Pac-12 Football Week 1: Game-by-Game Highlights

Sep 5, 2015; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats safety Kyle Queiro (21) intercepts a pass intended for Stanford Cardinal tight end Austin Hooper (18) during the second half of the game at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports

Lots of excitement, the first week of Pac-12 football is in the books, so we took a look at what happened and how the teams which make up the Pac-12 conference performed.

Overall, the Pac-12 teams collective win-loss record is a pathetic seven wins, five losses.

The Pac-12 North struggled this weekend, and it was very noticeable racking up three wins and three losses for the weekend.

The Pac-12 South had an easier time of it, but still ended up with four wins and two losses on the weekend.

Even the Pac-12 network paid attention to the uniforms for the day to distract all of us Pac-12 fans. Although I always love our Wildcats uniforms, if I have to be honest, I would really like the Wildcats to step it up this year. Nike needs to come through for Arizona with their new contract just like they do for Oregon if that’s even possible.  If I had to vote, Utah’s helmets won the day and they are an Under Armour school.

RELATED –>> New Designs for Arizona Wildcats Football Helmets Part THREE

There were a number of blowouts which account for a lot of racking up of stats, never-the-less the Pac-12 conference announced on Monday their players of the week in a press release:

"Quarterback Josh Rosen of UCLA, defensive back Justin Thomas of UTAH and wide receiver Dante Pettis of Washington have been named offensive, defensive and special teams Pac-12 Players of the Week in football."

We’ll go through the entire Pac-12 conference: both South and North division games one by one and hope you can stay with us until the end as we have some surprises and interesting highlights deep into the slide show you won’t want to miss.

Next: Pac-12 South game one: No. 22 Arizona vs. UTSA

Pac-12 South:

Sep 3, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; The Arizona Wildcats celebrate after the fourth quarter against the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners at Arizona Stadium. Arizona won 42-32. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports

No. 22 Arizona                        42

Univ. Texas at San Antonio  32

Ten points.  Arizona didn’t beat the -30.5 point spread, but that’s what most experts predicted. Everything would have had to go perfectly with no injuries, no suspensions, and not such a great UTSA Roadrunner team, but that’s not what went down unfortunately.

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Coach Rich Rod felt that his defense was winded and not in shape although he certainly felt that they were ready for the game after pre-season camp. I surmise that the team was winded because they were on the field for so long and the opposing team scored 32 points against them converting on third downs, etc.

Arizona did pull out a win even if it came with some losses, none of which are season long losses. There isn’t a better time for these injuries than the beginning of the season when young players can get some experience and veterans can rest a little and recuperate.

Dec 31, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Wildcats linebacker Scooby Wright III (33) against the Boise State Broncos in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl at Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

We also saw and heard that a lot of the defense got a chance to enter the game, so maybe it was harder to get their groove going.  All that said, they still won and that’s more than a number of Pac-12 teams can say after the long weekend.

In Scooby news…according to ESPN Scooby, “had his left knee scoped to repair a lateral meniscus tear, a source confirmed to ESPN’s Brett McMurphy. The Wildcats hope to have him back in a month.”  Sports illustrated’s Brian Hamilton added that the source said, “It was better than everyone thought.”

Both of these sources were conflicted on if Scooby would be ready for the UCLA game in late September, all we can do is support our Wildcat and pray hard for a quick and painless recovery.

There’s nothing like a winning locker room and a recap of a victory. Check out this Arizona Wildcats video, don’t miss Coach Rich Rod’s speech at the end, this should be the fans attitude as well. GO CATS!

Next: No. 13 UCLA vs Virginia

September 5, 2015; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen (3) looks to pass against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first half at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

No. 13 UCLA   34

Virginia            16

True freshman QB Josh Rosen threw 28 passes and made 35 of them for 351 yards and three touchdowns through three-quarters.  Rosen is the first true freshman to start for UCLA, ever. His performance put UCLA in the discussions over Arizona State for Pac-12 South stars and earned him FBS Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Certainly he was the most highly anticipated freshman to play in the country today, and this was only his first game. He came in physically and mentally ready to play and showed everyone why he earned a five-star rating in playing at John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif.

Fun fact, his home town is listed as Manhattan Beach, Calif. where his Head Coach Jim Mora and USC head coach Steve Sarkisian also live.

Rosen made one big mistake with nine and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter, he missed a snap from center which flew past him which resulted in a 19-yard loss. Back to the sideline for a talking to, in came his back-up QB Jerry Neuheisel (red-shirt junior) who was able to tack on an extra touchdown.

UCLA’s defense looked intimidating, Virginia could not seem to get any offense going until late in the game when UCLA’s second string came in. A bit of late Sunday bad news for UCLA’s defense, LB Eddie Vanderdoes tore his ACL and is out for the season, big loss.

