Down with the Trojans!

[hoopsguy]

We go verticle passing:
1.) It is the preferred option for our OC
2.) I want to take advantage of our receivers downfield
3.) I'm not sure that any option is ideal for a line that is suspect - maybe Balanced?

Defensively, we will need to hide our linebackers and our strong safety. We'll go with the recommended 4-3. If this group matches what last years team did then our coordinator has earned his money. And he will have to coach up the new guys - the future is bright on the defensive line.

[muns]

hey hoops, i forgot to mention this, i did start over with my career with the new patch

Stared off at TCU went 11-2 ( got lucky with the players the cpu gave me by default)
I wanted to go bigger and Colorado came offering.

Went 4-8 (2-6) frist season ( 22 recruit class)
went 9-3 (6-2) second (14 recruit class)
went 12-1 (8-1) beat Georgia in the second best bowl

im sure your asking why im telling you this and the reason is that my first season i got 3 transfers ( stud Qb, Stud O line, and an ok DE) had a 22 recruit class...... those transfers were huge and turned my program around....... i got immerssed, and dont want to take any other jobs..... USC offered this offseason....... I know u would hate to start over, but the trasnfers work with the new patch (when i started over) and it makes the game 10 more fun


thought u would like to know


btw still a hell of a read and still enjoying

MUNS

[hoopsguy]

Muns, would I have to start the career over to take advantage of it? I expected that I would see the changes as the season rolled over. But I admit that I haven't followed closely on the GDS board as of late.

Congrats on getting things going with the Buffaloes. They had a Heisman QB a couple of seasons back, but haven't been able to rise above Oklahoma and Texas in this NCAA universe.

[hoopsguy]

Scheduling requests:
Week 1 - Colorado
Week 2 - @BYU
Week 3 - Utah (former D coordinator Ben Liddiard still running the show)

All three programs accept our challenge. Schedule is set; we are playing 12 games for the first time under my watch at UCLA.

[hoopsguy]

Redshirts and Cuts:
QB - both freshmen are redshirted. We'll have to sort this out next season depending on if Rattay is back. But the two new guys have a little more talent than the ones we brought in last year.

HB - We cut Ernie Knafelc (1/3). We leave the other super-scrub to help our team GPA.

FB - Billy Cushing (5/10) is a redshirt instead of being a 4th stringer.

WR - We have five guys who are 12 or better right now. That means our two freshmen, Lonzell Peters (9/13) and Virgil Stonesifer (6/11) are redshirted. We leave a guy on the roster as a 6th receiver who has a 3.94 GPA because there are some grade issues with the current group. But I'll probably burn a redshirt if I have to here.

TE - Freshman Barry Denard (5/12) is the backup so he is not redshirted. The other two guys on our roster are complete junk. We cut the 1/6 guy and keep the 2/6 just in case.

OT - Not enough talent or good enough grades to cut any of the six players, even though two of them are begging for their release. Practice hard, kids.

OG - Pretty much the same story, as our five decent OGs all have GPAs between 2.02 and 2.34. The sixth guy is a tutor.

C - Three guys all keep their spots. And we weep over the SO having to remain on the roster.

DE - More dumb starters and reserves, but our 5th guy is terrible and smart. See a theme here?

DT - Six players here, finally have some depth. But until grades are in we will keep the stiff instead of cutting him (6th guy is a 1/4)

ILB - My kingdom for a green player on D. I can't keep retaining horrible players and have the team respect me, so we cut a 1/5. It helps that the remaining four players here have decent grades.

OLB - We will keep all five guys. No major whining about them either, although they are not a great collection.

CB - McAllister comes into the year with a 2.22 GPA. Miracles really do happen. We cut a freshman walkon.

S - We cut a freshman walkon.

K/P - I hope that Bingaman doesn't get hurt because we have a handicapped kid listed as the backup punter. It is nice to do something for the community in terms of a feel-good story, but a 1/2 player should never see the field.

[hoopsguy]

Preseason Top 10:
1. USC - will open with #18 Notre Dame
2. Michigan
3. LSU
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma
7. Wisconsin
8. Mississippi
9. Purdue
10. Florida

Others of Note:
14. UCLA
17. Michigan State
20. Oregon
23. Pittsburgh

[hoopsguy]

We are listed as 20 point favorites at home against Colorado. This is crazy, as this team has some talent.

At HB there are two good ones. SR Joe Herring is listed as the starter. He has held the job the last 3 years and run for 4,474 yards in that time with 31 TDs (18 last year). He is also a threat catching the ball - 1,361 yards and another 12 TDs. Gene Banks has backed him up ably over the last two years, running for 1,110 while averaging almost 5 yards a carry.

SR WR Nate Brooking has eclipsed 1,000 yards in each of his two years in Boulder. Bookend SR James Barwegan has 3 straight 1,000 yard seasons and 25 career TDs. The 3rd WR also had 1,000 last year - these guys really threw the ball around, as they only played 12 games last year.

The offensive line is very talented. The worst rated is RT Bobby Burks at 9/14. I'm insanely jealous of this.

We will have to take advantage of the defense. DEs Freddie Rivera and Sammy Lewis are capable players, but the talent level doesn't jump off the page like it does on the offensive side of the ball. JR CB Rick Kuechenberg is a playmaker, but this is not a scary secondary.

[hoopsguy]

We are able to sell out the opener this year - good to see after we had 3,000 empties for Minnesota last year.

Morris runs for 8 on the opening play of the new year.
Rattay completes his 2nd attempt of the year to Palmer - 15 yards on his first college catch.
31 yards and a TD on his second college catch - blown assignment and he takes it to the house. 7-0, 12:04 left in the quarter.

Gain of 22 to the FB on the first play for Colorado. Uh-oh.
12 to Herring on the next play.
Looks like Buffalo is going to pound it on the ground.
After 4 straight runs they hit a 13 yard pass. Down to our 24.
And Joe Herring runs it in from 22 yards out. 7-7, 8:38 left in the quarter.
They threw like nuts last year but have re-invented themselves as a smash-mouth team. And we are making them look damn good at it.

J.R. Jackson takes the kick out to the 41.
21 yard pass to Thelwell.
Morris gets freaky on a 20 yard run, eluded several defenders with Barry Sanders-like moves.
Rattay is sacked.
Thelwell runs for 15 on 3rd and 16.
Ellis comes in and kicks a 25 yard field goal. 10-7, 5:43 left in the quarter.

Joe Herring has 69 yards on 7 carries after getting the ball on the first four touches of the next drive.
But they fall back to pass on 2nd down and Elijah McAllister makes them pay. Interception on a deep route, we take over at our 15.

Rattay is sacked again. Hope this doesn't become a theme ...
3 and out.
26 yard return for the Buffs, who start at our 41.

Back to back 15 yard completion for QB Johnny Zukauskas bring the ball to the 5.
FB Ron Williams takes it up the gut to give Colorado the lead. 14-10, end of one quarter.

A 15 yard facemask on the return puts us at the 48.
Morris is almost as effective as their back - 60 yards on 8 carries.
Gain of 3 to Martin on 3rd and 4.
We go for it this time from their 28. Morris picks up 3.
And Gannon Dawson runs it in from 25 yards out on the next play. 17-14, 11:28 left in the half.

Colorado is whistled for holding on 1st down - finally!
They punt on 4th and 1 from their 16.

18 yards to Palmer - nice debut for him so far.
Morris runs for 20 more.
Rattay is sacked on 1st down, loss of 2.
But we are stopped at the 7. Ellis has his 2nd 25 yard field goal of the day. 20-14, 6:37 left in the half.

3 and out, as Zukauskas can't quite get on the same page with his receivers.

Rattay is sacked for the 4th time this half.
Morris picks up 10 on 3rd and 5.
Morris gets 6 more on a screen pass on 3rd and 6.
20 yards to Woodley Martin, down to the 3.
And another TD pass for Rattay, to TE Gene Fortunato. 27-14, 1:50 left in the half.
Time to find out if we worked on our nickle/dime packages to stop the 2 minute offense.

3 and out, the defense hits the wideout hard on 3rd down to break up a pass.

Pass to Morris for 10, to the 46.
17 yards to Palmer. Timeout!
We are whistled for holding on a sack.
2nd and 14 at the 33.
16 yards to Morris. We spike it.
Ellis kicks a 35 yard field goal. 30-14, 0:10 left in the half.


Halftime Notes:
The offense was just as good as we hoped it would be. Rattay is 15-18 for 189 yards and 2 TDs. Morris has 14 carries for 98 yards.
The defense is struggling to stop the run.
We just need to keep controlling the ball and not commit turnovers and we will put this one away.


We get a stop on 3rd and 6 and force a punt after one first down.
Good punt, we are stuck back at the 9.

OT Paul Glover has his first penalty - tripping on a 7 yard run.
Rattay finds Martin for 17 yards on 3rd and 15.
We have to punt after a pair of first downs.
But we force a turnover on punt coverage and take over at the 24.

Ugh - Rattay throws an interception immediately. Martin was open and probably would have scored.

27 yard run for Herring, he is now over 100 on 13 touches.
DE Phil Patten records a sack on 1st down.
Colorado punts from the 49.

3 and out as Morris is stuffed on 3rd and 2. Punt.

We are called for a 5 yard facemask to give Colorado a 1st down.
Colorado is immediately called for holding - makeup call?
There is a new QB in the game, Eric Suggs. He completes a pass for 23 yards, to our 41.
But CB Curry Thompson introduces himself to the new QB, by way of interception.

Voight catches a short crossing route and turns it into 19 yards on 3rd and 14.
27 more for Voight, who is just a tough man to bring down after the catch.
Rattay again can't connect with Martin in scoring territory. Ellis puts up 3 more on a 44 yard kick. Nice start for him. 33-14, 13:46 left to play.

We get a 3 and out. Suggs was knicked up on 2nd down and had to scramble again on 3rd. He wasn't moving very well.

21 more yards to Voight. He didn't have any receptions in the first half, but has made his presence felt in the 2nd half.
And Nicolas Morris puts the game away with a 46 yard run! The Rose Bowl crowd is on their feet after the electrifying run! 40-14, 10:56 left to play.
Morris now has 22 carries for 159 yards.

17 yard run for FB Ron Williams. That guy looks like an All-American today. 4 carries for 52 yards.
The defense forces a fumble.

One play drive - Rattay to Thelwell for 54 yards. Colorado is throwing in the towel. 47-14, 9:11 left to play.

Another Colorado fumble after a catch, but they recover this one.
That delays the change of possession for one play. Anderson, who forced the fumble last possession, goes down low for a shoestring grab and runs it back 36 yards to the 50.

Rattay is just drilled. He fumbles, but Perryman recovers.
Rattay is pissed. He gets up and fires a 29 yarder to Voight for a first down.
3 yard TD pass to Martin. 54-14, 5:07 left to play.
Hope we bring in the reserves, don't want our line letting Rattay get hurt.

Colorado brings in a 3rd QB to wrap this up. We force another turnover - again a fumble. The safety Brock lowers the boom and DE Dickerson runs it back for 36 yards. 61-14, 4:12 left in the slaughter.

DT Jack Farmer knocks the ball loose and recovers it at the 34.

Ellis misses a 43 yard field goal. I'm not too upset over this.

Colorado is whistled for holding. Not surprising, they can't believe what has hit them in the 4th quarter.
They are called again for holding on 3rd down, but we decline.
We are whistled for roughing the passer on an incomplete pass on 4th and 20.
But we are awarded the ball? Boo ... still some stuff that needs to be fixed in the game.

And Gannon Dawson hurts his foot on a carry we should not have had - 0:32 left on the clock there when he got the ball.

[hoopsguy]

USC demolished ND 48-19 at the Coliseum.

Our academics aren't good, but they aren't as ghastly as they have been in the past. 9 guys who are on the "worry" list. 3 starters - DE Phil Patten, WR Kato Thelwell, and CB Curry Thompson. There are a smattering of talented reserves to look at as well, along with a couple of no-talent bench-warmers.

HB Gannon Dawson suffered a broken foot. We know what a baby he is with injuries, so he won't play for a week or two (or five).


The defense really stepped up in the 2nd half of that game. Colorado finished with only 322 yards and 16 first downs. We outscored them 31-0 in the final 15 minutes. Wow, what an onslaught that was!

Colorado was only 1-8 on 3rd down.

Rattay is off to a good start on his Heisman bid. 29-40 for 397 yards. 4 TDs, 1 INT. He would prefer not to be sacked 6 times again anytime soon.

Morris looks like a guy who has grown up in a hurry. 26 carries for 175 yards and 1 TD.

Amazingly, not one receiver had 100 yards despite Rattay throwing for almost 400. Thelwell has 99 and Voight 96.

