Tag: Pac-12

Bye week aids Stanford’s recovery after rough loss to Utah

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Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By: Ana Kieu

The Stanford Cardinal suffered a rough 40-21 loss to the Utah Utes at Stanford Stadium last Saturday night. Obviously, the Cardinal was shook up following the home loss to Utah, who got an early lead and never looked back, despite the fact Stanford showed an ample amount of life in the third quarter.

The Cardinal will travel to Sun Devil Stadium to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils next Thursday at 6:00 pm PT on ESPN. As you can see, this will be a nationally televised game, so there’s a chance Stanford will unleash their anger on ASU, but then again it’s college football and we’ll never know what’s going to happen. All I can reassure you about is the fact that this likely will be a better game than the San Jose State Spartans facing a conference or non-conference team.

Anyhow, Stanford’s focused on their upcoming game. But, in the meantime, Stanford has been checking out their former standouts who currently play in the NFL.

Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz continued his historic pace by having a day in the Eagles’ 23-21 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Ertz caught his first touchdown of the season and led the Eagles in targets (11), receptions (10) and receiving yards (110) on 97% of offensive snaps with Carson Wentz targeting him on 35% of pass attempts. Since 2001, there have been three instances where a tight end has caught 10 or more passes three times in a game during a full season–Ertz has accomplished the feat in the last four weeks. Ertz, who’s on pace for 131 catches and nearly 1,400 yards, is one of four players in the league with at least 10 targets in every game so far. Ertz has joined the likes of Adam Thielen, Odell Beckham Jr. and DeAndre Hopkins.

Atlanta Falcons tight end Austin Hooper had a career-high nine receptions in the Falcons’ 41-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Hooper also led the Falcons in targets (12) and receiving yards (77) on 76% of offensive snaps. Hooper’s 21 receptions rank second on the Falcons and ninth in the NFL among tight ends.

Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Blake Martinez finished with a career-high two sacks in the Packers’ 31-23 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Martinez finished with four solo tackles, four run stops and a 78.8 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus. According to PFF, Martinez ranks third in total defensive rating (86.8) and fifth in run stops (18) among qualified linebackers.

Houston Texans safety Justin Reid made his first career interception in the Texans’ 19-16 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. Reid finished with two quarterback hurries and six tackles on 90% of defensive snaps, helping limit the Cowboys to 292 total yards in the overtime win. Reid has been one of the top rookie defensive backs in the NFL after five weeks.

Falcons safety Jordan Richards tied a career high with a team-high seven tackles on 77% of defensive snaps in Atlanta’s 41-17 loss at Pittsburgh. According to Pro Football Focus, Richards finished with three run stops while allowing two catches for 19 yards on four targets.

San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman continued his stellar season with another shutout performance in San Francisco’s 28-18 loss to Arizona. Sherman didn’t allow a catch on two targets while appearing on every defensive snap. Sherman missed Week 4 with a calf injury sustained in Week 3. On 146 coverage snaps in 2018, Sherman leads qualifying cornerbacks in fewest catches allowed (1) and passer rating allowed (39.6).

And, of course, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is currently leading the NFL in average yards from scrimmage/game, just a sliver ahead of Alvin Kamara and Todd Gurley.

NCAAFB podcast with Michelle Richardson: TSU’s Christian Abercrombie in critical condition following head injury; Ohio State scores 2 TDs for late win; Cardinal get beat on home turf 38-17

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Photo credit: @TreyShirley831

On the NCAAFB podcast with Michelle:

#1 Tennessee State linebacker Christian Abercrombie suffered a head injury against Vanderbilt is in the hospital in critical condition

#2 The Ohio State Buckeyes got two touchdowns late in the game against Penn State for a 27-26 win.

#3 No. 8 Notre Dame got a 38-17 win over No.7 Stanford Cardinal. Cardinal running back Bryce Love injured his ankle. The ankle gave Love the same problem in the 2017 season.

Michelle does the NCAAFB podcast each Sunday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

No. 8 Irish knock off No. 7 Cardinal 38-17

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Photo credit: @CBSSportsCFB

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, September 29, 2018

Ian Book, in his second game as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback, engineered the No. 8-ranked Fighting Irish to their fifth win of the season without a loss Saturday. No. 7 Stanford was the victim in Notre Dame’s 38-17 win at South Bend, Ind.

The Irish held Stanford to 229 yards of total offense, doing the job defensively with five sacks of Stanford quarterback K.J. Costello, nine tackles for loss, an interception and breaking up eight Cardinal passes.

Notre Dame also held the Cardinal (4-1 overall, 2-0 Pac-12) to a second-half 46-yard field goal by Jet Toner and no points in the fourth quarter.

