Pac-12 Notes – Oregon Week

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Pac-12 Notes – Oregon Week

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October 30th – Game Day

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Oregon State (up next for CU) falls at Cal, 39-25

… Worthy of note … Cal was up two touchdowns in the final minute, just like Oregon was against CU. The Bears had a fourth-and-goal with seconds left, and the clock stopped. Cal could have kicked a field goal, or gone for a score. Instead, quarterback Chase Garbers ran backwards, then threw the ball into the stands to end the game. Compare Oregon, which had a two-score lead in the final minute against Colorado. The Ducks could have taken a knee twice to end the game, but ran plays in order to get a meaningless touchdown. Cal and Oregon both had two score leads in the final minute. One school acted with sportsmanship; one did not … 

From ESPN … After three straight Pac-12 losses to open the season, California is starting to find its stride.

Chase Garbers threw one of his three TD passes one play after a partially blocked punt and the Golden Bears beat Oregon State 39-25 Saturday.

“We’re certainly improving,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “There are guys who are developing and making some big plays in the game who are coming into their own a little bit. We are improving but the margins are so thin at this level of football and in our conference that there are going to be a handful of critical plays in the game that you have to find a way to make and I thought there were some big ones today.”

The biggest plays came in the closing seconds of the third quarter with Cal (3-5, 2-3 Pac-12) leading by seven points.

Chance Nolan couldn’t connect with Trevon Bradford on a third-down pass and sent out Luke Loecher to punt.

Nick Alftin got a piece of the kick and it went out of bounds 1 yard past the line of scrimmage. Garbers then went deep and connected on a 38-yard TD pass to Trevon Clark to make it 31-17 on the final play of the third quarter.

The Beavers (5-3, 3-2) lost for the second time in three games and fell a game behind rival Oregon in the Pac-12 North.

“There’s nobody feeling sorry for themselves, because we put ourselves in this position,” defensive back Jaydon Grant said. “We’re the ones who came out and didn’t execute. We’re the ones who came out and got out-physicaled from top to bottom. We’re the ones who are accountable for losing this game — not the coaches, not the game plan. It’s us. It’s not being able to execute for four quarters throughout the duration of the game. It’s don’t feel sorry for yourself and back to work tomorrow.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Washington State turns five Arizona State turnovers into a 34-21 road win

From ESPN … Jayden de Laura accounted for three touchdowns and Washington State forced five turnovers in a 34-21 win over Arizona State on Saturday.

The Cougars (5-4, 4-2 Pac-12), one of the nation’s best at creating takeaways, were at their ball-hawking best in the first half, forcing four turnovers. Washington State’s offense capitalized, scoring 24 points after Arizona State turnovers for its first win since coach Nick Rolovich was fired on Oct. 18 for not complying with the state’s vaccination mandate.

The Sun Devils (5-3, 3-2) got off to an abysmal start coming off a bye week, turning it over on their opening three drives, including twice in the first three plays.

Jayden Daniels threw two interceptions and Arizona State lost three fumbles to suffer a second straight lackluster defeat that had fans inside Sun Devil Stadium booing throughout.

The worst part was the Sun Devils had an extra week to regroup after giving up 28 second-half points in a 35-21 loss to Utah on Oct. 16.

They could have used another week off.

Arizona State bumbled its way through the first half, following the three opening turnovers by turning it over on downs at Washington State’s 18-yard line and missing a 32-yard field goal after a false start negated a made one.

A holding penalty also wiped out Daniels’ 56-yard touchdown run and Daniyel Ngata lost a fumble on the next play.

Daniels finally gave Arizona State a glimmer of hope in the final seconds of the first half, throwing a 12-yard TD pass to LV Bunkley-Shelton. That cut Washington State’s lead to 28-7.

