California at Arizona State
12:30 p.m. Saturday, ABC
California is coming off its second-straight blowout win, this time over a hapless Washington State team. The Golden Bears scored 28 points in the first quarter behind three Kevin Riley touchdown passes and a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown by junior wide receiver Jeremy Ross. Junior running back Jahvid Best turned in yet another electric performance, finishing with 159 yards rushing and three total touchdowns. California racked up an astonishing 559 total yards on offense, including 309 on the ground.
Arizona State, on the other hand, saw its winning streak end at two last week as Stanford defeated them handily 33-14. The Sun Devils failed to score in the first half, while the Cardinal erupted for 24 early points. Arizona State finally got on the board in the third quarter when senior quarterback Danny Sullivan hit senior wide receiver Chris
McGaha for an 18-yard touchdown. There would be no miracle comeback, however, as the Sun Devils scored only once more in the fourth quarter. Sullivan finished with 143 yards and two touchdowns, and senior running back Dimitri Nance was held to only 35 yards on the ground.
Key stat: California’s offense is scoring 35.1 points per game this season, tied for 10th in the nation.
UCLA at Oregon State
1 p.m. Saturday
After falling 27-13 to then-No. 22 Arizona, UCLA remains winless in the Pacific-10 conference (0-4). The Bruins were held to just 211 total yards of offense against the Wildcats, and their only touchdown of the day came on a 28-yard fumble return by safety Tony Dye. UCLA quarterbacks Kevin Craft, Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut all saw playing time, but none proved to be effective against Arizona’s defense. The running game was no better, as the Bruins totaled only 65 rushing yards.
Oregon State is fresh off yet another nail-biter against USC. This time, the Trojans prevailed 42-36, but the result was surprising given that the game took place in Los Angeles. USC jumped out to a 21-9 lead in the first half and seemed to have the game well in hand after running back Allen Bradford scored to put them up 28-16 in the third quarter. Yet, the Beavers refused to give in and cut the lead to five after quarterback Sean Canfield found wide receiver Damola Adeniji for a 15-yard touchdown. USC bounced right back, scoring twice in less than two minutes and taking a 42-23 lead. The Beavers kept pushing and scored two more touchdowns before finally running out of time in the fourth quarter. Canfield finished with 329 yards and three touchdowns, while running back Jacquizz Rodgers gathered 113 yards on the ground and two total touchdowns. Tight end Joe Halahuni also had the best game of his career, catching nine passes for 127 yards.
Key stat: The last time Oregon State defeated UCLA in Corvallis was Oct. 23, 1999.
Washington State at No. 25 Notre Dame
4:30 p.m. Saturday, NBC
A 49-17 loss to California extended Washington State’s losing streak to a disheartening four games. The loss to the Golden Bears was certainly not due to lack of offense, as quarterback Jeff Tuel had the best game of his young career. The true freshman threw for 354 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions, but it was not nearly enough to offset another explosive day for California’s offense. The Cougars defense gave up 49 points, the second most they have given up all year.
Though Notre Dame is technically the home team in this matchup, the game will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The Fighting Irish managed to squeak out another close victory last week, this time over Boston College by a score of 20-16. Turnovers proved to be a key difference-maker, as the Eagles coughed the ball up five times while Notre Dame finished its second straight game without a turnover. Still, Boston College held the Fighting Irish to only 13 points through three quarters, and took a 16-13 heading into the fourth. Notre Dame finally seized control with a 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Clausen to wide receiver Golden Tate. From there the defense took over, intercepting Eagles quarterback Dave Shinskie twice to seal the game. Clausen finished with 246 yards and two touchdowns, while Tate caught 11 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Fighting Irish running back Armando Allen also ran for 98 yards.
Key stat: This is only the second time these two teams have met, the first matchup taking place in 2003. The Fighting Irish narrowly edged the Cougars 29-26.
[email protected]
Cal travels to desert to face Sun Devils
Daily Emerald
October 28, 2009
More to Discover