College Football: AP Voters Not Watching Pac-12 Football Thus No More West Coast Bias?

Somewhere during the 2011 season, traditional sports logic and college football reasoning has been lost between the Associated Press Top 25 and the USA Today’s Coaches’ Poll.

The final 2011 regular season college football polls released Sunday shows that the “experts” fans look to for football guidance might be drawing names out of a hat to pick their college football Top 25.

Week 15, the final week of the regular season in college football, should have been the easiest week of the season for voters to fill out their Top 25 polls. Only 22 college football games were played during the final weekend meaning of the 120 FBS teams 44 were in action. 11 games featured ranked teams. 5 of the 11 games featured ranked teams playing against each other.

16 teams that played were ranked in the week 14 AP Top 25 Poll. Of the 16 ranked teams that played five lost. Per the rankings, three of the five ranked teams that lost were “upset” by lower ranked teams. No ranked team that lost was defeated by an unranked team.

Traditionally this would mean that three ranked teams would drop in the polls and the three previously lower ranked teams would move up in the polls. Teams on a bye would have the opportunity to be jumped in the polls by teams playing one extra conference championship game, especially schools on a bye not playing in the conference championship game, right? Guess again college football fans.

In week 14 Stanford was No. 4, Oregon was No. 8, and USC was No. 9 in the AP. The AP was so impressed with Stanford and USC’s bye that in the final polls they kept Stanford at No. 4, jumped USC to No. 5, and placed Oregon at No. 6.

Voters rendered Oregon’s Pac-12 championship game win over UCLA useless.

Voters may have forgotten that Oregon beat Stanford November 12, just four weeks ago, 53-30 at Stanford Stadium. The following week USC went on the road and upset the Ducks at Autzen Stadium 38-35.

One can see an argument being made for USC being a Top 10 team. They have quality wins over Oregon and - Notre Dame? USC’s two losses have been to unranked 6-6 Arizona State 43-22 and to No. 4 Stanford 56-48. USC’s last regular season game was a victory over UCLA 50-0.

Are the AP voters are telling America that they are more impressed with USC’s 50-point win over UCLA than Oregon’s 49-31 win over UCLA in the Pac-12 championship game? Yes, they are. They are also telling college football fans that two teams in the Pac-12 are better than the team representing the conference in the Rose Bowl.

According to the AP, Stanford with a quality win over USC, Oregon with a quality win over Stanford, and USC with a quality win over Oregon is enough to rank the teams 4-6 in the final regular season poll. None of the teams have quality non-conference victories to help support their positions.

Oregon played four ranked teams during the season and finished with a 2-2 record against those teams. One of the ranked teams the Ducks beat was Arizona State. ASU finished the season unranked with a 6-6 record. Another way to look at it is Oregon went 1-2 against quality opponents during the 2011 season.

Stanford also played four ranked teams during the season. Two of those teams, 7-5 University of Washington and 8-4 Notre Dame are not ranked in the final AP Poll. Stanford went 1-1 against quality opponents during the 2011 season; beat USC, lost to Oregon.

Again, USC played two ranked teams and finished with a 1-1 record; lost to Stanford, beat Oregon.

Don’t look for wisdom with The USA Today Coaches’ Poll because that poll is no better than the AP. Due to the fact that USC cannot participate in post season games because of NCAA sanctions, the Coaches Poll has completely left USC off the ballot.

USC is deserving of place among the top 25 teams in the nation. Where they deserve to be ranked can be debated. But leaving them off the ballot is another way of saying this team does not exists.

Yet when USC beat then No. 4 Oregon on November 19, the coaches dropped Oregon to No. 9 the following week. Strange how Oregon can drop in their poll to a team that does not officially exist to them?

Luckily the AP Poll does not count towards the BCS Rankings. Although one does have to fool themselves to think that the Harris Interactive Poll is not influenced by the AP Poll in some way.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott has to be happy that three of his teams occupy spots within the final regular season AP Top 10. Scott and Duck’s head coach Chip Kelly have to be angry that voters have made a joke out of the Pac-12 inaugural championship game by jumping USC ahead of Oregon.  

Through it all fans have to realize that the so-called college football “experts” do not know as much about college football as we have traditionally given them credit for. 

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College Football: Coaches and Coordinators on the Hot Seat

Every football season begins with hope and promise for college football fans nation wide. Fans count their teams returning starters, ponder the ability of incoming recruits, look over this season’s schedule, and talk about how the off-season workouts went for their players.

Fall practices flames the passion of fans a little more and then game day comes. For most fans reality hits somewhere between the first and second quarter. A lucky fan does not see the reality of their season until a couple of weeks into the season, but once reality sets in regardless of who you cheer for, the same words will be spoken, “We are not a good team again this year”.

Who or what’s to blame for your team’s bad start? Was the schedule too hard? Did the team incur too many injuries? Or is your favorite college team just not that good? Regardless of what the problem may be, the ultimate responsibility lies on the head coach and his staff.

Here’s a list of head coaches and coordinators that are in trouble four weeks into the 2011 season.

