Devontae Booker rushed for more than 150 yards and two touchdowns as the Utes remained unbeaten on the season. The Ducks got rolling early thanks to safety Tyree Robinson’s 41-yard interception return for a touchdown about a minute into the game. Tight end Austin Hooper was sensational with four catches for 79 yards. But he didn’t dazzle enough to create any kind of quarterback controversy. We have to go play a really quality opponent next week in Arizona State.
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The Beavers put together a nice game against the San Jose State Spartans. By far the best win by anyone this season, there’s a chance to go on a big run with Vanderbilt, Florida, New Mexico State, and Memphis up next before dealing with Texas A&M. RB Storm Woods had 17 carries for 151 yards and 1 rushing TD. Stanford will need to avoid the letdown after last week’s big win.
LOS ANGELES Stanford stunned USC – and anyone who watched the Cardinal in the opening weeks – with a breakout offensive performance that fueled a 41-31 victory over the Trojans on Saturday in the L.A. Coliseum.
The 6th-ranked Trojans lost a tough one to the Cardinal. Most alarming was the lack of toughness and discipline on defense. The offense looked unstoppable as they dropped 41 points on the road against USC. HC Steve Sarkisian had this team flying high for a few weeks before dropping this one. “As much as Stanford is that ‘ground-and-pound, ‘ the ball gets to the edge a lot”.
We called South Carolina for comment – so far, no word back. “That didn’t happen for us”. The Cardinal offense came alive with balance and its ability to control the line of scrimmage. USC managed 31 points and 427 total yards against Stanford, but the Trojans were averaging 57.0 points and 623.0 yards entering the game…. The Cardinal then held on downs to seal the win. This week’s winners: Stanford’s Kevin Hogan (offense), Colorado’s Kenneth Olugbode (defense) and Utah’s Cory Butler-Byrd (special teams). Fortunately, Paul Perkins and Nate Starks combined for 300 rushing yards to spark the Bruins comeback. In the final 3:53 of the first half, Stanford scored twice to take a 24-21 halftime lead. Kessler finished 25 of 32 with 272 yards and three touchdowns. I’m not anxious about him mentally or emotionally. It can be, if the freshman does what a freshman should do – learn. At some point, the Buckeyes can’t be excused for just waiting to focus.
Just like Utah’s game over Fresno State, this was a pretty straight-forward and clinical win for the Huskies. He leads the Beavers with 292 yards on the ground. Sefo Liufau threw for 220 yards and two touchdown passes, one to Shay Fields and one to Devin Ross.
“We didn’t capitalize when we did get possessions”, Kessler said. OSU has an extremely tough matchup at home against Stanford next week. That probably won’t play well this week at Oregon. The other two are Jake Browning of Washington, and Josh Rosen of UCLA. Outside of the coach world, people look for something to blame. The offense is explosive but needs more big plays after generating just 10 plays of 20 yards or more through the first three games.
Wyoming 14 – WASHINGTON STATE 31: Something not heard often: WSU’s defense stepped up. I have a little more trust in the Bears heading into Pac-12 play.
Stanford is one of six Pac-12 teams ranked in the Top 25, joining UCLA (ninth), Oregon (13th), Arizona (16th), Utah (18th) and USC.
But now, with Stanford recruiting at an elite level at all positions and with a rejuvenated David Shaw at the helm taking full advantage of his wealth of riches, Stanford looks very different – it just took everybody a long time to realize that.
-Utah and BYU announced last week that the in-state rivals will meet to open the 2019 and 2020 season.
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Below are scores and a quick recap of each game in the Pac-12. UCLA is the owner of the conference’s lone marquee win in non-conference play and remains undefeated.
