Stanford-Washington matchup headlines week six slate for Pac-12 football
AROUND THE PAC-12
STRENGTH OF OPPONENT’S SCHEDULE: The 33 non-conference opponents on Pac-12 schedules have combined for a 78-40 record to date. (This excludes games played against the Pac-12, and only counts one record for common opponents, i.e., Hawaii, Utah State and Notre Dame). Compared to other BCS conference opponent’s records, no conference can top the Pac-12’s opponent’s winning percentage. Here’s a look at the combined records of the other BCS conference’s non-conference opponents (excluding games against the respective BCS conference, and only one record for common opponent, i.e., Notre Dame in Big Ten):
POINT AFTER: Entering last weekend’s play, Pac-12 teams were 186-of-188 on PATs (.989). However, weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest last weekend wrecked havoc on the kickers as high winds and rain contributed to a combined six missed extra point attempts in games in Corvallis, Eugene and Seattle. While kickers struggled with extra points last weekend, combining for 38-of 45 (.844), they did have considerable success from further out as they connected on 8-of-9 field goal attempts (.889).
MANNION RESTS: OREGON STATE junior QB Sean Mannion has thrown for at least 350 yards in a school-record five straight games. He and the Beavers get a breather this week with a bye. Mannion has completed (160) more passes than all but 15 other FBS quarterbacks have attempted this season. His FBS leading 2,018 passing yards (403.6 ypg) are 368 yards more than the next quarterback.
CHANGE IN TROY: Lane Kiffin has been relieved of his coaching duties at USC. Kiffin compiled a 28-15 record in three-plus seasons with the Trojans. Ed Orgeron, USC’s Recruiting Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach, has been tabbed as Interim Head Coach. Orgeron, who has 11 years of experience as a USC assistant coach, spent three seasons (2005-07) as the head coach at Mississippi where he went 10-25.
UCLA: With their two open dates out of the way, the Bruins will now play nine straight weeks to close out the regular season. California is the only other Pac-12 team with games scheduled nine straight weeks . . . UCLA is third in the FBS, averaging 52.7 ppg. It has scored 40 or more points in each of its first three games. The last time it had a longer streak of 40-plus point games was in 1998 when it ran off five straight . . . The Bruins are ranked first in the nation in third down conversion % (.680) and 2nd in the nation in total offense (614.3) . . . Senior LB Anthony Barr is ranked 10th in the FBS with 1.7 TFL, and has at least 0.5 TFL in each of his games played on defense (17) during his UCLA career . . . Sophomore QB Brett Hundley has eight career 300-yard total offense games, second most all-time at UCLA (trails Cade McNown, 12). Hundley has completed 26 of 33 passes (79%) for 369 yards and five touchdowns, one interception . . . 36.
UTAH: Utah is averaging 42.0 ppg, 19th in the FBS. It’s tallied 168 points in four games, while needing eight games to reach that point total last season . . . Junior WR Dres Anderson has half the number of receptions (18) he had all of last season (36), but has collected more receiving yardage (404 yards) than last year (365 yards). His average of 22.4 yards per catch ranks eighth in the FBS . . . Sophomore punter Tom Hackett, who played Australian Rules Football in high school in Melbourne, leads the Pac-12 in punts inside the 20 (9) and punts of 50+ yards (6) . . . Despite dropping their last two games following a bye weekend, coach Kyle Whittingham’s squads are 6-2 after an open date.
LAST TIME: Brett Hundley threw for 183 yards and a TD, while rushing for 68 yards and another score to lead UCLA to a 21-14 victory at the Rose Bowl. Utah’s Travis Wilson threw for 220 yards in his first career start.
WASHINGTON STATE: Junior QB Connor Halliday has thrown for 1,472 yards, fifth most in the FBS. Halliday tallied 24 completions against Stanford to up his career total to 358, ninth-most all-time . . . Senior S Deone Bucannon made nine tackles against Stanford to push his career total to 314, ninth-most in school history. His 8.8 tackles per game this season rank second in the Pac-12 . . . Sophomore WR Gabe Marks, who was recently added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List, has 37 receptions for 423 yards and 4 TDs this season. He’s nearing his freshman numbers of 49 rec/560 yards.
CALIFORNIA: Senior PK Vincenzo D’Amato has hit 9 of his 10 field goal attempts (.900) this season. After missing on all three attempts at Ohio State last season, he’s made 21 of his last 25 field goal attempts (.840) . . . Cal ran 95 plays at Oregon, the fourth time in four games this season the Bears have had at least 90 plays . . . Freshman QB Zach Kline made his collegiate debut towards the end of the first quarter at Oregon. He finished the game going 18-of-37 for 165 yards, one TD and one interception.
