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Pac-12 football stat pack: Week 15

by Ryan McGrady
Dec 6, 2013
David Bernal/isiphotos.com

STANFORD!!! ARIZONA STATE!!! ROSE BOWL!!! WHO WANTS IT?

Arizona

  • The Bear Downs didn’t leave Tempe with the Territorial Cup last week, but that didn’t stop Ka’Deem Carey from making more history. Carey rushed for 157 yards on 32 carries with one touchdown. It was his 15th straight game with 100-plus rushing yards, which extends his school record and established a new Pac-12 Conference record (previously held by Washington State’s Jerome Harrison, who had a 14-game streak from 2004-05). No other FBS player in the last 10 seasons has had a longer streak.
     
  • The Wildcats finish the regular season at 7-5 overall and 4-5 in conference play (fourth place in the Pac-12 South). Arizona awaits its bowl assignment as it will be bowling in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2009 (Holiday Bowl) and 2010 (Alamo Bowl). If that’s not Hard Edge, then I don’t know what is. The only way the Hard Edge video could be better is if RichRod and a couple assistants did the Three Amigos salute at the end.

Arizona State

  • Before Arizona State’s home victory, the visiting team had won the past four Territorial Cup matchups, and five of the last seven between the two teams. Then the #ForkDaddies went out and put up a 58 spot up on the board to clinch home field advantage in the 2013 Pac-12 Championship Game. ASU’s 58 points is the most scored in a Territorial Cup game in the Pac-12 era (1978-present). The previous high came in 1996 when the Sun Devils put up 56 against Arizona in Tucson.
     
  • Stanford heads to Sun Devil Stadium, where the Fork’ems have played their best ball this season. ASU is 7-0 at home in 2013, marking just the 10th time the feat has been accomplished during the regular season in history. One of the big keys to success for the Devils at home is that their secondary has racked up 15 of their 21 interceptions this season in front of the home crowd. ASU intercepted Kevin Hogan once in the first ASU-Stanford matchup earlier this season.
     
  • This is the first time in history when Stanford and ASU will compete with both teams ranked in the top 15 in the AP poll. In the first meeting between the schools, ASU lost the turnover battle 2-1, which was a rarity for the team this season. In 2013, ASU is outscoring its opponents 136-52 (+84 points) on points off turnovers while posting a +13 takeaway number. A Pac-12 Championship win on Saturday night would send Tempe into a frenzy and allow Devils fans to go into full-on David Puddy “Seinfeld” mode. [Editor’s note: Please don’t do that.]

Cal

  • Four Cal players have been selected to the 2013 All-Pac-12 football team announced by the conference Monday. Vincenzo D’Amato (Sr., PK) was a second-team selection while Deandre Coleman (Sr., DL), Jared Goff (Fr., QB) and Bryce Treggs (So., WR) were named honorable mention.
     
  • Cal will look to grow and improve as a program to make a big jump in 2014. If the Bears’ explosive offense and an improved defense can get things off to a good start in their opener on Aug. 30, 2014 at Northwestern, then Counting Crows lead singer Adam Duritz will be excited and hopefully lend his vocal talents to the team in the postgame locker room celebration. How cool would that be? I wish I could watch what that scene would look like. To see Adam Duritz and his sweet hair singing in the Cal locker room would be so cool.

Colorado

  • The Buff Daddies lost at Utah 24-17 last week, and they’ll lose their great wide receiver Paul Richardson, who declared for the NFL draft this week. When all was said and done for 2013, “P-Rich” finished with 83 catches for 1,343 yards, 16.2 per, with 10 touchdowns. Those numbers are CU single-season records for receptions and yards, and the second-most TDs to 11 by Derek McCoy in 2003.  He finishes his career with 156 receptions, 2,412 yards and 21 TDs.  Those numbers rank him third in receptions (behind Scotty McKnight, 215, 2007-10 and Michael Westbrook, 167, 1991-94); still fifth in yards (137 out of the top spot, 35 behind Charles E. Johnson in fourth, 2,447, 1990-93) and he is second in touchdowns (one back of McKnight’s 22).
     
