Pac 12 Review: Week 2

After a questionable opening weekend for the Pac-12, the newly formed conference was hoping to bounce back and have a strong weekend in week 2 of college football. Overall, week #2 was a success for the Pac 12. 8 teams won in the second week. Of the 4 losses, 2 were because they were inter-conference games. let’s review how the Pac-12 teams did in their respective games.

Arizona 14, #9 Oklahoma St 37
Arizona was without star wide receiver Juron Criner and it certainly showed. Without its star wide receiver, Arizona got trounced by #9 Oklahoma St. Atizona QB Nick Foles had a nice looking stat line: 37 of 51 for 398 yards and 1 TD, but the stats don’t tell the whole story. Foles is one of the top QB prospects for the 2012 draft, but his critics constantly point out his deficiency in reading defensive coverages and going through progressions. This was on full display against Oklahoma St as he rarely went through any progressions beyond his initial read. With his stud play maker out of the game, Foles couldn’t move the ball down the field. He did show some flashes of being able to escape the pocket and get away from pressure, but he doesn’t look like anything more then a developmental 2nd round player right now. With Criner out, Foles looked to Junior WR Dan Buckner who caught 10 passes for 142 yards and 1 TD. Freshman WR Austin Hill also had a nice day catching 8 receptions for 128 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, Arizona had trouble slowing down the Oklahoma St offense. Junior DB Mark Watley came down with his first career interception, but nothing else of note. In the end, not many people expected Arizona to pull off the upset, but after watching the game, it seems Arizona is a long way off from even hoping of pulling off any sort of upset.

Next Opponent: Stanford

Arizona St 37, Missouri 30
Unlike their in-state rivals, Arizona St proved over the weekend that they are ready for a shot at the big teams after pulling off the upset by defeating #21 Missouri. Playing in front of their, “blacked out” crowd, Arizona St was able to come out of overtime with a win after QB Brock Osweiler hit WR Jamal Miles for an 11 yard touchdown to give them lead in overtime and let their defense do the rest. The Sun Devils have a fantastic defense that, despite the amount of points that Missouri put up, really stepped it up in the end for the Sun Devils. Stud MLB Vontaze Burflict had 5 tackles and 1 sack on the day giving him 4 for the year. Linebacker Colin Parker led the team with 11 total tackles. Osweiler played great for the Sun Devils throwing 24 of 32 for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 5 times for 34 yards and a touchdown. Senior WR Aaron Pflugrad had a career day catching 8 passes for 180 yards and 2 TD’s. The aforementioned Jamal Miles contributed 6 catches for 50 yards and 2 touchdowns. Arizona St has one more non-conference game before their big match up with inter-conference rival USC.

Next Opponent: Illinois

California 36, Colorado 33
In Colorado’s debut game in the Pac 12 conference, the Buffs came extremely close to pulling off a nail biter at home, but just fell short when WR Keenan Allen caught a 5 yard TD pass from Cal QB Zach Maynard. It was a career day for Buffs WR Paul Richardson who caught 11 passes for 284 yards and 2 touchdowns. Tyler Hansen also had a nice outing throwing 28 of 49 for 474 yards and 3 touchdowns. Colorado’s D was able to notch 3 sacks (Douglas Rippy, Parker Orms, and Chi Uzo-Dirive. Colorado LB Jon Major was also able to pull down an interception. As for California, Zach Maynard put up some big numbers throwing 18 for 35 for for 243 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. The leading receivers for Cal were Keenan Allen and Marvin Jones who each caught 5 passes. Allen’s 5 receptions went for 97 yards and a toucdown while Jones’ went for 55 yards. TE Anthony Miller also caught 2 passes for 27 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Cal D had 3 players record 6 tackles: D.J. Holt, Mychal Kendricks, and Sean Cattouse. The leading rusher for Cal was Isi Sofele who ran 20 times for 92 yards. It was a tough loss for Colorado in their home opener, but if there is any consolation, it is that they played a respected Pac 12 opponent to the very end. For a team that has gone through as many changes as Colorado, that has to count for something. As for Cal, they are now 2-0 and have some winnable games ahead before facing off against powerhouse Oregon in a few weeks.