OG James McAddley had 5 pancakes on the day. Looks like he is taking over for Yale Givens in the pancake/KRB discrepancy department.

C Greg Knight allowed 3 sacks. We have a freshman who can do that - no need to start the senior if he can't do better than this. He has one game to improve.

FR ILB Bobby Anderson, welcome to the team. 7 tackles (all solos), 1 stuff, 1 hurry, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and a pass defended. Keep up the good work.

[hoopsguy]

We head out to Utah listed as 18 point favorites for the BYU game.

We will see a quality running back in Mike Chapman. He has topped 1,000 yards in each of his two years with the program.

On defense, they have a pair of quality defensive ends. Raymonn Hansen is a 3rd year starter who compiled 9 sacks last year. The secondary is balanced, although no one jumps off the page.

These guys are not as good as Colorado, but we aren't as good as we showed in the last 15 minutes of that game. Still, I think we can cover the number here.

[hoopsguy]

Chapman runs for 17 yards on his first touch, undressing our defenders in the process.
And QB Jerry Emmons throws a 50 yard TD strike on his 2nd attempt of the day. 7-0, 13:23 to play in the quarter.

Nothing is easy on the first drive. We eke out a pair of 1st downs to move into BYU territory.
4th and 1 at their 32. Rattay throws to Thelwell, but it is high and sails out of bounds.

A 19 yard run for Chapman looks pretty easy.
BYU drives to our 37 before being forced to punt.

Rattay is drilled in the backfield, but BYU is called for defensive holding.
Morris eeks out 1 on 3rd and 1.
The defense is sitting on Morris as Rattay looks wild early on.
And Rattay goes down on a sack, giving BYU the ball at our 19.

The defense is stout here, only allowing 2 yards.
35 yard field goal is good. 10-0, 2:49 left in the quarter.
Hopefully the hangover is complete for our offense.

Well, a 35 yard pass play to Martin says it is. But the fumble afterwards leaves questions. We did recover ...
Morris runs for 5 on 3rd and 5. Into long field goal range.
Rattay is 4-11, pretty ugly stuff in the 1st quarter.
4th and 1 at the 26. Ellis kicks a 44 yard field goal. 10-3 at the end of one.

They run the option and Chapman has 13.
But that is the only first down on this drive.

3rd and 2, Rattay looks deep and finds Martin for 35 yards.
Again to Martin deep - 44 yards down to the 2 on this play.
2 yard screen pass to Morris - looks like Rattay woke up. 10-10, 11:07 left in the half.

BYU has a new QB taking the snaps - Jerry Joe. He can't advance the offense. Punt.
61 yard boot, no return, and we are back at the 9.

Morris breaks the tie with a 65 yard TD run. 11 rushes for 101 yards, as his average per carry suddenly climbed ... 17-10, 6:35 left in the half.

23 yards for Chapman - this guy is killing us. 7 carries for 84 yards so far.
Joe hits his RB Winder for 10 on 3rd and 6, despite a big hit from McAllister.
BYU keeps picking up first downs on this drive, into the red zone.
Chapman picks up 5 on 3rd and 3. First and goal at the 8.
4th and goal at the 3, and they take a 21 yard field goal. 17-13, 0:37 left in the half. That was a 15 play drive.


Halftime Notes:
We were sleepwalking through the first 15 minutes of this game. Their RB is abusing us. We have to take advantage of the backup QB and force some turnovers.
BYU has sustained some injuries in the first half. We need to wear them out.


We go 3 and out on the opening drive.

They are dropping a whole lot of looks on us - reverse, swing pass, pitchouts. And most of it is working.
4th and 1 from our 39 - no dice as the defense forces an incomplete pass to the RB Chapman.

3 and out again for the offense.

Ditto for the Cougars. Punt.

Rattay completes a pass to Palmer for 13.
Morris up the gut for 10.
Thelwell makes a grab with full extension for 34 yards, down to the 15.
Our run blocking breaks down from the 5, as BYU is in the backfield 3 straight plays.
Ellis kicks a 30 yard field goal. 20-13, 4:52 left in the 3rd quarter.

Chapman is over 100 yards on 12 carries.
Joe scrambles for 14 yards. I am not pleased ...
And even less so when Chapman is all alone on a flare pass that he takes in from 44 yards out. 20-20, 2:42 left in the 3rd.

3rd and 3, Rattay finds Martin on an out pattern. Martin stays inbounds and cuts it up field for a 47 yard gain. 1st down at the 18.
Martin has 5 catches for 168 yards on the day. Good to see he has fully recovered from his back injury last year.
Voight makes a great adjustment on a poorly thrown pass and spins away from the defense while juggling the ball - 10 yards and a TD! 27-20, end of 3.

DT Jack Farmer leaves the game with a knee injury.
3 and out for BYU. The QB is not happy with his WR Allen, who dropped 2 passes.

Rattay is sacked on 3rd and 3. We punt from the 46.

3 and out again for BYU - they are abandoning the run too early.

13 yard pass to Morris, into field goal range.
And here is the Rattay blowup - bad interception, it is returned to the 39.

The defense doesn't surrender a single yard. BYU punts again.
Good one, we are left on our 8.

3 and out for the offense. Rattay is now 15-30 on the day.
And BYU runs the punt back - 66 yards on the return. 27-27, 6:49 to play.
So much for the cover ...

Time to see if our guys respond to pressure.
J.R. Jackson takes the kick back to the 45.
Rattay goes to Mr. Reliable, John Voight for a 23 yard gain.
We are stuffed inside the 20 after back-to-back handoffs to our backup RB and a WR.
Ellis kicks a 37 yard field goal. 30-27, 3:48 to play.

Pass for 14 to the TE.
Sack by DT Roger Parsons on 2nd down.
Incomplete on 3rd and 14. Punt. We take over with about 2 to play.

Morris steps out of bounds - dumbass.
And gets 4 on 3rd and 5. We punt from our 41.

BYU starts at the 21 with 1:17 to play and all timeouts.
Big pass play, gain of 32 but the play ends with a FUMBLE!!! BYU dives on it and calls timeout! 1st and 10 at our 47, 1:01 to play.
Busted play, QB scrambles for 0 yards. Timeout.
Incomplete. 3rd and 10.
21 yard completion to WR Tommy Allen. Timeout.
1st and 10 at the 26, 0:50 to play.
Incomplete.
Incomplete - and they spike?
47 yard field goal to tie - and it's good! 30-30, 0:21 to play.

No magic in the final seconds and we are headed to OT.


Their ball first.
Gain of one on option play.
Joe to WR Ervins for 15.
Handoff to Winder for 5.
Chapman for 3, down at the 1.
Chapman runs it in. 37-30.

5 yard pass to Martin.
14 yards to Martin.
4 yards to Thelwell.
Morris runs it in from the 2. 37-37.

12 yard completion to Martin.
Sack on Rattay, loss of 7.
Drop by Thelwell.
Another drop by Thelwell, would have been 6.
Ellis kicks a 38 yard field goal. Pretty clutch. 40-37.

Incomplete pass.
1 yard run by Winder.
Gain of 3 on completion to Ervins.
39 yard field goal is good. 40-40.

No gain for Chapman.
-3 for Winder.
20 yard completion to Ervins - ARGH!
Interception by McAllister in end zone!!!

Incomplete, dropped by Voight on good hit.
Gain of 1 for Morris.
20 yard completion to Voight!
-3 for Morris on outside run.
Completion to Voight for 5.
Gain of 1 for Morris.
Incomplete pass on 4th and 1???? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME????

Rattay to Palmer for 15.
1 yard run for Morris.
2 yard run for Morris.
3 yard screen to Morris.
22 yard field goal is good.

3 yard run for Winder.
8 yard run for Winder.
5 yard option run for Winder.
3 yard option to Chapman.
1 yard run for Chapman.
Chapman stuffed for no gain.

Game over. I'm infuriated by the OT logic here.

[hoopsguy]

Well, in regulation we gave up a punt return, forced zero turnovers, and had no sacks. Add in the Rattay blow-up at a bad point in the 4th quarter and you can see why it was a game. That said, this BYU team had no business being in a game with us.

I wondered how Troy stayed with Texas in the playoff game; well, it probably was a lot like that.

Rattay finished 26-46 for 391 yards, with 2 TDs and 1 INT. Not the kind of showings we want from him when the Pac 10 season rolls around ...

Morris had 38 carries for 163 yards. He still hasn't shown the ability to close out a game by picking up late 1st downs when everyone knows we are running.

Martin finished with 8 catches for 199 yards.

Kato Thelwell did his best to piss away the game in overtime. I wonder if he called the 4th down pass?

C Greg Knight allowed 2 more sacks. Welcome to the 2nd team, Greg.

3 more pancakes for McAddley. He threw in one key run block for good measure.

Ellis had his 2nd 19 point game in a row. He was huge in this game, making all five field goal attempts.

FS Keith Thomas had 13 tackles (9 solo) along with one stuff and a defended pass.

[hoopsguy]

Oregon won 27-24 at Minnesota.

Arizona lost at home to Illinois to fall to 0-2. Life after Tonnemaker looks hard so far ...

Oregon State lost at home to Western Michigan.

Right now it looks like USC is going to pistol-whip the rest of the Pac 10. We hope that we can get our house in order by the time that game comes around.

But we will have to make it through the next few games without the following players:
DE Phil Patten
CB Curry Thompson
WR Kato Thelwell
and a scrub QB

Those are manageable losses as long as injuries don't mount. But they represent two good young players that I hate to see miss out on development.

Patten's academic woes coincide with a complete ligament tear in his elbow. He was going to miss some time anyways. Gannon Dawson and Jack Farmer should be ready to play.

[hoopsguy]

A quick look at Utah indicates that there are some talented players on the defensive side of the ball, but not a lot of guys that are scary on offense. Which is interesting, because right now they have the #1 ranked offense and the #9 defense. Of course, that is with only one game on the book against a weak opponent (Buffalo), but the yardage stats are scary.

SS Gary Joe is a guy we could use. He had 7 tackles and an interception in the opener. But there isn't great depth at any position, which means that our coordinators ought to find guys to pick on all over the field.

We are 25 point favorites at home. I was wrong thinking we could cover a number against BYU, but I'll put it out there again: we should cover.

[hoopsguy]

An illegal motion penalty wipes out a 23 yard gain on the 1st play.
Morris is stuffed on 3rd and 1 and we punt.

Defense is stout - 3 and out for the Utes.

Rattay gets leveled by the DT for a loss of 3.
Another three plays + punt for the offense.
And Utah takes the punt back 76 yards for a TD. 7-0, 10:02 left in the 1st quarter.

SS Gary Joe again is involved in shutting down a rush - he has been a factor early.
DT Christian Williams, who had the sack earlier, hits Morris in the backfield and forces a fumble. Williams recovers it and Utah sets up on our 31.
Morris has 7 carries for 1 yard and a lost fumble. Nice.

Utah drives to the 3 before settling for a 21 yard field goal. 10-0, 4:21 left in the quarter.
Not looking good on that cover right about now ...

Rattay hits Palmer for a 14 yard gain on 3rd and 10 to momentarily stop the bleeding.
For a play. Morris bursts through the line, but fumbles when he is popped by a linebacker. The ball is loose, recovered, and run back 55 yards by Utah! Holy crap, we are down 17 points just 12 minutes into this one! 17-0, 2:38 left in the quarter.

J.R. Jackson returns the kick out to the 40.
Rattay throws a screen pass to Morris (who is lucky to still be in the game) for a gain of 21.
Rattay connects on a intermediate post route to Woodley Martin, who turns up field and is popped by the safety. Another fumble! But this time we recover. OG John Perryman really hauled downfield to dive on the loose ball at the 13 yard line after a gain of 24.
OT Paul Glover leaves the game with an undisclosed injury.
And our drive ends at the 12. Ellis knocks in a 30 yarder. 17-3, 14:30 left to play in the half.

Utah has 2 first downs and 34 yards, but 17 points. Yuck.

FS Keith Thomas makes a stop in the backfield on 3rd and 2. Punt.

Derrick Palmer picks up 26, most of it after the catch, on 3rd and 8 into Utah territory.
Another 20+ yard run is off the boards for an illegal motion call.
Gannon Dawson is in and runs for 16, down to the 14.
WR Mike Voight runs it in on a reverse from 4 yards out. 17-10, 10:05 left in the half.

DE Doug Grant records a sack on 2nd down.
We smash an option play on 3rd down. Punt.

Utah is gradually losing players to injuries.
Morris picks up 11 on a run, then 10 on a pass play. Into Utah territory.
Another 11 for Morris on 3rd and 1, as he is finally finding a groove.
FB LeShon Toomer goes for 14.
Morris gets snuffed by SS Joe for a loss of 6, setting up 3rd and 12.
And Ellis settles for a 36 yard field goal. 17-13, 3:50 left in the half.

