Pac-12 Notes

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Pac-12 Notes – Washington

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October 20th

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Oregon State (CU’s next opponent) takes a step backward in 49-7 loss to Cal

“Laird has 3 TDs runs in 49-7 Cal win over Oregon State” … Game story from ESPN

From the Oregonian … For all the losses Oregon State football has sustained this fall — and there have been many — there has usually been some hope, or at least something to keep interest going.

Saturday, there was nothing.

In what was the low point of the 2018 season, California bludgeoned Oregon State in every way possible during a 49-7 rout at Reser Stadium. The Beavers (1-6, 0-4 Pac-12) were worked on both sides of the ball, as the Bears outgained OSU 539-241 in yardage.

“That was painful,” OSU coach Jonathan Smith said. “I don’t really know any other way to describe it.”

Worse, though, is the remaining level of interest and enthusiasm, from players and fans. A crowd announced as 32,390 was down to a few thousand by the fourth quarter. Only a couple hundred students decided to stick around for the second half.

The players, well, they had no choice but to hang out through the end. Through the first half of the season, the Beavers have shown a remarkable resiliency to keep competing, even when things appeared bleak. There was little of that Saturday, as Cal blew open a 21-0 halftime lead with a three-touchdown fourth quarter and never let Oregon State’s offense get untracked.

… Continue reading story here …

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Oregon comeback from 27-0 halftime deficit falls short; Washington State prevails, 34-20

From the Oregonian … After one of the most dreadful first halves in program history Oregon got up off the map and fought its way back into the game at Washington State, but a 27-point halftime deficit proved too deep to overcome.

The No. 12 Ducks rallied for 20 straight in a furious second half rally, cutting the deficit to one score with 6:38 to go, but fell short in a 34-20 loss to the No. 25 Cougars Saturday night at a berserk Martin Stadium. It was the fourth straight win the series for Washington State (6-1, 3-1 Pac-12), which last beat the Ducks four straight times from 1971-74.

Any chance Oregon (5-2, 2-2 Pac-12) had of making a bid for the Pac-12 North division title and potential College Football Playoff berth died on the Palouse.

Pre-snap penalties, a lack of pressure on WSU quarterback Gardner Minshew II, cushions that were too big on Cougars receivers and failure to establish the running game plagued Oregon’s first half.

… Continue reading story here …

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Utah dominates USC to take control of the Pac-12 South

From ESPN … Tyler Huntley threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns on 22-of-29 passing to lead Utah to a 41-28 victory over Southern Cal on Saturday night.

Huntley matched a career-high in passing yards to help the Utes beat the Trojans for the third straight time at home. Zack Moss added 136 yards on 25 carries. Utah (5-2, 3-2 Pac-12) has won three straight overall and moved into a first-place tie with USC in the Pac-12 South.

JT Daniels was 6-of-16 passing for 89 yards and a score with two interceptions for USC. Matt Fink, who played the entire fourth quarter in place of the freshman, finished with 43 yards and a touchdown on 6-of-7 passing.

The Trojans (4-3, 3-2 Pac-12) generated just 205 total yards and averaged 3.8 yards per play. Utah tallied 541 yards while averaging 6.7 yards per play.

USC sprinted to a 14-0 lead behind a pair of big plays.

Michael Pittman’s 34-yard catch provided the first touchdown. Daniels narrowly eluded a sack and heaved the ball toward the goal line. It slipped through the hands of Utah safety Marquiese Blair and Pittman corralled the ball in the end zone.

Then, the Trojans made it a two-touchdown lead when John Houston forced a fumble and Jay Tufele scooped up the ball and rumbled 48 yards for the score.

Britain Covey stopped the bleeding for the Utes. He returned the kickoff 38 yards and followed up by taking a screen pass 46 yards to narrow USC’s lead to 14-7.

… Continue reading story here …

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Coloradoan: Rams all bark and no bite 

Related … “CSU football earns another failing grade in national spotlight at Boise State” … from the Coloradoan

From the Coloradoan … CSU has a vicious bark.

The Rams have talked a big game for a couple of years.

They proclaimed conference title or bust in 2017.