Houston Nutt, Head Coach, Ole Miss

David Lee, Offensive Coordinator, Ole Miss

Many pundits saw this one coming. Nutt had back-to-back 9-4 seasons in 2008 and 2009 including back to back Cotton Bowl victories. Then he had a 4-8 2010 season with a 1-7 SEC record. After a last second loss to BYU at home and an embarrassing loss to Vanderbilt and Georgia, Nutt is in deep trouble before the 2011 season really gets going.

This is Houston Nutt’s fourth year on campus at Ole Miss. Typically a head coach wants four years to get “his” own players on the team so those player fit the schemes he wants. There’s no blaming Ed Orgeron for leaving the Rebels without talent, his last recruiting class in 2007 was ranked 27th in the nation. This is Houston’s team with solid talent available.

Nutt brought in David Lee from the Miami Dolphins to direct his offense in hopes of generating the same offense they had together at Arkansas with Darren McFadden, Felix Jones, and Peyton Hillis. Only problem is McFadden, Jones, and Hillis are NFL Pro Bowl quality running backs. Does Nutt have that type of talent in Oxford?

Ole Miss Recruiting:

In 2008 Mississippi finished recruiting ranked 29th in the nation.

In 2009 Mississippi finished recruiting ranked 18th in the nation.

In 2010 Mississippi finished recruiting ranked 18th in the nation.

In 2011 Mississippi finished recruiting ranked 19th in the nation.

Ole Miss offensive ranking in 2011(out of 120 FBS teams) after week four:

Total offense: Ranked 118th

Scoring Offense: Ranked 103rd, 18.75 points per game

Rushing Offense: Ranked 102nd, 90.5 rushing yards per game

Rushing Offense: Averages 2.85 rushing yards per attempt

Passing Offense: Ranked 113th, 144.5 passing yards per game

Passing Offense: 54 completions, 7 interceptions, 3 passing touchdowns

What excuses can Nutt and Lee provide for their poor offensive showing? None. Should the Rebels return from Fresno State with another loss look for the alumni and boosters to start gathering buy out money sooner than later.

Vic Sealy, Defensive Coordinator, Kansas Jayhawks

Yes Turner Gil has only been the head coach at Kansas since 2010 and the Jayhawks are off to a 2-1 start, but his 5-10 coaching record has to be of concern for fans and alumni. There is some talent left on campus from former head coach Mark Mangino’s days and Turner turned in a solid 2011 class.

Kansas Recruiting:

In 2008 Kansas finished recruiting ranked 40th in the nation.

In 2009 Kansas finished recruiting ranked 31st in the nation.

In 2010 Kansas did not finish ranked in the top 50 in recruiting rankings.

In 2011 Kansas finished recruiting ranked 36th in the nation.

What’s the problem in Lawrence? Vic Sealy’s defense is a major problem. The Jayhawks have given up 24 or more points in all three games this season; McNeese State 24, Northern Illinois 42, Georgia Tech 66.

Kansas has given up 18 touchdowns and only held teams to two field goals.

Total Defense: Ranked 120th (last) in the nation, 550 yards per game.

Scoring Defense: Ranked 120th (last) in the nation, 44 points per game.

Rushing Defense: Ranked 120th (last in the nation, 282 yards per game.

Passing Defense: Ranked 102nd in the nation, 268 yards per game.

Rick Neuheisel, Head Coach, UCLA

Rick Neuheisel has no one to blame but himself in 2011. Neuheisel fired five assistant coaches from last year’s staff and made himself the play caller for 2011. He installed the Pistol Offense in 2010 with mixed results. The Bruin offense finished 2010 ranked 32nd in rushing offense but finished 116th in passing offense for a total of 100th best or worst offense in the nation.

UCLA has underperformed with the talented recruits they have on campus. There’s no reason or excuse for not having a top 20 recruiting class every year and seeing that ranking translate to wins on the field. Last year’s 45th ranked recruiting class should have the Bruin faithful concerned along with a seven win 2009 and a four win 2010.

UCLA Recruiting:

In 2008 UCLA finished recruiting ranked 13th in the nation.

In 2009 UCLA finished recruiting ranked 14th in the nation.

In 2010 UCLA finished recruiting ranked 8th in the nation.

In 2011 UCLA finished recruiting ranked 45th in the nation.

How has Neuheisel’s 2-2 team performed statistically?

Total Offense: Ranked 59th in the nation, 411.25 yards per game.

Scoring Offense: Ranked 74th in the nation, 27 points per game.

Scoring Defense: Ranked 91st in the nation, 20.75 points per game.

Rushing Defense: Ranked 93rd in the nation, 183.25 yards per game.

Passing Defense: Ranked 72nd in the nation, 229 yards per game.

Total Defense: Ranked 98th in the nation, 412.25 yards per game.

Little offense and no defense should make for another long season in Westwood especially in the offensively minded PAC-12.

Frank Spaziani, Head Coach, Boston College

Frank Spaziani has only been the head coach at Boston College for three years but his 17-14 record is worrisome. His 1-3 2011 record is frightening for Eagle fans.