Any chance at momentum ended when Daniels threw a lob that went right to Washington State’s Jaylen Watson in the third quarter.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 29th 

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Pac-12 teams as Halloween candy

From the Pac-12 Hotline … To get it right — to reach the standard set by the Hotline’s twin addictions to caffeine and sugar — this exercise required deep thought and far more creativity than Washington’s running game.

For inspiration, we turned to that noted candy connoisseur, Mike Leach, whose knowledge laps our own (although we don’t share his preference for Almond Joy).

Here’s our list of Pac-12 teams as Halloween candy.

Arizona: Black Licorice. Hard pass, if we’re being totally honest.

Arizona State: Nestle’s Crunch. Always leaves you thinking, ‘Should be better.’

Cal: Gummy Bears. Duh.

Colorado: Nerds. Not sure what’s inside, but it isn’t good.

Oregon: Sugar Daddy. Don’t make me explain.

Oregon State: 100 Grand. Deeply under-appreciated.

Stanford: Smarties. Well past their prime. (Also: Smarties.)

UCLA: Candy Canes. One of the best, just in a different season.

USC: Three Musketeers. Looks dashing but soft on the inside.

Utah: M&Ms. No surprises. Nothing fancy. Just damn good.

Washington: Pixy Sticks. My, how they dissolve quickly.

Washington State: Milky Way. The coach was … out there.

(Sorry, Rolo was too obvious.)

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October 28th

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College Football News: Trying to find a path to a CU victory

From the College Football News …

Why Colorado Will Win

Oregon hasn’t exactly been playing up to its capabilities.

It’s still in the mix for the College Football Playoff – it’ll almost certainly be in by winning out – and it’s coming off a terrific win over UCLA, but it’s got the strange ability to play up or down to its competition, and the moment.

Forget the 41-19 final score against Arizona – that was scary for about 40 minutes. The 24-17 win over Cal was too close, and the team let Stanford hang around and it proved costly.

Colorado’s defense is the best in the Pac-12 on third downs, the secondary isn’t bad, and the team doesn’t screw up with a lot of penalties and takeaways, but …

Why Oregon Will Win

Yeah … the Colorado offense. It’s not very good.

It’s the worst in the country averaging just 238 yards per game. It managed just 104 yards in the ugly 26-3 loss to Cal last week, and it failed to get to 300 yards against anyone but Arizona or Northern Colorado – the team’s two wins.

How much fire is Oregon going to have? If it brings its full and undivided attention, it should be able to get this done in about a quarter.

For all of the inconsistencies, the Ducks are strong in turnover margin, they get the big plays and burst when needed, and the defensive front is starting to find a groove with the parts relatively healthy and doing a great job against the run.

Colorado doesn’t have a passing game to do much damage.

What’s Going To Happen

Oregon will be Oregon and won’t quite make this as easy as it should be, but the Colorado will help the cause by continuing to not do much of anything against a decent D.

The Ducks will get out early, take a nap for a while, and then rise back up with a big burst in the second half to put this well out of reach. Colorado won’t get the breaks needed to make this interesting.

Oregon 38, Colorado 13
Line: Oregon -24, o/u: 49
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

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Pac-12 picks: What to make of the up-and-down Utes?

From the San Jose Mercury News … Utah’s identity is an enduring mystery of the 2021 Pac-12 football season.

We expected a title contender in Week One given all the returning talent but instead witnessed mediocrity on both sides of the ball throughout September.

The quarterback change, from Charlie Brewer to Cam Rising, seemed to set the Utes on track. They survived a challenge from Washington State, then produced a devastating second half to wrest control of the division away from Arizona State.

The team we envisioned finally revealed itself — but not for long.

What in the world happened in Corvallis?

The Utes started fast, then crumbled. It was the antithesis of the ASU game, a rollover the likes of which we have not seen from Utah in many years.

And so after two months, we’re back to the beginning with the Utes, wondering if their potential can be reached and the South can be won.

With a victory, Utah would remain at least one game ahead of ASU (via the tiebreaker) and hold a three-game lead on the Bruins.

