Roundup: Washington isn't messing around
The Huskies did some serious work Saturday evening in their grand re-opening of the new Husky Stadium with a 38-6 thumping of then-No. 19 Boise State. As such, Washington has set a high bar for team identity, writes Ted Miller. So yeah, Washington shows us it's not messing around with that win over Boise State.
Colorado looked like a completely different team in its 41-27 triumph over Colorado State to make Mike MacIntyre a winning coach in Boulder. Just as impressive was Paul Richardson scoring twice in his return to competitive play after missing 2012 with an ACL injury. Ten catches for 208 yards; no wonder he was named a Pac-12 Player of the Week.
With two interceptions (one of 'em a pick-six) and seven tackles, Tra'Mayne Bondurant sparked a red-letter day for an impressive Wildcats' defense (he was also named a Pac-12 Player of the Week).
Hey-o! Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday thinks Auburn would be a top-five team if it had a good QB. Alright so the quote isn't super-juicy, but he thinks Auburn doesn't "have a guy who can throw it." Coug fans and Pac-12 followers already know this, but Washington State flags are an ESPN College GameDay tradition. It has now been 133 straight shows with a Coug flag waving on the set of the show.
Well this would be nice for the Trojans as they get ready for their Pac-12 opener against Halliday's Cougs: USC might get Silas Redd back this weekend.
While the vast majority of squads kicked their seasons off last weekend, the Card (and Forks) has to wait an extra weekend, leading USA Today and everyone else to eagerly await Stanford.
How 'bout some love for the offensive coordinators of the world? The way this guy's going, he won't be an OC for long (read: head coach soon enough), but Arizona State's Mike Norvell is driven to be the best.
Sure, Northwestern was two touchdowns better on Saturday night (and perhaps faked injuries if you ask some Cal fans), but Cal and Sonny Dykes won points in the loss, showing the Golden Bear faithful they'll be an exciting bunch to watch. Also, the men's soccer team had an incredible weekend, capping it off by stunning No. 2 Maryland in overtime. The fellas earlier shocked No. 3 Georgetown 2-0 Friday afternoon.
Alright that 66-3 smashing of Nicholls State was nice and all, but now it's nothing but BCS-level opponents from here on out. As such, let's take a sneak peek at the Virginia Cavaliers, the next team up on the ledger.
Let's not fool ourselves, that loss to Eastern Washington was not pretty (defensively, at least). But hey, you gotta shake it off, Oregon State fans; the season isn't over. Still a Pac-12 title/bowl game to play for. And if everyone else in the country loses twice... But give EWU some credit; Vernon Adams is the real deal Holyfield.
There were a lot of positives in UCLA's 58-20 thumping of Nevada, but the opening win easing some of the Bruins' secondary concerns is really something that has to be near the top of the plus heap.
The win over Utah State gave Travis Wilson a shot of confidence, but this is no time for he and his teammates to rest on their laurels because Utah has a busy week as it prepares for Weber State.