BC has lost to Northwestern (24-17) at home, University of Central Florida (30-3) on the road, and Duke (20-19) at home. Their lone win is against a Football Championship Subdivision school, Massachusetts (45-17).  

Spaziani did not walk into the Boston College head coaches’ position without knowing the team and the system ahead of time. Spaziani was on the BC coaching staff for 12 years as a running back’s coach and defensive coordinator before becoming their head coach in 2009.

Each year the Eagles’ record has slowly dipped under Spaziani; 8-5 in 2009, 7-6 in 2010, and 1-3 to date in 2011. Spaziani has taken the Eagles to back-to-back bowl games but lost both games in those lesser bowls; Emerald Bowl and Fight Hunger Bowl.

What’s the problem in Chestnut Hill? Recruiting could be better… a lot better. The last time BC finished in the top 25 in recruiting was in 2004 at 24th in the nation.

Boston College Recruiting:

In 2008 Boston College finished recruiting ranked 33rd in the nation.

In 2009 Boston College did not finish ranked in the top 50 in recruiting.

In 2010 Boston College finished recruiting ranked 47th in the nation.

In 2011 Boston College finished recruiting ranked 38th in the nation.

BC has not played the toughest part of their schedule and they have under performed against lesser quality teams thus far. The Eagles still have to play at Clemson, at Virginia Tech, versus Florida State, at Notre Dame, and at Miami.

Total Offense: Ranked 99th in the nation, 328 yards per game.

Scoring Offense: Ranked 99th in the nation, 21 points per game.

Total Defense: Ranked 92nd, 406 yards per game.

Scoring Defense: Ranked 50th in the nation, 22.75 points per game.

Ted Roof, Defensive Coordinator, Auburn University

How can a defensive coordinator coming off a BCS National Championship win be on the hot seat? Having the 60th ranked defense in 2010 and the 110th ranked defense in 2011 is a start. This has to drive Auburn head coach Gene Chizik crazy as he is known as a defensive coach; Auburn 2002-2004, Texas 2005-2006.

Auburn has as much talent on campus as any other team in the nation. (Auburn fans will argue this point to their advantage or to their defense one way or another.) They lost eight defensive starters to graduation, the NFL, and/or armed robbery (Mike McNeil). Roof did not substitute for linebackers Josh Bynes or Craig Stevens much last year, so they do have a lack of experience this season at those positions.

Regardless those are all excuses with the recruiting classes they have hauled onto campus (25 four-star recruits and 4 five-star recruits since 2009). If Auburn was shutting everyone down they would point to how great they have recruited over the past three years.

Auburn Recruiting:

In 2008 Auburn finished recruiting ranked 20th in the nation.

In 2009 Auburn finished recruiting ranked 19th in the nation.

In 2010 Auburn finished recruiting ranked 4th in the nation.

In 2011 Auburn finished recruiting ranked 7th in the nation.

Auburn has given up 15 red zone scores out of 17 red zone drives for 90 total points allowed in 2011.

Scoring Defense: Ranked 92nd in the nation, 31 points per game.

Total Defense: Auburn is giving up 477.50 yards of offense per game.

Rushing Defense: Ranked 112th in the nation, allowing 226.50 rushing yards per game.

Passing Defense: Ranked 90th in the nation, allowing 251 yards per game.

Gus Malzahn needs Roof to come up with quality stops to take some of the pressure off of Auburn’s offense. When a two-touchdown lead becomes a two-touchdown loss, who do you blame?

Other head coaches on the hot seat:

University of Memphis, Larry Porter: a 1-10 2010 season and zero wins to start the 2011 season will not help Porter keep his job. The Tigers scoring offense is ranked 117th in the nation only scoring 11 points per game.

University of Georgia, Mark Richt: 2-2 record in 2011. Richt has not advanced to SEC Title game since 2005. Bulldog fans expect more.

University of Illinois, Ron Zook: a 4-0 start and a win against ranked ASU helps start the season out well, but if things go south Fighting Illini fans will remember the 7-6 2010 record quickly.

Arizona State University, Dennis Erickson: ASU has not gone bowling 2007. If ASU stumbles through the season, the Sun Devils will look to replace him.

Ohio State University, Luke Fickell head coach. Fickell could be replaced by elite coach before the bowl season is over.

Washington State University, Paul Wulff: Three year record entering this season was 5-32 (2 wins, 1 win, 2 wins). A 3-1 start has Cougar fans excited but WSU has yet to reach the meat and potatoes part of their schedule. A bowl appearance would take him off the hot seat but three or four more wins will be tough to reach.

*All recruiting rankings based off of Rivals.com.

**All statistics given from the NCAA. 

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College Football Recap: PAC-12 Week Two

The PAC-12 split the weekend with the Big 12 when Oklahoma State beat University of Arizona 37-14 and Arizona State beat Missouri 37-30 in overtime.

Former PAC-10 members Cal and USC forgot to roll out the welcome mat to their new PAC-12 members Utah and Colorado.

