Welcome to mid October where Halloween is just on the horizon, the stores are filled with giant bags of candy and the college football season is in full swing. Let's take a look back at the week that was with another edition of Notes on a Big Ten Scorecard. We still miss you, Joe Jares.
Summaries
Penn State 33- USC 30 OT: Los Angeles, CA- It was hot and hazy day at the old LA Coliseum for this battle of blue blood programs. Penn State came into this one as the #4 ranked team in the land and SC was unranked as they were coming off an embarrassing loss at Minnesota. On their first drive of the game it looked like the Nittany Lions were gonna blow the doors off SC. They moved down the field quickly and efficiently and scored an apparent TD on a pass from QB Drew Allar to TE Tyler Warren. However, in one of the rare times all year, a Trojan opponent was called for an obvious penalty. An offensive pass interference call wiped out the score. PSU would settle for a 34-yard FG from PK Ryan Barker and a 3-0 lead. SC answered back quickly when RB Quinten Joyner took the ball on a fake reverse and sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown. USC led 7-3 and would control the rest of the first half. A nine-yard TD pass from QB Miller Moss to Joyner and FGs of 45 and 47 yards from PK Michael Lantz would stake SC to a 20-6 halftime lead. Penn State then came out and dominated the Third quarter. The Lions took the second half kickoff and needed just five plays to travel 75 yards to cut SC's lead to 20-13 on a 32-yard TD pass from Allar to Warren on a beautifully executed double pass to cut SC's lead to 20-13. Then after PSU forced a punt, they tied the game up at 20-20 on a one-yard run from RB Kaytron Allen. PSU forced another SC punt and was poised to take control of the game when LB Easton Mascarnenas-Arnold picked off Allar and gave the Trojans a first down at the PSU 24-yard line. SC couldn't move the ball, but did get another FG out of Lantz for a 23-20 lead. From there the teams would trade scores with SC holding a 30-23 lead with 5:56 to play. The Fighting Paternos needed a clutch drive to tie the game and they got it. They converted two fourth downs, had a false start ignored by the refs and watched SC drop a sure interception along the way to game-tying TD pass from Allar to RB Nick Singleton that covered 14 yards. The Men of Troy had one last shot to win the game in regulation and squandered it. They had a first down at the PSU 49-yard line with 1:27 left and two timeouts left. Then they just let the clock run down. Then with :14 left Moss missed a wide open receiver and air mailed an interception to PSU DB Jaylen Reed. Allar then returned the favor on a Hail Mary to end regulation play. SC had the ball first in OT and sputtered. Part of that was due to a bad run call on first down and the other part of that was two blatant PI calls that were ignored by the refs. Lantz then came on for a 45-yard FG attempt and missed wide left. PSU then used three plays to line up the ball in the middle of the field for Barker. His 36-yard kick was true and Penn State pulled off the comeback victory. For PSU Allar completed 30 of 43 passes for 391 yards and three TDs. USC had no answer for his favorite target Tyler Warren. He hauled in 17, yes 17 passes for 224 yards and a score. He also threw a pass for nine yards and ran once for four yards. For the Trojans, Moss completed 20 of 34 passes for 220 yards, two TDs and an interception, while RBs Woody Marks and Joyner combined to rush for 193 yards on 23 carries with a TD.
Telling Stat: 6 from 3 = L; USC forced three Penn State turnovers yet got only six points off those turnovers and that was the difference the game.
Northwestern 37- Maryland 10: College Park, MD- The Terrapins came into this Friday night affair as double digit favorites over the Wildcats. Evidently nobody in Evanston saw the memo as the Wildcats whipped the Terps from start to finish. NU opened up the scoring in the first quarter when QB Jack Lausch scrambled his way nine yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. The Purple and White then extended their lead to 17-0 early in the second quarter when RB Cam Porter crossed the double stripe from three yards out and PK Luke Akers made a 43-yard FG. Maryland got on the board later in the quarter when QB Billy Edwards, Jr. bulled his way in for a one-yard TD run. The Terps then now trialed 17-7 with 3:22 left before halftime. The Northwestern offense then went into hibernation until the fourth quarter. That left the Wildcats defense to hold the lead and boy they sure did. They held UM for downs twice and only allowed field goal to cut their lead to 17-10. Then two drives later, the Wildcat defense decided to score themselves if the offense wasn't going to do it. They sacked Edwards, Jr, and forced a fumble. DT Aidan Hubbard picked the ball up and held onto to it just long enough for a two-yard TD return. That put NU up 24-10 and they never looked back. Two more stops for downs and two more Maryland turnovers led to 13 more points for Northwestern and a big road victory. Forget the offense, NU defense was the star of the show forcing four turnovers, holding three times for downs and then scoring a TD of their own to lead the way to a win. For the Terps, Edwards, Jr. completed 28 of 51 passes for 296 yards and an interception.