UCLA becomes the most talked about team in the discussion about which team is going to lead the Pac-12 South.  Let’s see how it goes.

Next: No. 8 USC vs. Arkansas State

Sep 5, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans receiver Steven Mitchell (7) attempts to catch a pass against the Arkansas State Red Wolves at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

No. 8 USC               55

Arkansas State       6

USC annihilated Arkansas State last night. The Sarkisian drama seems to be behind them, didn’t affect the team. ESPN Reported Sarks post-game comments, “For the first game against a very dangerous opponent, it was a good first win, I loved it. This is what I love to do, so I was proud of the guys.”

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Lots of happiness in Trojan-land this morning. Was it a huge win? Not in my opinion, I disagree with the USC head coach, dangerous opponent?  The only time we hear about Arkansas state is when they play USC. That said, the team pulled through with flying colors and have to feel pretty good going into week 2 with a win under their belt. This win is the 18th consecutive season opening win for USC, a great start to the 2015 season.

USC is at the top of most sports broadcasters Pac-12 South ranking and end-of-season predictions. After Saturday, their rival UCLA is now in the conversation and it’s only week one.  I don’t think this is going to change anytime soon, and this will make the UCLA vs. USC game one for the ages this season.

The Trojans averaged scoring two touchdowns a quarter for the most part, Cody Kessler passed for 236 yards (19 for 26) and four of those touchdowns. USC running back Tre Madden rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown.

Next: Utah vs. Michigan

Sep 3, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Utes linebacker Jared Norris (41) and offensive lineman Isaac Asiata (54) celebrate their 24-17 win over the against the Michigan Wolverines at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Utah            24

Michigan    17

Utah seemed to just outplay Michigan in this game Thursday night.  Lots of focus and pressure was centered on returning NCAA and former NFL Coach Jim Harbaugh. This loss was embarrassing for Harbaugh, with the media scrutinizing his every move, from taking away cell phones from his players during pre-season camp to anything they can sink their teeth into.  Well he’s rebuilding.

As for Utah, almost every Pac-12 coach was asked which team they were most worried about playing and almost everyone mentioned ‘Utah’ in some way during Pac-12 Media days.

Utah running back Devontae Booker, after beating Michigan, said something really telling about Michigan’s defense, “The harder I ran the more they backed off.” Booker rushed for 69 yards and scored a touchdown in the win.

Michigan fans at the Sports Bar were not happy campers, they were an all-around mess through the game. Remember Utah was playing Michigan at the same time the Wildcats were playing UTSA.

It’s probably going to be a long season for the Wolverine football fans, but maybe Harbaugh can give them something to cheer about. Does this mean taking away cell phones during pre-season camp does not necessarily work?

Next: No. 15 Arizona State vs. Texas A & M

Sep 5, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils quarterback Mike Bercovici (2) dives in to the end zone for a touchdown during the third quarter as Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Justin Evans (14) defends at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

No. 15 Arizona State   15

Texas A & M                  38

Arizona suspended three players for violating team rules in the Wildcats last game and most of us didn’t find out until we started asking questions during the game when some familiar jerseys were missing on the field.

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Right before their game with ASU, Texas A & M announced they had to suspend two of their players for similar reasons; Zaycoven Henderson (sophomore defensive tackle) and A.J. Hilliard (junior middle linebacker) were suspended for the first two games of the season per the Associated Press.

This suspension did not seem to affect the team at all, they beat the No. 15 Arizona State Sun Devils by 21 points. That’s three touchdowns!

Wildcats fans enjoyed the irony, experts dismissed their team and touted the Sun Devils, some even predicting Arizona State would win the Pac-12 South although it’s still possible. When this happens you can’t pass up the opportunity to have some rivalry fun.

"How 'bout them Sun Devils?"

ASU quarterback Mike Bercovici passed for 199 yards completing 25-of-41 scoring two touchdowns. Under constant Aggie pressure,  Bercovici was sacked a total of NINE times! The Sun Devils brought back a number of seasoned ‘returnees’ and felt very confident looking forward to a coming out party which never happened.

The Sun Devils defense allowed an early touchdown by the Aggies special teams; from his reception of the kick all the way to the end zone.  Aggie Christian Kirk, an Arizona native which Coach Graham wanted on his team according to AZCentral.com, completed a 66-yard touchdown with 3:45 remaining in the game.  That had to hurt.

Next: Colorado vs. Hawaii

Nov 8, 2014; Fort Collins, CO, USA; Hawaii Warriors running back Diocemy Saint Juste (22) stiff arms at Colorado State Rams linebacker Max Morgan (40) in the third quarter at Hughes Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Colorado    20

Hawaii        28

Early on in the weekend on Thursday night the Buffs lost by about a touchdown to Hawaii. It wasn’t the worst embarrassment for the Pac-12, that would be a toss-up between Arizona State and Washington State…in any case, Colorado loses to Hawaii by eight points.