Arizona (1-0) vs. Oklahoma State (1-0)

OSU quarterback Brandon Weeden torched the Wildcats defense for 397 yards passing with two touchdowns. Not to be outdone by Weeden, Arizona quarterback Nick Foles threw for 398 yards with one touchdown.

The game was in the Cowboys’ hands by halftime leading 21-0. The Wildcats scored first in the second half cutting the lead to 21-7 then OSU responded just before the end of the third quarter with Justin Blackmon’s second touchdown of the game; an eight yard fade pass. Blackmon finished the game with 12 catches gaining 128 receiving yards.

Arizona head coach Mike Stoops made some questionable calls early in the game going for fourth down conversions instead of kicking field goals. The Wildcats finished the game with one successful fourth down conversion on three attempts.

The difference in the game was OSU’s defense stopping the Wildcats when needed and OSU’s rushing attack piling up 197 net yards. Arizona was a one dimension team as they were held to 41 yards rushing.

Joseph Randle led OSU in rushing with 118 yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns.

Life doesn’t get any better for Mike Stoops this week when Andrew Luck and the Stanford Cardinal travels to Tucson.

Nick Foles and Brandon Weeden are the top ranked quarterbacks in NCAA Division 1 terms of yards per game, averaging 405 yards per game and 392.5 yards per game respectively.

Next Game:

OSU (2-0) plays at Tulsa (1-1).

Stanford (2-0) travels to Arizona (1-1).

Missouri versus Arizona State

ASU outlasted the Tigers after blowing a 14-point fourth quarter lead winning in overtime 37-30.

Missed opportunities and penalties marred the game for both teams. Missouri field goal kicker Grant Ressel missed two field goals including a 47-yard attempt late in the fourth quarter that could have been the difference for the Missouri Tigers. Both teams combined for 23 penalties (ASU 12, Missouri 11) totaling in 110 yards lost for ASU and 114 for the Tigers that kept stalling moment gaining drives.

James Franklin showed marked improvement against ASU after having a poor game against Miami of Ohio in week one. Franklin threw for 319 yards completing 26 passes on 42 attempts with two scores and no interceptions. Franklin picked up tough rushing yards throughout the night finishing the game with 59 yards on 27 attempts. Henry Joesy led the Tigers with 94 yards on nine rushing attempts.

Brock Osweiler made play after play with his arm and legs for the Sun Devils. Osweiler ended the game with 353 yards passing, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. Osweiler added a 12 yard rushing touchdown on a bruising run up the middle to start the fourth quarter.

Both quarterbacks spread the ball out evenly, each finding eight different receivers during the game. Aaron Pflugrad led all receivers with eight catches for 180 and two touchdowns.

Missouri’s tough defensive line was only able to sack the big 6’8” Osweiler once. ASU’s feared defense was able to sack Franklin twice.

Neither defense played particularly well. Missouri gave up 492 yards of offense and ASU gave up 501 yards.

Missouri played without their two top running backs.

Next Games:

Western Illinois (1-1) versus Missouri (1-1).

Arizona State (2-0) at Illinois (2-0).

Oregon State (0-1) versus Wisconsin (1-0)

Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson continued his seemingly effortless transition back into college football helping the Badgers beat the Beavers 35-0. Wilson, a 2010 draft pick of the Colorado Rockies, put his baseball career on hold to finish out his collegiate football career when he transferred to Wisconsin. The move from North Carolina State to Wisconsin has been an early success for both Wilson and the Badgers.

Wilson completed 17 of 21 passes for 189 yards with three touchdowns allowing the rushing attack time to wear down the smaller Oregon State defensive unit. Montee Ball ran for 115 yards on 15 attempts with two second half touchdowns.

OSU starting quarterback Ryan Katz was benched for the second straight game in favor of backup quarterback Sean Mannion. Mannion ended the game completing 25 passes on 38 attempts for 244 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.

OSU was playing without their week one freshman running back stud, Malcom Agnew. Agnew is expected to return to game action for OSU’s October 1, game at Arizona State. Even with Agnew playing OSU would have had a tough time overcoming their poor special teams play. Shanked punts, penalties on special teams, and poor kick return decisions kept the Beavers pinned in their own territory for much of the game. Without Agnew, OSU was held to 23 net rushing yards.

Junior Beaver receivers Jordan Bishop and Markus Wheaton had five catches for 98 yards and eight catches for 83 yards respectively.

Next Games:

UCLA (1-1) at Oregon State (1-1).

Wisconsin (2-0) at Northern Illinois (1-1) in Chicago.

California (1-0) versus Colorado (0-1)

California welcomed Colorado to PAC-12 play in an exciting fashion as the Golden Bears rolled past the Buffaloes 36-33 in overtime.

Colorado field goal kicker Will Oliver kicked a 32-yard field goal with 34 seconds left to send the game into overtime. In overtime Oliver connected on another field goal, his fourth of the day (including a 52-yard bomb in the second quarter), to break the 30-30 tie.

Cal answered with Zach Maynard’s fourth touchdown pass of the game; a 5-yard pass to Keenan Allen for the winning score.

