided mistakes, throwing two touchdowns with no interceptions in the crucial win.
- Oregon defense forces four turnovers: The Oregon offense has been so incredibly prolific for so long that the defense became an afterthought, and that might be too kind. Now the Ducks are taking flight on defense, and the Pac-12 might have a challenger to the mighty SEC. Oregon intercepted two Price passes -- including a touchdown runback by Patterson -- and forced two Husky fumbles.
Key number: 45. Arizona QB Scott completed 45 passes against Stanford, breaking the conference record previously held by Cal's Rich Campbell, who had 43 completions against Florida in 1980.
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