  • At 4-8 this was a successful season for the Buffs. The four wins match the total of wins Colorado had in 2011 and 2012 combined, so things are looking up in Boulder. If the Buffs continue to improve and make another big jump next season, then my guy Jeremy Bloom will be almost as excited as he was when he did this.

Oregon

  • The 117th Civil War was a thriller. The 36-35 last-minute victory was Oregon’s sixth straight in the series, and was due in large part to the career day by Pac-12 second-team receiver Josh Huff, whose 186-yard receiving performance ranks 10th in a single game in Oregon history. Huff's 186 yards were a career high, as were his nine receptions and three touchdowns.
     
  • The Ducks recorded 10 wins for a sixth straight season, which is tied for the seventh-longest streak in modern college football history. QB Marcus Mariota, who gave Duckies fans an early Christmas present announcing that he’ll return for his junior season, finished the regular season with 39 total touchdowns (30 passing, nine rushing) and 3,994 yards of total offense, which are the most in a single season at Oregon. With a big bowl game looming, head coach Mark Helfrich has an opportunity to tie the Pac-12 record for victories by a first-year coach. If the Ducks “Win The Day” and take home a third consecutive bowl victory, then the Oregon Duck mascot will go all Gangnam Style all over again.

Oregon State

  • The 117th edition of the Civil War was a heartbreaker for the Beavers, but receiver Brandin Cooks passed USC’s Marqise Lee for the Pac-12 single-season receptions record with a catch in the fourth quarter. Cooks finished the day with 10 receptions, bringing his season total to 120. With 110 yards in the game, Cooks now has 1,670 on the season, bringing him within 51 yards of Lee’s single-season Pac-12 mark. If the Beavs go bowling, Lee’s yardage record is likely to go down.
     
  • Sean Mannion finished the regular season with another 300-yard game to add to his collection. With 314 yards, Mannion now has 10,177 in his career, passing Arizona’s Nick Foles to move into 11th. He also moved into a tie for 14th in career passing touchdowns with 67. Mannion also moved into second on the Pac-12 single-season yards list with 4,403, passing Arizona’s Nick Foles (1. Cody Pickett, UW, 2002: 4,458). At 6-6 the Beavs will have to wait and see if they get a bowl bid. One thing I know for sure is that even though the 2014 season is still 10 months away, this family of Beavers will not relax. They’ll work hard this offseason and make a run at the Pac-12 North next season.

Stanford

  • The Trees avenged their controversial overtime loss at Notre Dame last year with a 27-20 win on The Farm to close out the regular season at 10-2. Stanford reached the 10-win mark for a school-record fourth straight season (2009-13), and as you can see, the Cardinal is primed and ready to go in its quest for back-to-back Pac-12 titles.
     
  • Stanford is attempting to win its 14th Pac-12 Football Championship and is trying to win it in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1970. The Cardinal will have to put together a terrific road performance if it wants to take down ASU, which is a perfect 7-0 at Sun Devil Stadium this season. Stanford is 3-2 on the road this season, having lost at Utah and USC. The key to victory in the first meeting between Stanford and ASU was the Trees outgaining the Devils 240-50 on the ground with all 50 yards coming from Marion Grice, who is sidelined for the rematch. Stanford has outrushed its opponents 973-555 on the road in 2013 and allowed just 44 yards in its last two road games (17 at Oregon State and 27 at USC).
     
  • Ball control and defense are what Stanford preaches, and it shows statistically. Stanford is 31-2 under David Shaw when outrushing the opponent. The Cardinal defense has held opponents to 20 or fewer points in six consecutive games. And the coup de gras (that’s French, guys): In Stanford’s 10 victories this season, quarterback Kevin Hogan has attempted just 15 passes. #BallControl #PoundTheRock

UCLA

USC

  • USC finished the regular season at 9-4 and will be bowling with its second interim head coach of the season as Clay Helton will lead the Trojans in its bowl game. Steve “Sark Daddy” Sarkisian was named the 23rd head coach in USC football history this week. In five seasons at Washington, Sark went 34-29 and 24-21 in Pac-12 conference play. In the five seasons prior to Sark’s arrival the Huskies went 12-47 and 6-37 in Pac-12 play.
     