Maynard only completed 51 percent of his passes but of the 18 completions he threw, four of those passes were for touchdowns. Maynard ended up with 243 yards passing and one interception.

Maynard’s Colorado counterpart, Tyler Hansen, had a record setting day for the Buffaloes throwing for 474 yards and three touchdowns. Keenan Allen ended up with 97 yards receiving and tight end Anthony Miller had two catches for 27-yards with a pair of scores.

Both defenses were committed to stopping the run. Colorado’s 2010 1,000 yard rusher, Rodney Stewart, was held to 68-yards rushing on 24 attempts. Stewart could never break past the second tier of Cal’s defense. Stewart’s longest rush was for 13-yards. Colorado finished with 108 net yards rushing while Cal finished with 100 net yards rushing.

Cal’s victory tied Jeff Tedford for the most all-time wins as Cal’s head football coach.

Next Games:

Colorado (0-2) versus Colorado State in Denver.

Presbyterian, a FCS school, (1-1) at California (2-0).

Stanford (1-0) versus Duke (0-1)

Andrew Luck tied a career high with four touchdown passes leading the Cardinal easily past the Blue Devils 44-14.

Duke kept the score close pulling within 3 points with 2:08 left before halftime. Luck immediately led the Cardinal downfield, scoring with 48 second before halftime to pushing their lead to 17-7.

The Cardinal offense was able to take advantage of the outmatched Blue Devils on offense. Luck was efficient completing 20 passes on 28 attempts for the game. The Cardinal finished the game with 205 net rushing yards led by Stepfan Taylor’s game leading 75 total yards.

The Cardinal defense shut down the Blue Devils rushing attack holding Duke to 30 net yards rushing. The Blue Devils tried every different pass play in their book having four different players attempt at least one pass including a fake punt.

Stanford only punted twice during the game.

Next Games:

Stanford at Arizona.

Duke at Boston College.

Nevada (bye) versus Oregon (0-1)

Oregon shrugged off their offensive woes from week one beating the Wolf Pack 69-20. Nevada was down 34-0 in the second quarter before responding with a five yard touchdown pass from Tyler Lantrip to running back Mike Ball.

Nevada, a 13-1 team in 2010, looked like a FCS program against Oregon’s spread option attack. Oregon compiled 603 net yards of offense (331 passing, 272 rushing) on Darron Thomas’ way to throwing six touchdown passes; tying a school record.

Neither team played much defense as Oregon gave up 516 yards of total offense but made plays to stop Wolf Pack drives. Oregon intercepted three passes; Lantrip twice, Cody Fajardo once.

True freshman running back De’Anthony Thomas (Los Angeles), a former USC commitment before changing to Oregon, led the Ducks in rushing with 81-yards on eight carries including a 62 yard run. Thomas also had two receptions for 93 yards and two receiving scores. La’Michael James was held to 65 yards rushing on 12 attempts with one touchdown.

Next Games:

Missouri State (0-2) at Oregon (1-1).

Nevada (0-1) at San Jose State (0-2).

University of Hawaii (1-0) versus Washington (1-0)

Washington’s quick start foils the Hawaii Warriors second PAC-12 victim of 2011 as the Huskies won 40-32.

Sophomore Keith Price responded well to Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian’s criticism of the Huskies’ play versus Eastern Washington in week one action. Price threw for a career high four touchdowns and 315 yards. All-PAC-12 candidate Chris Polk ran for 105 yards and one touchdown to help balance out the Huskies’ offensive attack.

Washington’s defense did a great job containing Hawaii’s double threat quarterback Brian Moniz. Moniz was held to -15 net yards rushing after accounting for two Huskies sacks. Moniz did threaten with his arm late in the game bringing the Warriors within five points at the start of the fourth quarter (26-31). Moniz threw his only touchdown pass of the game with 1:46 to play in the fourth quarter. The Warriors could not get the ball back ending their comeback hopes. Moniz ended the game with 333 yards passing.

Notes to the Game:

Washington wide receiver Devin Aguilar caught five passes for 131 yards and a touchdown.

Washington outgained the Warriors 466 yards to 388.

Hawaii fumbled the ball three times losing possession once.

Hawaii’s field goal kicker missed two extra point attempts.

Next Game:

Washington (2-0) at Nebraska (2-0).

Hawaii (1-1) at UNLV (0-2)

UNLV (0-1) versus Washington State (1-0)

Washington States offense overpowered UNLV defense winning 59-7. The Cougars racked up 610 yards of offense with backup quarterback Marshall Lobbestael. Lobbestael had career highs with 361 yards passing and five touchdowns.

Washington State’s defense responded to the call of their offensive leader Jeff Tuel being out with a broken collar bone as well. The Cougars only gave up 158 yards of offense to the Rebels; 98 yards rushing, 60 yards passing.

Washington State seemingly scored at will only having to punt once.

With this win the Cougars have matched their win total from 2010 and 2008.

Next Games:

Washington State (2-0) at San Diego State (2-0).

Hawaii (1-1) at UNLV (0-2).

