PAC 12 ROUNDUP: WEEK 8
Stanford was the winner of The Big Game over the weekend, but this has to go to the Oregon Ducks who went on the road to 5-1 ASU, and made a featured national TV game look like a scrimmage with a local high school. ASU is a legitimate team that came in to the game with a 5-1 record, and the Devils thought they were going to be Oregon’s biggest test of the season.
Eighteen and a half minutes after kickoff, Oregon was up 43-7 and all over America, people were walking into rooms with the game on, looking at televisions in silence for four seconds before saying, “Wait. What quarter is it?”
If you just looked at the score, you probably assumed this was just another case of Oregon’s offense running roughshod over a helpless opponent, but the Ducks D. deserves recognition for an outstanding game against one of the more prolific offenses in the Pac.
The Devils came out hot at home, needing only one play to convert an Oregon fumble into the game’s first TD. However, their next drive ended in a failed field goal try and after that, they were suffocated. The results of their next 10 drives: punt, punt, interception, punt, punt, half, punt, punt, punt, downs, INT.
Oregon’s offense, was of course taking care of business during this stretch as well and the game got out of hand so fast that ESPN.com’s drive chart lists Cameron Marshall’s 1 yard run that ended the 1st quarter as, “End of Game”. That was appropriate because the next play was a Taylor Kelly interception that was returned inside the ASU 10. Less than a minute later, Oregon was up 29-7 and the game was indeed over.
Arizona opened the door to bowl eligibility and put Washington right on the brink Photo:Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
WORST LOSS:
Washington and Arizona were in a bad spot last week. Both of them opened conference play with Oregon, Stanford and one other top 10 team (USC for UW, OSU for UA). In spite of talent that has taken both teams into this season’s top 25, they came into this game a combined 1-5 in conference play.
In other words, this was a battle of two good teams desperate for a win. Washington just played USC close and expected to get a win in Tuscon, but instead the Wildcats out-classed Washington in every phase of the game in a 52-7 rout.
Arizona has the 5th ranked offense in the nation and the Cats scored on each of their first five possessions. That meant that every mistake by the Washington offense was critical and ultimately the Dogs just couldn’t keep up. It was a one-score game after the 1st quarter, and two scores at half.
As the defecit grew, Washington was forced farther and farther from the balance they thrive on with Bishop Sankey running the ball and opening things up for Keith Price . But Price threw over 50 times on Saturday and Washington’s offense was increasingly predictable. As the incompletions piled up, the Wildcat lead snowballed and by the 4th quarter, the game was a rout.
The win doesn’t solve everything for Arizona. They are still 1-3 in conference and face a battle to get to a bowl, but the loss was huge for Washington.
At Pac-12 Media day in August, the first question asked to Steve Sarkisian was about the brutal LSU – Stanford – Oregon – USC stretch of the Dogs’ schedule. Complaining wouldn’t do Washington any good, but deep down, the folks in Seattle have suspected that late October would find the Huskies with a mediocre record and their backs against the wall. This Arizona game was supposed to be beginning of Huskies 2nd half turnaround, instead the Cats handed UW a worse loss than even LSU and Oregon.
Hard times for Sark’s crew, and it gets worse. That Oregon State game that looked like a much-needed easy week back in August is now a battle with a top-10 team. But that’s life in today’s Pac-12
NBD, Oregon just has a freshman QB faster than you team’s corners. Nothing to worry about. Photo: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: This is where I’m supposed to tell you that Matt Barkley passed 32/28 on Saturday for 932 yards and 18 touchdowns against Colorado Welding College for the Blind and pretend that it makes him the greatest Trojan of all time. Unfortunately, the NCAA ruled over the weekend that passing statistics compiled against the Buffalos are not valid and must be vacated from the record books.
As great as Barkley’s numbers were on Saturday, with Marqise Lee and Robert Woods going against the pitiful CU secondary, they didn’t require a single extraordinary play by the quarterback.
The truly incredible QB play this weekend happened in Tuscon on Thursday night. Marcus Mariota accomplished the rare feat of scoring TDs by passing, rushing, and receiving. Mariota ran 10 times for 135 yards, including an astounding 86 yard run from the option where the Freshman quarterback blew by Arizona State’s corners like tackling dummies, and struck fear into the heart of fans all over the conference. That was the play and the player, of the week.