It made sense. It was a veteran squad, loaded with plenty of offensive firepower. It was a realistic expectation.

But Colorado State University fell flat in a 7-6 season, including a humiliating loss at home to Boise State in which the Rams blew a 25-point lead.

Fast-forward to Friday, and the Broncos embarrassed CSU again, this time on The Blue in Boise.

It was 35-0 before halftime on the way to a 56-28 win for Boise State.

That’s the gap between where the Rams say they want to be and where they are.

There’s no bite with the bark.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 19th

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Stanford hands Arizona State fourth loss in five games

… Related … “ASU defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales complains about penalties in ‘unfair’ loss” … from the Arizona Republic

… Related … “Where ASU stands: Loss to Stanford severely jeopardizes bowl hopes” … from the Arizona Republic

From ESPN … Stanford controlled the ball on offense, prevented big plays on defense. The Cardinal put together a couple of key scoring drives and limited Arizona State’s chances for a comeback.

It’s just the way Stanford wins game — and just what the Cardinal needed after a two-game losing streak.

K.J. Costello threw for 231 yards and a touchdown, and Stanford remained in the thick of the Pac-12 North Division race with a 20-13 win over Arizona State on Thursday night.

“We could have played better, obviously, but for us, this is the way we needed to win this football game,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “What we’ve done the last couple games, coming up short, not giving ourselves a chance, we gave ourselves a chance today.”

Stanford dropped out of the College Football Playoff picture and the Pac-12 North lead with losses to No. 4 Notre Dame and Utah.

Arizona State was maybe not a must-win game, but the Cardinal certainly could have used it after being outscored by a combined 68-38 the previous two games.

Stanford (5-2, 3-1) needed a half to get its offense fully rolling off a bye week, held to a pair of field goals in the first half. The Cardinal put together a pair of impressive drives in the third quarter and had a 16-minute advantage in time of possession to tie No. 14 Washington atop the Pac-12 North.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 18th

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Utah’s freshman quarterback Jack Tuttle to transfer from Utah

From 247 Sports … UteZone has learned from multiple sources that Utah freshman quarterback Jack Tuttle intends to transfer from the Utah football program. After much fanfare following his signing, the Jack Tuttle era of Utah football lasted just six games, none of which he played in.

The Utah football program has yet to make an official comment on Tuttle’s status and Tuttle has yet to publicly announce his intentions.

As a high school recruit coming out of Mission Hills (Calif.) High School, Tuttle was an Elite 11 finalist, the No. 8 ranked pro-passer and the No. 167 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite for the 2018 recruiting class. Tuttle was the highest rated quarterback to commit to the Utes in the Kyle Whittingham era.

Tuttle committed to the Utes as a junior in high school, stayed true to the commitment after a number of schools attempted to sway him, and enrolled early to participate in spring football. The 6-foot-4 inch, 195 pound signal caller entered fall camp in an intense battle with redshirt freshman Jason Shelley for the backup spot behind incumbent starter Tyler Huntley, but Shelley earned the backup job coming out of camp. While Shelley has made two appearances for the Utes this season, Tuttle had yet to take a snap in a live game with the Utes.

Before the season, Tuttle was named a member of Utah’s player-driven leadership council.

Tuttle is likely to transfer to a school outside of the Pac-12, given the conference’s eligibility penalties for non-graduate transfers from schools within the conference. Possible destinations include Ohio State, Duke, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M, and West Virginia.

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ESPN GameDay in Pullman causes City to declare an emergency to handle crowds

From YardBarker … The City of Pullman got quite a surprise last Saturday night when ESPN’s “College GameDay” announced it was going to take up temporary residence in Week 8 for the Oregon-Washington State game.

Kirk Herbstreit made the announcement, which was significant because the show has never visited Pullman before in its history.

It’s a really big deal.

It also presents some significant logistical issues for Pullman, which has since declared an emergency to help deal with it all.

According to Evan Ellis of Pullman Radio, the Pullman City Council approved the emergency on Tuesday night. It allows Pullman Transit buses to help move fans around campus on Saturday.

“WSU officials asked the city for some buses after being unable to find private bus services to accommodate the massive crowd. Longtime Gameday producer and program ‘historian’ Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica says causing an emergency declaration is a first for the show.”