Utah (1-0) at USC (1-0)

17-14 or 23-14, either way USC hands Utah their first loss as in PAC-12 play. Controversy over the last play of the game became the headlines over a well played college football game.

On the last play of the game USC blocked Coleman Petersen’s 41 yard field goal attempt and ran it back for a touchdown making the score 23-14 as time expired. An excessive celebration penalty against USC for running out on the field temporarily took the touchdown off the scoreboard. No small irony that the most controversial rule change in college football should cause the biggest controversy amongst college football sports bettors.

Final score aside, Utah showed they could play with the “big boys”. Jordan Wynn drove the Utes to their final score with 6:30 to play in the fourth quarter. Then Wynn took the Utes within field goal range before USC blocked their attempt.

USC did make Utah into a one dimensional team. The Utes riding the arm of quarterback Jordan Wynn proved to be their main source of offense against USC’s defensive front. Wynn threw for 238 yards and one touchdown. Utah’s rushing attack was held to 81 total yards.

USC’s Matt Barkley and wide receiver Robert Woods picked up from their week one performance where they left off. Barkley completed 20 passes for 264 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Woods hauled in eight passes for 102 yards.

Marc Tyler got his first action of the season running for 109 yards on 24 attempts with one touchdown. Tyler was suspended for USC’s first game.

Next Games:

Utah (1-1) at BYU (1-1)

Syracuse (2-0) at USC (2-0).

San Jose State (0-1) versus UCLA (0-1)

UCLA overcomes to lost fumbles and uses a fourth quarter rally to come from behind to beat the Spartans 27-17.

Derrick Coleman and Johnathan Franklin provided the offensive punch needed for the Bruins to survive an upset loss at home. Coleman ran for a game high 135 yards on 14 rushing attempts, all in the second half, while Franklin added 80 yards on 16 attempts. Both Bruin running backs contributed a touchdown rushing. UCLA tight end Joseph Fauria added a receiving touchdown in the second quarter.

UCLA outgained San Jose State 417 yards to 317. The Bruins’ 272 rushing yards as opposed to San Jose State’s 202 made a big difference in the game.

Next Games:

Texas (2-0) at UCLA.

Nevada (0-1) at San Jose State (0-2).

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Week One College Football Recap: The PAC-12

Arizona State vs. UC Davis

Arizona State took care of UC Davis 48-14 to start their 2011 football campaign. ASU was in command throughout the game and only allowed 14 fourth quarter points after the game was decided. The Aggies had trouble with ASU’s offense and defense in the 104 degree heat. Look for Missouri to have trouble doing the same in week two against the Sun Devils.

Junior running back Cameron Marshall got the short yardage and goal lines carries; 7 rushes for 23 yards with two touchdown runs of 2-yards each. Brock Osweiler threw for 262 yards 2 scores and one interception.

Notes to the game

ASU racked up 517 yards of total offense; 300 passing, 217 rushing. ASU turned the ball over twice while only getting one takeaway on defense.

ASU’s defense only allowed 243 yards of offense; 155 passing, 88 rushing.

Jamal Miles carried the ball once for 36 yards but showed his speed on a 98-yard kickoff return to start the second half.

Aaron Pflugrad had three catches for 50-yards with 2 touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman Alex Garoutte was perfect on six extra points and two field goal attempts including a 49-yarder before halftime.

ASU is still waiting for the return of LB Brandon Magee (Achilles’ Tendon), RB Deantre Lewis (shot in leg), and CB Omar Bolden (torn ACL). If ASU can get completely healthy again, watch out!

Utah vs. Montana State

Utah beat Montana State 27-10 to earn their first victory as a PAC-12 member. Utah was in control early and never let up jumping out to a 24-0 lead before Montana State scored a touchdown with a minute to go before halftime.

Utah quarterback Jordan Wynn was efficient completing 15 of 23 passes for 101 yards and two scores. True freshman John White (Torrance, CA) was the story of the game for the Utes. He led all rushers with 150 yards on 19 attempts with a running and a receiving touchdown.

Utah looked like they were going through the motions against Montana State. Perhaps they were looking ahead to their week two game on the road at USC? Since neither the Utes nor the Trojans looked in top form in week one, this should be an interesting matchup for both schools. USC is familiar with Norm Chow’s (USC and UCLA) offense but not the Utah players. USC struggled with their run game against the Golden Gophers. How will the two teams off-set each other at the Coliseum?

Notes to the Game

Utah’s starting left tackle senior John Cullen was held out of the game due to a concussion. He is expected to play against USC in week two.

Linebacker Brian Blechen intercepted two passes against Montana State.

All eyes were on Wynn and his shoulder. Wynn did not open it up too much but expect to see him air it out against USC next week.

USC vs. University of Minnesota

USC fought off the Golden Gophers to hang on for a 19-17 opening season victory. USC quarterback Matt Barkley and wide receiver Robert Woods received the headlines with their impressive and record setting performances; Barkley set a USC record completing 34 passes while Woods set a USC record for receptions in a game with 17, but the real story of the game is the decision making of the USC coaching staff.