RB Bruce O'Donnell runs for 17, doubling his yardage on the afternoon.
QB LaGrand picks up a 34 yard gain through the air; finally they are having some success on offense.
4th and 1 at our 13, and they take the points.
Or not, as the 31 yard attempt is wide left.
But we are whistled for an offsides penalty. And I need to be restrained on the sidelines from going after the ref.
TD pass from 1 yard out, to the fullback. 24-13, 0:56 left in the half.

Rattay goes deep from our 37, finding Woodley Martin for a 47 yard pickup on a streak pattern.
But he is sacked on a LB blitz on the next play.
We can't find the end zone in the next two plays and Ellis kicks a 29 yard field goal. 24-16, with a couple of seconds left in the half.


Halftime Notes:
It is a bad joke that we are losing. 289-111 yards in the game.
We haven't forced one turnover on defense, which has to change.
The refs have really hurt us with the penalties they have called, as they have wiped big gains and given Utah 7 points.
We are going to win this game, but I'm just beside myself with how this has played out up to this point.


3 and out for Utah on their opening possession.
We start at their 47 after the punt return.

FB Toomer runs for 10 on 3rd and 7, clutch run.
Rattay keeps moving the chains, all the way down to the 10 yard line.
But Utah stops a pair of runs, forcing 3rd and goal from the 11.Rattay fakes the handoff, then fires a TD pass to Woodley Martin.
We go for two, but no dice. 24-22, 9:16 left in the 3rd.
Martin had 5 catches for 102 yards and the TD.

Short kickoff, good return, and Utah is at the 47 to start their drive.
We stop them on our 37 and Utah punts.

Coverage sack on 1st down, 3rd of the day for the D.
But Rattay answers with a 26 yard pass play to TE Gene Fortunato.
41 yard gain to Voight, who is brought down by a shoestring tackle by SS Joe.
We are whistled for a holding (C Slaughter) and are back out of FG range.
3rd and 5, nothing is open, but Rattay finally finds Voight, who dives for 6.
17 yard TD pass to Voight, who always seems to make big plays. And the 2 point conversion is to Voight as well. 30-24. 3:30 left in the 3rd.
Rattay is now 22-28 for 349 yards and 2 TDs.

4th and 1 at their own 42. Utah punts.
And a great punt it is, down at the 2.

Utah is whistled for defensive holding - good move, as it would have been an 89 yard TD to Voight.
3rd a 1, Rattay looks deep and fires - Palmer and a DB both go up for it, but Palmer comes down with a 31 yard gain.
37 more to Palmer, down to the 2.
TD pass to Woodley Martin. The two point attempt is intercepted. 36-24, 14:05 left in the game.
Palmer now has 8 catches for 151 yards. And Rattay is over 400.

FS Keith Thomas leaves the game with a hand injury.
Big pass play on 3rd down and 4 for the Utes, as they pick up 30 and move into Bruin territory.
We stop them at the 48, and Utah punts it into the end zone.

22 more yards to Voight, who is just 4 yards short of joining Martin and Palmer with 100 yards receiving on the day.
16 yards to Voight on the next play.
Morris runs for 17, he may get his 100 but it has been tough sledding today.
19 yard TD pass to Martin, his 3rd of the day. 43-24, 8:29 left in the game.

4th and 1 at the 34. And Utah punts - not sure that was a good move as time is working against them.

Rattay finally throws an interception - took him 54 minutes to do that (not counting the 2 point conversion). Utah ball at our 37.
We are called for defensive holding after a stop on 3rd down. That is the 10th first down of the day for Utah, at least 2 coming on defensive penalties.
4th and 2 at the 26, and they opt for the 44 yard field goal. Which they miss. And this time there is not an offsides call to bail them out.

Morris finally goes over 100 yards on his 30th carry of the day.
4th and 1 at the 49, and we punt with under 2 minutes to play.

4 straight incompletions, and we hold Utah to 199 yards on the day. Guess they won't be the #1 offense after this ...

[hoopsguy]

Wow, USC goes down 27-20 on the road against .... EAST CAROLINA????
East Carolina scored two touchdowns in the space of 30 seconds to shock USC after hanging around all game long.

USC had a 32-10 first down advantage and twice as many yards on the day. Just a stunning upset.


OK, back to our last game:
We outscored them 27-0 in the 2nd half.
We had a 31-10 first down advantage and held the ball for 10 more minutes than Utah.
633 yards of offense and 9-15 on 3rd down - the offense was pretty solid today.

QB John Rattay was 29-38 for 485 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT.
The three WRs all had at least 7 catches for 112+ yards.
We need to get Kai Olsen more touches, as he only saw two passes. Time to tweak the depth chart, as he is too good to be ignored when we are already short one player (Thelwell, academics).

OG McAddley had 4 pancakes.
Our center position was again a disaster - two sacks allowed, a holding call, and 2 false starts. Slaughter isn't ready yet, but the senior sucks too so I guess I stick with the freshman.

ILB Bobby Anderson, a freshman, is emerging as an impact player. He had 8 tackles (7 solo) and a stuff on the day.

[hoopsguy]

ILB Anderson was one of our main recruiting targets last year. Here is what he brings to the table ...

Bobby Anderson, Inside Linebacker UCLA Current/Potential TAK SACK STUFF INT TD 8/16 22 0 2 1 0 California-LA Brown Bears
Attributes Morale: Content Height: 6-1 Weight: 240 Ideal Wt: 251 Jersey: 56 Age: 19 Year: Fr Status: OK Energy: 0 HS Ranking: #53 Pos Ranking: #3 ILB	Position Ratings Pass Rush Moves: 65 Point of Attack: 64 Hands: 54 Tackling: 69 Coverage: 63 Punt Return: 6 Kick Return: 7 Durability: 75 Endurance: 59 Adaptability: 75	Athletic Ratings Arm Strength: 11 Acceleration: 45 Agility: 80 Speed: 40 Strength: 61 Jumping: 76 Instincts: 64 Aggressiveness: 60 Discipline: 72 Intelligence: 99 Work Ethic: 46	Personal Bests Tackles: 8 Sacks: 0 Stuffs: 1 Interceptions: 1 TD: 0
Game Logs Week Opp Res Tak Solo Ast Sack Stuf Hur DP FF PD Int TD MT OOP 1 COL W 7 7 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 @BYU W 7 5 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 UTAH W 8 7 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total - - 22 19 3 0 2 2 0 1 3 1 0 0 0
Defensive Statistics Year GP GS Tak Solo Ast Sack Stuf Hur DP FF PD MT OOP BPA 2014 3 3 22 19 3 0 2 2 0 1 3 0 0 1 - Total 3 3 22 19 3 0 2 2 0 1 3 0 0 1 -
Turnover Statistics Year GP GS Ints Yds Avg RecF Yds Avg TD 2014 3 3 1 36 36.0 0 0 0.0 0 - - - - - - Total 3 3 1 36 36.0 0 0 0.0 0 - - - - - -
Scouting Report Potential Coaches and fans alike are extremely excited about the speed he's expected to develop. He is a physical specimen whose hard work in the weight room will eventually pay off in a big way. He'll learn to play inside linebacker with above average aggression as his career progresses. It's very likely that he will develop into one of the best tacklers in the conference.
Player Awards

[hoopsguy]

So far we have failed to impress the pollsters with our 3-0 start, as we sit at #15 in the polls.

Here are the Top 10:
1. Michigan
2. LSU
3. Texas
4. Georgia
5. Oklahoma
6. USC - sure, this makes sense
7. Wisconsin
8. Mississippi
9. Purdue
10. Florida

Others of Note:
15. UCLA
19. Oregon

Not a strong showing by our conference so far.

We are the #1 ranked offense in the land and #21 defensively.

Rattay is leading the nation in passing yards (1.273)and tied for first in TDs (10).

Woodley Martin is 2nd in receiving yardage (380) and tied for 2nd in TDs (4).

We are heading to Oregon State (0-2) to start conference play listed as 12 point favorites.

[hoopsguy]

The Beavers have a lot more going for them than the last couple of teams we have faced. QB John Reese has a 233.2 QB rating so far - hard to believe they have only scored 37 points in two games with that kind of efficiency. It is also hard to believe because they don't have all that much talent at the skill positions to help him build numbers.

The offensive line is nice. I'm jealous, except for the center position (hey, we stink there too). LG Marcus Baxter was a stud last season and is again mauling people.

SO DT Billy Chamberlain has to be chomping at the bit with the prospect of running over, around, and through our centers. But he is nursing a separated shoulder which may keep him on the sidelines. He already has 4 hurries in 2 games.

FS Doug Bradshaw has 23 tackles and a pick in 2 games. I would support him going pro a year early if he feels he needs to support his family.

[hoopsguy]

Back to back screen passes, each get 9 yards.
FS Keith Thomas is out with an injury.
But OSU sees their opening drive die at their 37. Punt.

Rattay gets Olsen involved early, and he responds with a great move after the catch to gain 21 yards down to the 26.
Nothing after that, and Ellis is brought in for a 42 yard attempt. Good. 3-0, 10:25 left in the quarter.

25 yard pass for Reese - six straight passes to open the game.
3 straight runs = 3 yards = punt.
The ball is downed at our 6.

OG McAddley is called for holding on a 3rd down conversion.
No good on the 2nd attempt and we punt from deep in our territory.

3 more runs but no first downs. Punt.

Morris gains 13, which helps him get his YPC up to 3.
A penalty on C Slaughter wipes out a 37 yard pass.
Again the penalty kills the drive. Punt.

Holding on the Beavers on 1st down.
But RB Jeff Hayes gains 24 on the next carry.
Huge pass play to WR Jeff Warrick for 48 yards after the QB bought time with his feet. Down at the 5.
OSU runs it in from 2 yards out. 7-3, 0:16 left in the quarter.

22 yard pass play to WR Derrick Palmer. And no flag down ...
16 more to Martin, down to the 30.
Morris escapes a tackle in the backfield and motors for 18.
9 more on the next carry, down at the 3.
Morris scores from the 2. 10-7, 12:15 left in the half.

Reese picks up 9 through the air on 3rd and 7.
14 more yards to Warrick on 3rd and 4. He has 4 catches for 96 yards already.
Reese runs a draw for 1 on 3rd and 3 from the 40. Punt.

OT Glover again leaves a game with an injury - toe this time.
10 yard run for Gannon Dawson, up to the 50.
Rattay finds Voight for 7 on 3rd and 2, tackled at the 23.
Incomplete screen on 3rd and 1 at the 14. 32 yard field goal is good and the score is 13-7 with 2:39 left in the half.

Another good gain in the passing game for Oregon State: 32 yards to WR Zach Schulters, to the UCLA 36 with two minutes left in the half.
DE Dickerson get a sack on 3rd and 2, forcing a 48 yard field goal. It is good, 13-10, 1:11 left in the half.

26 yards on a screen pass to Morris.
15 yard to Martin, to the 36.
Rattay is sacked, loss of 4.
And no points go on the board - drat.


Halftime Notes:
OSU has done a nice job of keeping our WRs from getting anything but the short stuff.
Morris has 17 carries for 74 yards in a pretty effective first 30 minutes.
Our defense hasn't forced a turnover in over 6 quarters now - would like to change that soon.
Pretty closely contested first half - if we finish drives with 7 instead of 3 in the 2nd half we win this game.


18 yards for Morris on his first carry of the 2nd half.
19 on the next carry. And he is over the century mark.
10 more to Toomer - we have run the first four plays.
The streak runs to five before an incomplete Rattay pass.
Rattay finds Martin all alone on 3rd and 11. 32 yards later, he is in the end zone. 20-10, 11:50 left in the 3rd.

DE Dickerson forces a fumble, but we can't recover.
We get away with a hold on 3rd down, forcing a punt.
The punt is fair-caught at the 7.

Morris runs for 8 on 3rd and 2. Big game for him so far: 23 carries for 126 yards.
Rattay is sacked for the 2nd time today. And a punt soon follows.
So does an 82 yard return. Looks like we had better tweak the coverage team ...
20-17, 6:17 left in the 3rd quarter.

Morris gets mauled, fumbles, and gives OSU the ball on our 24. This game is turning ugly right now ...

Reese finds Warrick for 9 on 3rd and 1.
11 yard TD pass and OSU is out in front. 24-20, 3:40 left in the 3rd quarter.

Another sack for OSU, as we just can't do anything right at the moment.
3 plays = -5 yards. Punt.

3 and out for the Beavers. Punt.

Rattay is stopped a yard shy on a draw, but OSU is whistled for a face mask.
Rattay goes down again, loss of 11 on a sack by the safety Kasper.
We punt from the 49.