It should be a blast. Washington State fans have been clamoring for ESPN to make a stop in Pullman for years, and the atmosphere should be electric come Saturday.

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October 17th

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Arizona’s Kahlil Tate declared out for UCLA game … Rich Rod’s son to get the start

From ESPN … Arizona Wildcats quarterback Khalil Tate will not play this week at UCLA due to an ankle injury, coach Kevin Sumlin announced Tuesday.

Sophomore Rhett Rodriguez, the son of former coach Rich Rodriguez, will start in his place.

“Going through the week, he felt pretty good,” Sumlin said Monday. “But we can’t keep going with this thing getting tweaked, and two series [later] he’s out of the game.”

Tate was pulled from Saturday’s loss in a move that Sumlin called a “player safety issue.”

“We’re never going to put someone in harm’s way,” Sumlin said.

Tate has been dealing with an ankle issue since an injury vs. Houston on Sept. 8, and he has been largely ineffective after beginning the season as a Heisman Trophy favorite. Through seven games, Tate has rushed for 112 yards, which is glaringly low considering he rushed for 1,411 yards last season when he began the year as the backup quarerback.

It will be the first career start for Rodriguez, who completed 20-of-38 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown in last week’s 42-10 loss to Utah.

Sumlin also said freshmen quarterbacks Jamarye Joiner and Kevin Doyle will continue to get reps in practice and may play.

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Mike MacIntyre one of two Pac-12 coaches named to the Bear Bryant Coach-of-the-Year watch list

From BryantAwards.com … The college football season is heating up and this year’s American Heart Association (AHA) Paul “Bear” Bryant Awards Watch List includes a who’s who lineup of new faces and old favorites. Representing the nation’s best in college football, these coaches will compete for the highly-coveted and final title of the season: the 2018 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year. The winner will be announced live on Jan. 9, 2019 during the awards dinner and ceremony at the Post Oak Hotel in Houston.
The 20 coaches on this year’s Watch List are (in alphabetical order):

The Watch List precedes the announcement of the finalists in December. These coaches are invited to the Bryant Awards in Houston to find out who will be the 2018 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year.

Now in its 33rd year, the award recognizes the country’s top college football coaches for their contributions both on and off the field. The Coach of the Year Award is the only college coaching honor selected after all bowl games are concluded and is voted on by the National Sports Media Association. Last year’s winner, University of Central Florida’s Scott Frost (now at Nebraska), led his team to a conference record of 8 wins and zero losses, an overall record of 13 wins and zero losses, ending the season with a 34 to 27 win over Auburn in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. He was also named the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.

Behind the scenes, the award is much bigger than a season’s success. It is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on heart disease and stroke – the nation’s no. 1 and no. 5 health threats. Since the adoption of the name, the Bryant Awards have raised over $8.5 Million for the American Heart Association, funding research, education and advocacy efforts and saving countless lives. “Bear” always talked about being bigger than something other than himself. The Bryant Awards offer an opportunity to do just that — to join the American Heart Association in the fight against heart disease and stroke and help save lives.

Once again this year, sports aficionados can enjoy the Bryant Awards live on FOX College Sports – available through most cable providers. Fans can follow the Watch List coaches, track progress of the awards and be the among the first to know made the finalist list at facebook.com/bryantawards.

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Stewart Mandel: Bet on USC to win the Pac-12 South

From The Athletic … Who wins the Pac-12 South, and how many conference losses will that team have?

Greg A., Salt Lake City

USC is going to win the Pac-12 South, regardless of whether the Trojans win their showdown with the Utes this weekend. I say that despite the fact Utah’s offense has been extremely impressive the past two weeks against Stanford and Arizona, and the Trojans just lost one of their best defensive players, Porter Gustin, for the rest of the season.

USC (4-2, 3-1 Pac-12) holds a tiebreaker over Colorado (5-1, 2-1) and sits a game ahead of Utah (4-2, 2-2). But whereas the Utes still have to play Oregon as well as three conference road games against Colorado, Arizona State and UCLA, USC’s remaining league schedule after the Utah game is extremely light — home games against 3-3 Arizona State and 3-3 Cal, trips to 1-5 Oregon State and 1-5 UCLA.

