First: #7 Stanford (4-0 / 2-0 PAC 12) rallied back to beat #19 Oregon (3-1 / 0-1 PAC 12) 38-31 in overtime last Saturday night, in what was arguably the best football game of the entire weekend. “The Cardinal demean Eugene” is what I’m calling it, but feel free to take your own liberties. Stanford junior quarterback K.J. Costello (19 for 26 passing / 327 yards / 3 TD’s / 95.5 QBR) was a difference maker in the 2nd half and overtime, and continues to play like a star in the making for The Card.
Second: Senior wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (4 receptions / 84 yards / 2 TD’s / 21.0 YPR) remained ‘red’ hot for the Cardinal, catching two more touchdowns against the Ducks. That gives him 7 in his first 4 games. I referenced his skill set a couple weeks back as being ‘Antonio Gates-like’, in both his ability to create space with his large frame, and his tremendous hands in tight spaces. Equally, both players have competitive basketball backgrounds, which translates well on the outside for receivers and tight ends “boxing out” DB’s for the ball.
Third: Even in the tough loss, I can confidently say that Oregon has again found the right leader for their program. I like the fire I see in first year head coach Mario Cristobal, and feel he will have a ‘Duck Dynasty’ of his own in the next few years.
Fourth: #10 Washington (3-1 / 2-0 PAC 12) held on at home to beat Arizona State (2-2 / 0-1 PAC-12) 27-20 this past weekend, putting the Dawgs back on the right path. Huskies senior QB Jake Browning (15 for 22 passing / 202 yards / 3 TD’s / 86.2 QBR) finally looked like the player he is supposed to be, after a rocky start to the season which tallied him an equal number of TD’s and interceptions (4) going in to this matchup.
Fifth: I could not write a PAC-12 football column this week without also mentioning Huskies senior All-Conference linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven, who I referred to in The Twelver’s Pre-Season Preview as a lead option for Ridley Scott’s eventual sequel to ‘Gladiator’. None of that was ever actually written, but it should have been. BBK had 20, yes 20 tackles vs. ASU, along with 2 forced fumbles, 2 QB hurries, 1 fumble recovered, and 1 pass defended. No other U Dub defender had more than 7 tackles. The kid is a stud. End of story.
Sixth: Though ASU savior Herm Edwards has now lost consecutive heartbreaking games, after starting 2-0, he is rebuilding the culture of ‘fun’ in the desert. After his squad gave #10 Washington all they could handle on the road in a hostile environment, with an effort level any coach would have been proud of, Edwards was still not having enough ‘fun’. “Losing is not a lot of fun. There’s a pit in your stomach when you lose a football game. It’s two in a row now so we have to figure out how to win another game, because this is not a lot of fun when you lose.” You said it Herm, I love fun.
Seventh: U$C (2-2 / 1-1 PAC 12) produced more drama this past Friday night, but fortunately for Trojan fans, it was the good kind this time. SC freshman D-lineman Jay Tufele (4 tackles / 1 blocked kick / 1 QBH), the pride and joy of Salt Lake City, blocked the Washington State (3-1 / 0-1 PAC 12) field goal that would have tied the game with only 1:41 remaining in the contest.
Eighth: The PAC-12 has a wealth of amazing linebackers this year, and USC senior Cameron Smith (16 tackles / 2 TFL / 1 QBH / 1 PD) is near the top of that list. As seems to hold true each week, his stat line validates that fact more than my words ever could. #FightOnSmitty
Ninth: The Trojan victory takes “Just” Clay Helton off the hot seat, for a New York second anyhow. I feel like I would think he is an amazing coach, if he were at Fresno State, but I see a program with the tradition of USC needing a football icon to lead it. He’s “Just” Clay, and he’s always going to be “Just” Clay.
Tenth: Those “Dam” Beavers (1-3 / 0-1 PAC 12) were at it again on Saturday, and this time it was Arizona (2-2 / 1-0 PAC 12) sophomore RB J.J. “Sweet Baby James” Taylor (27 carries / 284 yards / 2 TD’s / 10.5 YPC) that flooded the OSU D.
Eleventh: UCLA (0-3/ 0-0 PAC 12) head coach Chip Kelly has a mediocre squad, an NFL hangover, and drunk football dad’s Tweeting him on the reg at Happy Hour. Some guys just have all the fun. #BabyBlueChipBruins
Twelfth: This past weekend I watched the #7 Stanford v. #20 Oregon game with a twelver of ‘Baja Perrier’, A.K.A. Pacifico. For the unofficial record, there may have been a celebratory Don Julio shot or two mixed in there at the end. Or, possibly even three. Needless to say, it was perfection. The way I see it, the three best PAC-12 games to be tipping adult beverages for this weekend are #7 Stanford (4-0) at #8 Notre Dame (4-0), #20 BYU (3-1) at #11 Washington(3-1), and #19 Oregon (3-1) at #24 California (3-0). However they play out, please feel free to drop a line here on your favorite cocktails, beers, or wine for game days. Cheers y’all.
Comments
The Cardinal demean Eugene -- brilliant!
I know you took some cr*p for "Roll Red!" but the new one is awesome.
I enjoy this series. Thanks for the hard work.
By g8tgod on 09.26.18 8:32am
Thank you kindly god, and ya', some Stanford fans are extremely particular about phrasing.
As I have said before, ‘Roll Red’ is simply my own take on "Go Stanford", though I still use all of the traditional forms as well. In any case, this should be an amazing game in South Bend, and I will be hoping that the character and composure of this Stanford team remains the difference. Thanks again for the support. Cheers, and Go Card.