23 yard run for RB Jeff Hayes, to the UCLA 38.
WR Jimmie Williams drops a pass on 3rd and 4. 50 yard field goal is blocked, but we are called for offsides. AGAIN??? This is such crap!
Williams catches the next 3rd down pass, 1st and goal at the 4.
They run it in from 4 yards out. 31-20, 7:54 left in the game.

J.R. Jackson almost takes it back. 98 yards, down at the 4.
One play drive, TD pass to Martin. 2 point conversion to Palmer. 31-28, 6:56 left to play.

Ellis pushes the kick out of bounds at the 10. The Beavers will start at the 40.
Reese throws for 11, 1st down.
3rd and 3 at the 10 - big play here. Pass is incomplete.
Carr kicks a 28 yard field goal. Good, if he had not converted it we would have been offsides. 34-28, 3:51 left to play.

Morris is drilled a fumbles, but Perryman dives on it.
Rattay misses Voight on 3rd and 4. We punt and need a stop quickly.

OSU will start with the ball on their 18 and a little over 2 minutes.
8 yard run for Hayes on a draw.
1 yard run for King.
Hayes runs through a tackle, picking up 5.
The next set of three downs goes nowhere, but we don't use our timeouts.

So we get the ball at our 34 as 18 seconds elapse on a punt. Nothing like losing a game by six with all three timeouts still remaining.

Two straight games of giving an opponent 14 points caught up to us (punt return, extra set of downs after failed field goal). Very, very annoying loss.


OOG: I just hate when the game engine lets me down, as I would obviously have called timeouts if I was making playcalls.

[hoopsguy]

The offense only put up 353 yards in this game - we need more than that from this years team.

We again failed to force a turnover - I don't expect the defense to be lights out, but getting one turnover and a pair of sacks a game isn't exactly setting the bar high.

Injuries to a pair of OTs put a guy in there that has no business playing (Porter) and he gave up a pair of sacks.

OG McAddley had a pair of key run blocks and pancakes, but gave up a sack and was whistled for a holding violation.

DE Dickerson was a playmaker, with 6 tackles, a sack, a stuff, 2 hurries, and a forced fumble.

[hoopsguy]

Stanford is up next. We are 16 point favorites at home.

The key matchup is listed as their WR Garrett Buoniconti against our #10 pass defense. Garrett has 22 catches for 319 yards and 3 TDs on the year.

I'm looking for our punt coverage to improve - modest goals, I know.

We have two offensive tackles out with injuries, as well as a shaky starter at center, so our protection is going to be a big factor today. Stanford has been better defensively than offensively so far during their 1-2 start.

[hoopsguy]

Sellout crowd of 100,089 on hand.

3 and out for the Cardinal offense, who ran a pair of screen passes to open the game. Punt. We start at their 49.

We come out pounding the ball with Nicolas Morris. 3 straight carries.
Followed by a reverse for Kai Olsen, who gains 11.
Two straight incompletions (both on the dreaded comeback pattern) end the drive.
We run a fake field goal on 4th and 10 from the 22. No gain.

Another 3 and out for Stanford. Punt.

This drive starts with Rattay throwing 3 straight plays and moving the chains.
Ineligible receiver downfield costs us a 37 yard TD.
Drive dies at the 41. Frustrating year so far (sigh). Punt.

Stanford still does not have a first down, as the defense has been very strong in the early going. Punt.

Morris gets the call to start the next drive, picking up 10 on a draw play. Down at the Stanford 40.
Rattay gets us on the board with a 33 yard strike to Palmer. 7-0, 3:25 left in the quarter.

We lose FS Keith Thomas to a stomach injury. That is two safeties out ...
Stanford picks up their initial first down of the game on a pass interference call.
4th and 2 at the 49 - and Stanford elects to punt.

One play drive - Rattay to Derrick Palmer for 80 yards. He sidestepped a tackler and outran everyone else. 14-0, end of one quarter.

QB Dingle finally makes a play on 3rd down, with a 10 yard gain on 3rd and 9.
WR Robert Holcombe helps his QB out with an athletic grab for 22 yards.
The drive dies on our 38 yard line - punt.

3 and out for our offense - we aren't stringing together good plays so far this game. Punt.

RB Dhani Hoaglin guts out a yard on 3rd and 1.
SS Scott Jones already has at least 3 tackles on the afternoon.
Stanford again fails to advance into field goal range, punting from our 40.

Rattay goes down on 2nd down - first sack of the day for the Cardinals.
But Rattay and Olsen respond with 20 yards for a 1st down on the next play.
That is it for that drive, however. Punt from our 41.

Sack for DE Mark Dickerson.
9 yards to Buoniconti on 3rd and 8.
But another stalled drive - punters are getting a workout today.

We start on the 50 with under two minutes to play, but can't move into field goal range. Punt.


Halftime Notes:
- After some big plays in the opening 15 minutes we did nothing offensively during the 2nd quarter - maybe 40 yards total.
- Stanford only has 97 yards on the afternoon - defense looks sharp.
- We need to score first in 2nd half to put these guys away.


Another one play drive - Rattay 73 yards to Woodley Martin to start the 2nd half. Just a blown assignment in the secondary and our guys took advantage of it. 21-0, 14:35 left in the 3rd.

Dingle to Buoniconti for 13 on 3rd and 8.
DT Roger Parsons forces a fumble, but they recover.
FS Barron Starr intercepts a deflected pass, getting us our first turnover on the day.

Rattay to Martin for 6 on 3rd and 6. Nice play.
Morris is up to 70 yards on 14 carries after a gain of 8.
4th and 2 at the Stanford 39 - what to do?
Draw to Morris, who only gets one. Turnover on downs.

DE Doug Grant records a sack on 3rd down. Nice to get a 3 and out after they had 2nd and 1. Punt.

Rattay fires deep to Martin and it is caught for a 44 yard gain. Martin now has 6 catches for 145 yards.
And Rattay has his 4th TD of the day after Morris takes a dump pass in from 18 yards out. 28-0, 5:46 left in the third.

40 yard completion to Buoniconti, down to our 23 - their deepest drive of the day so far.
3rd and 2 on the 15 - intercepted by Rulon Bowens!

Rattay is working the Cardinal secondary. He hit Olsen for completions of 10 and 35.
10 more to Martin. Rattay is closing on 400 ...
Palmer can't hold onto a pass on 3rd and 4 from the 15. Ellis is in for the first time today and nails a 33 yard field goal. 31-0, 13:42 left in the game.

Stanford runs the kick back to the 43.
DT Parsons is in the backfield and records a sack.
3 and out for Stanford.

We aren't exactly running out the clock - Rattay is passing out the clock. He hits 400 yards on a 10 yard completion to Palmer.
39 yard TD pass to Palmer - his 3rd on the afternoon. 38-0, 8:59 left to play.
Right now Stanford actually has the advantage in time of possession - amusing.

Another 3 and out for Stanford - this isn't a very good offense. Punt.

20 more yards for Olsen, who is our 3rd receiver over 100 yards now.
Morris again can't pick up 4th quarter yards when we are trying to run out the clock - punt.

Stanford has brought in a new QB.
Not much difference - 3 and out. Punt.

Gannon Dawson runs for 9 and a first down. Take notes, Nic.
We are whistled for unnecesary roughness - stupid penalty with 2 minutes left in a blowout.
Morris gets up to 101 yards on his 25 carry, but steps out of bounds.
Ellis misses a long (48 yard) field goal try.

DE Doug Grant gets our 4th sack of the afternoon.
And J.R. Jackson gets our 3rd turnover with an interception.
Nice work by the defense getting a shutout and only allowing 242 yards.

[hoopsguy]

Some very nice defensive stats in this one:
- 11 first downs allowed
- 242 yards allowed
- 3 interceptions

And some decent offensive numbers as well:
- Rattay 22-34 for 467 yards with 5 TDs and 0 INTs
- 3 WRs over 100 yards
- Derrick Palmer 4 catches for 162 yards and 3 TDs

McAddley had one key run block and four pancakes.

No punt returns allowed. Nice way to get back on track.

[hoopsguy]

DE Phil Patten and WR Kato Thelwell are back on the roster after bringing up their grades. We lost CB Curry Thompson, however. The good news is that CB is a deep position this year, but we can't have this happening next season to Curry.


Here are the rankings:
1. Georgia (4-0)
2. Auburn (5-0)
3. LSU (4-1) - some sick love for the SEC so far
4. Michigan (2-2) - this just sucks
5. Florida (3-1)
6. Texas (4-1)
7. Wisconsin (5-0)
8. Purdue (3-1)
9. Michigan State (5-0) - just beat Michigan, defending champs
10. Oklahoma (4-1)

Others of Note:
11. USC (3-2) - just lost to Washington State (who is now 1-2)
15. Oregon (5-0) - looking for respect
18. UCLA (4-1) - no complaints, we haven't been very good until last game
23. Virginia Tech (5-0) - another undefeated team

[hoopsguy]

Rattay is leading the nation in passing TDs and yards at the moment - helps that he has played in all five weeks, but his production has been pretty prolific:

124-188 for 1949 yards. 17-3 TD/INT ratio. 179.7 rating.

Woodley Martin is 3rd in receiving yards (611) and 2nd in TDs (7).


We have this week off and will be cheering for Temple to win at the Coliseum despite being 21 point road dogs.

[hoopsguy]

Here is a look at John Rattay, who should be in the Heisman running if he keeps throwing for 400 yards a game ...

John Rattay, Quarterback UCLA Current/Potential RATING YARDS COMP% TD INT 14/15 179.7 1949 66 17 3 California-LA Brown Bears
Attributes Morale: Content Height: 6-1 Weight: 224 Ideal Wt: 226 Jersey: 18 Age: 22 Year: Jr Status: OK Energy: 0 HS Ranking: #77 Pos Ranking: #8 QB	Position Ratings Passing Accuracy: 97 Passing Touch: 92 Running: 30 Hands: 42 Punt Return: 8 Kick Return: 9 Durability: 69 Endurance: 92 Adaptability: 84	Athletic Ratings Arm Strength: 86 Acceleration: 16 Agility: 32 Speed: 25 Strength: 44 Jumping: 41 Instincts: 53 Aggressiveness: 46 Discipline: 25 Intelligence: 50 Work Ethic: 77	Personal Bests Attempts: 46 Completions: 29 Passing yards: 485 Longest pass: 97 Touchdowns: 5
Game Logs Week Opp Res Att Comp Comp% Yds Yds/A TD Int Lng Sack Rat R Yds YPC R TDs 1 COL W 40 29 72.5 397 9.9 4 1 54 6 183.9 0 0 0 2 @BYU W 46 26 56.5 391 8.5 2 1 47 4 137.9 0 0 0 3 UTAH W 38 29 76.3 485 12.8 4 1 47 3 213 4 1.33 0 4 @ORST L 30 18 60 209 7 2 0 32 4 140.5 6 2 0 5 STAN W 34 22 64.7 467 13.7 5 0 80 1 228.6 2 1 0 Total - - 188 124 66 1949 10.4 17 3 80 18 179.7 12 1.33 0
Passing Statistics Year GP GS Comp-Att Comp% Yds Yds/A TD TD% Int Int% Lng GP BP Sack Rat 2012 12 2 96-167 57.5 1525 9.1 12 7.2 6 3.6 76 4 3 10 150.7 2013 14 14 280-459 61.0 4260 9.3 35 7.6 16 3.5 97 22 11 36 157.2 2014 5 5 124-188 66.0 1949 10.4 17 9.0 3 1.6 80 7 2 18 179.7 Total 31 21 500-814 61.4 7734 9.5 64 7.9 25 3.1 97 33 16 64 161.0
Rushing Statistics Year GP GS Rush Yds YPG YPC Lng TD CR MH Fum FLost Sack YL 2012 12 2 2 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 74 - 2013 14 14 35 16 1.1 0.5 7 0 0 0 1 1 36 207 - 2014 5 5 9 12 2.4 1.3 5 0 0 0 2 1 18 110 - Total 31 21 46 28 0.9 0.6 7 0 0 0 3 2 64 391 -
Turnover Statistics Year GP GS Ints Yds Avg RecF Yds Avg TD 2012 12 2 0 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 - - - - - - Total 31 21 0 0 0.0 1 0 0.0 0 - - - - - -
Scouting Report Potential Has the tools to eventually become one of the most accurate passers in America. With continued development, touch passing is a skill that could really set him apart. Scouts envision his arm strength becoming as good as any QB in college ball. Has decent legs but he will never be known as a scrambling quarterback.
Player Awards Named Third Team All-Pacific Ten (2013)

[hoopsguy]

Both offensive tackles are still banged up and will miss another game. We also will be missing a pair of free safeties - Starr is a solid option behind those guys, so this isn't a killer.

