Hey All,
It's time for another edition of the column that takes a look back on the weekend that was in college football, Notes on a Big Ten Scorecard. We still miss you, Alan Malamud
Summaries
Illinois 34- USC 32: Champaign-Urbana, IL- In the minutes prior to the game we learned that USC starting Safety Kamari Ramsey would not play in the game due to food poisoning. After the game this intrepid reporter would learn that several other starters were suffering from it as well.*. The nine AM Kickoff came and USC had the ball first and drove right down the field on the Illini. Then the drive died when RB Waymond Jordan had the ball punched out of his hands on the Illinois 30-yard line. IU then broke the seal on the game with a 70 yard drive that ended in Illini QB Luke Altmyer running 12 yards untouched to the end zone for a 7-0 lead. SC was fighting from behind the rest of the way from this point forward. Illinois had control of the game and gained yards at will, but just couldn't pull away from the Trojans. A key sequence before the half kept SC in the game. IU was poised to go up two scores when DE Braylon Conley forced a fumble by RB Kaden Feagin on the Trojans one-yard line. DT Jahkeem Stuart scoped up the ball and took it out to the 26-yard line with :49 left in the first half. QB Jaden Maiava led SC to within the shadow of the Illinois goal posts only to have to settle for a 21-yard FG from PK Ryon Sayeri and a 14-10 halftime deficit. The third quarter was a further adventure is frustration as the defense couldn't stop Illinois while the offense kept the Trojans in the game. USC trailed 24-17 to start the final period after getting a two-yard TD run from Jordan to cut into Illinois' two TD lead. Illinois went right back out to a two TD lead when Altmyer hit WR Justin Bowick with a 25-yard scoring pass. The Trojan offense kept fighting on with the arm of Maiava, the absolute amazing receiving skill of WR Makai Lemon and a slew of TEs that kept making tough catches over the middle to extend drives. A 19-yard TD strike to Lemon and the subsequent two-point conversion put USC within striking distance of the lead at 31-25. Then Illinois looked to put the game away and they just about did. The Illini just went right down the field yet again and had a 1st and 10 at the SC 12-yard line. RB Ca'Ll Valentine then ran for the end zone only to have the ball pushed out by LB Eric Gentry on near the goal line. SC DB Christian Pierce fell on the ball in the end zone after a wild scramble and the Trojans were still alive with 6;21 left in the game. Maiava guided the Cardinal and Gold down the field one more time. SC had a 1st and 10 at the IU 16-yard line. Maiava then found Lemon one more time for a TD and a 32-31 lead. Only problem with that was that there was still 1:55 left on the clock and Illinois had all three timeouts. Could the SC defense get just one stop and put this bad game in the win column? No. Illinois moved the ball at will and PK David Olano booted a 41-yard FG as time expired to send SC down to defeat. For SC, Maiava completed 30 of 43 passes for 364 yards, two TDs and an interception. Lemon was incredible. He caught 11 passes for 151 yards and two scores. The USC defense made Altmyer look like a Heisman Trophy winner. He completed 20 of 26 passes for 328 yards and two TDs. He also ran for 36 yards and a TD. Oh, and he also caught a TD pass when the Trojans were clueless to stop the Philly Special.
Telling Stat: No D= L; Make any excuse you want from the early kickoff time to food poisoning, but this was the worst showing by a USC defends in a long time.
*-This was second/third hand information gleaned from the reading the reports from fans who had attended the game and posted on the USC message boards about their interactions with the parents of the players. It was those parents who told them about the food poisoning.
