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Pac-12 football stat pack: Week 12

by Ryan McGrady
Nov 15, 2013
Bob Drebin/StanfordPhoto.com

“The games they remember are played in November” – Rick Neuheisel/lots of other people.

Who could forget such a memorable week 11? I know I’ll always remember it because Stanford announced its presence in the Pac-12 North with authority, ASU won a last-minute thriller in Salt Lake City and Myles Jack played both ways to help UCLA get a victory in the desert and ensure that the wild and wacky Pac-12 South remained up for grabs. Lots of solid matchups in week 12 as we begin the race down the home stretch (horse racing reference). If you like fun and funny video clips and neat stats, then you’ll enjoy yourself on this week 12 Pac-12 journey around YouTube. (Note: It took me three hours to write this because I spent so much time watching awesome YouTube clips.)

Arizona

  • The Bear Downs lost a tough Pac-12 South battle with UCLA last week to have their three-game winning streak snapped. Ka’Deem Carey became Arizona’s No. 2 all-time rusher. He has 3,575 yards and is now 249 shy of matching Trung Canidate’s school record. Carey ranks No. 2 in the FBS for rushing (152.6 ypg).
     
  • B.J. Denker continues to scramble and juke and jive and dive all over the field. The senior signal caller has set a modern-day school record for quarterbacks having rushed for 645 yards and 11 TDs. With the tip-off of basketball season, I wanted to give a shout out this week to my guy Tom Tolbert. The legendary Arizona basketball forward helped put together this amazing video back in a simpler time. A time with awesome clothes and classy hair, and when all you needed was a beat, some phenomenal rhyme skills and a Final Four run to cement yourself as a hero in Tucson/the world. W-I-L-D CATS!

Arizona State

  • Taylor Kelly. So hot right now. Taylor Kelly. Kelly has accounted for 84 points in the past three games, including 18 from three touchdowns against Utah. He has already accounted for 186 points this season, which surpasses his 2012 total. That number is the second most in school history and only trails Mike Pagel, who notched 198 points in 1981.
     
  • This week Kelly goes for the scoring record in prime time on the Pac-12 Networks. (The Pac-12 owns prime time. TV’s Mike Yam has been saying it for weeks.) ASU welcomes another potent offense to Tempe this weekend in an Oregon State team currently ranked second nationally in passing yards per game (404.8) and 25th nationally in total offense (412.5). The Sun Devil defense has been up to task in the recent four-game winning streak, though, holding opponents to an average of 95.2 fewer passing yards than teams were averaging prior to the ASU tilt and an incredible average of 187.4 fewer total offense yards than teams were averaging prior to taking on the Devils.

Cal

Colorado

  • The Buff Daddies lost the coin toss (now 1-8 on the season) and the game at UW last weekend. Paul Richardson scored the only points for Colorado on yet another long TD catch. His 53-yard TD reception was his ninth of the season, and he’s just the fourth Buff to have that many in a year. The nine scores have covered 465 yards, or 51.7 per, and his 20 career touchdowns have spanned 836 yards (41.8). All he does is catch super long touchdowns.
     
  • As I just mentioned in the above Cal deal, Colorado has a chance to erase the memories of 14 consecutive Pac-12 losses against Cal this Saturday. Ralphie has to be excited about this. Maybe Colorado should invite Jim Knox to the game to get things started on the right foot. “Come on Ralphie! Bring it on baby! What happened?!”

Oregon

Oregon State

  • The Beavs travel to Tempe having lost their last two games. This will be a showdown between the Pac-12’s number one ranked passing attack in Oregon State who averages 405 yards per game vs. Arizona State’s number one passing defense that allows only 206 yards per game. Something’s gotta give (I mean between the OSU offense and the ASU defense. Not the movie. Although the movie was pretty good. Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Amanda Peet, and Keanu Reeves. Such a solid cast so how could the movie not be decent? Am I right?)
     
  • As the Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott once said, “Sean Mannion is sooooooo HOT.” Mannion finished with 277 yards passing two weeks ago vs. USC and now has 3,605 in 2013, moving into third place on Oregon State’s single-season list. He now sits just 10 shy of tying Derek Anderson’s single-season record of 3,615 yards in 2004. “ASU better put that little doll of Mannion in a freezer. This guy is HOT.”

Stanford

  • Tough to choose the best stats from No. 4 Stanford’s huge win over then-No. 2 Oregon so I’m just gonna throw a bunch of numbers at you. The Cardinal handed Oregon its first loss in a season for the 10th time since 1964. They improved to 16-2 in its last 18 games played in November. They improved to 31-1 in its last 32 games played in California. Stanford also ran their record to 12-1 at home against ranked opponents since 2009. Stanford extended its home winning streak to 14 games which is now the second longest active streak in the FBS behind South Carolina (15 straight) because Michigan lost in the “Big House” last week. Stanford held a 274-62 advantage in rushing yards, improving to 29-1 under David Shaw when outrushing its opponent.
     