Our depth at WR is keeping Mike Voight on the bench as a senior - which kind of stinks. If he started this year he would be the most prolific receiver in school history. But we have guys who are better and who are earning the right to keep their jobs so Voight sits.

Next up is another home game with Cal. WR Cleo Barlow versus our #5 secondary is the featured matchup. This guy is a good WR who has had success against us in the past. He has 29 catches for 420 yards and 2 TDs so far this year. Overall Cal is 3-2 on the year.

[hoopsguy]

Sellout crowd again today. It is fun seeing 100,000+ as compared to some of the smaller venues in the Pac-10.

A holding call negates an 18 yard gain on 3rd and 12 - backup OT is whistled.
And we don't pick up 22. Punt.

We are whistled for a 15 yard facemask penalty - not a good start with the refs today.
QB Curvin Finley fires the ball into a very small window for an 11 yard gain on 3rd and 9, into field goal range.
DE Phil Patten leaves with a head injury - he has been snakebit this season.
CB Rulon Bowens leaves with a neck injury - all of a sudden we are thin there.
45 yard field goal is good for Cal. 3-0, 9:36 left in the quarter.

Rattay is sacked on 1st down.
Holding on 2nd down, but it is against the defense.
Morris has had two carries for -2 yards so far - not a good start.
Derrick Palmer eludes a tackler and goes for 17 on 3rd and 12.
21 yard run for Morris - maybe that can get him going.
Welcome back Kato Thelwell. 32 yard TD pass after he found a gaping hole in the secondary. 7-3, 6:15 left in the quarter.

3 and out for Cal on the next possession. Punt.

Gain of 9 to Morris on a swing pass, into field goal range.
12 to Martin on 3rd and 9 after a great route.
ILB Conrad Beach has been making plays all quarter long for Cal.
Dawson gets 9 on a draw, first and goal at the 6.
Morris runs it in from the 1. 14-3, 14:10 left in the half.
12 play drive for us - pretty rare as we have been scoring quickly most of the time this season.

HB Jim Runyan runs for 7, then 8 yards, to advance the ball to the 35.
WR Barlow runs for 16 on a reverse, up to midfield.
Three straight incompletions end the drive. Punt.

Morris gains one on 3rd and 1.
We are now 6-7 on 3rd down after an 8 yard completion to Thelwell.
6-8 after Martin drops a ball (2nd of day) on 3rd and 1.
4th and 1 on the 42, we go for it and get 5 on a screen pass.
RB Gannon Dawson is getting carries today - 11 yard pickup on this one.
Another 3rd down conversion, 8 yards to Palmer on 3rd and 5.
3rd and 2 from the 5, screen to Morris, TD. 21-3, 4:08 left in the half.
17 play drive that time - very different style of play so far today.

DE Mark Dickerson forces a fumble, but Cal recovers. However, they don't have enough yardage for a first down. Punt.

ILB Conrad Beach has his 2nd sack of the day.
Gain of 14 to Voight on 3rd and 10, into field goal range.
20 yard pass to Martin, down to the 5.
TD - 5 yarder to Palmer. 28-3, 1:02 left in the half.

Cleo Barlow takes the kick back 90 yards - at least it wasn't a punt return. 28-10, 0:56 left in the half.


Halftime Notes:
It just sucks giving up a kick return with that little time left in the half. We were completely controlling the game.
Rattay is really efficient this game, despite not hitting as many 20+ passes. He is 16-21 for 188 yards and 3 TDs.
No turnovers, no sacks - would like to see the defense make some big plays in the 2nd half to put this one away.
We only allowed 80 yards of offense to Cal, so it isn't that defense hasn't held up its end of the deal - just want to see some big plays as well.


Cal starts at our 44 yard line after a strong kick return.
But an illegal crackback block forces them back.
Interception for J.R. Jackson! The offense will start at the 49.

3 and out - we can't take advantage of a golden opportunity to put this one away.
Cal is forced to start from their 5 after a good punt.

Barlow makes a very good catch on the sideline for 30 yards.
He only had one catch in first half, but already has 3 this half.
And the Cal offense is rolling, as QB Curvin Finley hits another two receivers.
They bring in the backup QB for a play and he finds Barlow in the back of the end zone. 26 yards, 28-17, 9:14 left in the 3rd.
Cal drove 95 yards in 7 plays. Barlow is up to 99 yards on 6 catches.

WR Woodley Martin is knocked out of the game with a nose injury.
3 and out for the offense - Barlow really seems to have energized the Bears with his kick return.

The defense forces a 3 and out, but Cal runs a fake from our 43. No good, this could be a huge turning point.

21 yard pass to Thelwell.
We can't punch it in, so Ellis comes in to kick a 36 yarder. Good. 31-17, 3:33 left in the quarter.

Barlow returns the kick to the 41.
7 yard completion to Dennis Johnson on 3rd and 6.
QB Finley leaves the game with a finger injury.
And we force a fumble - for once we also recover it. DT Parsons falls on the ball.

We are stopped at the 50 and have to punt - bad possession.

J.R. Jackson makes another interception - offense takes over on the 32.

Rattay finds Palmer for a first down.
But the Cal defense stiffens. Ellis is in, and he kicks a clutch 40 yarder. 34-17, 11:37 to play. Nice to have the 3 score lead.

Barlow returns the kick to the 43. He is dangerous ...
Backup QB Luis Witherspoon looks pretty effective early, hitting guys in space against zone coverage.
DE Dickerson records a sack on 3rd down. And Cal misses a 41 yard field goal.
We are pleased when there is no flag down at the conclusion of the play.

After a torrid start on 3rd down conversions, we are now 9-18. Punt.

We just murder Barlow and get away with it - no call.
But there is a make-up call on 3rd down. Sigh.
Witherspoon has gone cold - 6 straight incompletions.
But on the 7th he gets 14 on 3rd and 10.
4th and 2 at our 41 - incomplete pass.

We can't get anything going on offense - punt.
Credit the Cal defense for playing a strong game in the 2nd half.

4th and 3 from our 35 - deep ball to Barlow is incomplete.

Morris has 71 yards on 27 carries - tough day at the office for him.
16 yard gain - that helps the numbers.

And we run out the clock. Tough game after a fast start.

[hoopsguy]

USC squeaked by 31-27 at home against Oregon State. And Oregon stayed undefeated.

The defense was again solid, only allowing 309 yards and 10 points (7 came on the kick return).

We won the turnover battle 3-0. Rattay has been doing a much better job of protecting the football the last couple of games.

I messed up on the depth charts and allowed senior C Knight to start. He rewarded me with 2 sacks allowed.

3 more pancakes for McAddley, who is going to get himself some postseason honors for his efforts.

Our other OG, the often maligned Perryman, is having a solid season. He had 2 key run blocks and a pancake. And a false start, but I'm trying to focus on the positives with him now that he is giving me some positives.

J.R. Jackson isn't the return man he was last year, but he did provide two interceptions today.

[hoopsguy]

I'm pretty disappointed with our training staff, as guys are not getting back from injuries very quickly. Both tackles and both free safeties will miss another week. Hope that Martin goes to get outside treatment for his broken nose ...

Time for another look at the standings:
1. Auburn (7-0)
2. LSU (6-1)
3. Texas (5-1)
4. Michigan (4-2) - good to see them making less of an embarrassment of the rankings
5. Georgia (5-1) - fell to Kentucky this week, dropping from top spot
6. Oklahoma (5-1)
7. Mississippi (4-2) - huh?
8. Miami (FL) (6-1)
9. Wisconsin (5-1)
10. Florida (3-3) - OK, this is a bad joke

Others of Note:
15. USC (5-2)
16. Oregon (5-0) - 2nd highest ranking for undefeated team
19. UCLA (5-1) - not sure we deserve to have dropped in rankings with last two wins
20. Virginia Tech (7-0) - this is pretty wrong
25. Texas A&M (5-0) - another undefeated team

We are headed to Oregon listed as 12 point favorites. I like how our defense is playing right now, but this line feels pretty hefty.

Once again the key matchup is a top wideout against our #8 pass defense. This time it is Stephen Rogers, who has 27 receptions for 404 yards and 6 TDs.

[hoopsguy]

Light rain in Oregon ... not good.

Oregon is getting yardage in small chunks but moving down the field.
DE Mark Dickerson gets a sack on 3rd down to snuff the drive at the 36.
They try a 54 yard field goal, but it is wide right.

We start with back-to-back draws to Morris, who gains 13 yards between the 2 carries.
We keep the ball on the ground, setting up a 3rd and 1 at the Oregon 30.
4 yard completion to Thelwell.
8 more to Thelwell on 3rd and 6.
4th and 1 at the 5 - Ellis kicks a 23 yard field goal. 3-0, 6:01 left in the quarter.

Another 15 yard facemask against us. Wow.
But Oregon has to punt from our 46.
It is downed on the 6.

3 straight carries for Morris get a total of four yards. Punt.

3 and out for Oregon - QB Lewis is 3-9 so far for 23 yards.

Our offense is no better - punters are busy early today.

FS Barron Starr leaves with an injury - we are now playing our 4th string FS.
Oregon punts from the 49.

13 yard pass to Kai Olsen.
10 yard run for Morris - up to the 48.
Back to Olsen for 13 more. Rattay looks like he is heating up.
36 yard TD pass to Thelwell on a picture-perfect pass. 10-0, 9:59 left in the half.

The defense again forces a 3 and out. They are bringing it so far today. Punt.
Jackson returns the punt 42 yards to the Oregon 27.

Rattay, on 3rd and 10 hits Voight, who carries two defenders down to the 1.
Thelwell runs it in on a reverse. Goofy play call, but a TD. 17-0, 6:35 left in the half.

Facemask on the defense - 15 yards. Note to refs: these are sometimes only 5 yard penalties.
3rd and 1 on our 37 - 1 yard pass play despite great coverage.
26 yard pass to Rogers, down to the 10.
Another face mask call - WTF? Automatic first down at the 3.
2 yard TD pass to the fullback. 17-7, 2:16 left in the half.

12 yards to Olsen, up to the 40 with less than a minute in the half.
Interception by Rattay, the Ducks take over at their 47.

15 yard completion, timeout.
11 yards on a screen, timeout.
12 yards on a screen, out of bounds.
33 yard field goal is good. 17-10, 0:05 left in the half.


Halftime Notes:
- 2nd straight game where we gave up points at the end of the half. And this one is much closer than the Cal game was ...
- We need to stop giving away yardage on penalties and force a turnover on defense.


We don't do anything coming out of the half. 3 and out. Punt.

DE Dickerson forces a fumble, but Oregon recovers. We are not getting balls on the ground very often ...
DT Parsons gets credit for a sack while stuffing a QB keeper.
Another fumble, another Oregon recovery. And they have enough yards for a 1st down, into field goal range.
Gain of 5 on a screen pass on 3rd and 4.
An unnecessary roughness call on Oregon sets up 3rd and 17.
20 yard TD pass - not very clutch by the defense. Strong drive for Oregon. 17-17, 8:53 left in the quarter.

The next drive starts well, with a pair of 1st downs. But the Oregon D stuff us at the 35. Punt.

WR Stephen Rogers sustains a neck injury on a 7 yard catch.
We stop Oregon on 3 plays. Punt.
A 60 yard punt is downed at the 9.

Morris runs for 19.
6 on the next carry, 12 after that. 19 carries for 90 yards so far.
Rattay, after 2 incompletions, finds Olsen for 12 on 3rd and 10.
But he is intercepted for the 2nd time on the next play.

Unnecessary roughness on Oregon - must be their version of a facemask.
We are whistled for defensive holding on 3rd and 24. I want to puke.
Oregon can't earn a 1st down without help from the refs. Punt.

Clutch 7 yard grab for Olsen on 3rd and 5, despite taking a big hit.
47 yard gain by Olsen, who is brought down by a shoe-string tackle.
Oregon stops us at the 18. Ellis nails a 36 yard field goal. 20-17, 11:22 left in the game.

Holding against Oregon sets up 2nd and 17.
3 and out, as Randall Lewis scrambles for 6 to try and pick up the 1st. Punt.
We start at the Oregon 46.

Screen to Morris, good for 11. Into field goal range.
Pass to Voight for 8 on 3rd and 4.
9 yard run for Dawson, down to the 6.
But Morris gets killed on 3rd and 1, losing 6.
Ellis kicks a 30 yard field goal. 23-17, 5:43 to play.
Too many field goals today ...

This time the face mask is only a 5 yard penalty.
20 yard completion to WR Antonio Robertson.
3rd and 5 at the 47 - 7 yard completion to Hicks, who holds on after a monster hit.
29 yards to Rick Hicks, down to the 16.
But J.R. Jackson comes up with a HUGE interception!

3 carries for Morris = -4 yards. Very creative playcalling. Punt.
Oregon ball at the 45, 1:43 to play.