Minnesota 31- Rutgers 28: Minneapolis, MN- This under the radar game in the Big Ten was a back and forth affair that came down to one final drive for the Golden Gophers to get the win. There were two main story lines in this game. The first was Rutgers QB Athan Kaliakmanis. Kaliakmanis spent three years in the Gopher Football program and started at QB for the team prior to his transfer to Rutgers. The second revolved around Minnesota QB Drake Lindsey and if he could lead his team to a win with the Gophers top two RBs out of the game. Ahh, but there was a third storyline that popped up. It is the recent failures of Rutgers PK Jai Patel. To start the year, Patel had the world on a string as the he set a new record for consecutive made field goals for the Scarlet Knights. Against Iowa in the week prior, Patel was 0 for 2 in the FG department. All three storylines came into play. Kaliakmains had himself a good game completing 21 of 34 passes for 249 yards with two TDs and an interception despite the Minnesota defense being in his face all game. His backfield mate, RB Antwan Raymond lugged the leather 26 times for 161 yards with two TDs of his own. He also ran for two scores. Lindsey led the Gopher attack almost single handedly completing 31 of 41 passes for 324 yards and three scores. The third storyline decided the game. Rutgers HC Greg Schiano kept Patel on the sidelines when his squad had a chance to tie the game with a 56-yard FG attempt. Patel had already had a 22-yard attempt blocked early in the contest. On came Dane Pizarro for Patel and his kick sailed wide right with :20 left. Minnesota then took a knee and claimed the victory.
Telling Stat: Bookend Fails = L; Rutgers PK Jai Patel had a 22-yard FG attempt blocked to start the game and PK Dane Pizarro missed a 56-yarder to end the game in this hard luck loss for Rutgers.
Ohio State 24- Washington 6: Seattle, WA- The sellout crowd at Husky Stadium was hoping for an upset of the #1 Buckeyes. For almost the first full 29 minutes of game play it looked like the Dawgs had an upset brewing with a 3-0 lead on a 28-yard FG from PK Grady Gross. The teams were just locked up in a defensive struggle. Then a UW drive stalled in and he Huskies faced a 4th and 14 at the Buckeyes 27-yard line. The Huskies sent out their FG unit sand then attempted a fake field goal. The snap was clean, Gross was cooly flipped the ball back by his holder and Gross fired a pass downfield. Only problem was that nobody was there to catch the ball. TE Decker DeGraf had moved outside to block for whoever was to catch the ball, but that receiver never showed up. The pass fell incomplete and the Scarlet and Gray took over on downs at their own 27-yard line. 10 plays later, TheeeOSU took the lead on an 18-yard TD toss from QB Justin Sayin to WR Jeremiah Smith with 1:08 left in the second quarter. It was now only a 7-3 Buckeyes lead, but you could feel the air go right out of Husky Stadium. The third quarter opened and TheeeOSU moved down the field 75 yards in 14 plays and went up 14-3 when RB C.J. Donaldson bulled his way across the double stripe from the one-yard line. The Huskies would answer back with 28-yard FG from Gross to make the score 14-6, but they would not get any closer as the Buckeye defense shut them out the rest of the way while the offense tacked on a 34-yard FG from PK Jason Fielding and a four-yard TD toss from Sayin to Donaldson to finish off the scoring. Sayin had an efficient day, completing 22 of 28 passes for 208 yards and two TDs. Donaldson only ran for 39 yards on nine carries, but he ran for a score and also scored a TD on his only catch of the day. Meanwhile, the Buckeye defense allowed UW to convert on only 1 of 11 3rd Down attempts. For the Huskies, QB Demond Williams, Jr. completed 18 of 22 passes for 173 yards.
Telling Stat; Four Score and a W; Just before halftime and then right after the Buckeyes burned clock and scored on four straight drives to come away with 24-6 win.
Indiana 20- Iowa 15: Iowa City, IA- A week after destroying Illinois, the Hoosiers ran into an old school, tooth and nail defensive struggle at Iowa. However, it looked Indiana picked up where the left off last week by picking off Iowa QB Mark Gronowski at the Iowa 24-yard line to start the game. Two plays later Hoosier WR Omar Cooper, Jr. caught a 14-yard TD pass from QB Fernando Mendoza for a 7-0 lead. Iowa climbed back into the game and took a 10-7 lead on a 40-yard FG by PK Drew Stevens and a three-yard run by Gronowski. Indiana then put together a drive and sent the game to the half tied at 10-10 on a 46-yard FG from Nico Radicic. The third quarter was a scoreless standoff. Early in the fourth quarter the Hawkeyes held the Hoosiers for downs near midfield. Iowa managed to drive enough yards for a long FG attempt from Stevens. Stevens split the uprights from 54 yards out and the Hawkeyes held a 13-10 lead with 12:43 left. Indiana then answered right back with a 44-yarder from Radicic and we had a tie game once again with 9:47 left. Then both teams traded interceptions which led to Iowa attempting a 42-yard FG with 2:01 left. Stevens' kick sailed wide and Indiana had the ball at their own 27-yard line with 1:56 left. Five plays later, Mendoza hit WR Elijah Sarratt on a sideline route. Sarratt made one move with the ball, got past the DB covering him and was off to the races for a 49-yard TD that gave IU 20-13 lead with 1:28 left. Iowa got the ball one final time, but that final drive was hindered by the fact that Iowa's Gronowski had been injured a couple minutes earlier. Backup QB Hank Brown couldn't break through the IU defense. Indiana then gave up one of the weirdest safeties ever to end the game. Facing a fourth down near midfield with :04 left, Mendoza raced backwards 49 yards out through the end zone for an intentional safety to kill the clock. In the victory, Mendoza completed 13 of 23 passes for a 233 yards, two TDs and an interception. Sarratt caught six of those passes for 132 yards and the game-winning score. Gronowski completed 19 of 25 passes for 144 with an interception. He also ran for Iowa's lone TD in the bitter loss.