Twice USC went for two after their initial scores and failed on both attempts. USC pulled the same stunt in last year’s opener against Hawaii. Why? Lane Kiffin will learn at some point that he has to play the game the correct way or his brash attitude will catch up with him. USC lost two games last year on last minute field goals adding an extra emphasis to the phrase “every point counts”. For USC to be successful, Kiffin will have to learn that each point does count even if he feels his team is better than their opposition.

Minnesota played tough in the second half and kept the game close with a third quarter nine yard touchdown by Duane Bennett (10-19). In the fourth quarter Max Shortell threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Green to draw the Gophers within two of USC.

Notes of the Game

USC was without starting tailback Marc Tyler. Tyler was suspended for his comments about USC players being paid to play on “TMZ”.

Matt Barkley finished the game 34 of 45 for 304 yards passing with three touchdowns.

Robert Woods had 177 yards receiving on 17 catches with three touchdowns.

USC only had 67 yards rushing for the game.

UCLA vs. University of Houston

Casey Keenum got revenge against UCLA shredding UCLA’s defense for 310 yards passing enroot to a 38-34 win. Keenum injured his ACL against the Bruins at the Rose Bowl during UCLA’s third game of the 2010 season; a 31-13 win for UCLA. Keenum was granted a sixth year of eligibility and delivered his payback.

The game was a shootout with Houston leading the entire way. Both team put up gaudy offensive numbers as little defense was played. UCLA had 554 yards of total offense to the Cougars 469. The two teams combined for 10 total touchdowns.

UCLA quarterback Kevin Prince left the game in the second due to a concussion allowing backup quarterback Richard Brehaut, last year’s starter, to finish the game (17 of 26 for 264 yards passing, 2 TD, 0 interceptions).

The hot seat just got hotter for UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel. UCLA has a game to get things back on track before facing the University of Texas at the Rose Bowl on September 17. Texas will be looking to revenge last year’s home loss to UCLA (34-12).

Notes to the Game

UCLA running back Johnathan Franklin started off 2011 where he left off in 2010 rushing for 126 yards on 16 attempts with one score.

Richard Brehaut ran 13 times for 78 yards. That’s putting the Pistol Offense to work!

UCLA’s wide receivers and tight ends had a great day against Houston’s weak defense. Junior Joseph Fauria exploited Houston’s defense for 110 yards on six catches with a score.

Oregon State vs. Sacramento State

Mike Riley is in for a long year. Oregon State fought back from a 21-6 deficit to tie the game and send it into overtime. Oregon State got the ball first in OT scoring a touchdown on an 18-yard run by true freshman Malcom Agnew (St. Louis, MO). Sacramento State hung tough in OT. Hornet’s quarterback Jeff Fleming threw a 6-yard touchdown pass in OT then followed with a 2-yard pass to convert the two-point conversion to win the game 29-28.

OSU plays on the road at Wisconsin in week two action. Wisconsin routed UNLV 51-17 in their season opener.

Notes of the Game

Malcom Agnew finished the game with 223 yards rushing on 33 attempts with 3 scores.

This was OSU’s first season opening loss since 2001.

OSU played seven true freshmen.

OSU quarterback Ryan Katz was benched in the second half after going 11 for 22 for 87 yards with an interception.

Stanford vs. San Jose State

The score was not indicative of the game as the Cardinal rolled to an easy 57-3 romp of the Spartans. Stanford was in control throughout and gave up the Spartans only points on an 18-yard field goal with 52 seconds before halftime.

For his standards, Andrew Luck had a mild game, throwing for 171 yards on 17 for 26 attempts with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Luck also added a one yard rushing touchdown.

Stanford should have another easy opponent in week two as they travel to North Carolina to take on the Duke Blue Devils.

Notes of the Game

The Cardinal defense was in full force only allowing 237 yards of total offense; 210 passing and 27 yards rushing.

San Jose State’s quarterback Matt Faulkner was sacked twice for a loss of 48-yards.

Stanford head coach David Shaw started preparing for 2012 by getting snaps for redshirt freshman quarterback Brett Nottingham and sophomore quarterback Robbie Picazo.

Washington State vs. Idaho State

The Cougars blasted the Bengals 64-21 leaving them one victory shy of their 2010 season total. The game for WSU went from great to bad after learning that starting quarterback Jeff Tuel, perhaps the best quarterback in college football that no one knows about, broke his left clavicle during the game. Backup quarterback Marshall Lobbestael filled in nicely going 14 of 19 for 230 yards with 2 touchdowns.

Washington State gets another game they could win this week in a matchup against UNLV at home.

Notes of the Game

True freshman running back Marcus Mason (Etiwanda, CA) made his debut against the Bengals rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

Sophomore wide receiver Marquess Wilson had four catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Andrew Furney missed an extra point kick for WSU.

California vs. Fresno State

Fresno jumped on Cal early for a 7-0 lead in the first but the Cal Bears scored three straight touchdowns, missing 2-PATs, to take a 19-14 lead before the end of the first quarter on their way to a 36-21 win. Cal’s junior scat back Isi Sofele carved up the Bulldogs defense for three scores and 69 yards rushing. Senior receiver Marvin Jones had five catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns while sophomore Keenan Allen had eight catches for 112 yards.