In other words, the South, muddled for weeks, would become a two-team race.

Last week: 3-2-1
Season: 25-24-1
Five-star special: 4-5

Colorado (+24) at Oregon
Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. on FOX
Comment: The Ducks are 0-4 against the spread as favorites and would be wise to start stocking up on style points in advance of the first CFP rankings (next week). Then again, even a half-hearted effort should be enough Saturday against an opponent that just lost at Cal by 23. As long as the Ducks don’t give away points through turnovers and special teams mistakes, they should find a way to cover. Pick: Oregon

UCLA (+6.5) at Utah
Kickoff: 7 p.m. on ESPN
Comment: What we explained above, plus this: Utah’s top defensive player, linebacker Devin Lloyd, will miss the first half due to a targeting penalty last weekend, giving the Bruins an opening to take charge early with their running game. (Oregon State provided a blueprint for attacking the Utes.) This feels like it will break one of two ways: A narrow victory for the visitors or a decisive win for the hosts. Pick: UCLA

Straight-up winners: Arizona State (over Washington State), Oregon (over Colorado), Oregon State (over Cal), USC (over Arizona), UCLA (over Utah) and Stanford (over Washington)

… Read full story here …

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October 27th

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Mario Cristobal to Oregon fans: “No more booing”

… kinda goes without saying that there isn’t much chance of Oregon fans booing this weekend … 

From duckswire.com … A hot topic within the Oregon Ducks football world has been the notion of whether or not fans have the right to boo their team when they are unsatisfied with the results on the field.

During the second half of Oregon’s game against Cal a couple of weeks ago, the student section let out a rain of boos towards quarterback Anthony Brown and the offense as a whole, with head coach Mario Cristobal and his team unable to find much production on that side of the ball. Eventually, chants for Brown to be replaced by true freshman QB Ty Thompson were impossible to ignore.

So after the Ducks seemingly righted the ship on offense against UCLA this past weekend, Cristobal had a message for the Duck fans in attendance, and it was picked up online and spread to the fanbase as a whole.

“Hey! No more booing in Autzen, I don’t want to hear that s**t!” Cristobal said after the win.

A majority of the Oregon fanbase seems to agree with him, while others are claiming that fans have a right to voice their displeasure. When asked about the interaction on Monday, Cristobal further explained his relationship with the crowd, and his comments after the game.

“They provide the best atmosphere in all of college football. I know I had… I call it family time with some of our fans over there in the Rose Bowl,” Cristobal said. “I appreciate that time because to me if you’re part of our fan base, if you’re a member of the organization, you’re a part of the family. I probably could’ve used, I should have used a better choice of words, but we have the best atmosphere and advantage in the country in our home stadium and family can talk like family.”

Cristobal admits that he might have been able to get his message across in a nicer fashion, but after an emotional win over a division opponent, nobody can blame him for being fired up and wanting the beloved Oregon fans to ride with him and his team.

… Continue reading story here …

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CU solidifies its spot in CBS Sports Bottom 25

From CBS Sports … In the grand scheme of The Bottom 25, seeing the Indiana Hoosiers ranked doesn’t come as a surprise. After all, the Indiana program is not one steeped in a rich tradition of football success. The Hoosiers played their first football game in 1887 and have won only 42.2% of them since. They’ve played in 13 bowl games and won three. They won conference titles in 1945 and 1967, and at no other time. Only three coaches in the program’s history who managed to last longer than 50 games won more than half of them.

So, again, to see Indiana in The Bottom 25 doesn’t come as a surprise, but it wasn’t supposed to be this season. The Hoosiers went 8-5 in 2019 and followed it up with a 6-2 record in 2020. They finished last season ranked at No. 12 in the AP Top 25, the first time the program finished a season ranked since 1988. It began this season ranked No. 17, the first time it’s began a season ranked since 1969.