Telling Stat: Their is a D in Indiana; The Indiana defense forced the missed FG by Iowa with 2:01 left to keep there Hoosiers victory hopes alive.
Northwestern 17- UCLA 14: Evanston, IL- It was another beautiful day at Northwestern's temporary stadium on Lake Michigan. A prefect early fall afternoon was greeted by a near perfect Wildcat squad. Well, they were pretty near perfect for their first three drives anyway. PK Jack Olsen opened the scoring for the Wildcats with a 33-yard FG. His kick topped off a scoring drive that lasted 17 plays and covered 74 yards. Northwestern's next two drives found paydirt. First, RB Caleb Komolafe crossed the double stripe for a 10-0 lead from nine yards out and then QB Preston Stone hit WR Griffin Wilde with a 10-yard TD pass for a 17-0 lead. It looked like the Wildcats were gonna blow the hapless bRuins right into the lake a this point. However, UCLA's defense managed to right the ship and shutout the Wildcats the rest of the way, while their offense couldn't overcome the deficit to keep the bRuins from being winless on the season. railing 17-6 with 6:19 left in the game, QB Nico Iamaleava threw a 29-yard TD pass to WR Kwazi Gilmer. Iamaleava then connected with RB Anthony Woods for the two-point conversion. All of a sudden the game was in doubt for the Wildcats. After forcing a Wildcats punt, the bRuins had one last chance to tie or go ahead, but that drive ended with an incomplete pass on their own 32-yard line as time ran out and Northwestern had the win. For the Wildcats, Stone completed 12 of 18 passes for 115 yards and a TD, while Komolafe led all rushers with 119 yards on 27 carries and a TD of his own. For the bRuins, Iamaleava was the offense completing 19 of 27 aerials for 180 yards and a TD. He also ran for 65 yards on 14 carries.
Telling Stat: Almost 30 minutes late; UCLA's offense didn't wake up until late in the second quarter and that cost the bRuins the game.
Oregon 30- Penn State 24 2OT: Happy Valley, PA- It was yet another white out at Beaver Stadium. The crowd was raucous to say the least and ready for this matchup between the Fighting Paternos and the Webfoots. The game was a real slugfest for the first 30 minutes. Oregon seemed to have the upper hand in the action, but one missed FG of 47 yards and then one made FG of 42 yards by UO PK Atticus Sappington matched the 49-yard FG made by PSU PK Ryan Barker and teams went into the half tied at 3-3. The third quarter saw the Ducks start to pull a way from the Nittany Lions when they executed a 10-play, 80-yard drive to take a 10-3 lead on a pass that covered eight yards from QB Dante Moore to RB Dierre Hill, Jr. The Ducks defense then forced a PSU 3 and Out and the offense then went up 17-3 by finishing off a 75-yard drive with an eight-yard TD scamper from RB Jordon Davison. At that point, the 12:25 mark of the fourth quarter, you could hear a pin drop in Happy Valley and feel the disappointment in the stands. Could PSU get off the deck and make a game of it? Well, they did on the ensuing possession. The Lions put together their best drive of the game and swept down the field with QB Drew Allar hooking up with WR Devonte Ross for a 35-yard TD pass to make the score 17-10. The Nittanys then got the ball back after forcing an Oregon punt with 7:07 left to play. HC James Franklin's charges then went on a nerve-wracking drive that covered 62 yards in 15 plays to tie the game. The game-tying score was a nifty little swing pass to Ross that let him sprint seven yards past the outstretched arms of Ducks defenders to paydirt. After UO burned off the final :30 of regulation play we were headed to Overtime. The teams traded TDs in the first OT and the game moved on to the second OT. On the first play of the period, Moore hit USC Transfer WR Gary Bryant, Jr. with a 25-yard laser of a pass for a TD and a 30-24 lead. The mandatory two-point conversion was picked off by Penn State. On their turn with the ball, PSU QB Drew Allar's pass was intercepted by UO DB Dillon Thieneman. The game was over that suddenly and all that could be heard were the sounds of the Ducks celebrating on the Beaver Stadium turf. When it was all over, Moore had a great night for the Quacks completing 29 of 39 passes for 248 yards and three TDs while Hill led all rushers with 82 yards on 10 carries and two receptions for 12 yards and a touchdown. For PSU, Allar completed 14 of 25 passes for 137 yards, two TDs and one huge interception.
