EARLY RECAP OF PAC-12 GAMES + WHAT WAS NORTH CAROLINA STATE THINKING?
Texas State comes to play as they hang on to beat North Texas.
The Bobcats were probably wondering if things were going their way after losing to UTSA last week. All doubts were removed as the Bobcats ran over North Texas 49-35 for their first win of the season. Running back Davian Jackson scored four touchdowns including a 57-yarder late in the fourth quarter to seal the win. His last run proved the game winner as he raced around
the right side and sprinted down the sideline for a score with 3:07 remaining. Quarterback Brad Jackson threw four touchdown passes, including a 13-yarder to Jackson halfway through the fourth quarter to stretch their lead to 42-28. Both teams combined for 1,181 yards with the Bobcats rushing for 337 yards with Torrance Burgess Jr. carrying 25 times for 214 yards. Jackson added 77 yards on his 10 carries. Jackson was an efficient 16 -22 passing for 268 yards. The Bobcats started fast, coming out with a 21-7 lead after one quarter, but the Eagles were on fire in the second and tied the game for a 28 all halftime time, North Texas was led by quarterback Tayven Jackson was 43 of 57 passing for a career-high483 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Receiver Justin Stevenson had 122 yards receiving on 10 catches. Texas State hosts Incarnate Word next Saturday.
Washington State took care of business against Duquesne winning convincingly 48-7. The Cougars scored first and the Dukes countered with a game tying score at 7 apiece. It was all Washington State the rest of the way. Quarterback Cadebn Pinnick threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as the Cougars got into the win column. They put up 21 points in the third quarter bo break the game open. Jack Pederson and Braden Ganashamoorthy both scored on receptions, while Kirby Vorhees added a 58 yard score. Tank Hawkins and Maxwell Woods added punt return TD’s in the fourth quarter to break the Duke’s backs. Washington State is home next Saturday against the Arizona Wildcats out of the Big 12 Conference.
Utah State travelled to Utah in the “Battle of the Brothers”, but it was more like the beatdown of the little kids as the #17 ranked Utes dominated in all areas winning 33-0. Utes Quarterback Devon Dampier threw for 253 yards and two scores leading the Utes to victory. Utah held the Aggies to 188 total yards, including only 58 on the ground. Receiver Braden Pegan accounted for 122 yards through the air and two scores as the Utes showed their depth against the hapless Aggies. The Utah defense accounted for four sacks and allowed just one rushing first down. They are averaging 2.3 yards per carry over their last two games. The Utes took a 26-0 halftime lead while building up 16 first owns in the first half. The Aggies continue with non-league play as they host Troy next week.
In a highly anticipated game, Colorado State hosted #11 ranked BYU at Anthem Stadium. Colorado State came into the game 2-0 and having a slight lead in Pac-12 standings. However, the Cougars and their offense was too much for the Rams, defeating the hometown team 41-23. Running back LJ Martin rushed for a game high 176 yards and three touchdowns, including a back breaking 56 yarder on the games second play. The reigning Big-12 Player of the Year showed his dominance, as he sat out most of the second half. QuarterbackBear Bachmeier had 227 yards through the air, while Freshman receiver Legend Glaser caught five balls for 131 with a score on the ground. Ram Quarterback Hauss Hejny threw for 80 yards but went out with an injury and was replaced by backup K’saan Farrar. He threw for 70 yards before being injured himself. 3rd string quarterback Darius Curry took over and threw a late score. Colorado State is back in action next week in a non-conference game at UT San Antonio,
Over in Boise, the Broncos took on FCS power South Dakota. The Coyotes came into the game with a 3-0 record and a fear no attitude of playing against FBS schools. Nearly 35,000 fans saw a tight game that was pretty evenly matched. The Coyotes jumped off to the first score on a 16 yard pass from quarterback Austyn Modrzewski to Bryce Cohoon. The Broncos countered on a 9 yard reception by Rasean Jones from Maddux Madsen. The Coyotes jumped back in front on another short pass. Boise responded with a short run by Sire Gaines and a 4 yard pass from Madsen to Cam Bates. They would take a 21-14 lead into halftime. Following a 38 yard Bronco field goal, the Coyotes scored on a 59 yard scoring strike to Tysen Boze and a 43 yard field goal to tie the game at 24. Dylan Riley would close any ideas of an upset, scoring twice on a 2 yard run and a game ending 83 yard run to make the final 38-24. Boise State outgained South Dakota by a 533-279 margin and held the Coyotes to a mere 36 yards on the ground. BThe Broncos appear to be the favorite in the Pac-12 and will travel to Western Michigan for one more non-conference game. It will be a battle of the Broncos.
In a final in San Diego, the James Madison Dukes travelled across country to take on the Aztecs and they walked away with a convincing win 26-13. The Dukes controlled the pace and tempo throughout as the Aztecs struggled to get much offense generated. This has been an ongoing challenge for the Aztecs as they were held scoreless in the first half in back to back weeks. The Dukes had a 19-0 lead at halftime. The game was statistically even, despite Aztec running bac, Javion Kinnard taking over for Lucky Sutton and accumulting 181 yards on 33 carries. He accounted for nearly all the yards on the ground and added 70 more through the air. Aztec Quarterback Jayden Denegal found himself pressured all day. He finished with a respectable 18/33 passing, but had two ill-timed interceptions. The Aztecs are back in action next Saturday when they take on Toledo out of the MAC.
The last two games were late and finished after the writing deadline. Fresno State was leading San Jose State 16-10 with 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Both teams used strong defenses in this close rivalry. The other game, still in the third quarter, was Oregon State taking it to the Montana Grizzlies 52-17. The Beavers had over 500 yards of offense with a fairly complete performance.
North Carolina State should fire their coach
Leading 31-28 and merely needing to take a knee, Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailay scrambled in the endzone and fumbled and recovered by Vanderbilt for a touchdown and a game winning score, winning in amazing fashion 35-31. The play was a simple kneel down, even take the ball out of the endzone. The player, either unaware of or wanting to extend the play, allowed himself to lose the ball and turn into a miraculous win for Vanderbuilt. N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said, “the plan was to take a safety; we’re trying to run out the clock if we can, but you know, there was no intent to run the football and get hit on the play.” Needless to say, the worst possible scenario happened. There may be a call for consequences.
Pac-12 Standings
Early prediction had the Conference winning three games, but it looks like they will go 5-3.
Pac-12 Rankings are as follows after week 3. We have some more data points and it takes into account records and some gut feelings. The weather on the Southern California Coast has cooled a bit as we wrap up our family vacation and my daughters wedding. It will be good to see some conferences games take place.
- Boise State
- Fresno State
- Oregon State
- Washington State
- Colorado State
- San Diego State
- Texas State
- Utah State