They weren’t ranked for long, however, losing to Iowa in Week 1 and dropping four of six since. Now, this isn’t entirely Indiana’s fault. All five of its losses have come to teams still ranked in the AP Top 25, but while that strength of schedule is impressive (the Hoosiers have the toughest SOS in the metrics I use for these rankings), it’s not enough to keep them from joining The Bottom 25 this week.

Going from the AP Top 25 to The Bottom 25 is an impressive feat, and some would even say they’re part of the more important rankings now.

Power Five conference schools on the list … 

No. 24 … Indiana … So why have the Hoosiers fallen so far? I mean, besides playing an incredibly tough schedule? Well, last season, the Hoosiers had a points-off-turnover margin of 41 or 5.13 points per game. This season, the Hoosiers are at -21 overall and -3 points per game. That’s more than a touchdown swing per game from one season to the next, and the Hoosiers don’t have the talent level to survive such a drop. The good news is this week they play a team that isn’t ranked for the first time in what feels like decades as they travel to Maryland. (NR)

No. 22 … Colorado … The Buffs couldn’t win consecutive Bottom 25 Games of the Century of the Week, falling to Cal 26-3. That was enough to knock the Bears out of the rankings entirely, but the Buffaloes move only three spots. They could fall further this week after going to Oregon Saturday. (25)

No. 12 … Vanderbilt … The Commodores have been outscored 170-26 in four SEC games following a 45-6 loss against Mississippi State. Hopefully they’ll be able to get the offense on track against a Missouri defense that has struggled. (17)

No. 5 … Arizona … I mentioned points off turnover margin when discussing Indiana earlier, but no team has been worse in that department this season than the Wildcats. Arizona has a margin of -55 (-7.86 per game) on the season, which helps explain that 0-7 record, doesn’t it? The Wildcats will try to hold onto the ball for once against USC this week. (5)

No. 3 … Kansas … The Jayhawks nearly shocked the world! They had a 10-0 lead on Oklahoma at halftime and a 17-7 lead late in the third quarter. Unfortunately, games have four quarters, and the Jayhawks couldn’t hold in a 35-23 loss. Still, the performance was enough to keep the streak of No. 1 teams failing to stay at No. 1 alive. Also, I am putting it on the record right here that Kansas will win another game this season. The Oklahoma performance was their best of the season, but there has been slight improvement all season long. Another win is coming. I can feel it. (1)

… Read full story here …

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October 26th

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Steelers coach Mike Tomlin shuts down USC talk: “There’s not a booster with a big enough blank check”

From ESPN … Steelers coach Mike Tomlin emphatically said Tuesday that he’s not contemplating a move to the college coaching ranks — not now, not ever.

Tomlin shut down speculation that he could be in the mix to fill college coaching vacancies at USC or LSU at the end of his weekly news conference Tuesday. “Hey, guys, I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin said. “I mean, that’s a joke to me. I got one of the best jobs in all of professional sport. Why would I have any interest in coaching college football?

“That will be the last time I address it. Not only today but moving forward. Never say never, but never. OK? Anybody else got any questions about any college jobs. There’s not a booster with a big enough blank check.”

He wasn’t done yet. After a final call for questions, Tomlin ended on one final thought.

“Anybody asking [Saints coach] Sean Payton about that? Anybody asking [Chiefs coach] Andy Reid about stuff like that?”

Tomlin’s name was recently connected to the openings at USC and LSU through speculation by former Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley, who also spent a decade in the Steelers’ front office, and former Steelers defensive back and ESPN analyst Ryan Clark. Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer also floated Tomlin’s name as one that could be in the mix for the USC job.

… Continue reading story here …

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Oregonian: CU threat level to Oregon a 2 out of 5

From The Oregonian … The Buffs opened the season with a less than impressive 35-7 win over Northern Colorado but followed with a 10-7 loss to Texas A&M and was in position for what would’ve been a massive upset. Any positives of hanging in with a then-top 10 team are long gone. A 30-0 loss to a Minnesota team without its best player made for the second of four straight loss, with Arizona State and USC following.