Cal Next Opponent: Presbytarian
Colorado Next Opponent: Colorado State

# 13 Oregon 69, Nevada 20
Remember after last week’s butt whooping at the hands of LSU, everyone was wondering whether Oregon should be considered among College Football’s elite? Well, Oregon did just about everything possible to answer those questions. Oregon totally manhandled Nevada in its 2nd game. Darren Thomas had a fantastic day throwing 13 of 19 for 295 yards and 6 touchdowns. Yes, you read that right. 6 touchdowns. He also ran the ball 8 times for 81 yards. Oregon stud RB LaMichael James had a decent outing running 12 times for 67 yards and a touchdown. He also caught 2 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. On the receiving end, 5 star freshman RB De’Anthony Thomas caught 2 passes for 93 yards and 2 touchdowns. On the defensive end, the Ducks nabbed 3 interceptions on the day; DE Brandon Hanna, DB Troy Hill, and LB Boseko Lokombo all had 1. LB Michael Clay also notched a sack for Oregon. Overall, this was a total massacre for the Ducks and a good momentum builder as they have 1 more game before conference play.

Next Opponent: Mississippi State

Oregon State 0, Wisconsin 35
After a disastrous opening day loss to Sacramento State, the Beavers got absolutely demolished by the Wisconsin Beavers. After starting the year with Ryan Katz at quarterback, it appears that Oregon State has give the reigns to Freshman QB Sean Mannion who threw 25 of 38 for 244 yards in his first game as a starter. His favorite target was WR Markus Wheaton who caught 8 passes for 83 yards. Jordan Bishop also made a significant impact catching 5 passes for 98 yards. As for the Oregon State D, they stood no chance Wisconsin’s rushing attack giving up 208 yards on the ground and another 189 through the air. Oregon State has had a very rough start to their season. There is still plenty of time to bounce back. They head into their bye week with plenty of questions including will they stick with Sean Mannion or give the reigns back to Ryan Katz. The point is, Oregon State has a lot of work to do over the next 2 weeks before they kick off conference play against UCLA.

Next Opponent: September 24th vs UCLA

Stanford 44, Duke 14
If you were to judge this game based on the final score, it would be easy to assume that Stanford dominated this contest. However, that would be far from the truth. In fact, Stanford had just a 17-7 lead going into halftime with Duke having the better first half. Superstar in the making Andrew Luck threw a pick 6 in the first half which led to Duke’s first 7 points. However, Luck rallied after throwing that interception and ended up going 20 of 28 for 290 yards, 4 TD’s and the aforementioend interception. He played flawlessly in the second half opening up a big lead and never letting up. Luck definitely has a favorite receiver in Chris Owusu who caught a team high 7 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown. TE Cody Fleener also caught 2 passes for 63 yards and 2 TD’s. TE Zach Ertz chipped in with 3 passes for 44 yards and 1 TD. On the defensive side, Stanford was able to get to the QB 6 times. Chase Thomas notched 2.5, Shayne Skob had 1.5, and Ben Gardner had 1 while Trent Murphy and Terrence Stephens had .5 each. Stanford is now 2-0 and had a fairly easy schedule ahead. Things are looking good for the Cardinals.

