PAC-12 Week 11 Review – Colorado @ UCLA

UCLA start the PAC-12 Week 11 Review as they overturned a 20-10 deficit at half time to beat Colorado 44-20 at the Rose Bowl. Colorado started well on offence and defence. On their second possession, running back Alex Fontenot scored the first of his two touchdowns on the day on a 1 yard run. Then the defence intercepted Bruins quarterback Dorian Thomposn-Robinson’s overthrown pass. It landed in the hands of Mark Perry who carried it 15 yards into the UCLA half. The Buffs couldn’t capitalize and turned the ball over on downs after 4 plays. Colorado settled for a field goal when stuffed in the red zone by the Bruins defence.

UCLA got on the board when being placed at the 1 yard line due to a horse collar tackle at the Buffaloes 15 yard line. It was running back Brittain Brown who took advantage, punching the ball in down the middle. Fontenot then added his second touchdown and inside the last minute kicker Cole Becker kicked a field goal to make it 20-7.

A Stern Talking To was needed

The Bruins managed to rattle of 8 plays in the 57 seconds remaining to bring the score back to 10 points. I’m guessing UCLA coach Chip Kelly had some words as his team came out with a different attitude. They outscored Colorado 34-0, scoring 5 touchdowns. Three of them came from running back Zach Charbonnet, who only had 67 rushing yards with all his TDs coming from inside the 2 yard line.

Wedged between his first two scores, Thompson-Robinson had a 23 yard touchdown run. With 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter, receiver Kyle Phillips returned a punt 82 yards to the house to cap off a excellent 2nd half performance from the Bruins. The rest of the final quarter drifted by with both teams turning the ball over on downs and back up Colorado QB Drew Carter being sacked and losing the ball. UCLA go to 6-4 on the season with a trip to play USC next. Colorado welcomes Washington to Boulder.

PAC-12 Week 11 Review – Arizona State @ Washington

The sun devils kept the pressure on Utah at the top of the PAC-12 South with a 35-30 win over Washington. Three 4th quarter touchdowns for Arizona State swung the game in favour of the visitors after being behind up until just over the last minutes of the game. The Huskies started the game well, with two first quarter touchdowns and holding the Sun Devils to just 40 yards from their first 2 possessions. Running back Cameron Davis and quarterback Dylan Morris both ran for touchdowns on the ground. Then with 46 seconds left of the first half clock, Jayden Daniels found Curtis Hodges with a 18 yard passing TD. Washington managed to add a field goal on the last drive of the half.

Even in the 3rd quarter it looked as if the Huskies were in control. ASU Rachaad White ran in a 5 yard touchdown, which Washington replied back to a few drives later. After Arizona State should have had an interception on 3rd and 9, Huskies punter tried to run for it on 4th down but came up a yard short. The ball was handed over to the Sun Devils at the opposition 39 yard line. On the 3rd play quarterback Jayden Daniels had his pass intercepted by Alex Cook who took it back into Sun Devils territory. Kamari Pleasant scored on a 1 yard run to put the lead back to 10.

Daniels turns it on when needed

ASU replied with a 20 play drive capped off by Daniels running in for a 4 yard score. The drive took off 9:09 of the game clock. Washington needed to keep their offence on the field to stop the momentum shifting but a 3 and out resulted in a punt. The Sun Devils took advantage by going back down the field with ease, where Rachaad White grabbed his second TD. White was a constant terror to the Washington defence, rushing for 184 yards. Still the Huskies were only 4 points behind with ball in hand.

Just like most games this season, the ball was turned back over when quarterback Dylan Morris threw a bad pass on 4th and 1. The ball was picked off by linebacker Merlin Robertson who went 37 yards for the touchdown. Morris managed to get a late touchdown when he found Devin Culp but they failed on the two point conversion. Arizona State play Oregon State next, while Washington play their first game without sacked HC Jimmy Lake against Colorado.

PAC-12 Week 11 Review – Utah @ Arizona

Arizona pushed Utah all the way but fell just short, losing 38-29 at home. Utah took the lead on the first drive thanks to quarterback Cam Rising on an 11 yard run. The Wildcats buoyant from last weeks win, the first in 20 games answered back. QB Will Plummer has been more reliable since replacing the injured Gunner Cruz, took it 43 yards to the house on 4th and 5. Plummer not the most mobile off QBs darted out of the pocket to score. Plummer was helped by Utah rushing 6 and a injury to a DB, who probably would have stopped him if he didn’t collide with the Wildcats player.

On the next Arizona drive, Plummer used his arm to find Michael Wiley with a 6 yard touchdown pass. Utah levelled the game again when running back TJ Pledger ran in a 15 yard score. Pledger made it back to back 100 yard rushing games, going for 119 yards on 25 attempts. With 1:24 on the game clock in the 2nd quarter, Arizona kicker Lucas Havrisik made a 57 yard field goal to give the Wildcats the lead again. Utah still had time to get points on the board. It came from a catch by tight end Brant Kuithe, who already had a 29 yard reception earlier in the drive to get them inside the opposition 10 yard line.