Holding on Oregon. Nice.
Sack, loss of 1, by Dickerson.
SS Scott Jones picks off the pass.

Morris runs for 9, but goes out of bounds. Stupid ... he is now over 100 yards.
Loss of 1.
Loss of 3. Punt. Nice work on the out-of-bounds, just in case I didn't mention it earlier ...

But Oregon can't run back the punt and we hold on for a tough win.

[hoopsguy]

CB Curry Thompson is back, but we lose CB Elijah McCallister. Who has been putting up a solid senior year.

Injuries - we get OT J.W. Hunter back, along with both free safeties that were hurt. But we are still missing OT Paul Glover, WR Woodley Martin, and now FS Barron Starr. The first two are pretty big blows to the offense.

We are a little past the midway point - time to post some stats.

[hoopsguy]

2014 Passing Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	ATT	CMP	CMP%	YDS	YDS/ATT	TD	INT	LG	GP	BP	SACK	RATING
18	QB	John Rattay	7	255	166	65.1%	2434	9.5	21	5	80	11	3	21	168.5

2014 Rushing Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	RUSH	YDS	YPG	YPC	TD	LG	CR	MH	FUM	FLOST
31	RB	Nicolas Morris	7	215	877	0.0	4.08	5	65	5	1	4	3
23	RB	Gannon Dawson	6	24	135	0.0	5.62	1	25	0	1	0	0
48	FB	LeShon Toomer	7	6	46	0.0	7.67	0	14	0	0	0	0
81	WR	Kato Thelwell	4	7	43	0.0	6.14	1	15	0	0	0	0
18	QB	John Rattay	7	18	17	0.0	0.94	0	5	0	0	2	1
87	WR	Kai Olsen	4	1	11	0.0	11.00	0	11	0	0	0	0
88	WR	Mike Voight	7	1	4	0.0	4.00	1	4	0	0	0	0
80	WR	Woodley Martin	6	1	2	0.0	2.00	0	2	0	0	2	0
89	WR	Derrick Palmer	7	1	2	0.0	2.00	0	2	0	0	0	0
09	QB	Nathan Short	1	1	0	0.0	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	RB	Adrian Sargent	1	2	0	0.0	0.00	0	1	0	0	0	0
08	QB	Derrick Fazande	2	2	0	0.0	0.00	0	0	0	0	0	0

2014 Receiving Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	ATT	REC	YDS	YPG	YPC	YAC	TD	LG	GC	DP	DP%	IR
80	WR	Woodley Martin	6	71	41	665	0.0	16.2	218	7	73	7	2	2.8	2
89	WR	Derrick Palmer	7	40	32	560	0.0	17.5	182	5	80	2	0	0.0	0
88	WR	Mike Voight	7	67	33	431	0.0	13.1	103	2	41	4	0	0.0	0
81	WR	Kato Thelwell	4	34	17	258	0.0	15.2	79	3	54	2	2	5.9	1
87	WR	Kai Olsen	4	26	17	254	0.0	14.9	83	0	47	0	0	0.0	1
31	RB	Nicolas Morris	7	27	21	201	0.0	9.6	124	3	26	1	0	0.0	0
82	TE	Gene Fortunato	7	8	5	39	0.0	7.8	8	1	26	0	0	0.0	0
23	RB	Gannon Dawson	6	1	1	10	0.0	10.0	1	0	10	0	0	0.0	0
48	FB	LeShon Toomer	7	1	1	1	0.0	1.0	1	0	1	0	0	0.0	0

2014 Offensive Line Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	RB	PNK	SA	HOLD	FALSE	MISSBL
71	OG	John Perryman	7	7	5	0	0	1	1
67	OG	James McAddley	7	5	22	1	1	0	2
82	TE	Gene Fortunato	7	3	2	0	0	0	3
57	C	Greg Knight	3	1	2	7	0	0	2
75	OT	Roell English	7	1	3	5	0	1	6
73	OT	Michael Porter	4	0	0	3	1	1	14
55	C	Adam Slaughter	4	0	0	3	1	2	3
76	OT	J.W. Hunter	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
68	OT	Paul Glover	4	0	2	2	0	0	3
48	FB	LeShon Toomer	7	0	0	0	0	0	1

2014 Kicking Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	XP	FG 1-29	FG 30-39	FG 40-49	FG 50+	FG%	LONG	POINTS
19	K	Eric Ellis	7	26-26	5-5	11-11	4-6	0-0	90.9%%	44	86

2014 Punting Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	PUNTS	AVG	NET	TB	IN20	LONG
06	P	Al Bingaman	7	33	41.2	30.5	2	4	57
19	K	Eric Ellis	7	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0

2014 Kick Return Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	RET	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
21	CB	J.R. Jackson	7	24	665	27.7	98	0
46	FB	Lee Satterwhite	2	1	13	13.0	13	0

2014 Punt Return Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	RET	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
21	CB	J.R. Jackson	7	26	308	11.8	42	0

2014 Defensive Stats
#	POS	NAME	G	TAK	SOLO	AST	SACK	STF	HUR	DP	PD	INT	DEF TD	MISSTAK	OOP	BPA
56	ILB	Bobby Anderson	7	52	42	10	0	5	2	0	5	1	0	0	0	2
27	SS	Scott Jones	7	36	28	8	0	3	0	0	1	1	0	9	8	1
59	OLB	Fred Mitchell	7	31	22	9	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
47	CB	Elijah McAllister	7	27	19	8	0	0	0	0	13	2	0	2	0	0
37	FS	Keith Thomas	5	25	19	6	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	2
52	ILB	David Davis	7	22	18	4	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
21	CB	J.R. Jackson	7	17	11	6	0	0	0	0	6	4	0	0	0	0
99	DE	Mark Dickerson	7	17	16	1	5	2	11	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
39	CB	Rulon Bowens	7	16	8	8	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	2
22	FS	Jerry Brock	3	14	8	6	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1
95	DT	Roger Parsons	7	12	10	2	3	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	1	0
51	OLB	Kerry Williams	7	12	8	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0
96	DE	Doug Grant	6	11	11	0	3	2	10	2	0	0	0	0	1	0
25	CB	Curry Thompson	2	10	6	4	0	0	0	0	4	1	0	0	0	0
43	FS	Barron Starr	4	10	9	1	0	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
97	DT	Jack Farmer	7	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
94	DE	Phil Patten	3	3	3	0	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
34	CB	Jon Steed	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0
89	WR	Derrick Palmer	7	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
38	SS	Sammy Filipovic	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
30	FS	Reyna Craig	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	3

[hoopsguy]

We are listed as 10 point favorites heading into Tempe. These guys have put up very good defensive numbers - they are 6th in yards allowed, one spot ahead of us. Their pass defense is ranked #6 overall and is the featured matchup against John Rattay. Rattay is coming off his worst game of the year and is still missing his #1 WR.

Oregon is heading to USC - we will obviously benefit from this if we can take care of our business.

[hoopsguy]

WR Derrick Palmer fumbles on the opening pass, but we recover.
But we only get one first down before punting.

ASU starts at the 49.
The drive stalls at the 35 and they punt.

Rattay finds Palmer for a 35 yard gain. Very good protection by the line.
Rattay is sacked on 3rd down and we have to punt from the 45.

RB Steve Lee is giving us trouble early - he has 23 yards on 3 carries.
Gain of 11 on a pass play on 3rd and 10, into field goal range.
3rd and 12 on the next one - incomplete. The Sun Devils punt from our 33 this time.

32 yard reception to Thelwell, who makes the first man miss.
17 more to Olsen - Rattay is finding a groove.
3rd and 1 at the 13. Rattay connects with Thelwell for 8.
And Morris runs it in from 5 yards out. 7-0, 3:11 left in the quarter.

Huge gain to WR Art Markham - 37 yards on 3rd and 10, down at the 19.
We are hitting on this drive, but it isn't stopping ASU from getting yards.
Dropped pass on 3rd and goal from the 3.
21 yard field goal is good. 7-3, 13:47 left in the half.

15 yards to Olsen, past midfield.
Olsen wins a jump ball on a deep pass. 39 yards, down at the 3.
Rattay gets killed on a sack, but holds onto the ball.
Screen pass to Morris for a 2 yard TD. 14-3, 10:38 left in the half.
Rattay is 11-12 for 175 yards and a TD so far.

22 yard run for Lee, up to our 46.
27 yard run by RB Freddie McIntosh. Wake up, D!
We force a fumble, but ASU recovers.
3rd and 4 at the 13 - 9 yard completion to Markham.
We are whistled for offsides after getting a stop on 3rd and goal.
3 yard TD pass on the next play. Ugh. 14-10, 5:25 left in the half.

Lee Satterwhite takes the short kick up to the 43.
Rattay is sacked on 1st down.
Offensive pass interference on the next play. Nice.
We can't make up a 2nd and 28. Punt.

Roughing the passer - another flag giving ASU a first down after being stopped on 3rd down.
26 yard completion to WR Darryl Hinton. Down at the 24.
A TD comes off the board on a holding call.
A 15 yard completion sets up 3rd and 5.
7 yard gain, despite good coverage and a big stick.
The drive ends at the 7. 25 yard field goal is good. 14-13, 0:40 left in the half.


Halftime Notes:
- ASU is 9-13 on 3rd down conversions. We need to get some stops.
- They threw the ball 32 times in the first half. Again, need to force a turnover - 0 in first half.
- Our offense was pretty efficient when it wasn't suffering through penalties.


Holding wipes out an ASU first down.
3rd and 6, we hold them to 3 on a pass play. Punt.

10 yard run for Morris, who now has 64 on 10 carries.
20 more on a 3rd and 6 run.
28 yard run for Dawson - the offensive line is getting the job done right now.
5 yard TD pass to Palmer. 21-13, 9:27 left in the 3rd quarter.

A roughing the passer call gives ASU an extra 15 yards.
Dickerson gets a sack on the next play.
The defense stands up ASU, who punts from their 33.
A 35 yard return by Jackson sets us up at the ASU 42.

17 yards on a screen to TE Gene Fortunato.
3rd and 14, we only get 11 on a pass to Thelwell.
Ellis kicks a 28 yard field goal. 24-13, 5:21 left in the 3rd.

DE Doug Grant sacks Finn. And RB McIntosh leaves the game with an undisclosed injury.
3 and out - punt.

OT J.W. Hunter leaves again with an injury - damn it, we just got him back.
3 and out - punt.
We stick the Sun Devils back at the 4.

Gain of 27, fumble, but again ASU recovers.
DE Dickerson gets another sack. He is having a nice season.
Another Dickerson sack!
But Finn gains 31 on a pass to the TE, more than the 22 they needed on 3rd down.
The 3rd string RB runs for 18 on 3rd and 6. Our 3rd down defense is just embarrassing right now.
13 yard pass to RB Johnson on 3rd and 3. First and goal on the 3.
Back to Johnson again on 3rd and goal from the 6. Screen pass - TD. And they get the 2 point conversion as well. 24-21, 12:43 left to play.

J.R. Jackson takes the kick back to the 41.
Ineligible man downfield on McAddley wipes out a 22 yard gain.
And Rattay is picked on the next pass. ASU ball at their 40.

3rd and 15 for ASU - will they get another conversion? Nope, this time the penalty is against the offense. 3 and out. Punt.

Morris runs for 16, eluding a tackler in the backfield. He is over 100 on 16 carries.
Morris blasts for 17 more, down to the 4.
Screen pass to Morris on 3rd down - TD. 31-21, 7:47 to play.

The kick sails out of bounds - Sun Devils start at the 40.
18 yard run for Lee.
Incomplete on 3rd and 5 from the 34. Punt.

Big 3rd down conversion. 13 yards to Olsen on 3rd and 5; he took a huge hit but held on.
Morris breaks off a 28 yard run and is over 150 on the day now.
14 more for Morris, who looks just stellar closing this game out.
Dawson gains 9, is tackled at the 5. First and goal.
We take a knee on the 2 yard line.

Another solid road win.

[hoopsguy]

USC just killed Oregon, 47-3.

Rattay quietly had a good game: 21-28 for 259 yards with 3 TDs and 1 INT.

Morris finished with 23 carries for 168 yards to break out of a mini-slump. He was only averaging 4 yards per carry on the year, which was down from how he ended last season.

Our guards combined for 5 key run blocks and 3 pancakes. But our freshman center allowed a pair of sacks.

Dickerson ended with 3 sacks.

CB Curry Thompson had 6 tackles (3 solo), forced a fumble, and defended a pair of passes in his return from academic suspension.