Not helping the Cardinal was losing the services of Bryce Love in the fourth quarter due to an ankle injury. Love, who finished with 73 rushing yards on 17 carries, spent most of last season dealing with a chronic ankle sprain.

Book, meanwhile, completed 24 of 33 passes for 278 yards and four touchdowns. Dexter Williams paced the Irish running attack with 161 yards and one touchdown, and Miles Boykin caught 11 passes for 144 yards and a touchdown.

Love scored on a 39-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, which tied the game at 7-7. Stanford tied the game again in the second quarter at 14-14 when Costello tossed a 4-yard TD pass to JJ Arcega-Whiteside.

After that, it was all Notre Dame. The Irish went ahead to stay on a Book TD pass of 10 yards to Chase Claypool with :39 remaining in the first half.

Notre Dame made it a two-possession game when Book found Boykin for an 8-yard touchdown.

Costello completed 15 of 27 passes for 174 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Arcega-Whiteside and Trenton Irwin each caught five passes for the Cardinal.

Alijah Holder led a busy Cardinal defense with eight tackles and two assists, with Paulson Adebo finishing with seven tackles and one assist. Sean Barton, Malik Antoine and Joey Alfieri each had six tackles.

The Cardinal return home next Saturday to host the Utah Utes. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Cardinal pull off come-from-behind win 38-31 to knock off Oregon

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Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Saturday, September 22, 2018

The No. 7 Stanford Cardinal used a dramatic, late comeback Saturday to upend the No. 20 Oregon Ducks 38-31 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore. The Cardinal overcame a 17-point deficit in the second half.

Colby Parkinson hauled in what became the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime, beating numerous Duck defenders to tip a 23-yard scoring pass to himself from K.J. Costello at the goal line.

On fourth-and-goal to send the game into a second overtime, a pass by Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert was tipped and intercepted by Lameen Murphy in the end zone to wrap up the Cardinal’s victory.

After Stanford recovered a fumble on its own 43-yard line with 51 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Jet Toner connected on a 32-yard field goal as time expired in regulation play, sending the game into overtime.

Costello threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns for the Cardinal (4-0).

It was Oregon’s first loss after three victories.

Oregon jumped to a 24-7 lead, but the momentum shifted when the Cardinal’s Joey Alfieri returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter.

Bryce Love, who sat out last week’s game against UC-Davis to convalesce, ran for 89 yards and a 22-yard touchdown late in the third quarter that cut the Ducks’ lead to 24-21.

Cyrus Habibi-Likio’s 1-yard touchdown run extended the Ducks’ lead to 31-21 with 4:39 to play. Stanford then answered with a 15-yard TD pass from Costello to JJ Arcega-Whiteside making it 31-28 before Sean Barton’s fumble recovery set up the game-tying field goal.

No. 7 Stanford visits No. 8 Notre Dame next Saturday at 4:30 pm PDT.

Three takeaways from SJSU at Oregon

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

After thousands of folks predicted that the San Jose State Spartans would suffer a blowout from the No. 20 Oregon Ducks, SJSU proved those folks wrong. No, SJSU didn’t pull off an upset over Oregon (though, that would’ve been one of the biggest storylines in the college football world), but they lost by just 13 points, 35-22, at Autzen Stadium.

Here are three takeaways from SJSU at Oregon. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section.

3. Underdogs, maybe? 
The Spartans came into Autzen Stadium as 41.5-point underdogs. Not even the Spartan fans were confident in the Spartans coming close to the Ducks, but the Spartans managed to beat the spread, which was a step in the right direction.

The Spartans shook off a slow start after trailing the Ducks 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. SJSU scored six points in the second and third quarters and 10 in the fourth quarter. Oregon held on for a 35-22 win for a 3-0 record. Yes, SJSU’s record fell to 0-3, but the hapless Spartans put up a gutsy show against a talented Ducks team. The Spartans just need to refresh themselves during the bye week and build momentum for the SJSU Homecoming game vs. Hawaii on September 29th.

2. Solid Spartan defense
The solid Spartan defense looked good–if not, great–against the high-octane Duck offense. Also, the Spartans’ kicking game looked spectacular. Bryce Crawford went 3-for-3 on field goals. Two of Crawford’s field goals came in the second quarter–a 31-yarder and 28-yarder–and the latter came in the fourth quarter–a 25-yarder.

Also, the Spartans’ special teams caught the eyes of Spartan fans everywhere. Of course, there was the blocked field goal; but there was also Thai Cotrell’s amazing return game. Cotrell had two kick returns for 121 yards, However, one of Cotrell’s stood out and that was his 96-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter. Cotrell’s kickoff return was a career-long (and the longest kickoff return) by a Spartan player without scoring a touchdown in school history.