This game was a kind of a heartbreaker with some unfortunate referee blunders which may have cost them the win even though I’m sure their coaching staff felt it shouldn’t have come down to the last play of the game.

Here’s a summary of what went down from ESPN’s Brett McMurphy:

"Trailing 28-20 with 14 seconds remaining, Colorado’s Sefo Liufau completed a 6-yard pass to Phillip Lindsay on second down to the Hawaii 8-yard line. Colorado was short of the first down, did not have any time-outs and hurried to the line of scrimmage. However, in the final 10 seconds, trying to get the ball to the center of the field, the umpire tossed the football to the center judge, but it bounced off a Hawaii player. The center judge then tracked down the bounding football on the turf and bobbled it before finally setting it on the turf as time expired."

Buffalo fans are die-hard. They fill up our local Pac-12 sports bar before every game and scowl at me as I’m decked out in my Arizona gear cheering on the Wildcats each game day.  They tell me Arizona is their rival team which is news to me, when did that happen? I feel for these fans, they truly want to have their team succeed, lucky I left before their game started.

Next: Pac-12 North: No. 21 Stanford vs. Northwestern

Pac-12 North

Sep 5, 2015; Evanston, IL, USA; Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Clayton Thorson (18) runs past Stanford Cardinal cornerback Ronnie Harris (21) for a touchdown during the second quarter at Ryan Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

No. 21 Stanford          6

Northwestern         16

This was a big upset! Experts like former Oregon Head Coach Mike Belotti, now ESPN College analyst chose Stanford as his No. 5 overall team in the Pac-12 and they lose to an unranked team in their first game of the season. Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports and San Jose Mercury News College Sports writer Jon Wilner both predicted Stanford to end up No. 2 in the Pac-12 North.

Stanford didn’t give these experts any favors today.  Northwestern’s defense was very physical, and the trick play of the Wildcats QB Clayton Thorson for a 42-yard run to the end zone came out of nowhere. It reminded me of the Boise State Statue of Liberty play.

Stanford’s QB fifth year senior Kevin Hogan was intercepted in the final minute of the game by Kyle Queiro in the end zone none-the-less.

Stanford needs to step it up, their next game is against University of Central Florida.

Next: No. 7 Oregon vs. Eastern Washington

Sep 5, 2015; Eugene, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Tony Brooks-James (20) runs the ball for a touchdown past Eastern Washington Eagles defensive back Victor Gamboa (27) at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

No. 7 Oregon                61

Eastern Washington   42

Total score between the team? 103 points! Wow, that’s a huge amount of scoring, more like a basketball score than a football score.

Oregon’s offense seems spot on whereas their defense seems to need some tuning up! It’s great that the Ducks scored 61 points, but then to give up 42 points, that’s just way too many points.

Oregon’s QB Vernon Adams Jr. played his former team in this first game as a Duck.  In the fourth quarter he had been hit hard, and in the head, it was a helmet to helmet hit!

Heard from a source close to the Ducks, some fans think the hit was on purpose and the defensive player was scorned, he was not happy his QB defected to the Oregon Ducks. You see Adams is the former Eastern Washington quarterback. After he asked for and was granted release from his scholarship with one year of eligibility left, Adans transferred to Oregon after graduating from EWU.

Needless to say, EWU linebacker John Kreifels was ejected from the game for targeting and Vernon says he feels okay.

According to CBS Sports Robby Kalland:

"Adams said he would be fine for next week’s showdown with No. 5 Michigan State. “I’m feeling good,” he told the Oregonian. “Yes, I’ll be out there.”"

Adams went 19-of-25 for 246 yards, two touchdowns and 94 rushing yards. Is it too early to say Vernon Adams is shaping up to be a great replacement for Marcus Mariota? After all he rushed for almost 100 yards.  Or should we wait?

ZZ hopes Vernon is okay, that was an ugly hit, just plain ugly and un-necessary.

Next: Washington State vs. Portland State

Sep 5, 2015; Pullman, WA, USA; Portland State Vikings quarterback Alex Kuresa (7) throws a pass against Washington State Cougars linebacker Kache Palacio (40) during the second half at Martin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

Washington State   17

Portland State         24

This tweet says it all..this wasn’t supposed to happen, and Portland State players and coaches got a lift in their step for the week.

Sorting through the USA Today gallery, there is photo after photo of sheer elation on the faces of Portland States Head Coach and his players.

Sep 5, 2015; Pullman, WA, USA; Portland State Vikings head coach Bruce Barnum celebrates with defensive tackle Daniel Fusi (92) and safety Tyler Foreman (15) after a game against the Washington State Cougars at Martin Stadium. The Vikings won 24-17. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

For the first time in 18 games, since 1947, Washington State has not lost to a Big Sky Conference opponent.  That streak ended this weekend.  True the Cougars only lost by a touchdown, still they were favored by 30.5 points.