I don’t think the Trojans will run the table, but they’ll be the sole team in the South to finish with two losses. At which point they’ll head to Santa Clara at 9-3 or 8-4, depending on whether they knock off Notre Dame at the end of the season.

Man. That division stinks.

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October 16th

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CBS Bottom 25 – UCLA almost out; Oregon State and Nebraska still in top ten

From CBS Sports … I wrote this here a couple of weeks ago: If you’re in the Bottom 25 at this point in the season, it’s no longer about a little bad luck. The team you are now is — with an occasional exception here and there — the team you’re going to be for the rest of the season. We’ve seen the rankings calm the last few weeks, with teams moving up or down a bit, but not as many teams falling out of the rankings entirely.

This is the week where I believe we’ve found our level. There are only two new teams in the Bottom 25 this week, which is the fewest number of new teams we’ve had at any point this year. Furthermore, the two new teams check in at Nos. 24 and 25. At this time of year, you have to work your way in, and you have to work even harder to get out. For most of our ranked teams, one win won’t be enough to escape.

You’ll have to keep winning.

23. UCLA … The Bruins are on the board with their first win, beating Cal 37-7. You could feel it coming in a close loss to Washington, and with a bad Arizona team up next, this could be UCLA’s last week in the Bottom 25 for a while. (5)

8. Oregon State … The Beavers had a bye week, and now this week’s game against Cal looks a lot more winnable after seeing UCLA crush it last week. And the Beavers better win, because if you look at the rest of the schedule, this is their last best chance. After this, it’s Colorado, USC, Stanford, Washington and Oregon. (9)

4. Nebraska … I thought you had your first win, Nebraska. I really did. I’m going to make a prediction that you win at least two of your next four games, and possibly even three. First up, it’s Minnesota. (3)

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Kevin Tumlin: Status of Kahlil Tate for Arizona game against UCLA uncertain

From Yardbarker.com … Arizona Wildcats head coach Kevin Sumlin said on Monday that he is unsure about Khalil Tate’s status for the team’s game on Saturday against UCLA.

Tate was replaced during the first quarter of Arizona’s lost to Utah on Friday after re-injuring his ankle. Rhett Rodriguez and Jamarye Joiner saw action in his place.

Sumlin stressed that he does not want to see Tate keep going in and out of the lineup due to his ankle.

Tate entered the season as a Heisman Trophy candidate, but he has failed to put up the eye-popping stats he amassed last season. He has thrown for 11 touchdowns and four interceptions but has only rushed for two scores. He rushed for 1,411 yards and 12 touchdowns last year while passing for 1,591 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Sumlin was criticized early in the season over Tate not running much, but the coach quickly informed the public that the quarterback was dealing with an ankle injury.

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October 15th 

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Pac-12 lines: Colorado the biggest underdog in the conference  

From 5Dimes …

Arizona State … a 2.5-point underdog to Stanford … Thursday, 7:00 p.m., MT, ESPN

No. 15 Washington … a 16.0-point favorite at home against Colorado … 1:30 p.m., MT, Fox

Oregon State … a 7.0-point underdog at home against Cal … 2:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks

No. 25 Washington State … a 1.0-point favorite at home against No. 12 Oregon … 5:30 pm, MT, FOX … ESPN College Game Day in Pullman

Utah … a 6.5-point favorite at home over USC … 6:00 p.m., MT, Pac-12 Networks

UCLA … a 7.0-point favorite at home against Arizona …  8:30 p.m., MT, ESPN2

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Jon Wilner’s mid-season All-Pac-12 team includes three Buffs

From the San Jose Mercury News … The Hotline is not always a glutton for punishment, embarrassment and any other -ments of the ignominious variety, and I had no intention of starting our multi-part midseason review with two all-conference teams.

Because two all-conference teams means 10 offensive linemen, and offensive linemen are so damn tough to evaluate unless you’re watching every play for every team knowing in advance what’s supposed to happen with the blocking and protection schemes.

But as I compiled the first-team candidates, it quickly became apparent that there were far more deserving receivers and defensive backs than one team would allow.