  • Stanford heads to SoCal to face USC this weekend in an attempt to do something its never done before. That’s defeat the Trojans for the fifth consecutive time. Last season, the eventual Rose Bowl champion Cardinal shocked the No.1-ranked Trojans at Stanford Stadium. This season, the Card travel to Los Angeles as the No. 4-ranked team in the nation looking to win for the third straight time at the Coliseum. Two years ago, Stanford won an epic 56-48 triple overtime game. Four years ago, Stanford won in an unprecedented 55-21 beatdown when this happened. #WhatsYourDeal

UCLA

  • Freshman linebacker Myles Jack captivated the nation with his performance as he took it back to the old school and played both ways at Arizona on Saturday. On defense, Jack recorded eight tackles, had a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery and two pass breakups. Pretty strong, but normal stuff for Jack Daddy. Then the guy plays offense and all he does is rush for a team-high 120 yards on his first six collegiate carries. He averaged 20 yards per carry and scored a 66-yard touchdown to help UCLA climb to No. 13 in the nation. After Myles Jack decided to introduce himself to the college football world and say “Hello,” the Bruins fans in Bel Air have to be fired up because it’s not unusual for Myles Jack to play both ways anymore (all puns totally intended). Start watching that video around 1:25 if you want to understand why I was making all those awesome jokes.
     
  • No. 13 UCLA now welcomes Washington to the Rose Bowl for a rare Friday night matchup in Pasadena. The Bruins have won seven straight meetings between the schools in Pasadena and are looking to go 5-0 at home for the first time since 2005.

USC

  • Last week at Cal, wide receiver Nelson Agholor put on an absolute show on special teams as he became just the fifth player in Pac-12 Conference history to return two punts for touchdowns in a single game. He joined Trojan great Mike Garrett (1965) as the only other player to do so in school history and joined Oregon receiver Bralon Addison to become the second Pac-12er to do it this season. Agholor also set a new school record for punt return yards in a game with his 75-yard and 93-yard TD returns. His 168 punt return yards on the two runbacks broke Garrett's USC game mark by six yards. USC’s three punt return touchdowns tie the Pac-12 record (three by UCLA vs. Stanford in 1954) and the NCAA record.
     
  • USC will attempt to go 5-1 under interim head coach Ed Orgeron when Stanford comes to town this Saturday night. USC has just a 5-10 record against ranked Stanford teams, so it might need Will Ferrell to put on his Tommy Trojan gear one more time. [Editor’s note: He will do absolutely anything if it means he doesn’t have to wear pants.]

Utah

Washington

  • The most impressive stat last week in the UW win over Colorado was that the Huskies outscored the Buffs 28-0 in the second half without attempting a pass. Washington’s 59 points are the fifth most since 1945. The 52-point win is the ninth largest margin of victory in the modern era and the fifth largest against a conference opponent. Tre Watson’s 84-yard interception return for a TD and Marcus Peters’ 53-yard TD return was the first time since Nov. 9, 2002 against Oregon State that the Husky defense has scored twice in the same game.
     
  • UW heads down to Pasadena for a gigantic Friday night meeting with No. 13 UCLA. The Dawgs will need a big game from Bishop Sankey if they want to go home with a big win. Sankey enters the week as the nation’s No. 3 rusher with 145.0 yards per game. He has rushed for over 100 yards seven times this season and in 11 of the last 14 games dating back to last season. Sankey’s 30 career rushing TDs are tied for third in UW history, just four shy of Napoleon Kaufman’s record. Bishop and UW’s mascot Dubs are hungry for the Huskies’ first win in Pasadena since 2003. [Editor's note: BABY AND PUPPY ALERT]

Washington State

  • WSU is ready to play after its bye week last week. The Cougs head down to Tucson, where they haven’t won since 2004. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 25-13 and have won five straight meetings with Cougars, including the last two matchups in Tucson. Connor Halliday enters the game with 44 career TD passes, ranking sixth all-time at WSU.
     
  • Halliday will look to hook up with standout wide receiver Gabe Marks. Marks enters the week fourth in the Pac-12 with 63 receptions, 721 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. His 63 receptions tie him for seventh most in single-season history at WSU. A couple of TDs by Marks could propel the Cougs to a big win in the desert and help WSU find its inner pirate.

(Credit: Stats Inc., the sports information departments of the Pac-12)

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