The Bears offense accounted for 413 yards from the line of scrimmage.

Notes of the Game

Cal is playing their home games at AT&T Park this year. Will they be able to retain the home field advantage they normally get in Berkley? Fresno State drew a larger crowd to AT&T Park for Cal’s “home opener”.

Cal’s defense, as always, looked sharp against the Bulldogs only surrendering 68 yards rushing and 142 yards passing.

Cal opens conference play next week at Colorado.

Washington vs. Eastern Washington

Washington survived a 30-27 scare against the Eagles. The Eagles lived and died by their quarterback play against the Huskies all night. Bo Mitchell threw for 473 yards against the Huskies and drove the Eagles from their 5-yard line to the Huskies’ 25-yard line with 40 seconds to play. Washington’s preseason All-PAC-12 cornerback Desmond Trufant intercepted Mitchell’s pass in the end zone to stop the Eagle’s drive and secure the Huskies’ season opening victory.

Huskies’ quarterback play was average at best. Keith Price threw for three touchdowns but only compiled 102 yards passing. Running back Chris Polk was dominating in the season opener running for 122 yards.

Notes of the Game

The Huskies’ defense had four Eagles’ receivers go for 70-yards or more on their secondary.

The Eagles attempted 69 passes but only ran the ball 17 times.

Washington plays University of Hawaii at home. This will be Hawaii’s second game against a PAC-12 team in 2011.

Oregon vs. LSU

Before a crowd of 87,711 Tiger and Ducks’ fans in Arlington, Texas, LSU capitalized on four Oregon turnovers and 12 penalties to win going away 40-27. LSU was in control most of the game leading 16-13 at halftime and 30-13 at the end of the third quarter. Oregon true freshman running back De’Anthony Thomas (Los Angeles, CA) fumbled on back-to-back possessions leading to two LSU scores in the third quarter.

Darron Thomas tried to get revenge in his home state against Les Miles, who recruited him to play at LSU but would not promise him the opportunity to stay at quarterback. Thomas played well completing 31 passes for 240 yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown, but could not help overcome the mistakes made by the Ducks and the lack of a running game against LSU’s stout defense. Oregon was held to 95 rushing yards. More notably preseason Heisman candidate LaMichael James was held to 51-yards rushing on 18 carries.

LSU starting quarterback Jarrett Lee played the role of quarterback but did not impress pundits with his play; 10-22 for 98-yards with one touchdown. Spencer Ware and Michael Ford got tough rushing yards all game for the Tigers. Ware finished with 97-yards and Ford finished with 94.

If defense wins championships, LSU has a defensive unit capable of getting them to the BCS Championship Game.

Notes of the Game

This is Oregon’s first time with consecutive losses since 2007.

Oregon outgained LSU offensively 335 total yards to 273.

LSU has won 34 consecutive non-conference games.

Colorado vs. University of Hawaii

Adding to the PAC-12 woes in week one was the Buffaloes 34-17 loss to the Warriors in Hawaii. Colorado’s new head coach Jon Embree had no answers for Hawaii quarterback Bryant Moniz. Moniz was the story of the game as he threw for 178-yards with a touchdown and ran for 121 yards with three scores (120 rushing yards in the first half; Moniz was sacked five times for a loss of 30 yards). The good news for Colorado is they held Moniz to 182-yards below his passing average during the 2010 season when he threw for 360-yards per game.

The Warriors forced Colorado to punt on their first five possessions of the game. Rodney Steward, a 1,318 yard rusher in 2010, was held to 41-yards on 18 attempts but caught 4 passes for 98-yards.

Notes of the Game

Colorado has lost 19 consecutive road games.

Colorado sacked Bryant Moniz five times but gave up seven sacks offensively to the Warriors for a total loss of 44-yards.

Colorado opens conference play at home against California this week.

Arizona vs. Northern Arizona

Arizona quarterback Nick Foles started the 2011 season on a winning note leading the Wildcats to a 41-10 win over Northern Arizona. Foles ability as a passer has never been questioned. He finished the game with 412 yards passing, completing 34 on 42 attempts with five touchdowns. The question centered on Foles is his offensive line. All five linemen are new starters and the responded well, protecting their senior quarterback by only giving up one sack. The run blocking is another issue. The Wildcats were held to 75-yards rushing.

Senior wide receiver Juron Criner continued his great colligate career by catching six passes for 151 yards with a touchdown. Wildcats receiver David Roberts had seven catches for 58-yards.

Arizona gets an opportunity for a shootout and to display their offense on the national stage this week against Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

Notes of the Game

Arizona’s defense held the Lumberjacks to 259-yards of total offense.

Arizona committed 10 penalties costing them 74-yards during the game.

College Football Stat of the Week

Florida State quarterback Clint Trickett: 1 for 1 passing with a touchdown for a quarterback rating of 665.2. Trickett is the son of FSU’s offensive line coach, Rick Trickett. 

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