USC 23, Utah 14
I am admittedly, a USC fan. So believe me when I tell you that this was the most nerve wrecking game of the weekend by far. How nerve wrecking was this game? Well the score says that USC won by 9 points, but the reality is that Utah would have taken USC to overtime if USC had not blocked the game winning field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown. Matt Barkley threw 20 of 32 for 262 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception. Decent stats, but the fact of the matter is that Barkley was unable to pull away from Utah after jumping out and getting a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Barkley had a shot in the 4th quarter to lead USC to a score and put the game away, but he was unable to move the offense. This has to be alarming for USC who is relying on Barkley to win them games. The MVP for USC has to be Marc Tyler who came back from a 1 game suspension and ran 24 times for 113 yards and a touchdown. Tyler has a lot of injury concerns and character concerns, but he is a draftable draft running back with great vision. If he can stay healthy and out of trouble, he should put up great stats in USC’s offense. USC’s D won this game for them. DE Nick Perry was a terror constantly getting pressure on Utah QB Jordan Wynn notching his first sack of the year. Hayes Pollard also notched a sack for USC. As for Utah, Jordan Wynn had a decent game throwing 23 of 46 for 238 yards and 1 TD, but he missed several throws at big moments. The star for Utah was WR DeVonte Christopher who caught 11 passes for 136 yards and 1 TD. RB John White ran the ball 20 times for 56 yards and 1 touchdown. LB Matt Martinez notched a sack for the Utes defense as well. For Utah, they played very hard. There are no moral victories, but if there were, Utah got one with their tough performance against a very talented USC team. As for USC, despite their struggles, they are 2-0 and look to continue to build momentum before starting conference play.

USC next opponent: Syracuse
Utah next opponent: Brigham Young

UCLA 27, San Jose St 17
After losing opening weekend, it was imperative for UCLA to win their home opener against the San Jose St Spartans. They were very close to losing after a lackluster effort in their second day. The hero for the Bruins is RB Derrick Coleman who ran the ball 14 times for 135 yards and 1 TD (all in the 2nd half) to give UCLA it’s first victory of the year. The Bruin’s star RB Jonathan Franklin ran the ball 16 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. After losing starting QB Kevin Prince opening weekend, backup Richard Brehaut had a lackluster showing throwing 12 of 23 for 145 yards and 1 touchdown. On the defensive side, the Bruins had 2 sacks and 2 interceptions. CB Sheldon Price and LB Sean Westgate each got an interception. The Bruins were able to survive against San Jose St. That in itself says a lot. The Bruins have got to get better and fast. #24 Texas is coming to town next week and they are looking to avenge their loss from last year.

Next Opponent: #24 Texas

Washington 40, Hawaii 32
For the 2nd time, Washington was able to hold onto a win only this time. Washington jumped out to a 21-0 lead before letting Hawaii back into the game. The Huskies were led by QB Keith Price who put up some big numbers throwing 18 of 25 for 315 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 interception. Stud RB Chris Polk helped the Washington offense by rushing 22 times for 107 yards and 1 touchdown. The key receivers were Jermaine Kearse and Devin Augur as well as TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins. Kearse had 2 catches for 30 yards and 2 TD’s, Auguer had 5 catches for 131 yard and a TD while Jenkins added 3 catches for 91 yard and a TD. On the defensive side, the Huskies notched 2 sacks and CB Desmond Trufant had another interception. Washington has now won 2 close games against inferior opponents. They will have their hands full as they travel to take take on a very talented Nebraska team.

Next Opponent: #10 Nebraska

Washington State 59, UNLV 7
Washington State is 2-0 in 2011. That’s got to sound good to the fans as the Cougars absolutely crushed the UNLV Rebels on Saturday. Washington State was led by Senior QB Marshall Lobbestael who completed 24 of 32 passes for 361 yards and 5 touchdowns. Freshman QB Connor Halliday also got some action throwing 6 passes, completing 5 for 110 yards and 2 TD’s. 6 different wide receivers were credited with touchdowns. Te standouts were Jared Krstetter caught 6 passes for 66 yards and 2 TD’s, Isaiah Barton caught 4 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown, Kristoff Williams caught 4 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown, and finally Marquess Wilson caught 5 passes for 102 yards and 1 TD. Freshman RB Rickey Galvin ran the ball 5 times for 80 yards and a TD. Washington State now looks to build on its momentum as it takes on San Diego State next week in another winnable game. Is it possible the Cougars will be 3-0 despite losing their starting quarterback in their first game? Wouldn’t that be a twist.

Next Opponent: San Diego State