1. Struggling Spartan offense
The struggling Spartan offense needs a tune up in the bye week. So the bye week couldn’t have come at a better team for the Spartans, whose wide receivers were tormented by the Ducks’ substantial secondary.

Sure, Josh Oliver and Bailey Gaither were the bright spots when it came to Spartans’ wide receivers, but this past Saturday proved to be too much for the Spartan offense. The Ducks’ aggressive pass rush was another factor that stifled the Spartan offense.

Although the Spartans had offensive struggles, they still had a lot to be happy about their most recent road performance. There’s nowhere to look, but up.

Before I hit the publish button, I’d just like to wish Jeremy Kelly and Duane Tuitasi their respective belated birthdays. Have a great bye week, guys.

SJSU shows improvement, despite 35-22 loss to Oregon

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Photo credit: @lawrencefansjsu

By: Ana Kieu

The San Jose State Spartans had a tough customer in the No. 20 Oregon Ducks at Autzen Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Autzen Stadium is one of the best stadiums in the country. Both Ducks and Spartans fans flocked to Eugene, Ore. to watch their favorite teams go head-to-head with each other. Though, the latter lacked in quantity in the Pacific Northwest. Still, this FBS and Pac-12 matchup was a sight to see.

Turnovers have been an issue for the Spartans, who suffered from another mishap Saturday. Josh Love’s pass was intercepted by Jevon Holland early in the first quarter. Then, the Ducks took a 7-0 lead at the 11:18 mark after four plays over 23 yards in a 1:36 span. Cyrus Habibi-Likio scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown. Zach Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

The Spartans have struggled with moving the ball and the deficiencies showed when the Ducks took a 14-0 lead with 7:10 left in the first quarter. Jacob Breeman scored a 66-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Justin Herbert. Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

The Ducks led 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.

The Spartans finally got on the board at the 10:56 mark of the second quarter. Bryce Crawford kicked in a 31-yard field goal to reduce the SJSU deficit to 14-3.

The Spartans worked some more magic into the scoreboard. Crawford kicked in a 28-yard field goal to cut the SJSU deficit to 14-6 with 2:58 left in the second quarter.

The Ducks, however, extended its lead to 21-6 just 30 seconds later. Johnny Johnson III scored a 39-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Herbert. Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

The Spartans shocked most of the 54,000 fans in attendance as Tre Webb tipped the ball to Dakari Monroe with only seven seconds left in the second quarter. This was Monroe’s second interception of the season.

The Spartans trailed the Ducks 21-6 at halftime. But SJSU’s offense has started to wake up and that was a good thing.

Josh Oliver made a flawless catch off a pass from Josh Love for a 7-yard passing touchdown with five minutes left in the third quarter. The Ducks challenged the Spartans’ play, but the call on the field stood. The Spartans then went for the two-point conversion, but it was overturned as Bailey Gaither was unable to slide his foot. The score stood at 28-12 in favor of the Ducks.

The Spartans trailed the Ducks 28-12 at the end of the third quarter.

The Ducks expanded its lead to 35-12 at the 14:49 mark of the fourth quarter. Johnson III scored his second touchdown of the game–a 22-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Herbert–and Emerson’s PAT kick was good.

Crawford kicked his third field goal of the game–a 25-yard field goal–just 1:07 later to bring the Spartans within 20. The Ducks held on to a 35-15 lead.

Spartan fans breathed a sigh of relief as the Spartans scored its first touchdown of the game to pull within 13. Malik Roberson scored a 1-yard rushing touchdown for his first of the season. Crawford’s PAT kick was good. The Ducks held on to a 35-22 lead with 4:03 left in the fourth quarter.

There weren’t any brownie points in college football, but the Spartans put on a much-better show at Autzen Stadium, despite the 35-22 loss to No. 20 Oregon.

Notes
Spartans’ starters
Offense: Montel Aaron, Justin Holmes, JaQuan Blackwell, Malik Roberson, Jackson Snyder, Trevor Robbins, Jake Colman, Deano Motes, Troy Kowalski, Bailey Gaither and Josh Oliver.

Defense: Jesse Osuna, John Toussaint, Tre Webb, Sailosi Latu, Boogie Roberts, Bryson Bridges, Dakari Monroe, Jonathan Lenard Jr., Tysyn Parker and Ethan Aguayo.

Up Next 
The Spartans have a much-needed bye week and then return to CEFCU Stadium to host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on Saturday, September 29 at 4:00 pm PDT.

What can we learn about SJSU following Pac-12 laugher against WSU?