By Max McArthur on 09.27.18 12:30pm
UW Husky Fan
GREAT win over the Yucks. EPIC comeback!!!
Now go beat the Domers and make the Pac12 proud!!!
We’ll try to do the same to BYU who somehow beat Wisconsin on their own field.
By OldDawg72 on 09.26.18 11:49am
Both Stanford and U Dub seem to have insane schedules this year, but I imagine that is just life in the PAC-12. It will be wild.
My aunt and cousin and both live and breathe Husky football, so I wish you the best OldDawg. As far as ‘The Twelver’ goes, I hope you are knocking down some cold Elysian crafted beers on game days. They make a couple of my favorites, in the Dayglow IPA and the Space Dust IPA. Cheers sir.
By Max McArthur on 09.27.18 12:36pm
And, sorry for that unnecessary 'and'.
By Max McArthur on 09.27.18 1:04pm
Just saying – Cameron Smith has committed targeting a number of times without being called out.
Just saying – Herb kept saying how Oregon was physically out playing the Card – yet when it came to crunch time, nobody got a finger on Costello.
Break out the well-aged Burgundy for our upcoming victory over the Golden Domers for this will be one for the ages – Stanford football is an intellectual pleasure.
By farmboy2 on 09.26.18 5:43pm
With all due respect, I played competitive football my entire youth, and I never heard the word targeting until a few years ago.
Though the powers that be are trying to make an unsafe sport (football) safe, that does nothing to change the way I have always known and seen the game. In my personal opinion, Cameron Smith is one of the best linebackers in the conference, if not the country.
However, it is a huge game on the road that matters most this week. Beat those Irish. Go Stanford.
By Max McArthur on 09.27.18 12:44pm
Can someone explain something to me?
I see that most "expert" analysts are picking ND to win this game. Why is it that often theses experts pick the lower ranked team to win these games? I noticed this phenomenon last week when we played Oregon, and i am seeing it again this week. The ESPN guys…. and lots of other "experts" kept predicting that Oregon was going to win.
If these "experts" think the underdog will win, then why isn’t the underdog ranked higher?
My 12 y.o. daughter (who is also a huge Stanford fan) asked me this question recently, and i didn’t have an answer for her.
By StanfordAA99 on 09.28.18 12:18pm
That answer is not straightforward
1. This is not going to be true statistically. On average, higher ranked teams are picked to win their games over lower ranked or unranked teams. But why do worse ranked teams sometimes get picked to win?
2. Rankings are not robust assessments of who is better. The rankings are an imperfect process which starts out with pre-season rankings based purely on speculation given existing factors. Alabama is ranked #1 because they were #1 at the end of last year, return many players and coaches, and have had a recent history of finishing the season as a top 5 program.
3. As a general rule, you only drop in rankings if you lose. So if a team is ranked 10, and they do not lose, they will usually stay at that level or move up as teams with better rankings, lose.
If you put #2 & #3 together, you get a situation where a team was ranked inappropriately, but has not lost to inferior competition and better ranked teams have lost, thus moving the incorrectly ranked team higher in the rankings.
4. Experts often (but not always) attempt to analyze the actual quality/state of the teams and they include where the game is played as a major factor in the score. Consider that there may not be much actual difference between two teams close in the rankings. So injuries or homefield advantage may be enough to tip the probability in the worse ranked team.
5. "Experts" are usually not true experts, but people who are paid to give their opinion. Many of these people subscribe to biases, preconceived notions, or political agendas about various programs/coaches and use that as a basis for making their picks. Lou Holtz was/is a notorious shill for Notre Dame. He’d predict ND winning, regardless.
By Blackjoy on 09.28.18 12:45pm
Yes
And in this particular case (as was also the case last week), the home team simply has an advantage. It is easier for ND to beat Stanford in South Bend than in Palo Alto. Likewise, playing Oregon in Autzen stadium is a rough proposition, regardless of your ranking. If Stanford were playing ND at home, we would probably see a -1.0 Stanford line. For whatever reason, we are tough to beat at home (and it cannot be the fan noise).
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.28.18 12:51pm
Thanks!
Now i have to distill that down so she won’t regret asking when i try to respond to her!
and yep – fan noise never an issue on the Farm. I was once shocked when I was at a home game there (forget which game it was), and we were on defense in a critical 3rd down situation where we had to make the stop. Many of the home fans in my section (including me) were standing on our feet and cheering like crazy…. Then i start hearing people behind us (also Stanford fans), yelling at us to "sit down and shut up!". huh???
By StanfordAA99 on 09.28.18 1:20pm
My last live Stanford game was as a student
so I have no recent experience to share. But, yes, I have heard similar stories. I also read an article written by a Bear fan who witnessed our destruction (35-22) of his team in 2015 at Stanford stadium. He ventured to Palo Alto expecting a bitter confrontation with rabid fans all committed to the Stanford domination of this series, only to find some relaxed spectators all ho-hum about the result and leaving at critical junctures of the game to buy refreshments and use the toilets. His existential question: "Why is this so important to me and so unimportant to them?" Indeed, Stanford fans have always been an enigma.
By Jeff Tarnungus on 09.28.18 1:46pm
The simple answer? One team is overrated.
Or, the other team is underrated.
By Blackjoy on 09.28.18 3:28pm
omg
stanford fans are freaking BRUTAL. i went to the game at home against washington last year. flew all the way out for it. i’m a loud, loud fan. and ppl were moving away from me!!! if you want it to be quiet, go to a yoga class. jesus fucking christ! and this was in the student section too!
By hutre67 on 09.28.18 7:32pm