Telling Stat: Not so dynamic duo; The Oregon defense held the vaunted Penn State RB tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton to just 73 yards on 23 carries with one score.
Observations
...Mean Fun Fact; UCLA hasn't led in any game this year.
...A dubious honor; Boston College is the first ACC team to go 0-2 v. Cal and Stanford in a season since the Bay Area schools joined the league last year.
...I'm saying there's a chance; New Mexico is 3-1 and has a legitimate shot to go bowling this year.
...Kissing their sister; The 40-40 tie between the Packers and Cowboys was a real barn burner of game. NFL regular season overtime has been around since the 1974 season. The very first NFL regular season overtime game also ended in tie. The Steelers and the Broncos battled to a 35-35 tie at Mile High Stadium on 9-22-1974.
...Trivia Time; Who were the two starting QBs in that first ever NFL regular season overtime game between the Steelers and Broncos?
...A dream season; So far UNLV's Aamaris Brown has had a great year. The DB ahas picked off four passes in four games and has returned two of those picks for touchdowns.
...It just doesn't exist; Holding does not exist in the Big Ten. Watch any game in the league on any given week and the refs just won't call it.
...The long road; Washington makes just about the longest road trip in the Big Ten this week when they cross three time zones and traverse 2,748 miles to College Park to take on Maryland.
...#4 with a bullet; Ole Miss is the real deal this year. They are totally deserving of their #4 ranking.
...Death, Taxes and Umass Futility; The futility of Massachusetts football is the one great constant of college football. The Minutemen are off to an 0-4 start that includes a 27-26 loss to Bryant College of the FCS.
...The portal in action; The full impact of the transfer portal hits home when you multiple transfers from your school doing well at other schools.
...Quietly making noise; RB Ahmad Hardy of Missouri leads the country in rushing with 730 yards on 103 carries. That's a nifty 7.08 yards per carry.
...Commodores up; It would be par for the course of this season for Vanderbilt to upset Alabama this week.
...The Century Mark; Williamson High beat Murphy High 100-0 in a meeting of Mobile, Alabama prep schools. When the game was long out of hand at halftime with the score 73-0, Williamson HC Antonio Coleman wanted to go to eight minute quarters and a running clock in the second half just to get the game over with. The referee took Coleman's request to Murphy HC Sherman Williams prior to the second half kickoff. Coleman refused the offer. Wow. A Rough 100
...Ditch it; Penn State's white outs need to be done away with. Like ND wearing green jerseys, PSU's overall record is pretty poor when this gimmick is used.
...Way too far ahead thought and wishful thinking; With the way this season is going, the Virginia- Cal game on 11/1 at Berkeley could really mean something in the ACC.