Telling Stat: Anatomy of a nightmare; Maryland had a horrible second half at the hands of the Wildcats. Their seven second half drives ended in three turnovers, three turnovers on downs and a field goal.
Oregon 32- Ohio State 31: Eugene, OR- It was a battle of the 20 million dollar NIL payrolls, I mean the #2 and #3 teams in the nation. Yes, the Fighting Nike's of Oregon came away with a narrow one-point win in a back and forth contest that featured some skulduggery on Oregon's part and a boneheaded play on TheeeOSU's part in the game's final moments. The first half saw the Quacks emerge with a 22-21 lead. Oregon and Ohio State each found paydirt three times. UO scores were a three-yard run by RB Jordan James and two TD passes from QB Dillon Gabriel that covered 10 yards to Eva Stewart and 48 yards to WR Tez Johnson. The Buckeyes scores came on a one-yard sneak from QB Will Howard, a one-yard run from RB Quinshon Judkins and 15-yard TD pass from Howard to WR Emeka Egbuka. The Ducks misfired on a pair of two-point attempts and also got a short field goal of 27 yards from PK Atticus Sappington to account for their one point lead. The Third quarter saw the Buckeyes take a 28-22 lead on a six yard toss from Howard to WR Jeremiah Smith. UO went back on top, 29-28 when QB Dillon Gabriel ran though TheeeOSU's defense for a 27-yard TD. The teams the traded FGs to make the score 32-31 Duck with 1:47 left to play. That was plenty of time for the Buckeyes to get into FG range. However, things didn't go so well for OSU. With :10 left in the game UO called time out. OSU had a 3rd and 25 at the Quacks 43-yard line. A short pass and a time out would have put the Scarlet and Gray into the edge of FG range. However, Oregon sent 12 men onto the field for the play coning out of the time out. The play was run and the Oregon defense caused Howard's pass to fall incomplete. The Quacks were then penalized for having 12 men on the field. Now the Buckeyes had just :06 left and were not a lot closer to FG range which was why UO HC Dan Manning sent the illegal 12th man on in the first place. Ohio State's final play saw Howard tuck the ball and run for 12 yards. He also ran the clock out too and Oregon had the win. For the Webfoots, Gabriel completed 23 of 34 passes for 341 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 32 yards and a score. James led all rushers with 115 yards on 23 carries and TD. For the Hard luck Bucks, Howard completed 28 of 35 passes for 326 yards and two TDs. His favorite targets were Smith and Egbuka who combined to catch 19 passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
Telling Stat: The only shade of yellow that mattered; Oregon's play of the game was an intentional penalty. Hmmmmmmm
Illinois 50- Purdue 49 OT: Champaign-Urbana IL- A funny thing happened on the Illini's way to a rout of the Boilermakers. Over the course of their last four games Purdue had been beaten by an average score of 46-11. So when Illinois held a 24-3 halftime lead it sure looked like another blowout loss for old PU. Then the third quarter started and Purdue's came to life. Illinois extended their lead to 27-3 midway through the third period on a 49-yard FG from PK David Olano. Purdue then. got their first TD of the game when QB Ryan Browne, who got the start for the injured Hudson Card, hooked up with WR Jahmal Edrine for a 53-yard TD pass. Eight seconds later DE Will Heidt recovered an Illini fumble and rumbled 16 yards to the house. Suddenly Purdue trailed just 27-17 and had all the momentum. The teams then traded punches all the way to end of regulation when UI's Olano nailed a 38-yard FG to send the game to overtime tied at 43-43. Illinois had the ball first and wasted no time taking the lead again with a 25-yard TD pass from QB Luke Altmyer to WR Pat Bryant. The Boilermakers took just a shade longer to score when they got the ball. It took them two plays to find the end zone with the score coming a three-yard TD run from WR Ahmad Branch on and end around. Then, the Boilermakers decided to go for two and not head to a second OT. Browne dropped back to pass and was sacked by the blitzing Illini defense. The sack allowed Illinois to escape with the win. For The Orange and Blue, Altmyer completed 20 of 34 passes for 379 yards and three TDs while backfield mate RB Josh McCray ran for 78 yards on 16 carries and two scores. For the Sons of John Purdue, Browne completed 18 of 26 passes for 297 yards and three TDs. He also ran for 118 yards on 17 carries. His top receiving target was TE Max Klare who caught six balls for 133 yards.
