PAC-12 LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARDS! Texas State, Oregon State and San Diego State all pull out victories.

TEXAS STATE THE LATEST TEAM TO DROP 66 POINTS ON A CONFERENCE FOE

Bobcats completely throttle Rams 66-27

Oregon State tops Washington State 48-30

San Diego State surprises Fresno State 26-23

It looks like a three team race now with Texas State loudly screaming look at us!

Texas State (3-3, 1-1 Pac-12 Conference) screamed loudly, we are here and we mean business! The Bobcats showed up in a big way, completely dominating Colorado State (2-4, 0-2 Pac-12 Conference) on Thursday night 66-27. The Rams had literally no answer to the Texas State offense as they set school records in rushing yards and total yards. The Bobcats rushed 55 times for 503 yards, eight touchdowns on the ground and accounted for 716 yards of total offense. Bobcat Running Back Torrance Burgess Jr. rushed for a career high of 224 yards and four touchdowns. He accomplished this on 24 carries, an amazing 9.3 yard average per carry, Complimenting Burgess was quarterback Brad Jackson who was 14/19 passing for 213 yards and a score. He also rushed for 181 yards on 13 carries and three scores. Jackson is looking to be one of the top two or three signal callers in the new Pac-12. The game was such a mismatch that the Bobcats only scored in three quarters in rolling up their 66 points. Colorado State managed 437 total yards with 289 of those yards through the air. Time of possession and total plays was about the same but the average yards per play was significantly in favor of the Bobcats who averaged 9.6 yards per play while Colorado State was 6 yards per play. The Bobcats also had long, sustained drives on the night, hitting for quick strikes. The scoring drives were on drives of 69, 60, 82, 44, 75, 79, 60, 75, 57 and 44. The Bobcats jumped out early on a Burgess 2 yd. Run. Two minutes later he was back in the endzone on a 51 yard run. Later in the first, Brad Jackson added a four yard run and would match that in the second quarter. Colorado State would finally get on the board with a Durell Robinson 15 yard run, The Bobcats would answer with a 22 yard pass from Jackson to Ty Starney. The Bobcats led 35-7 at this point and all that was in doubt was how many points Texas State would score. The Bobcats continued the onslaught with Burgess and a six yard run, followed by a Rams one yard run by Robinson. The Rams left too much time on the clock and the Bobcats were able to convert on a field goal for a 45-21 lead at halftime.

The Rams struck first in the third on a 37 yard pass from K’saan Farrar to Terrence Smith Jr. Less than a minute later, the Bobcats scored on a Jackson three yard run. Running Back Jaylen Jenkins got into the fun with a one yard score and Burgess closed out the scoring with a 19 yard run to close out the third quarter and the final 66-27 score.

Rams Quarterback K’saan Farrar was 26-41 passing for 289 yards and two scores. He also added 26 yards on the ground. The Rams really struggled with a ground game as the Bobcats were aggressive on defense. The Rams struggled with tackling as many Bobcats broke numerous tackles for yards after contact≥

Oregon State holds on to defeat Washington State 48-30

The Beavers (2-2, 3-0 Pac-12) took on longtime conference rival Washington State (1-6, 0-3 Pac-12) and were locked in a tight battle for most of the game. Despite an early lead, the Cougars were picking at the Beavers most of the afternoon. Oregon State struck quickly with another long touchdown pass from quarterback Braden Atkinson to receiver Jesse Legree. This one went for 90 yards. Legree could be the breakout freshman of the year as he added another eight receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns moving his total yards close to 1,000 for the season. Atkinson, meanwhile, threw for 347 yards and three scores on the day. On the ground the Beavers were led by AJ Newberry who ran for 105 yards on 11 carries to go with his 120 yards receiving on five catches and a touchdown. This triumvirate of skill players are pacing the Beavers as they are one of the exciting teams in the conference. Adding to the scoring was Jake Reichle for the Beavers with two more scores on the ground.

For the Cougars, redshirt freshman Owen Eshelman, making his first collegiate start, threw for 289 yards and two scores as well as rushing for 136 yards on 15 carries and a score. He connected with Branden Granashamoorthy for 147 yards on eleven catches and a score. Eshelman helped lead the Cougars on three second half scoring drives, but could only get to 41-30 before the Beavers put the game away with a Cornell Hatcher Jr. 16 yard scoring run for the final tally of the day. Oregon State outgained Washington State 555 to 459 yards. Both teams were a perfect 5/5 on 4th down conversions. As most other statistics were fairly even. Next week Oregon State will have a bye before they return to play to face Fresno State on October 31. That game looks to be a real conference buster as the loser might be eliminated from the conference title. Washington State returns home to host #23 ranked Boise State. Expect the Broncos to await the winner of the Beavers and Bulldogs for the leap to the top of the PAC-12 Conference.

