PAC-12 TO BE TESTED IN WEEK THREE
Walnut Creek, Calif - The Pac-12 went a perfect 8-0 against non-conference foes in week two, outscoring their opponents 384-111. USC and Washington State faced off in the first Conference game of 2013 with the Cougars picking up their first win over the Trojans since 2002 with a 10-7 victory at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. The competition ramps up this week as Pac-12 teams will face non-conference opponents that have gone a combined 18-2 through the first two weeks of the season with three Pac-12 programs taking on nationally ranked teams. Week three will also feature the second Conference game of the season when Oregon State visits unbeaten Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. Kick off is set for 8:15 p.m. MT and will air on Fox Sports 1.
AROUND THE PAC-12
PICK SIX: Pac-12 defenses stepped up to add points of their own to the scoreboard. Five interceptions were returned for touchdowns last week. COLORADO returned a pair of picks for touchdowns (55 yds and 39 yds). The Buff’s defense had just three interceptions all of last season. ARIZONA also returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns (52 yds, 49 yds), including Tre’Mayne Bondurant’s second return for a score this season. WASHINGTON STATE added a pick six for its only touchdown in its 10-7 win over USC. UTAH’s defense also got into the scoring column with a fumble return for a touchdown (21 yds).
QB KEEPER: Last season, four different Pac-12 quarterbacks accounted for 10 rushes of at least 30 yards each, with half of those coming from OREGON QB Marcus Mariota. Just two weeks into the 2013 season, five different Pac-12 quarterbacks have accounted for eight rushes for at least 30 yards. The list this season includes: ARIZONA’s B.J. Denker (30, 35) and Javelle Allen (61); Oregon’s Mariota (46, 71); UCLA’s Brett Hundley (37); UTAH’s Travis Wilson (38, 51). Each of the eight rushes resulted in touchdowns. Both Mariota (5th/117.5 ypg) and Denker (10th/65.5 ypg) are among the league’s top ten in rushing.
THESE GUYS HAVE CLASS: Thirty NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as candidates for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate football. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The Pac-12 was represented by six student-athletes: Vincenzo D’Amato (CAL), Alden Darby (ASU), Jake Fischer (ARIZ), Andrew Furney (WSU), and Will Sutton (ASU).
PAC-12 WELL REPRESENTED ON NFL ROSTERS: According to NFL.com, 266 former Pac-12 football players were listed on team rosters (active, reserve, practice squads) for the opening weekend of the NFL season. That was the third most by any conference, trailing the SEC (371) and ACC (291). USC led all Pac-12 schools with 45 former Trojans listed on NFL rosters, while CALIFORNIA was next with 35. For the complete list (as of Sept. 6), see pages 8-9 of this release.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
STANFORD: Senior FS Ed Reynolds had a game-high 12 tackles (9 solo) to go with an interception in Stanford’s 34-13 victory over San Jose State. His interception extended Stanford’s streak of consecutive games with a takeaway to 25. The streak is the longest in the nation . . . Stanford’s current streak of being in the Top 5 of the AP poll for three consecutive ranking periods is one week shy of the school’s best of four weeks achieved during the 1940 season.
UCLA: With 4,014 career passing yards, sophomore QB Brett Hundley needs 74 yards to move into UCLA’s top ten list, passing former Bruin and 1967 Heisman Trophy winner Gary Beban (4,087 yards). In the season-opener, Hundley connected with 10 different receivers with senior Shaquelle Evans pulling in 6 rec/81 yards and 1 TD . . . Junior RB Jordan James rushed for 155 yards in the opener as UCLA rushed for 345 yards against Nevada . . . In last year’s win over Nebraska, the Bruins had 653 yards in total offense (344 rush/309 pass).
COLORADO: Junior WR Paul Richardson has been Mr. Consistency posting nearly identical numbers in each of the first two games this season. He grabbed 10 receptions for 208 yards in the season opener, then tallied 11 receptions for 209 yards in the win over Central Arkansas. It’s the first time in Pac-12 history that a receiver has posted back-to-back games with 200 or more yards receiving . . . The Buffs look to start the season 3-0 for the first time since 2008.
