Sunday, September 11, 2016

Pac-12 football roundup: Washington, Oregon lead the way in Week Two

Three things you need to know about every other Pac-12 game in week two.

Pac-12 teams went 8-2 in Week Two and 5-5 against the spread. Let’s a take a quick look around the league.

(8) Washington 59 def. Idaho 14

- Jake Browning threw for nearly 300 yards, five touchdown passes, and no interceptions in basically a half of football (he only played one series in the 2nd half). So far this year, Browning is 41-of-55 (74.5%), 581 yards, 8 TDs, 1 INT, and a 207.6 passer rating. Keep in mind he didn’t play much of the second half against Rutgers either. Dude is surgical and not making many bad reads.

- Budda Baker was all over the field against the Vandals. Baker forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, tied for the team lead in tackles with six — including 1.5 tackles for loss — and also recorded half of a sack.

- Washington’s defense hasn’t really been tested through the first two games but they certainly have been dominant at times. Idaho had nine yards total in the 2nd quarter and obviously didn’t get a single first down. They only had four first downs in the entire first half.

(24) Oregon 44 def. Virginia 26

- Royce Freeman went for 206 yards rushing on just 21 carries. His 18 games with 100+ rush yards is 2nd in school history. He catches the ball smoothly out of the backfield too and seems to be the focal point of the offense as new QB Dakota Prukop settles in.

- Oregon has pass protected really well in 2016 and they were able to get two passes for over 50 yards, both to Devon Allen. Allen was .07 seconds off from a medal in the 110m hurdles in Rio.

- 5th year transfer Dakota Prukop might have the strongest arm in the conference and has thrown for six touchdowns and no interceptions this season. His deep ball is effortless....check out this dime against UC-Davis.

USC 45 def. Utah State 7

- Adoree’ Jackson had an electrifying punt return

- JuJu Smith-Schuster had the block of the year

- Sophomore Porter Gustin is one of the best edge rushers and outside linebackers in this conference. He had six tackles and a sack against the Aggies and uses his 6-foot-5 frame to generate a ton of explosiveness.

Colorado 56 def. Idaho State 7

- Sefo Liufau passed for over 200 yards and ran for 50 more. He has 7,919 yards for his career and became the Buffs’ all-time leading passer, leaping over Cody Hawkins. Plus Liufau has some wheels.

- This is only Colorado’s second time winning their first two games in the past nine seasons.

- The Buffs have outscored their first two opponents 100-14.

Utah 20 def. BYU 19

- Kalani Sitake is an emotional coach and was, at times, a little too jacked on the sideline and it cost BYU. He was called for an unsportsmanlike penalty at a crucial juncture late in the 3rd quarter and probably let his emotions get the best of him while deciding to go for the win on a two-point conversion. That play never had a chance.

- Utah was dominant in the trenches—DT Lowell Lotulelei leads their defensive front that is really tough against interior runs. Conversely, they can sustain drives with consistent between-the-tackles running (their final drive was 19 plays, and ate up almost 12 minutes of clock). They are still trying to replace Devontae Booker; three different backs got ten or more carries.

- The Utes had a big-time problem with taking care of the football. They routinely put their defense in bad positions with six turnovers, three interceptions and three fumbles lost. It could have been worse...they had six total fumbles on the game.

UCLA 42 def. UNLV 21

- Although he struggled against the Bruins, former Santa Margarita HS standout Johnny Stanton will have the UNLV program trending up over the next two years. He is the most highly-touted QB UNLV has had in recent memory (former four-star recruit with offers from Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin).

- UCLA’s offense continued to be hot and cold. After four consecutive touchdown drives to start the game, their next three drives totaled 11 plays and ended with two punts and a lost fumble.

- 15 different players caught passes — Josh Rosen has been distributing the ball nicely.

Arizona St. 68 def. Texas Tech 55

-Kalen Ballage set an FBS record with eight total touchdowns.

- ASU ran 91 plays on offense, the most in the conference this week. They are certainly making an emphasis to play with more tempo in 2016.

- After a so-so performance against NAU, ASU had a much better night, especially offensively. Wilkins looked much more poised, throwing for 351 yards and two touchdowns. Ballage’s eight score night matched his touchdown total for the previous three seasons combined.

Boise State 31 def. Washington State 28

- Wazzu has now lost their first two games to Boise State and Eastern Washington. After winning nine games in 2015 and flirting with a top-25 ranking, they have not looked as impressive this year.

- Boise had a complete effort in this one — their three-point victory included a defensive touchdown, a blocked field goal, and three scoring drives of 75 or more yards.

- The Cougars play Idaho next week but have to start their Pac-12 slate against Oregon, Stanford and UCLA....ouch.

San Diego State 45 def. Cal 40

- San Diego State’s Donnell Pumphrey passed Marshall Faulk as the Aztecs’ all-time rushing leader in style. He had 281 yards and three touchdowns to help the Aztecs hold off Cal.

- The Bears almost came back after trailing for most of the game. They scored a touchdown with less than a minute to go to make it a one score game. They recovered the subsequent onside kick before throwing an interception in the redzone with nine seconds left.

- Cal was actually one of the last teams to beat San Diego State. After the Bears beat the Aztecs 35-7 in Berkeley last year, the Aztecs have gone 12-2 since. San Diego State has won 12 straight games, the second-longest active streak among FBS teams.



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