[hoopsguy]

Pac 10 Standings:
1. UCLA 4-1
1. USC 4-1
3. Arizona 3-2
3. Washington State 3-2
5. Oregon State 2-2
5. Oregon 2-2
7. Arizona State 2-3
7. Stanford 2-3
9. Washinton 1-4
9. California 1-4

National Top Ten:
1. Auburn (8-0)
2. Georgia (6-1)
3. Oklahoma (6-1)
4. Michigan (5-2) - 2-2 in Big Ten play
5. Minnesota (7-1) - undefeated in Big Ten play
6. Miami (FL) (7-2) - just handed Va Tech their first loss
7. Michigan State (8-1)
8. LSU (7-2) - get #1 Auburn next
9. Mississippi (6-2) - can't get enough SEC teams in Top 10
10. Texas (5-3) - sure, this makes sense

Others of Note:
11. Texas Tech (8-1) - just beat Texas
13. Wisconsin (5-3) - 2-3 in Big Ten
14. USC (7-2)
15. UCLA (7-1)
19. Oregon (5-2)

It appears Auburn is the only remaining undefeated team.

[hoopsguy]

Rattay is now 2nd in yardage and 1st in TDs. Interestingly, he is one TD ahead of Quincy Griesen (24 to 23), QB at Fresno State. And the guy we wanted at QB the year we got Rattay - who signed with USC. The current USC QB, Hank Phillips (who wanted us to recruit him, but he was too dumb) is 4th in TD passes with 20.

Morris is 14th in rushing right now with 1045 yards.

McAddley is tied for 3rd in the nation in pancakes with 23, one back of the leader.

Ellis is tied for 5th in total field goals made (21).

Dickerson is tied for 4th in sacks (8), three behind the leader.


We are 8 point favorites at home against 3-4 Washington State. The key matchup is their QB Vern Beals against our #15 pass defense. Beals is a part-time starter who has completed 56.7% of his passes for 828 yards and 7 TDs. QB rating is 157.4. 5 exceptional passes and one TD per 12.9 attempts.

[hoopsguy]

We have our usual sellout crowd on hand.

3 straight 3 yard carries for Morris to open the game and we punt.

We are whistled for a 15 yard facemask, letting WSU get up to the 50.
They are starting QB Talman Pinder instead of Beals.
WSU is whistled for unnecessary roughness, taking away the yards from our penalty.
But a 25 yard completion gives them a first down in our territory.
23 yards to TE Randy Hagberg.
Their drive stalls on on 15, so the Cougars settle for a 33 yard field goal. 3-0, 9:31 left in the quarter.

Jackson takes the kick up to the 40.
Holding on the offense.
24 yard completion downfield to Mike Voight.
21 more yards to Palmer, who is tackled at the 8.
But the drive ends on a sack, despite a 2nd holding call on OT English.
Ellis knocks in a 33 yard field goal to tie the game at 3. 6:01 left in the quarter.

Ellis kicks the ball out of bounds. WSU starts at the 40.
15 yards on a reverse by WR Jason Ned.
Sack for DE Doug Grant.
A drop costs WSU an easy TD.
And WSU punts from our 43. Nice work, as it is downed at the 3.

Big 3rd down gain to Fortunato, who picks up 25 - most of it after the catch.
16 more to Morris, again getting yards after the catch.
Another holding call - C Adam Slaughter is the guilty party this time.
Nothing like having to drive 107 yards ...
We punt on 4th and 4 from their 39.

2nd sack of the day for Grant.
WSU is forced to punt after only one first down.
A good return by Jackson (22) yards and we start at the 49.

3 and out - we just can't get the offense going today so far. Punt.
The punt is downed at the 6.

Holding on WSU. Lots of penalties whistled so far this game.
Pinder and Ned connect for 9 yards on 3rd and 7.
Sack for DT Roger Parsons.
23 yards to Ned again on 3rd down. He has 4 catches for 68 yards so far.
16 yard run by the fullback on 3rd and 6, into field goal range.
2 yard TD pass to Ned. 10-3, 5:36 left in the half.
14 play drive by WSU covering 94 yards. Nice mix of run and pass.

21 yard run for Morris.
38 yards to Voight, down to the 21.
And a 21 yard TD pass to Fortunato. Wow, quick strike drive there. 10-10, 4:14 to play in the half.

Another 15 yard face mask against our defense.
HB John Putzier is having a good half - 15 carries for 69 yards on the day.
38 yard pass to the TE Hagberg, who is tackled at our 10.
2 yard screen pass to Putzier for the TD. 17-10, 1:51 left in the half.
What has happened to our defense the last two drives?

One play drive - Rattay to Thelwell on a crossing route and there are no safeties back. 71 yards. 17-17, 1:18 left in the half.

Holding against WSU.
Which is wiped out by a pass interference against us.
14 penalties for 159 yards in the half.


Halftime Notes:
- We really struggled on defense in the 2nd quarter. WSU has 257 yards and is 6-9 on 3rd down conversions. They are getting their yards both on the ground and in the air.
- We have to create turnovers and have to stop giving up so many yards on penalties.


22 yard run for Putzier, who is now over 100 yards on 21 carries.
3rd and 8 at the 28 - 15 yards to Ned who went up to get that pass.
Putzier runs it in from 9 yards out. 24-17, 11:19 left in the 3rd quarter.

20 yards to Thelwell, who is now over 100 on the day.
Morris gets 4 on a draw on 3rd and 4.
Another hold, but the penalty is declined. Ellis comes in to kick a 43 yard field goal. Questionable move declining the penalty. 24-20, 7:57 left in the 3rd.

WSU comes out running on the next drive - 4 straight plays. But they only get one first down before having to punt.

Rattay is incomplete on 3rd and 1 from the 23.
Our field goal attempt is blocked. Rotten turn of events there.

17 yard run for HB Jamie Wilson. Everyone in a WSU uniform can run against us today.
The defense forces a fumble, but can't recover.
DE Dickerson gets a sack on 3rd down. Punt.

OT Paul Glover leaves the game with an injury - looks like our top recruit is fragile.
3rd and 4 from the 27 - incomplete pass on an attempted screen.
Ellis kicks a 45 yard field goal to cut the deficit to 1. 24-23, 14:00 to play.

9 yard run for FB LeRoy Lewis - he has made a couple of big plays today.
The defense forces an incompletion on 3rd down - punt.

14 yards to Thelwell on 3rd and 3. Rattay is now over 300 yards on the day.
22 more yards to Thelwell on a great catch.
3rd and 9 from the 30 - incomplete pass. Rattay has really struggled on 3rd down today.
Ellis makes a very clutch 48 yard field goal. 26-24 lead. 7:22 to play.

10 yard run for Putzier.
Another 15 yard facemask against the D - I'm so distraught with how many of those we are getting this season.
Sack for Parsons, setting up 3rd and 10.
10 yards to Ned, who holds on after a big hit by CB Bowens.
33 yard pass to Ned, who drags one foot in bounds at the 6.
Putzier runs it in on the next play. 2 point conversion is no good. 30-26, 4:21 left to play.

We come out running Morris: 6, 10, 1.
Screen to Morris gets 19, after some nifty moves to avoid a loss on the play.
But Fortunato has one bounce off his chest and it is intercepted!

The defense can't stop Putzier, who picks up a pair of first downs.
Then FB Lewis runs for 17. Total collapse by the defense in the 2nd and 4th quarters of this game.

Congrats to WSU for beating both us and USC, while finding a way to lose 4 other games on the year.

[hoopsguy]

Both teams had 447 yards, but WSU had a 32-18 advantage on first downs. They also held the ball for 35 minutes.

Too many field goals today. I'm very impressed with Ellis for making 3 40+ field goals in the 2nd half of a close game, but we needed TDs on some of those drives. And the interception came at a brutal point in the game. We, of course, forced zero turnovers.

Putzier finished with 36 carries for 166 yards and 2 TDs against us. We had done a pretty nice job against the run most of the year - particularly when we were missing our free safeties.

McAddley had 4 pancakes.

Thelwell had a big day, with 7 catches (on 8 throws to him) for 144 yards and a TD.

DT Roger Parsons had 5 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 stuffs.
DE Doug Grant had a pair of sacks.

We were 3-11 on 3rd downs and WSU was 9-15. I think that was a pretty big stat, along with the 0 turnovers.

[hoopsguy]

Arizona is up next. We are listed as 19 point home favorites.

Our secondary is again in the spotlight, ranked #17 against the pass (seems to be slipping every week). The Arizona QB is Brian Thomas. He is completing 52.8% of his passes for 994 yards with 7 TDs and 3 INTs. QB rating is 134.6. 5 exceptional passes and a TD every 17.6 attempts.

Looking through our stats, SR DT Jack Farmer has been invisible. This guy is a four year starter and has started every game when healthy, but he has 3 tackles in 9 games this year! Unbelievable ...

[hoopsguy]

Another sellout crowd - hopefully we give them more to cheer about today.

Gain of 21 to Thelwell on the first play - just missed breaking that one.
Rattay goes down to a sack on 2nd down.
A holding call wipes out a 45 yard gain - I won't miss OT Roell English when he is gone.
We can't make up 3rd and 24 and have to punt.

Interception for CB Rulon Bowens, who returns it 36 yards to the 14.

Clutch play by Rattay and Palmer, getting 9 on 3rd and 6 despite heavy pressure by the D.
An illegal motion penalty takes away a TD.
RB Gannon Dawson takes it outside and into the end zone from 4 yards out. 7-0, 9:07 left in the quarter.

TE Joshua Lloyd gains 25 on a reception while losing his helmet.
Sack by DE Phil Patten.
And they are called for intentional grounding on 3rd and 17. Punt.

3 and out on our next possession - 3 passes, no runs. Punt.

Another sack for Dickerson.
A 20 yard pass play sets up 3rd and 2. Which the Wildcats pick up through the air.
11 yard run for HB Bobby Dubac, who is getting good yardage in the early going.
FS Keith Thomas leaves with a toe injury.
QB Thomas is having a very good drive so far - another 10 yard completion.
3rd and 9 at the UCLA 27 - we stuff a run. Tackle by ILB Bobby Anderson.
44 yard field goal is good. 7-3, 0:49 left in the first quarter.

13 yard run for Morris.
A screen to Thelwell gets 9 on 3rd and 3.
15 more to Thelwell, who has four of the five receptions so far today.
Morris gets one on 3rd and 1.
Holding on McAddley.
Defensive holding on the next play. 1st and 10 at the Arizona 13.
13 yard TD pass to Woodley Martin, who is back from his injury. He got leveled in the end zone but held on. 14-3, 11:09 to play in the half.

15 yard facemask called at the end of the kickoff. Arizona starts at the 45.
Sack for DE Patten - he has two today after only one coming into the game.
Arizona goes for it on 4th and 2 from our 47 and we stuff Dubac.

Rattay and Palmer get 7 on 3rd and 7. Everyone on both sides of the ball executed there, but we have our first down.
8 yards for Morris on 3rd and 1. He is over 50 already.
Martin breaks free with a double move and is rewarded with a perfect pass for a 26 yard TD! 21-3, 6:34 left in the half.

Thomas throws for 7 on 3rd and 6.
DT Parsons forces, and recovers, a fumble at the Arizona 31.

Another TD for Martin, this one from 31 yards out on a one play drive. He has 3 catches for 70 yards with all three ending as touchdowns. 28-3, 4:22 left in the half.

Phil Patten is having a big game, as he is making plays in run support as well as pressuring the QB.
Arizona punts from our 40.

Rattay gets leveled on a LB blitz.
But he responds with his 4th TD pass of the day, an 81 yarder to TE Gene Fortunato. Obviously a blown assignment on that one, as Gene isn't exactly a burner. 35-3, 1:07 left in the half.


Halftime Notes:
- Rattay is lights out: 12-15 for 233 yards and 4 TDs.
- The defense is playing the kind of game I love to see - bringing pressure and forcing turnovers. Only area for improvement is surrendering 5-9 3rd down conversions.


52 yard gain on a 3rd and 4 pass to WR Dayne. Tackled at our 28. Bad tackling gave the Wildcats an extra 40 yards.
15 yard TD pass to WR Robert Tarver. 35-10, 11:23 left in the 3rd.

Arizona is called for roughing the passer on a sack.
We are taking short passes on this drive. But Arizona is doing a good job of tackling to prevent our guys from long gains.
We go for it on 4th and 2 - play fake, Martin is wide open - 39 yard TD. Martin now has 4 catches for 109 yards and 4 TDs. 42-10, 7:04 left in the 3rd.

We stuff a run on 3rd and 1. Punt after 3 plays.
We take over at the 49.

Martin only gets 17 on his next catch - a shoestring tackle prevented TD #5 ...
Rattay is now over 300 yards for the afternoon.
4th and 2 from the 24 - Ellis comes on and kicks a 42 yard field goal. 45-10, 3:14 left in the 3rd.

Sack for DT Roger Parsons.
Another strong defensive series. 3 and out. Punt.
We again get the ball at the 49.