USC: The Trojan defense held Washington State to seven yards rushing and now leads the nation in rushing defense allowing 15.0 ypg, as well as sacks with 11 (5.5 per game) . . . The offense saw a breakout performance by sophomore TB Tre Madden who has posted back-to-back games with 100 or more rushing yards. He’s the first Trojan since Marcus Allen in 1981 to open the season with consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Madden’s grandfather is NFL All-Pro RB Lawrence McCutcheon who set the since-broken Los Angeles Rams career rushing record (6,186 yards).
OREGON: Through two games, the Ducks have posted five 100-yard rushing performances - two by De’Anthony Thomas, two by Marcus Mariota and one by Byron Marshall. Mariota is the first Oregon QB to rush for 100 or more yards in back-to-back games . . . Strike fast, strike often. Eight of Oregon’s nine scoring drives last week against Virgina were accomplished in under two minutes. That’s 17 of 19 scoring drives this season in less than two minutes (the other two drives were 2:11 and 3:08) . . .
WASHINGTON: The Huskies appear in back-to-back AP polls for the first time since the 2003 season . . . Senior QB Keith Price has 56 TD passes in his career, most in school history and ranks 25th all-time in the Pac-12 . .. Junior TB Bishop Sankey has rushed for 100 or more yards in five of the last six games. He’s gained 368 yards over his last two games.
WASHINGTON STATE: With its 10-7 win over USC, WSU snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Trojans. It was the first win at USC since 2000 . . . The Cougar pass defense held USC to 54 yards on 11 completions (4.9 ypc), while limiting All-American Marqise Lee to 27 yards on seven catches . . . WSU leads the Pac-12, and is sixth in the FBS, allowing just 72.8 passing yards per game.
CALIFORNIA: Freshman QB Jared Goff has thrown for 930 yards in two games, completing 72 of 115 pass attempts (62.6 percent). His two-game total is just eight yards shy of the Pac-12 record two-game total of 938 yards set by former Cal Bear Pat Barnes in 1996. Barnes posted 435 yards vs. UCLA, then followed with a school-record 503 yards vs. Arizona . . . The last time Cal hosted a non-conference foe ranked among the top five was No. 4 Nebraska in 1998 (lost, 24-3).
OREGON STATE: Junior QB Sean Mannion threw for 372 yards and 4 TD in the win over Hawai’i. It was fifth time he’s thrown for 350 or more yards in a game, while it was the sixth time he’s tossed three or more TD passes in a game . . . Mannion connected with 10 different receivers against Hawai’i. Sophomore RB Storm Woods had 7 rec/95 yds, while junior WR Brandin Cooks had 7 rec/92 yds and 2 TDs.
UTAH: The Utes are coming off a game in which they set a school mark for points in a quarter with 35 in the second quarter of a 70-7 win over Weber State . . . It’s the second time in school history it has amassed 100 points in the first two games (1973; 29-22 loss at Texas Tech, 82-6 win vs. UTEP) . . . Sophomore QB Travis Wilson has connected on 31-of-47 for 566 yards and 5 TDs this season and his 202.2 passing efficiency rating ranks eighth in the FBS.
ARIZONA: After serving a one-game suspension, junior RB Ka’Deem Carey returned to post 171 rushing yards on 16 carries (10.7 ypc) and 2 TDs, including a 56-yard TD run on his first carry of the season . . . Carey has 31 rushing TDs, second on the school’s career list. (UA record is 44 by Art Lupino, 1953-56) . . . Junior S Tra’Mayne Bondurant added his FBS-leading third interception of the season with a pick he returned 52 yards for a TD, his second return this season for a touchdown.
ARIZONA STATE: ASU is 8-0 vs. the Big Ten at Sun Devil Stadium . . . The Sun Devils continue to play discipline football as they committed just one penalty for five yards in their season-opening win over Sacramento State. ASU led the Pac-12 last season with just 55 penalties (4.2 per game) for 454 yards (34.9 ypg) . . . Junior QB Taylor Kelly completed 23 of 31 passes for 300 yards and a career high-tying five TDs. He has a streak of 102 straight pass attempts without an interception dating back to last year, which currently stands fourth nationally. His touchdown passes of 16, 41, 24, 33 and 26 yards, all went to five different receivers. Dating back to the final three games of the 2013 season, Kelly has gone 76-of-102 (.745) with 13 touchdowns and zero interceptions on 1,005 yards.
(Photo Credit: Frank Selden)