A 34-0 win over Arizona was a must have. Last week’s 26-3 loss to Cal featured just 35 rushing yards by the Buffs, who lack an offensive identity but if they had one it was supposed to be the two-headed backfield.

Karl Dorrel inherited a rebuild and the Mel Tucker one-year tenure made a bad situation good and then much worse.

Threat level (1 lowest to 5 highest): 2

There’s an argument to be made that this is even easier given how CU has played of late. But, it’s a conference game so we’ll respect it slightly and Oregon has played down to worse competition than the Buffs. Simply put, Colorado is not good. It’s offense could be worse than Arizona’s despite having two running backs that have been productive. The only thing CU can hang its hat on is defensively its scoring average is solid but aided in a huge way by an early close game against Texas A&M, Northern Colorado and Arizona.

Early prediction: Oregon 35, Colorado 7

… Read full story here …

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October 25th

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Chip Kelly: Officials missed made field goal during Oregon game

From the Los Angeles Times … UCLA lost to Oregon by three points — or did it?

Chip Kelly said Monday kicker Nicholas Barr-Mira’s 35-yard field goal that was ruled wide left in the second quarter appeared to have gone through the uprights after he watched replays of the kick.

“You ask Nick,” Kelly said of a miss that proved pivotal in a game the Ducks won 34-31 on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, “Nick still thinks it was good, but it was ruled differently.”

What did Kelly see on the replays he watched after the game?

“I agree with Nick,” he said.

Could Kelly take it up with the Pac-12 Conference?

“Game’s over,” Kelly said. “Nothing to take up, right?”

What about a formal apology from conference officials?

“We’re not really into that,” Kelly said.

A Pac-12 spokesman said the conference had no comment on the situation.

Kelly said the Bruins could have challenged the play but did not immediately have any reason to question the officials’ ruling.

“You can,” Kelly said, “but there was nothing during the game where we got anything from the booth, there were no replays when [quarterbacks coach] Ryan Gunderson’s up top [in the press box], but he’s not gonna tell me to challenge anything unless he sees a replay itself and there was nothing that was spit back to him where he could have gotten any jump on it.”

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October 24th 

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Oregon up to No. 7 in AP poll; Oregon State Pac-12’s No. 2 team?

From CBS Sports … The top of the AP Top 25 went through a shakeup despite the entire top five winning in Week 8. After posting its first scoreless first half since 2014 against lowly Kansas, No. 4 Oklahoma flipped spots with No. 3 Alabama. Cincinnati, meanwhile, held strong at No. 2 behind top-ranked Georgia.

The Crimson Tide were up just one score on Tennessee in the fourth quarter but used a late run to put the game out of reach. No. 5 Ohio State also looked dominant in a 54-7 win over Indiana, but the performance was not enough to pass the Sooners in the rankings. Michigan comes it at No. 6, while in-state rival Michigan State ranks No. 8.

No. 7 Oregon jumped three spots in the ranking after Penn State fell to No. 20 following a nine-overtime loss to Illinois. Oklahoma State also fell seven spots after losing to Iowa State, which entered the rankings at No. 22. Pitt jumped six spots after beating Clemson, while Ole Miss entered the top 10 again after beating LSU.

AP poll … 

1. Georgia (63)
2. Cincinnati
3. Alabama
4. Oklahoma
5. Ohio State
6. Michigan
7. Oregon
8. Michigan State
9. Iowa
10. Ole Miss
11. Notre Dame
12. Kentucky
13. Wake Forest
14. Texas A&M
15. Oklahoma State
16. Baylor
17. Pitt
18. Auburn
19. SMU
20. Penn State
21. San Diego State
22. Iowa State
23. UTSA
24. Coastal Carolina
25. BYU

Others receiving votes: Arkansas 36, Louisiana 32, North Carolina State 28, Houston 12, Virginia 9, Oregon State 7, Arizona State 7, Texas 6, Appalachian State 5, Florida 3, Minnesota 1, UCLA 1 

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Oregon State hands Utah first conference loss, 42-34

From ESPN … Oregon State took a pretty good shot from Utah in the first eight minutes but the Beavers never wavered and responded with an all-around performance that put them a win away from a bowl berth.