Telling Stat: A points and yardage frenzy; In the final 22:30 of regulation play and OT the teams combined to score 61 pints and gain 595 total yards of offense.
Iowa 40- Washington 16: Iowa City, IA- Stop me if you've heard this before. A team in the Big Ten took a two time zone road trip and lost. It wasn't the deciding factor in this game, but how else do you explain Iowa scoring 40 points for the first time since 2017? The teams played a pretty even first half with a missed FG and a fumble by the Huskies being the main reason the score stood at 20-10 Hawkeyes at the half. Then the second half began and the Iowa defense set the table for the offense to take control of the game. UW got the ball to start the third quarter and drove down to Iowa's 23-yard line. On 3rd and 9 from the 23 UW QB Will Rogers picked off by DB Jermari Harris and he returned it to the Iowa 46-yard line. That led to a 25-yard FG from PK Drew Stevenss and a 23-10 lead. On the ensuing possession, the Hawkeyes stopped the Dawgs on fourth down at their own 39-yard line. That led to a TD run of eight yards from Kaleb Johnson to start the final period. Iowa now led 30-10 and the game was basically over. For the Hawkeyes, Johnson led all rushers with 166 yards on 21 carries with two TDs and QB Cade McNamara completed eight of 14 passes for 108 yards and a two scores of his own. In defeat Rogers completed 22 of 34 passes for 195 yards, a TD and an interception.
Telling Stat: Miscues kill: Washington led this game in every statistical category except the scoreboard thanks to two turnovers, a missed FG and failing on three fourth down conversions.
Wisconsin 42- Rutgers 7: Madison, WI- It was the second straight road game for the Scarlet Knights against a team that wears Red and White. It was also Rutgers second straight loss on the road to a team the wears Red and White. However, this one wasn't nearly as close as the Badgers whipped the guys from New Jersey. The Badgers took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a 16-yard TD pass from QB Braedyn Locke to Will Pauling and a two-yard TD run by RB Tawee Walker. The second period saw the Badgers turn the ball over twice and miss a FG. Wisconsin fans were a bit uneasy as their squad held a slim 14-0 lead at the half. Ahhhh, but they didn't worry long as the Badgers put this game away with two more TDs in the third period to build a 28-0 lead. RBs Darrion Dupree and Walker found the end zone from two yards and nine yards out for the scores. Rutgers did manage to cross the double stripe early in the fourth quarter when RB Kyle Monangai ran 13 yards for a TD. The score kept RU from being shutout, but not much more than that. Wisconsin got another TD run from Walker that covered 55 yards and a one-yard QB keeper from Locker to finish off the rout. For the Badgers, Walker lugged the leather 24 times for 198 yards and three TDs while Locke compared 20 of 28 passes for 240 yards, a TD and an interception. In the lopsided loss, Monangai ran for 72 yards and a TD on 19 carries.
Telling Stat: They ran wild; Wisconsin racked up 311 yards rushing on 46 carries with five TDs on the hapless Rutgers defense.
Minnesota 21- UCLA 17: Pasadena, CA- The final game of the Big Ten weekend featured a Golden Gophers squad in search of a Big Ten Command Center-aided sweep of the Los Angeles schools. The Gophers did not need the video review guys this week, but they did need another late drive to get the win. It looked like the two-time zone trip and the late kickoff may have doomed the Golden Gophers as UCLA held a 10-0 halftime advantage on a one-yard TD run by RB Keegan Jones and a 34-yard FG from PK Mateen Bhaghani. That was not to be as the third period saw Minnesota take a 14-10 lead on a 12-yard TD pass from QB Max Brosmer to WR Elijah Spencer and a two-yard scamper into the end zone by RB Darius Taylor. UCLA now trialed 14-10 as the final quarter ticked away. The bRuins had the ball on their own 11-yard line with 12:35 to play. The bRuins then put together their best drive of the night. They took a little over five minutes march 89 yards in nine plays to take. a 17-14 lead. QB Ethan Garbers hit WR J. Michael Sturdivant with a 42-yard TD pass to cap off the drive. After an exchange of punts, The Gophers had the ball at their own 39-yard with 2:16 to play. UCLA just needed one more stop to get their first Big Ten win. It didn't happen. Minnesota swept down the field in seven plays with Bromser flipping a four-yard TD toss to Taylor for the game-winner. Brosmer completed 26 of 37 passes for 193 yards and two TDs. WR Daniel Jackson hauled in 10 of Browser's aerials for 89 yards. For UCLA, Garbers completed 25 of 36 passes for 293 yards, a TD and three interceptions. Sturdivant was the top pass catcher in the game with seven receptions for 107 yards and a score.