LAST TIME: Cal rushed for 318 yards behind C.J. Anderson (112 yds/2 TDs) and Zach Maynard (78 yds/1 TD) as the Bears posted a 31-17 victory in Pullman. WSU’s Jeff Tuel threw for 320 yards and a pair of TDs.
OREGON: The Ducks have run off a school record four games in which they have scored 50 or more points in each game . . . Sophomore QB Marcus Mariota has now tossed at least one TD pass in all 17 games of his career and has thrown for and run for a score in six straight contests. Of his 17 games started, Mariota has only played four entire games (Fresno State, USC, Stanford and Kansas State in 2012) . . . With junior RB De’Anthony Thomas sidelined early in the California game due to an injury, sophomore RB Byron Marshall took up the load with a career-high 130 yards rushing and two TDs, while freshman RB Thomas Tyner ran for a career-best 94 yards on 13 carries (7.2 ypc) . . . The Ducks lost a fumble in the 1st quarter first Cal, their first in eight games. It was also the Ducks’ first turnover of the season.
COLORADO: Colorado has secured Charleston Southern University as the opponent to replace the Sept. 14 Fresno State football game which was postponed due to the record rainfall and subsequent flooding in Boulder . . . Freshman TB Michael Adkins made his debut at Oregon State, rushing for 98 yards on 14 carries (7.0 per carry) . . . Junior WR Paul Richardson now has 26 receptions in three games, one short of the school mark for the most over a three-game span (27, Charles E. Johnson, 1992). He has 99 career grabs, one shy of becoming the 12th player in CU history to snare 100.
LAST TIME: The Ducks piled up 617 yards in total offense, including 425 on the ground in routing the Buffs 70-14 in Eugene. Kenjon Barner tallied 104 yards and 2 touchdowns, while De’Anthony Thomas rushed for another score and added a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown. Colorado’s Christian Powell rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
ARIZONA STATE: When the Sun Devils face Notre Dame, they will attempt to achieve a feat never accomplished before in the history of college football. A team has played both USC and Notre Dame in consecutive weeks on only 13 separate occasions, but no team has ever won both of those contests. After defeating USC, 62-41, in its last game, ASU will have a chance to make history when it takes on the Fighting Irish this Saturday. Only two teams even gave themselves a shot to complete the double (Michigan State in 1987 and South Carolina in 1983) by winning the first game of the series, but both went on to drop handy decisions to Notre Dame by scores of 31-8 and 30-6, respectively . . . Senior RB Marion Grice has scored four or more TDs in a game twice this season and leads the FBS in scoring with 18.0 ppg. Grice is averaging a touchdown nearly 15 percent of the time he touches the ball this season and for his career he is averaging a touchdown per every 7.4 touches (31 touchdowns on 231 touches) . . . Junior QB Taylor Kelly is third in the FBS, averaging 342.5 yards per game. ASU’s offensive line gave Kelly great protection and did not allow a sack against USC, which was averaging 4.0 sacks per game entering the contest.
LAST TIME: Notre Dame used a 27-point second quarter to cruise a 48-17 win over ASU in South Bend. ASU’s Todd Heap caught eight passes for 100 yards, but six Sun Devil turnovers were costly in defeat.
WASHINGTON: Junior RB Bishop Sankey set a Husky single-game record with 40 carries to rack up 161 yards in the 31-13 win over Arizona. Sankey has surpassed 100 yards rushing in seven of the last nine games and 10 times overall in his career. . . The Husky defense is giving up 132 passing yards per game. There is lots of football left to play, but it would be their lowest total allowed since 116.3 per game in 1979 . . . Washington is outscoring opponents 38-0 in the first quarter, and 73-12 in the first half this season . . . It’s the first of three straight games against ranked opponents (at No. 5 Stanford, No. 2 Oregon, at No. 22 Arizona State)
STANFORD: The Cardinal have a 12-game winning streak dating back to last season. It’s currently the second longest in the FBS, trailing Ohio State’s 17-game streak . . . Senior LB Trent Murphy picked off a pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown in Saturday’s win over Washington State. It was his second career interception return for a touchdown, both coming at CenturyLink Field. He had a pick-six return of 40 yards last season in the 17-13 loss to Washington . . . Junior WR Devon Cajuste, who entered the WSU game averaging 21.5 yards per catch, improved his stats by catching four passes for 115 yards. He’s fifth in the FBS with 24.4 ypc.
LAST TIME: Washington rallied from a 13-3 deficit late in the third quarter to knock off No. 8 Stanford 17-13 in Seattle. Washington’s Bishop Sankey rushed for 144 yards, including a 61-yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter to pull the Huskies within three at 13-10. Keith Price then hooked up with Kasen Williams on a 35-yard screen pass with 4:53 remaining for the go-ahead score.