Luke Musgrave blocked and returned a punt for a touchdown, B.J. Baylor rushed for over 100 yards and a score, and Oregon State rallied from an early deficit to defeat Utah 42-34 on Saturday night.

The Beavers (5-2, 3-1 Pac-12), who trailed 24-14 at the half, scored touchdowns on their first three possessions of the second half to take control.

One more win and the Beavers will be bowl eligible for the first time since the 2013 season.

“What’s in front of us is bigger than going to a bowl game,” fourth-year coach Jonathan Smith said. “And so the mantra is you try to win a game to make the next game bigger and that’s what we did.”

Oregon State, the conference leader in rushing yards per game, rushed for 260 yards with Baylor, who entered averaging 112.8 yards per game, leading the way with 152.

Quarterback Chance Nolan was 14-for-19 passing for 208 yards and two touchdowns with Trevon Bradford catching six passes for 74 yards and a score. Bradford also had two carries for 20 yards and a touchdown.

… Continue reading story here …

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USC falls to 3-4 after 31-16 loss to No. 13 Notre Dame

From ESPN … Kyren Williams and No. 13 Notre Dame’s offensive line took a big step forward Saturday night, withstanding Southern California’s fourth-quarter rally for a 31-16 victory.

With fellow running back Chris Tyree sidelined by turf toe, Williams had two short touchdown runs and a season-high 138 yards on 25 carries for coach Brian Kelly’s 6-1 team, and after the game saluted his offensive linemen for his performance.

“Shoutout to the O-linemen for working hard and making it possible,” Williams said about the rebuilt line that lost four starters from last season. “I just had to have the mindset to dominate and not be stopped by anybody.”

Williams, a preseason Associated Press All-American who rushed for 1,175 yards last season, entered Saturday’s game with just 370 yards. He also gained another 42 yards with a team-high six receptions.

Williams scored on a 5-yard run in the second quarter while helping the Irish to a 17-3 halftime lead and then added a 1-yard run late in the third quarter to put the Irish up 24-3 en route to their fourth straight victory in the 92-game series.

“Kyren ran with an attitude that was just pervasive throughout the entire offense.,” Kelly said. “We needed to see our offense mature, and tonight the offense began to come together the way we wanted. We played faster. We put Jack (Coan) in position where the ball came out quick. It gave us the kind of offensive flow we’ve been looking for.”

Coan completed 20 of 28 passes for 189 yards and one TD, a 4-yard scoring pass to Avery Davis that put the Irish up 7-0 in the first quarter. Jonathan Doerer had a 21-yard field goal in the second quarter.

Freshman Tyler Buchner scored on a 3-yard run with 4:52 remaining to close out the Irish scoring after the Trojans (3-4) had trimmed the Irish lead to 24-16 early in the fourth quarter on short touchdown runs by Keaontay Ingram (4 yards) and Darwin Barlow (3 yards).

USC junior quarterback Kedon Slovis and 6-foot-5 junior wide receiver Drake London kept interim coach Donte Williams’ Trojans in it.

“I don’t feel like we lost the game,” Williams said. “I feel like we ran out of time.”

… Continue reading story here …

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Favored Bruins fall at home to Oregon, 34-31

From ESPN … Anthony Brown and No. 10 Oregon aren’t garnering style points , but in a season where the College Football Playoff picture remains murky at best, they keep on getting key victories.

Brown had a season-high 381 yards of offense and Travis Dye became the first player in Football Bowl Subdivision history to score touchdowns on four consecutive carries as the Ducks held on for a 34-31 victory over UCLA on Saturday.