Telling Stat: Pick and Flags will give you an L; UCLA threw three interceptions and were flagged 10 times for 105 yards which paved the way for a loss to the Golden Gophers.
Observations
...Simple truth; Great games are only great when you win.
...200 and counting; Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz got his 200th Big Ten Conference win this past Saturday. That puts him just five wins away from tying Woody Hayes as the all-time career Big Ten leader.
...Harsh truth; We keep hearing form USC HC Lincoln Riley that the Trojans are just a few plays away from being 6-0 instead of being 3-3. SC is also a handful of plays away from being 1-5 instead of 6-0 as well.
...A march to futility; Yale's opening drive against Dartmouth covered 48 yards in 21 plays and ended in a turnover on downs at the Dartmouth 10-yard line. They went on to lose the game in OT, 44-43. Ouch.
...Taking their anger out; After getting beat by USC, Wisconsin has beaten their next two opponents by a combined score of 96-13.
...Harsh truth redux; USC receivers don't get enough separation and QB Miller Moss has accuracy issues.
...Losing is fun; It is fun to watch Colorado lose.
...Lost in the O; The Texas offense gets most of the media attention these days, but the Longhorn defense is only allowing 6.33 points per game.
...Titan regret; Be a Titans ball boy they said. It will be fun they said. Ouch. He needs AFLAC now
...Double thud leaders; Nebraska has had five kicks blocked this year.
...Unprofessional; ESPN's Mark Jones is incapable of impartiality in the booth when calling a Colorado game. His play-by-play is a three hour infomercial for the Sanders family with a little actual football sprinkled in.
...Rising Ridiculousness; Utah HC Kyle Whittingham announced that QB Cam Rising has a lower leg injury and will be out for the rest of the season. He now gets to apply for a medical redshirt and come back for an eighth year of eligibility. This is not a joke.
...Dominant in the Dakotas; The #1, 2 and 4 ranked teams in the FCS are South Dakota State, North Dakota State and the University of South Dakota. However, the #3 team is farther west. It's Montana State. Montana State is also the only 7-0 in the either the FBS or FCS.
...Harsh Truth Returns; This USC team will play at the level of their competition all year. Especially so with a three time zone trip to Maryland this week. Sigh.
...Gotta throw the obvious flags; There is such a thing as over officiating and how a ton of penalties can mess up a game, but the lack of calling obvious penalties hurts the game as well. In all leagues obvious holding and PI's just are not being called. Sideline behavior has gotten bad too. Coaches pushing players and coaches also handling refs and just screaming in their faces without a a single flag being thrown is ridiculous.
...Speaking of ridiculous; How was Georgia HC Kirby Smart not penalized for pushing Mississippi State QB Michael Van Buren? It's easily unsportsmanlike conduct at the very least. Unacceptable
...Juked; Colorado CB Shiloh Sanders was faked out of his jock by K-State RB D.J. Giddens. On His Knees! Oh, look at all the obvious holds on this play too.
...Legit Question; Why is it when SEC teams all beat each other the national narrative is, "Hey look at how deep this conference is!" However, when it happens in the Big XII. the national narrative is, "Boy this is just not a good league." Hmmmmmmmmmm
...3-10; The two/three time zone Big Ten road trip is a killer. Teams taking that long of a trip in the league are 3-10 and two of those three wins are in Pasadena over what might be the worst UCLA team since 1971.
...Lost in the shuffle; Lost in all the furor over the end of the game, the return of Chip Kelly to Nike U as TheeeOSU's OC was largely overlooked.
...Rising form the long dead; Anyone notice that Louisina-Monroe, one of the true bottom feeders of the FBS, is 5-1? Their only loss is to #1 Texas.