(In contrast, it’s not an elite group of tailbacks this season.)

So we opened it up and began seeking input from Hotline contacts throughout the conference, particularly in the regard to … you guessed it … offensive linemen.

The result is two all-conference teams for offense and defense, and one for specialists:

* Each defense features four linemen and four linebackers — both 4-3 and 3-4 schemes are deployed — and three cornerbacks, because so many teams are in nickel all the time.

*** OFFENSE

First Team

QB: Oregon’s Justin Herbert
RB: Utah’s Zack Moss
RB: Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson
WR: Colorado’s Laviska Shenault 
WR: Washington’s Aaron Fuller
WR: Oregon’s Dillon Mitchell
TE: Stanford’s Kaden Smith
OL: Washington’s Kaleb McGary
OL: Oregon’s Shane Lemieux
OL: Utah’s Jackson Barton
OL: Washington State’s Andre Dillard
OL: Oregon’s Calvin Throckmorton

Second Team

QB: Washington State’s Gardner Minshew
RB: Washington’s Myles Gaskin
RB: UCLA’s Joshua Kelley
WR: Stanford’s JJ Arcega-Whiteside
WR: Arizona State’s N’Keal Harry
WR: Utah’s Britain Covey
TE: Washington’s Drew Sample
OL: Utah’s Jordan Agasiva
OL: UCLA’s Boss Tagaloa
OL: Arizona’s Layth Friekh
OL: Oregon’s Penei Sewell
OL: USC’s Chuma Edoga

*** DEFENSE

First team

DE: Utah’s Bradlee Anae
DT: Washington’s Greg Gaines
DT: Oregon’s Jordon Scott
DE: USC’s Porter Gustin
LB: Arizona’s Colin Schooler
LB: Utah’s Chase Hansen
LB: Washington’s Ben Burr-Kirven
LB: Oregon’s Justin Hollins
CB: Utah’s Julian Blackmon
CB: Washington’s Byron Murphy
CB: Stanford’s Paulson Adebo
S: Oregon’s Ugo Amadi
S: Washington’s Taylor Rapp

Second team

DE: Oregon’s Jalen Jelks
DT: Colorado’s Mustafa Johnson 
DT: Utah’s Leki Fotu
DE: UCLA’s Osa Odihizuwa
LB: Washington State’s Peyton Pelluer
LB: Colorado’s Nate Landman 
LB: Cal’s Jordan Kunaszyk
LB: USC’s Cameron Smith
CB: Arizona State’s Chase Lucas
CB: UCLA’s Darnay Holmes
CB: Washington’s Jordan Miller
S: Washington State’s Jalen Thompson
S: Utah’s Marquise Blair

Special Teams
K: UCLA’s JJ Molson
P: WSU’s Oscar Draguicevich
PR: Arizona’s Shun Brown
KR: Cal’s Ashtyn Davis
AP: Arizona’s J.J. Taylor

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USC loses linebacker for the season

From CBS Sports … USC linebacker Porter Gustin’s career with the Trojans is over. The school announced Sunday that the 6-foot-5, 255-pound senior suffered an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter on the final defensive drive of Saturday’s 31-20 win over Colorado.

… Continue reading story here …

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UCLA down a linebacker and a running back for the rest of the season

From ESPN … UCLA sophomore OLB Jaelan Phillips and senior RB Soso Jamabo have both been declared out for the season because of concussions, coach Chip Kelly announced Monday.

Phillips, who arrived as the No. 1-ranked defensive player in the country in the Class of 2017, is a significant loss for the Bruins. He was expected to be the team’s most reliable pass-rusher, but after coming into the season slowed by a wrist injury, he’ll finish the year with one sack in just four games.

Jamabo saw his role reduce heavily after Kelly’s arrival. A key contributor at running back over the past three seasons, Jamabo was no longer in the rotation at running back. After rushing for 1,170 yards over his first three seasons, Jamabo had just five carries for 12 yards this year.

UCLA has shown marked improvement over the past two weeks, including a 37-7 win against Cal on Saturday, which was the Bruins’ first of the season. They host Arizona on Saturday.

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This post, about the Washington game, from the 2018 Season, is filed under Article.
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