San Diego State beats Fresno State 26-23 in what some are calling “the Miracle on the Mesa”

San Diego State beat Fresno State in dramatic fashion Saturday night on a 53-yard field goal by Cooper diLeva with just 57 seconds remaining. The Aztecs (3-4, 2-1 Pac-12) overcame injuries, sickness, extreme criticism as well as a furious Fresno State (4-3, 1-2 Pac-12) comeback to secure the victory for Coach Sean Lewis and the Old Oil Can rivalry trophy. The Aztecs saw starting quarterback Jayden Dengal go out with injury, the emergence of Bert Emanuel Jr. and Haylon Hawkins and the return of Lucky Sutton. Snapdragon and 21,847 fans witnessed an Aztecs resilient never say never attitude as they jumped out early to a 13 – 0 lead over the Bulldogs, who were coming off of a loss to Boise State last weekend. DiLeva would convert on the first of his four field goals with a 32 yarder to start the scoring. Next up was Jaylon Hawkins who took a Denegal pass and raced 52 yards down the sideline for a 10-0 Aztec lead near the end of the first quarter. DiLeva would add another field goal in the second for the 13-0 lead. The Bulldogs would convert on a Manaki Watanabe 51 yard field goal, cutting the lead to 13-3. The Dogs would answer next on a Bryon Donelson four yard run cutting the lead to 13-10. The Aztecs would add yet another field goal, this one from 40 yards out as the first half expired with a 16-10 Aztec lead. San Diego State found they could move the ball, but struggled to get the ball in the endzone.

In the second half, the Bulldogs would manage the only score as they took a lead on a 7 yard run by Julius Gillick. With the extra point, they had their first lead of the night at 17-16. The fourth quarter would provide all the drama and key plays. The Aztecs would reclaim the lead on a Jordan Napier seven yard pass from Bert Emanuel Jr. Fresno State would respond in kind on another score by Gillick, this one from two yards out. The extra point was missed resulting in a 23-23 tie and set the drama for DiLeva’s field goal at the end.

Fresno State quarterback Jayden Mandal was 13-25 passing for 141 yards. Julius Gillick scored twice to pace the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs managed only 135 yards on the ground as the Aztecs held them in check most of the game. Jayden Denegal was 7-10 passing for 112 yards and a score. In the battle of the Jayden’s it was close to a draw. Stone Saunders came on to relieve Denegal and went 6-11 for 61 yards. Lucky Sutton returned from an ankle injury and provided the ground game the Aztecs needed. He ripped off a 67 yard run that helped set up an Aztecs touchdown. Jaylon Hawkins got into the groove with 6 receptions for 84 yards and a score, including his 52 yard catch. The player of the game by far was kicker Cooper diLeva with his four field goals.

Fresno State coach Matt Entz had the following to say about the Bulldogs and their start, “I’m at a loss for words why it takes us till the second quarter to get going. We have to come up with a way that we can start faster.” Truer words have never been said. While the Bulldogs demonstrated resilience from coming back from their 13-point deficit, they let the Aztecs back in the game with the missed extra point.

San Diego State managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat with this miracle win considering all the obstacles and injuries and outside pressure they overcame since their devastating loss to Oregon State last week. The Bulldogs will use a much needed bye week to assess and recover. They return to action on Saturday October 1 as they host the red hot Oregon State Beavers and a USA Network broadcast. The Aztecs, meanwhile, return to play as they travel to Colorado State for a game on Saturday the 24th with broadcast time 3:30 Pacific on the CW.

A quick peek at the other guys

A fast look at the Mountain West action from Saturday. Wyoming beat Northern Illinois 41-23. The Pokes are showing some consistency. Air Force topped UNLV 41-31 showing they are for real with a 5-1 record. North Dakota State held on against Nevada 31-17. San Jose State used a smothering defense to top UTEP 24-11 and New Mexico beat Hawaii in the Islands 21-10.

Next week’s big game is NDSU at New Mexico.

Pac-12 Standings

Most teams have played seven games. The conference standings continue to shuffle, but odds are on Boise State and Oregon State down to the wire.

1. Oregon State (5-2, 3-0)
2. Boise State (5-1, 2-0)
3. San Diego State (4-3, 2-1)
4. Texas State (4-3, 2-1)
5. Utah State (2-4, 1-1)
6. Fresno State (4-2, 1-2)
7. Colorado State (2-4, 0-2)
8. Washington State (1-6, 0-3)

Just for fun Premiere League Promotion

I wanted to see if the two conferences had a “Premier League Promotional Standings” and what that might look like. We would create two conference standings with a higher and a lower status. The teams with the best records utilizing overall records are in the higher league and the other teams would be relegated to a lower league. Of course, this is just for fun. We would split into 9 teams with a tie given a promotion. Here’s what we’ve got so far::

Upper League

1. North Dakota State
2. Boise State
3. New Mexico
4. Air Force
5. Oregon State
6. Wyoming
7. UNLV
8. Texas State
9. San Jose State
10. San Diego State

(Note: numbers 6-10 all have a 4-3 record on the season)

Lower League

1. Fresno State
2. Utah State
3. Nevada
4. Colorado State
5. Washington State
6. UTEP
7. Northern Illinois
8. Hawaii