  • This is the 39-year-old Sarkisian's fifth stop at USC as a coach or athlete. He played baseball briefly at USC before transferring. He later served as a Trojan offensive assistant coach, came back after a brief absence as the quarterbacks coach, then after a year in the NFL returned and rose to the offensive coordinator role. At USC, Sarkisian coached Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart, along with NFL signal callers Mark Sanchez, John David Booty and Matt Cassel. The Trojans went 23-3 when he was the offensive coordinator. All of these stats and facts have to make all Trojans fans excited. Even old school ones like Ron Burgundy.

Utah

  • The Utes snapped their five-game losing streak with a 24-17 win over Colorado in front of the 25th consecutive sellout at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Kelvin York finished strong on senior day as he had his first career 100-yard rushing game with 132 yards on 31 carries, including a pair of rushing touchdowns (six yards and one yard). It was the best game by a running back this season and Utah's second-best rushing game of the year. Over the last two games (Washington State and Colorado) York has had 230 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He had 237 rushing yards and two touchdowns his first seven games of the season.
     
  • Redshirt sophomore QB Adam Schulz picked up his first career win in his first start at home, going 19-for-33 for 233 yards (one touchdown, one interception). It was his second career 200-yard game. With starting QB Travis Wilson’s return in jeopardy, it will be imperative for the Utes to figure out their quarterback situation if they want to “Light It Up” and get back to a bowl game in 2014.

Washington

  • The Huskies won their fourth Apple Cup in five years and won their eighth game for the first time since 2001, thanks to Bishop Sankey who set the UW TD career touchdown record (36) and passed Corey Dillon (1,695) for single-season rushing yards on his seven-yard TD scamper in the third quarter. He now has 1,775 yards rushing this season and has scored in 14-straight games dating back to last season, the longest current streak in FBS football. Sankey became just the second 16th player in Pac-12 history to rush for more than 1,700 yards in a season.
     
  • With UW losing Sark to USC, it will have former legendary Husky QB Marques Tuiasosopo take over as interim head coach for its bowl game. Tuiasosopo was the Pac-10 offensive player of the year in 2000. The year before that, as a junior, he became the first player in NCAA Division-I history to pass for 300 yards and run for 200 in the same game. The Huskies’ dynamic passer and runner and then long-time NFL quarterback was the Most Valuable Player of UW’s last Rose Bowl win at the end of the 2000 season. Wondering what practice under “Coach Tui” might sound like? As the great David Allen Grier used to say when he played Calvin Tubbs on “In Living Color,” “Like to hear it, here it go.”
     
  • On the eve of the Pac-12 Championship game, UW made the huge announcement that Chris Petersen would be leaving Boise State to come lead the Huskies. While at Boise State, Petersen compiled an exceptional 92-12 record in his eight seasons as Boise State head coach (2006-2013), including two unbeaten seasons (13-0 in 2006 and 14-0 in 2009) and two BCS bowl berths. He won five conference titles and posted a 57-6 record in conference play (WAC from 2006-10 and Mountain West from 2011-13). Coach Petersen led the Broncos to 10 or more wins in seven of his eight seasons and to 12 or more in four straight (2008-11). He also won one of the greatest games of all time. Cue the 2007 Fiesta Bowl montage.

Washington State

  • WSU wasn’t able to take home an Apple Cup victory, but Connor Halliday passed for 282 yards, giving him 4,187 for the season to break Ryan Leaf’s record of 3,968 in 1997, third-most in Pac-12 history. Halliday’s two TD passes gave him 28 for the season, second-most in WSU single-season history, tying Jason Gesser (2002). Halliday has completed 412 passes this season, most in Pac-12 and WSU single-season history.  Halliday’s 656 pass attempts this season are the most in Pac-12 and WSU single-season history.
     
  • At 6-6 the Cougs will wait to see if they get to keep their bowling shoes on. In 2006 WSU went 6-6 and didn’t receive a bowl bid. This would be the Cougars’ first bowl appearance since they defeated Texas in the 2003 Holiday Bowl. Let’s hope the Cougs get the nod so that Butch T. Cougar can pad his stats in an effort to claim mascot of the year.

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

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