...Stiffarm Statue is his to lose; At the halfway mark of the season Boise State RB Austin Jeanty is your Heisman winner. It's his trophy to lose. He has already rushed for 1,248 yards this season. He has more yards rushing than 109 other teams in the FCS. Wow.
...3-10 Nugget; Here's an overlooked point about playing at the Rose Bowl as a visiting team. Visiting teams that play at the Rose Bowl play in far superior conditions than they do as visitors at on campus stadiums. Making things difficult for your opponent is an art form at the collegiate level. Poor locker rooms are the norm. At Rose Bowl it doesn't happen. It's really just a neutral site despite how much signage UCLA hangs on the seats. Is this the main reason UCLA has been beaten at home by Indiana and Minnesota? No, the bRuins being generationally bad is the main reason, but this does factor into the games.
...1938; Iowa State is 6-0 for the first time since 1938. Back then, they were in the forerunner of the Big XII then known as the Big 6. They would finish the year at 7-1-1 with a 10-0 season ending loss to Oklahoma.
...Stay Classy Quacks; Oregon WR Traeshon Holden was ejected for spitting on TheeeOSU CB Davison Igbinosun. He let one fly
...This will light the lamp; The Chicago Blackhawks are selling 24 oz. hockey stick beers.
Big Ten Overreactions
USC is a 7-5 team.
UCLA is a 1-11 team.
Washington can't believe they gave up 40 to Iowa.
Illinois wonder how Purdue scored 49 points .
Purdue even wonders how Purdue scored 49 points.
Wisconsin plays well when angry.
Ohio State is an 11-1 team.
Oregon may eventually play another road game.
Minnesota wants to establish a satellite campus in LA.
Northwestern will ruin somebody's season.
Iowa may never score 40 points again.
Penn State plays knowing they will never be called for holding.
Rutgers is in search of an offense donor.
Maryland just fumbled again.
Keeping Up On Your Exes
...Had 'em for a minute; Stanford took an early, 7-0 lead at Notre Dame last week. They then gave up seven straight touchdowns in a 49-7 loss to the Fighting Irish
...Forked; Utah got the business end of Sparky's pitchfork in a 27-19 loss at Arizona State. That pitchfork was named Cam Skattebo. The ASU RB toted the rock 22 times for 158 yards and two TDs against the vaunted Utah defense.
CFL Update
There are still two weeks to go in the regular season, but all six playoff berths have been filled. The East Division Champs are the Montreal Alouettes with an 11-3-1 record. Fighting it out for second place are the Toronto Argonauts at 9-7-1 and the Ottawa Redblacks at 8-6-1. The West Division still needs to crown a champion as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hold a 10-7 record and a 1/2 game lead over the Saskatchewan Roughriders at 9-7-1. In third place are the B.C. Lions at 8-9. The guys at 3 Down Nation do a great job covering the league. The 110-Yard Game
Unique Uniform of the Week: There is a hell of lot of repetition in college uniforms and school colors, but nobody wears teal and does teal well like Coastal Carolina.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Claremont, CA- We got to the only D-III football conference in California, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for this week's contest. PK Jack Walker split the uprights from 15 yards out as time expired to lift the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens to a 10-7 victory over the Redlands Bulldogs. The teams traded first quarter TDs and it was ac defensive standoff the rest of the way. The game-winning kick was setup by Sagehens DB Joshua Yen who picked off Bulldogs QB Jayden McKay at the Redlands 30-yard line with 1:15 to play. Defense ruled the night here as the offenses combined to convert on just seven of 29 third downs.
Blowout Game of the Week: Selinsgrove, PA- We now stay in D-III where the Susquehanna River Hawks crushed the Keystone College Giants, 79 -6 in Landmark Conference play. The River Hawks built up a 41-0 lead at the half and then emptied the niches the rest of the way in this rout. In about a half's worth of work River Hawks QB Josh Ehrlich was a perfect 11 of 11 passing for 203 yards and four TDs. Meanwhile, nine different backs combined to rush for 377 yards on 43 carries and three TDs fro mighty Susquehanna.
Razorback Report: The Hogs had a bye this past Saturday and will host LSU on 10/19.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
I miss the old school NFL pencil sets.
Pitch dark here at 6:45 last night. The shortening of the days does creep up quickly.
Speaking of pencils, Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils are still the best.
Until next time folks remember, that it takes a full four quarters of effort to win games.
-The Commissioner