Despite remaining the Pac-12’s highest-ranked team, coach Mario Cristobal said the only thing the Ducks are focused on is what happens each week.

“I think we’re over that stuff. I’m being 100% transparent. They understand it is about today and the next item on the agenda. When we get away from that process, we create our own issues,” said Cristobal after the Ducks improved to 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the conference. “All in all, a great team victory against a really good football team.”

Of Oregon’s six wins, four are by seven points or less. It appeared like that wasn’t going to be the case early in the fourth quarter when Brown’s 43-yard TD run on a quarterback draw extended its lead to 34-17 before the Bruins rallied.

… Continue reading story here …

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Coach-less Washington State Cougars fall to BYU, 21-19

From ESPN … Tyler Allgeier ran for 191 yards and two touchdowns and BYU beat Washington State 21-19 on Saturday in Washington State’s first game since head coach Nick Rolovich was fired for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination.

Rolovich and four assistants were fired Monday for not complying with the governor’s mandate that all state employees be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Rolovich had requested a religious exemption that was denied Monday, the state’s vaccination deadline.

He was replaced for the remainder of the season by Jake Dickert, the defensive coordinator who was elevated to acting head coach.

“Our guys had a lot of heart,” Dickert said, praising his team’s “effort and commitment.”

“I know it’s been a tough week,” Dickert, in his first college game ever as a head coach, said. “It’s a little bit learning on the fly. I felt it was really smooth. For the most part we operated as a staff.”

Asked what it was like to be a head coach, Dickert said he had to take a breath and remember to enjoy the experience.

“I’ll never forget it,” he said. “It was a dream come true.”

Washington State was were undone by several offensive holding penalties that wiped out good gains, and two failed conversion attempts after touchdowns.

“That put us behind the eight-ball,” Dickert said.

Max Borghi scored three touchdowns for Washington State (4-4), which saw its three-game winning streak end.

Jaren Hall threw for 143 yards for BYU (6-2), which fell out of the Top 25 this week after losing two straight games.

“A lot of credit to Washington State,” BYU coach Kalani Sitake said. “I know they are going through a lot of adversity and change.”

… Continue reading story here …

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October 23rd

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Washington needs two fourth quarter touchdowns to defeat Arizona, 21-16

From ESPN … Washington’s coaches teach the defensive lineman to fall back when they don’t feel much resistance. A screen pass is likely coming.

Taking those lessons to heart, Tuli Letuligasenoa felt the offensive lineman brush by, so he dropped into coverage.

Washington’s 300-pound wrecking ball didn’t know if he had the ball in his hands until he was being hit, but it turned out to be the play that shifted momentum in the Huskies’ favor.

Dylan Morris threw two second-half touchdown passes after Letuligasenoa’s interception, and Washington extended the nation’s longest losing streak to 19 with a 21-16 win over Arizona on Friday night.

“They were going on that drive, three, four yards at a time,” Washington coach Jimmy Lake said. “That interception by Tuli was a huge charge to the sideline, the offense, the defense, the whole team.”

Washington (3-4, 2-2 Pac-12) stumbled through the first half and was down nine headed into the fourth quarter. Letuligasenoa stopped Arizona’s bid to pad its lead and Morris took it from there, hitting Terrell Bynum on two long passes to set up two scores.

Washington’s defense also shifted into a new gear, shutting down Arizona after being hit with big plays earlier.

“We were down, but we rolled on for a little bit,” said Bynum, who had five catches for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Arizona (0-7, 0-4) seemed to be on its way to ending its school-record losing streak, taking a 16-7 lead into the fourth quarter before imploding.

The Wildcats were hit with key penalties, Will Plummer threw the big interception and the defense buckled after dominating the first half, leaving them winless since December 2019.

“We continue to get in fist fights with our hands tied behind our backs,” Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said.

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This post, about the Oregon game, from the 2021 Season, is filed under Article.
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