The Cougars lost their quarterback, Luke Falk, late in the fourth quarter after landing hard on his shoulder. This couldn’t have helped them at all. Red-shirt freshman Peyton Bendor (nice QB name) took over for Luke.

What also didn’t help was the four fumbles the Cougars suffered. Head Coach Mike Leach attributed their problems to “incomplete communication.”  Here’s more from Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times:

"“It was more like there were times when (the play call) didn’t get communicated all the way around,” Leach said. “(Falk would) call something and then somebody wouldn’t be on the same page, whether they were distracted and not looking or Luke didn’t communicate it to the front or that type of thing.”"

The Cougars are going to have some tough practices next week as they gear up to play Rutgers who beat their opponent, Norfolk State, by 50 points yesterday, 63-13.

Next: Cal vs. Grambling State

Sep 5, 2015; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears running back Tre Watson (5) carries the ball against Grambling State Tigers defensive back Jordan Stargell (18) during the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Cal                         73

Grambling State 14

Is it even worth talking about this game? It looks like a High School basketball game gone wrong, 59 point win!  Cal looks good here.

The highlight of this game occurred during half-time. And no, it wasn’t involving their football team, it was Grambling State’s marching band that excited fans and put on a great show according to Twist NHook of CaliforniaGoldenBlogs.com (SB Nation).

They may not have the best football team in the Nation, but how about that Marching Band? Man they can really dance..and that’s while still playing their instruments.  Rich Rod may have been the first coach to Whip and Nae Nae on a football field, but these guys took it up a notch!

Rich Rod may have been the first coach to Whip and Nae Nae on a football field, but these guys took it up a notch!

The announcer introduced the band, “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, stand to your feet and witness..internationally known, nationality recognized and globally accepted as the black and gold standard of marching bands. There are many competitors yet NOOOO competition, no one can hold our position! We are the Woooorld famed Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band!” Or something close to that, hard to make it all out. See what you think!

Note: dancing starts in the second song and you have to watch the whole thing to witness the Whip and Nae Nae.

Next: Washington vs. Boise State

Sep 4, 2015; Boise, ID, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Browning (3) throws down field during the first half verses the Boise State Broncos at Albertsons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

Washington              13

No. 23 Boise State   16

Washington’s Head Coach Chris Petersen is the former coach of the Boise State Broncos. He returned to Idaho to try to beat his former team last week. Boise State went up 13-0 in second quarter on the Smurf turf. Washington came back and brought the score within three: 13-16 Boise State. Washington had one last try with Cameron Van Winkle attempting 46 yard field gold but he missed it! UGH!

Boise State went 12-2 last season and whipped our Wildcat tushes in the Fiesta Bowl, so of course the Broncos come into the season ranked right below Arizona at No. 23. Bovada had Boise State as a 12-point favorite and the last time these two teams met, the Huskies beat the Broncos 38-6 in Seattle in 2013.

If you look at it this way, Washington beat the point spread by nine points in a very close game that could have gone into overtime.

Don’t expect these two coaches to get cozy anytime soon according to ESPN Staff Writer Chantel Jennings, ‘It was a heartbreaking end to a day that had mostly been awkward for Petersen. He chose not to exchange pregame pleasantries with Broncos coach Bryan Harsin, and their post game handshake was stiff, as expected.’

Next: Oregon State vs. Weber State

Sep 4, 2015; Corvallis, OR, USA; Weber State Wildcats defensive lineman Jonathan Carlson (42) tackles Oregon State Beavers running back Storm Woods (24) at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Oregon State             26

Weber State                 7

The Oregon State Beavers beat the Wildcats! No, not our Wildcats, the Weber State Wildcats, who are the ninth youngest team in the Nation. OSU’s defense looked very good, they held Weber State to only 178 total offensive yards while OSU earned almost double that at 398 yards. The play of the game was Seth Collins’ hurdle:

Some game notes care of  Gina Mizell of The Oregonian/OregonLive:

"Seth Collins named OSU’s starting quarterback after a dazzling debut. The defense had nine new starters and a new scheme, but pitched a shutout. Not the best opener for Victor Bolden, who is expected to be a multi-dimensional weapon in the Beavers’ new spread offense. The tight ends weren’t really a factor, with Kellen Clute providing the only catch from that position group (which went for zero yards). This was very much a “first game” from a penalty perspective, as both teams combined for 14 fouls for 142 yards."

Nice win for the Beavers!

Hopefully I can keep this up and give you the Pac-12 breakdown every week, if nothing else, it will keep me up to speed on all things Pac-12 football.  And if you got this far, the very end, ZonaZealots and Fansided thanks you!

Next: Week 1 Malone’s Musings : Arizona Wildcats Vs. UTSA Wrap-up