18 yard run for Morris, who is up to 85 yards on 17 carries.
Arizona is whistled for defensive holding. They are over 100 penalty yards on the day.
Martin is tackled on the 1 yard line.
Morris runs it in from there. 52-10, 14:10 left in the game.

Another sack for Parsons, and the ball is loose. Arizona dives on it but this is their 3rd straight 3 and out.

14 yards to Martin on 3rd and 11 to keep the clock running.
Ellis comes in and kicks a 51 yard field goal. 55-10, 8:36 left in the game.
Ellis is having a great year after struggling earlier in his career.

ILB Bobby Anderson is making a lot of tackles in the run game.
26 yard completion to TE Lloyd.
20 yards to WR Kevin Leigh on 3rd and 10, into field goal range.
We are only called for 5 yards on this facemask - nice change of pace, ref.
HB Bobby Dubuc runs it in from 2 yards out. 55-17, 5:01 left in the game.

Satterwhite takes the kick up to the 43.
Add 15 yards on a Wildcat facemask.
QB Derrick Fazande is in and he has a pair of incompletions on a 3 and out series.
We get good punt coverage and stick Arizona on their 4.

Another sack for Parsons - big game for him today.
And we record an interception. Hopefully we just run out the clock at this point.

Morris hits the century mark on his 24th carry.
Morris runs for another pair of first downs.
We take a knee on the 3 yard line.

[hoopsguy]

Oregon has fallen to pieces - they are now 5-4 after losing at home 31-28 to Washington State. But they are still ranked #23. I really can't wait for the next patch to address the rankings ...

We were much more efficient offensively than last game: 55 points on 471 yards.

Rattay finished 23-29 for 344 yards with 5 TDs and 0 INTs.

Morris had 123 yards on 27 carries with 1 TD.

Welcome back, Woodley Martin. 7 catches (we threw to him 9 times) for 145 yards and 4 TDs. His bid for All-American status may not be dead yet, despite missing multiple games.

OT Roell English allowed 2 sacks and was whistled for holding. Time to see if there is anyone who can take his spot from him, because he still stinks. Another colossal disappointment from our first recruiting class on the O-Line.

Parsons - four tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 hurry, and 1 interception. Just a dominant game for a defensive tackle.

Two sacks for Phil Patten. Nice to see for a guy who has been a dependable part of our DE rotation all four years without ever being the man.

[hoopsguy]

Pac 10 Standings:
1. USC 6-1
2. Washington State 5-2
2. UCLA 5-2
4. Oregon State 3-3
4. Arizona State 3-3
4. Arizona 3-3
7. Oregon 2-4
8. Stanford 2-5
8. Washington 2-5
8. California 2-5


National Top 10:
1. Georgia (8-1)
2. Oklahoma (8-1)
3. Minnesota (9-1) - undefeated in Big 10 play
4. Auburn (8-1)
5. Michigan (7-2)
6. Miami (FL) (8-2)
7. Michigan State (10-1)
8. LSU (8-2)
9. Mississippi (7-2)
10. Texas Tech (10-1)

Others of Note:
14. USC (9-2)
15. UCLA (8-2)
16. Florida (5-4) - nice work by the pollsters
23. Oregon (5-4) - more stupidity in the polls

Not sure if we win the conference with a win against USC - Washington State would have the head-to-head advantage if we had a three-way tie. I'm bummed that we may not be in the playoffs with a 9-2 season and a win over USC but lets just see if we can get that win and then worry about this issue ...


Rattay is still leading all QB in yardage (3,397) and TD passes (31).

HB Jerry King from USC is leading the nation in rushing with 1,654 yards and is 2nd in TDs with 18.

WR Woodley Martin is 2nd in the nation in TD receptions with 11.

McAddley is tied for 3rd in the nation in pancakes with 28. One of the guys he is tied with is Oregon OG Norm Hester. There is a very good chance that McAddley won't even finish as first team All-Conference because of the depth at OG in our conference.

Ellis is 3rd in field goals with 27. And he is more accurate than both guys ahead of him. I hope he gets recognized for his outstanding season.

Dickerson is tied for 2nd in the nation with 10 sacks, two behind some Golden Domer.


McCallister is back from his suspension. We don't have any key players ineligible at this point - very good news.

We face Navy this week, then get a bye before a USC showdown to end the season. Hopefully we stay healthy and win comfortably against Navy.

[hoopsguy]

We are listed as 29 point favorites at home. DT Jack Farmer is listed as our "hot" defensive player. Yep, that is pretty amusing.

The key matchup is WR Woodley Martin against the #10 secondary of the Midshipmen. Overall their defense is ranked 6th (we are 16th) but I'm hoping they have built those numbers against offenses that are less explosive than our team.

[hoopsguy]

The Rose Bowl is again packed with 100,089 fans. Navy is 6-3 and the coachings staff has been doing their best Lou Holtz impression while building up the capabilities of this foe.

Wow, 70 yard pass play to Morris, all the way down to the 13.
13 yard TD pass to Palmer, who is drilled after the catch. 7-0, 13:48 to play in the quarter.

CB McAllister stops a run for no gain on 3rd and 1. Punt.

10 more yards on a screen to Morris.
He then runs for 22, almost breaking free for 6.
22 yards to Martin, who makes a terrific grab. Tackled at the 4.
RB Dawson runs it in. 14-0, 9:05 left in the first quarter.

Patten makes a play on 3rd and 2, stuffing the RB after a one yard gain. Punt.

20 yard completion to Thelwell.
41 yard TD pass to Fortunato on 3rd and 7 - our first third down of the afternoon. 21-0, 4:39 left in the quarter.
Rattay is 8-8 for 190 yards and 2 TDs so far.

DE Patten leaves the game with an undisclosed injury. Tough year for him with grades and injuries.
Navy has their initial first down of the day.
WR Sammy Thomas drops a pass on 3rd and 10. Punt.

29 yards to Palmer, who picked up extra yards with a viscious stiff-arm.
Back to Fortunato for 45 yards and his 2nd TD of the day. 28-0, 1:27 left in the quarter.

Sack for DT Parsons.
Navy gets 7 on 3rd and 11 and has to punt after 3 plays yet again.

Rattay's string of completions ends at 10.
And he gets lit up by a defensive tackle on the next play.
OT Paul Glover leaves the game with a neck injury. Sigh ... we punt.

Navy finally picks up a 3rd down, as the fullback gets 4 on 3rd and 1.
DE Doug Grant gets a sack on the next third down. Punt.
We return the punt 35 yards and start on the Navy 41.

40 yard TD pass to Martin. 35-0, 10:35 left in the half.
Rattay now has over 300 yards.

4th and 1 at their 44 - Navy punts.

24 yard run for Morris, who has a chance at 100 yards rushing and receiving today.
Rattay to Martin for 9 on 3rd and 8.
DT David Hanburger again sacks Rattay.
Thelwell drops a pass, and we can't get 16 on our third down screen. Ellis misses a 46 yard field goal.

4th and 1 at our 49 - Navy goes for it but the pass is incomplete.

4th and 2 from the Navy 43 - we go for it but a pass to Fortunato is incomplete. Not a great play call with time running out in the half.

Navy completes a pair of passes to move into field goal range.
But with 4th and 10 at the 31, Navy sends out the kicker. Good from 49. 35-3, 0:14 left in the half.


Halftime Notes:
- Offense was just about perfect in the first quarter.
- We have not forced any turnovers.
- No penalties on either side in the half.


3 and out for Navy to start the 2nd half.

23 yard run for Morris on our first play. He is inching close to 100 yards ...
28 yards to Thelwell. Inside the 10.
4th and goal at the one. Ellis misses a 19 yard field goal. I knew I shouldn't have said anything nice about him. He had best get his head straight for USC.

Dickerson forces a fumble and we recover it at the Navy 24 yard line.

Morris now has 108 yards on 17 carries.
The ref waives off a TD pass to Palmer, saying it was incomplete.
Ellis kicks a 21 yard field goal. 38-3, 8:03 left in the 3rd.

Sack for Dickerson.
Sack for DT Jack Farmer! And the crowd goes wild!
Punt.

9 yard completion to Morris, who now has 95 yards receiving.
Rattay has 399 yards passing, but no one has 100 yard receiving yet.
11 yards to Morris, who has the double century mark now. Down at the 14.
Ellis kicks a 26 yard field goal. 41-3, 3:12 left in the 3rd.

Sack by DE Grant. We have six on the day.
Navy punts on 4th and 17.

3 and out for our offense. Navy OLB Jack Pugh set the tone on first down with a big hit on Morris. Punt.

Navy gets 7 on the option on 3rd and 6.
FS Keith Thomas dumps RB Rasmussen on 3rd and 4 for a loss.
Navy punts from our 37 and sticks us back on the 3.

We have to punt on 4th and 1 from our 28 - couldn't pick up 2nd and 1.

24 yard pass to WR George Blaylock, into field goal range.
Dickerson leaves the game with a jaw injury. Hope that isn't serious, 2nd DE to leave the game this afternoon.
Mike Voight comes in to block a 41 yard field goal attempt!

Rattay is picked - if he has to throw interceptions I suppose this is a good spot for one. Navy takes over at our 41.

15 yards on an option, up to our 25.
DT Farmer makes a tackle. Big game for Jack today!
Navy is short on a 42 yard field goal attempt.

A penalty wipes out a 29 yard pass play.
Martin has a 21 yard catch despite defensive holding.
QB Derrick Fazande is picked off to give Navy one more possession.

J.R. Jackson records his 5th interception of the year.

15 yard run for Dawson to pick up a first down and keep the clock running.

[hoopsguy]

We mauled Navy. 28-9 on first down, 629 to 187 on yards.

Rattay ended up 28-38 for 454 yards with 4 TDs and 1 INT.

Morris ran 26 times for 137 yards and had 5 catches for another 106 yards.

TE Gene Fortunato set career highs with 96 receiving yards and 2 TDs.

Woodley Martin had 8 catches for 122 yards and a TD - guess he won his matchup.

OG McAddley had two key run blocks and five pancakes.

Dickerson had 3 tackles, a sack, a stuff, 3 hurries and a forced fumble.

[hoopsguy]

Award Finalists are out:
QB: Qunicy Griesen (Fresno), Heath Phillips (USC), John Rattay (UCLA), John Reese (Oregon State)
RB: Jerry King (USC), Nicolas Morris (UCLA), John Putzier (WSU)
WR: Cleo Barlow (CAL), Jay Lucas (USC), Woodley Martin (UCLA)
TE: Gene Fortunato (UCLA), Joshua Lloyd (ARI)
OLINE: OG Marcus Baxter (OrSt), OG Norm Hester (ORE), OG James McAddley (UCLA)
DLINE: DE Mark Dickerson (UCLA), DT Jake Johnson (ORE), DT Roger Parsons (UCLA)
LB: None
DB: FS Jerry Jansen (USC), SS Larry Kasper (OrSt), CB Howard Steussie (CAL)
K: Michael Anderson (USC), Eric Ellis (UCLA)
P: None
Return: WR Milton Graham (CAL), J.R. Jackson (UCLA)

POY: RB Jerry King (USC), QB Heath Phillips (USC), QB John Rattay (UCLA)
DPOY: DT Jake Johnson (ORE)
COY: Monte Simmonds (USC) - BOOOO!


All in all, a very impressive showing by our guys on the award nominations.

[hoopsguy]

Injuries to both Glover and CB Curry Thompson are serious. Glover has spinal compression and Thompson has severe spinal trauma. I'm not expecting to see either of those guys play another snap this season.

As much of a disappointment as Paul Glover has been in his first year, that has been offset by the joy of watching ILB Bobby Anderson play. We have not had a guy put up big numbers at this position in my tenure so I'm delighted to see him chasing 100 tackles as a freshman. Hopefully he continues to get better.

Here are the Top 10 heading into our USC game:
1. Minnesota (10-1) - ran the table in the Big 10 up to this point
2. Texas Tech (10-1) - really climbed in rankings the last few weeks
3. Michigan (8-2) - I give them credit for bouncing back after two early losses
4. Georgia (8-2)
5. Mississippi (8-2) - four wins against Top 25 teams
6. Miami (FL) (9-2)
7. Oklahoma (8-2)
8. Michigan State (10-1) - are starting to establish themselves as a national power
9. Auburn (8-2)
10. Tennessee (9-2) - another team that has soared up polls in recent weeks

Others of Note:
13. USC (9-2)
15. UCLA (9-2) - game against USC will be 1st for either of us against Top 25 team
18. Texas (6-4) - sub-.500 conference record
19. Syracuse (10-1) - top-ranked team in Big East
23. Florida (5-5) - just idiocy to see these guys ranked
24. Alabama (6-4) - 0-4 against Top 25. So why are they ranked?