Slow Third turns into a fast fourth

Both teams added field goals in the 3rd quarter. Then Cam Rising threw his second touchdown pass of the day, finding his other reliable tight end Dalton Kincaid on a 17 yard pass. Down by 11, Arizona showed the heart that HC Jedd Fisch has installed into this team. Another field goal, this time from Tyler Loop. It could have been more but they failed to convert being 1st and goal at the 6 yard line into a touchdown. They did force a 3 and out at the Utah 28 yard line, forcing a punt.

Arizona blocked the punt, which Rhedi Short picked up and walked it into the endzone. The two point conversion was stuffed but it still was a two point game with over 10 minutes left. Utah made sure they got out with a win by scoring a touchdown on the next drive. TJ Pledger capped a 15 play drive that took over 8 minutes of the clock. Utah stays top of the South with a tough game against Oregon next. Arizona showed character but came up short again this season. Arizona plays Washington State next.

PAC-12 Week 11 Review – Stanford @ Oregon State

Oregon State comfortably beat Stanford with a 35-14 victory. In a lacklustre first half it was the Oregon State defence that played good football. The Beavers limited the Stanford offence to just 70 offensive yards from5 possessions. The best a 43 yard drive that resulted in a 55 yard field goal effort from kicker Joshua Karty that was blocked. With Cardinal quarterback Tanner McKee out injured, the start was given to true freshman Ari Patu, the first true freshman to start for Stanford since 1988. It wont be a day he will remember well, as on the third drive he was picked off by Rejzohn Grant.

Oregon State did manage a touchdown in each quarter in the first half. On their opening drive Beavers QB Chance Nolan ran in for a 4 yard touchdown. Just before the half that man Jack Colletto, a linebacker by trade grabbed his 7th rushing touchdown of the season. The Beavers made it 21-0 on the first drive of the second half, when Nolan completed a 67 yard touchdown pass to Trevon Bradford. Noland had 257 passing yards and 2 touchdowns on the day.

Beavs control from start to finish

Stanford answered back with a touchdown throw from Patu. Finding tight end Benjamin Yurosek on a 8 yard throw. Mr reliable BJ Baylor made it a 21 score game again just before the 4th quarter. The running back went in on a 6 yard run to grab his 12th touchdown of the season. This was after quarterback Dylan Plautz came in for a series but was intercepted when inside the Beavers half. Stanford again coughed possession of the ball up again after the Oregon State touchdown. This time running back Austin Jones fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Keonte Schad at the Cardinal 34 yard line.

It didn’t take long for Nolan to grab his second touchdown through the air, finding Teagan Quitoriano. Running back Nathaniel Peat added a garbage time touchdown for Stanford with a nice 18 yard run. The loss for Stanford means it will be a losing season for the Cardinal, only the 2nd one in the 11 year span of HC David Shaw. They play California next. Oregon State have two difficult games, the first being Arizona State.

Playoff Strong – Washington State @ Oregon

Oregon keep proving the doubters wrong, this time beating Washington State 38-24. Oregon, who are still on for a playoff place, kept up their push against a stubborn Cougars side. The Ducks got off to a great start with 2 touchdowns in the 1st quarter. Both scores came courtesy of running back Travis Dye. He’s taken on the role as number 1 back, since CJ Verdell went down with a season ending injury earlier in the year. Dye has been excellent on the ground but has shown his capability out of the backfield. With the second TD coming off an 11 yard pass from quarterback Anthony Brown.

Washington State could have been ahead before Oregon had their first touchdown when QB Jayden de Laura fumbled the ball just before the Oregon goal-line, which was recovered by the Oregon defence. Before the second Ducks touchdown, de Laura was in the limelight again, throwing an interception to safety Verone McKinley III. A face mask penalty on the Cougars after the interception made the field position even more favourable for the Ducks. Washington State’s offence got going in the 2nd quarter with two touchdowns to tie the game up. Jayden de Laura made up for his earlier errors with first a 14 yard touchdown pass to De’Zhaun Stribling, then he manoeuvred his way in for a 1 yard rushing touchdown.

A game of two halves

The second half started and Oregon regained their composure. Receiving the kick off, cornerback Mykael Wright doubling up as a returner, ran the ball back from his own 1 yard line 56 yards to the Cougars 43 yard line. From there it took 5 plays, with Anthony Brown rushing in a 17 yard touchdown. The Ducks got inside the Cougars red zone on the next drive but had to settle for a field goal from kicker Camden Lews. QB Anthony Brown also had his ball security issues, fumbling the ball at the Washington State 1 yard line. It was recovered by Cougars player Jaylen Watson, who ran it back to the half-way line. The Cougars found themselves in the red zone this time but the Oregon defence stood firm to force a field goal.

Then Byron Cardwell ran in two touchdowns, first a 27 yard attempt then a 22 yard effort. The second touchdown took the game away from Washington State. It was also after de Laura threw his second interception of the day, this time to Bryan Addison, who returned it 23 yards to the Cougars 32 yard line. The QB did throw a late touchdown to Travell Harris but it was just made the score look a bit better on paper. Oregon have a tough one against Utah who sit in 1st place in the PAC-12 South. The Cougars play Arizona at home.

Written by Jordan Merritt Twitter: @Jordm87