| USC quarterback Matt Barkley leads the Spirit of Troy marching band in a rendition of Tribute to Troy after the game. With six touchdown passes against Colorado on Saturday, Barkley has 102 for his career, passing Matt Leinart for the most in USC and Pac-12 history. (US Presswire) |
Pac-12 scoreboard
No. 11 USC 50, Colorado 6: A USC school record wasn't broken on every play Saturday, but it sure seemed that way. QB Matt Barkley threw for 298 yards and tied his school record with six touchdown passes. Barkley wasn't just tying schools records. He also broke two Pac-12 records. His six TD passes gave him 102 for his career, breaking former USC QB Matt Leinart's conference record of 100. Barkley also set the Pac-12 record for completion percentage, going 19 of 20 (95 percent) against the Buffaloes (1-6, 1-3 Pac-12). Four of Barkley's six TD passes went to WR Robert Woods, who set the school record for most touchdown catches in a game. The junior caught eight passes, giving him 220 for his career, a USC (6-1, 4-1) record. Woods passed Dwayne Jarrett, who had 216 career receptions. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
No. 22 Stanford 21, Cal 3: Three was the theme of the day for Stanford -- the Cardinal (5-2, 3-1) held Cal (3-5, 2-3) to three rushing yards, three points and won their third Big Game in a row at Berkeley on Saturday. In the first Big Game held at Cal's newly renovated Memorial Stadium, Stanford RB Stepfan Taylor ran for a career-high 189 yards and scored a first-quarter touchdown that would end up being all the Cardinal needed. Taylor wasn't the only Stanford player to set a career high. TE Zach Ertz had a career-high 134 yards on six catches. Cardinal QB Josh Nunes turned the ball over twice, a fumble and interception, but managed to throw for 214 yards and a touchdown. Cal QB Zach Maynard finished 19 of 31 also for 214 yards. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
Arizona 52, Washington 17: The way Matt Scott is playing, Rich Rodriguez might need to beg and plead with the NCAA for one more year. Just one season of the duo is not enough. Rest easy though, RichRod, Ka'Deem Carey is sticking around. Scott had four touchdown passes and rushed for another score, and Carey added 30 carries for 168 yards and a touchdown as the Wildcats broke the game open early in the third quarter. Scott hit WR Austin Hill for one of his two toucdown receptions and three minutes later, Richard Morrison returned a punt 63 yards for a touchdown. Washington has lost three straight, and the Huskies host Oregon State next Saturday.
No. 8 Oregon State 21, Utah 7: Storm Woods did not have to go very far to lead the Beavers (6-0, 4-0) to the win. Woods rushed for three touchdowns of a total of five yards -- two of the scores set up by Travis Wilson turnovers -- and Mike Riley played slug-it-out football as Oregon State moved to 6-0 for the first time since 1907. The Utes (2-5, 0-4) outgained the Beavers 315-225 but of three drives that went more than 50 yards, one ended in a missed field goal, one a Wilson fumble and one a touchdown pass from Wilson to TE Jake Murphy. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
Thursday
No. 2 Oregon 43, Arizona State 21: For the first 49 seconds Thursday, the season was looking up for Arizona State, but then the rest of the game happened. DT Will Sutton forced an Oregon fumble early and the Sun Devil offense scored a quick touchdown, but the turnover proved to be more costly for ASU (5-2, 3-1). Sutton was injured on the play and sat out the rest of the game. In the six possessions after Sutton's departure, the Ducks (7-0, 4-0) scored six touchdowns, including two that went for more than 70 yards. QB Marcus Mariota pulled off touchdown hat trick as he threw a TD pass, caught a TD pass and ran for a score. Mariota's touchdown run was an 86-yarder, the longest by a QB in Oregon history. Mariota finished with 135 yards rushing and 46 yards passing. Duck RB Kenjon Barner might have kickstarted his long-shot Heisman campaign with three touchdowns and 143 yards rushing. For the Sun Devils, starting QB Taylor Kelly was 10 of 18 for 93 yards. Backup QB Michael Eubank fared slightly better, going 10 of 19 for 123 yards. Both threw a touchdown pass. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)
Play of the weekend: If you're going to break a school record, you might as well do it with a touchdown. Going into Saturday, USC WR Woods needed five catches to break Jarrett's all-time receptions record and Woods did it with a touchdown. A 29-yard TD catch in the second quarter gave Woods 217 for his career, surpassing Jarrett's 216.
He said what? "I'm glad he's done, I'm glad I don't have to see him anymore," Colorado coach Jon Embree talking about USC QB Matt Barkley, who threw six touchdown passes against the Buffaloes on Saturday.
RapidReports offensive star of the day: QB Barkley, USC. Barkley went on a record-setting tear against Colorado on Saturday. He tied his school record with six touchdown passes against the Buffaloes, giving him 102 for his career and surpassing Matt Leinart's school and conference record. Barkley's four TD passes to Woods helped the wide receiver break the USC single-game record.
RapidReports defensive star of the day: LB Chase Thomas, Stanford. Thomas dominated Cal in almost every way a defensive player can. The senior had a team-high seven tackles, a sack, broke up a pass, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
His seat is getting uncomfortable: Tedford. The hot seat talk simmered down in Berkeley after the Bears went on a two-game winning streak, but Stanford threw some coals and a little bit of gasoline onto the hot seat talk with Saturday's 21-3 loss to Stanford. A win in the 115th Big Game would probably have silenced the Tedford hot seat talk for the season, but with the loss, it could turn into a daily topic in Berkeley.
A possible spot on the bench for: K Jordan Williamson, Stanford. The Cardinal may have won the Big Game, but it was no thanks to Williamson. The sophomore continued to struggle, going 0 for 2 against Cal, with misses from 34 and 40 yards. Williamson is 9 of 16 and only 4 of 10 in Pac-12 play.
Why you care about these three stat lines:
- Matt Barkley and Robert Woods connect for four touchdowns. Forget the records. Those are nice. But USC fans thirsting for big numbers were finally rewarded and it looks like Barkley and Woods have their mojo back.
- Oregon State manages just 225 yards against Utah. Mike Riley doesn't need to win pretty, he just needs to win. His Beavers remained undefeated, but style points were rare as the Brandin Cooks was held almost silent.
- Stepfan Taylor marches on Cal for 191 yards. After a crushing loss to Notre Dame, with a second effort going unrewarded, Taylor rewarded David Shaw's faith. Taylor's 191 reaffirmed his status as one of the conference's top backs and let the Cardinal maintain control of the Big Game.
Key number: 100. USC's Barkley became the first quarterback in Pac-12 history to throw 100 touchdown passes. Former Trojan QB Matt Leinart had held the Pac-12 and USC record with 99 career TD passes. Barkley -- who had 96 going into Saturday -- blew past Leinart's mark in the first half against Colorado with five TD passes. Barkley finished the game with six TD passes and has 102 in his career.
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