...Unhappy Valley; With that gut wrenching loss in two overtimes to Oregon, Penn State HC James Franklin is now just 4-21 overall against teams ranked in the top ten for his career. It's alright though Nittany Lions fans, Franklin takes responsibility for the loss to the Quacks. 4-21 Pain
...Big man with skills; Watch Alabama LT Kaden Proctor get all of his 6'7" 360 frame hustling upfield on a screen pass v. Georgia. He Rumbled
...Shockingly Abysmal; USC's defense played statically worse v. Illinois than FCS also ran Western Illinois did against the Illini. One prime example is that the Trojans sieve of a secondary gave up 15.8 yards per completion, while Western Illinois gave up 12.8 yards per completion to the Illini back on 8/29. Facepalm
...He's gone; Arkansas HC Sam Pittman became the latest HC fired this season after his Hogs were trounced by Notre Dame. Pittman went 32-34 in Fayetteville. His Razorback squads were snake bit to say the least with the them suffering many gut wrenching defeats during his tenure. Pitt-iful
...Silent D; While much praise has been heaped on Ohio State's offense this year, their defense is why they are 4-0. The Buckeye defense has given up just 22 points so far this season.
...Trivia Answer; The two QBs in that game were Jefferson Street Joe Gilliam for Pittsburgh and Charley Johnson for Denver.
...33 rolling away; Alabama's win at Georgia snapped the Bulldog's 33-game home wining streak. The 33 on the back of a bottle of Rolling Rock is the only 33 we can count on nowadays.
...His lid says it all; If the font on interim UCLA HC Tim Skipper's hat doesn't scream INTERIM HC! then nothing else can. I see the bRuins really splurged for the gear here.
Big Ten Overreactions
USC is a 7-5 team. Sigh.
UCLA is an 0-12 team.
Oregon plays with a deep anger and intensity.
Penn State is a program stuck in No Man's Land.
Indiana wishes they played with as much intensity as Oregon.
Ohio State is happy letting Oregon and Indiana get the attention right now.
Washington is not as a good as they think they are.
Rutgers will not go bowling.
Illinois wants morning kickoffs from now on.
Minnesota's boat rowers will go bowling.
Northwestern can exhale now, the bRuins have flown home.
Iowa is the beige wallpaper of college football.
Keeping Up With Your Exes
ASU got some pretty unbelievable calls that paved the way for their 27-24 comeback win over TCU, while Arizona got whipped at Iowa State, 39-14. Meanwhile, Cal made the three timezone trip to Boston College and beat the Eagles, 28-24 and Stanford got a late score to beat San Jose State, 30-29.
Ugly Uniform of the Week
UCLA wins this week's award. The bRuins color scheme is ugly every day, but even uglier when they are winless
A Chicle of Wisdom
This week's example of the wisdom from the 1935 National Chicle football card set comes from card #4 Ed Matesic. You can see the old Eagles Halfback holding a rather fat football. The old NFL footballs were not the sleek things of today's game that are made to be rocketed down the field. Coach Casey's tips on how the throw the ball are pretty good for that era.
Departments
Low Score Game of the Week: Madison, SD- We get this week's game from the NAIA's North Star Athletic Association. PK Adrian Villanueva kicked a 35-yard FG with :12 left to lift the Trojans of Dakota State to an 11-10 win over the Southern Oregon Raiders. The Trojans shutout the Raiders in the second half, allowing just 93 total yards. The defense also scored a safety.
Blowout Game of the Week: Silver City, NM- This game comes to us form the D-II ranks and the Lone Star Conference to be exact where the Central Washington Wildcats worked over the Western New Mexico Mustangs, 91-31. CWU sprinted out to a 35-0 first quarter lead and never looked back in this laugher. RB Justice Taylor gained 169 yards on 17 carries with three TDs as the spearhead of the Wildcats rushing attack that gained 347 total yards on 41 carries with seven TDs.
Razorback Report: Fayetteville, AR- The Razorbacks were no match for Notre Dame this week. The Hogs were smacked 56-13 by the Fighting Irish in what would be HC Sam Pittman's last game pacing the sidelines in Fayetteville. Pittman's firing was announced on Sunday morning following the game. Bob Petrino, yes that Bob Petrino who left the program in disgrace after his motorcycle escapades with his mistress/subordinate back in 2012 has been named the interim HC. Embarrassed Faceplam.
This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...
Nothing beats a good night's sleep.
Putting up fall decorations just hammers home the fact that this is my favorite time of year.
Why is it that everyone in the neighborhood can hear a car alarm going off for at least several minutes before the actual owner of the vehicle ever hears it?
Until next time folks, remember that your defense is allowed to cover the other team's receivers when they go out for a pass.
-The Commissioner
