Week # 5 Results

Week #5 is in the books and the results are in. We went 2-1 and now have a record of 6-6-0. Back to where we started! We now hope to move into positive territory with some picks next week.

To recap: USC trampled over Cal, winning 30-3. As expected, their offense put up good but not great numbers. Also, their defense did a number on Cal, holding them to a below-average 3 points. Results was a good win for USC and a win for us.

Stanford played well against UCLA. We didn't think UCLA was as tough or good as their record indicated. We also felt Stanford's size, running game, playing at home for the third week in a row, and five game losing streak to UCLA were all in Stanford's favor. Stanford led 24-6 going into the fourth and final score was 24-16. A win for us as well.

Oregon played Washington State and really put the hammer down. Final score of 52-6. We though Washington would score anywhere from 1-3 touchdowns, and Oregon would score in the low forties. Turns out, Oregon had forty before halftime and Washington scored one touchdown but couldn't even make the PAT. Also, the Oregon 2nd and 3rd stringers still held Washington to just a touchdown. Loss for us.

Record: 6-6-0

Week #2 Recap

Week 2 went swimmingly. USC failed to cover the spread, as well as Stanford. Great.

Record: 2-4-0

Format: W-L-T

I've decided to remove the Pass number because it is clear to me that I will do a lot more "passing" than making decisions. Also, my teammate and comrade W. has currently abandoned me. I'll be doing work to get him back on the team.

Ok so what happened? USC started a true freshman on the road at night against a top ten team with a legacy of strong defensive play. Result: Two touchdowns, one set up from a INT return to the five yard line.

Their defense held Ohio State to one touchdown and two fieldgoals Very close game, very good game, USC barely won. USC failed to cover the 8 point spread.

Stanford had a 17-3 halftime lead but let it slip away and lost 24-17. Not sure what happened there, as I didn't watch the game.

Pac-10 Recap #1

Game 1 is done. USC at San Jose. USC prevailed 56-3. Jenga mentioned that the only hiccup would be if their true freshman QB played like a true freshman QB. That was definitely a concern. However, Pete Carroll is a pretty laid back guy and he wouldn't pick a freshman QB who was at all nervous. Barklay reported being a little nervous but said he was generally calm and the game was slow.

Notable stats are USC allowing 0.3 yards per rush and earning themselves 7.6 yards per rush. Their offensive line earned good reviews as well. USC also gave up 3.7 yards per completion. Stout, stout defense. The only points came off a terrible punt.

My thoughts were that the new QB wouldn't score many points. He didn't, making only one TD. However, the RBs ran wild, making it look like a scrimmage.

Record: 1-1-0-0 50%

Format: W-L-T-P

Game 2 was Maryland at Cal. Score was Cal 52- Maryland 13. Cal was a 21 point favorite. They won the game easily and were never threatened. Javon Best had a great game running the ball and the QB scored through the air easily. Maryland's rushing D gave up 6.6 yards per rush, earning only 3.2 yards per rush. However, the Maryland team was inexperienced and away from home so those factors compounded. Also playing on the West Coast. Lastly, Maryland upset Cal. In many ways, a perfect storm of factors contributed to Cal's jumping on Maryland.

Record: 2-1-0-0 66%

Format: W-L-T-P

Game 3: LSU at Washington. LSU won 31-23 but failed to cover the spread. They also badly failed in many areas and really should be considered lucky to beat a team that was winless last year. That speaks poorly for LSU which is ranked 11th in the country. It also speaks well for Washington. Important factors were a new coach (added energy), I think lots of returning players from last year's massacre (biggest leap is from year 1 to year 2), and a home game (extra energy, normal focus).

Important stats were Washington's 25 1st downs to LSU's 17, Washington's 478 yards of offense to LSU's 321, Washington's 11 penalties (83 yards) versus LSU's 3 (35 yards). Washingon would have won but frequently settled for field goals in the redzone.

Washington definitely is looking stronger than last year.

Record: 2-2-0-0

Format: W-L-T-P

Other games were passes including