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — As you should already know, the San Jose State Spartans had a rough road test against the Washington State Cougars, who blanked the visiting team 31-0 inside Martin Stadium in Pullman, Wash.

SJSU, however, may endure a more severe beating this Saturday, September 15 by the No. 20 Oregon Ducks. This will be yet another Pac-12 opponent for the Spartans. The Spartans have already suffered a loss to the Cougars. Plus the Ducks come into Saturday’s game 2-0 with wins over the Portland State Vikings and Bowling Green Falcons. The Spartans enter Saturday’s game with an opposite record of 0-2.

I know I’ve predicted that SJSU will win five games this season, but there’s only so many losses the Spartans could suffer before deciding not to give a darn. Last year’s 2-11 (1-7 MW) record can speak for itself, but it’s 2018 and the Spartans must get at least three wins or else. I spoke to some Spartan fans and all of them told me the offense has to do something this coming Saturday.

So what can we learn about SJSU following their Pac-12 laugher against WSU? Scroll down for the latest with Spartans head coach Brent Brennan.

What can you say about the Spartans’ vanishing offense?
“Well, I hope I could make it un-vanish,” Brennan said. “That was us playing a group in Washington State. They did a great job mixing up the pressure. They did a great job mixing up the movement with the offensive line and the defensive line. Their moves gave us problems all day that gave us some penalties. … I think we’re working hard to put the finishes touches on the offensive line. … Hopefully, this will give us a better chance if we continue to go up from here.”

The Spartans won the turnover battle, came up with three interceptions and only gave the ball away once on a fourth-quarter interception. What else did they need in order to win?
“Well, I think we need to continue to re-define what our effort looks like on both sides of the football,” Brennan said. “I thought the thing that needs to make another really important push for us is just our effectiveness on third down. That has to change. And then we got to find a way to run around the football. That has been hit-or-miss, as we certainly struggled with that a week ago. But we need to find a way to move the football, and if we don’t, it’s going to be a long day.”

The Spartans’ offensive line had a rough night with penalties and pass protection at Washington State. Will Montel Aaron get help on the offense against Oregon?
“Well, I sure hope he does,” Brennan said. “That’s why we practice. Obviously, there were some things we weren’t getting. Washington State did a nice job making it hard on our o-line. … I really believe in coach (Kevin) McGiven and coach (Joe) Bernardi. Bernardi does a great job and he’s going to get those guys running. … If they continue to play together and continue to get some chemistry when they’re up there, I think we’ll get results.”

Three takeaways from Stanford vs. USC

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Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By: Ana Kieu

The Stanford Cardinal downed the USC Trojans by a final score of 17-3 at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night. The majority of folks believed that these two teams would’ve fought each other until the very end, but that wasn’t the case, as Stanford took an early lead and never looked back. USC’s lone score came in the middle of the third quarter on Chase McGrath’s 35-yard field goal to reduce the deficit to 14-3, but the Trojans were unable to mount a comeback on the road.

With the win, the Cardinal climbed its way back to No. 9 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll. Not only that, freshman offensive center Branson Bragg tweeted a shoutout to his current team and wrote, “I chose the right place to spend the next 4-5 years of my life.” In case you need a refresher, Bragg is a four-star center from Texas who committed to Stanford this summer. The Cardinal also chose the right center to be a great blocker up front.

Here are three takeaways from Stanford vs. USC. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

3. The early bird gets the worm
As I’ve mentioned in the introduction, Stanford took an early lead and never looked back.

Prior to the game, @gostanfordnotes tweeted that Stanford has won 18 of its last 21 games when scoring first. After the game, @gostanfordnotes tweeted that Stanford has won 19 of its last 22 games when scoring first. Do you see a pattern here?

Trojans quarterback JT Daniels was arguably the more talented quarterback coming into Saturday’s game, but the Cardinal tormented Daniels for most of the night. It’s obvious that Daniels needs help from the his backfield.

This was the first time the Cardinal held the Trojans under 10 points since 1992 when the Cardinal prevailed over the No. 11 Trojans in a 23-9 rout under head coach Bill Walsh.

2. The Bryce Love factor
Cardinal running back Bryce Love had himself a night with 136 rushing yards and 1 touchdown–a 6-yard rushing touchdown–that gave his team a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter to kick off the rivalry matchup. Love also averaged more than 6 yards per carry versus the Trojans.

Love, a front-runner in the Heisman Trophy race, bounced back after a dismal start in the Cardinal’s season opener against the San Diego State Aztecs. Love rushed for just 29 yards in the opener.

Love may not be the ideal size as he stands at 5-foot-11 and weighs 202 lbs, but his explosiveness and visions likely will make him one of the first-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft.

1. The dominant Cardinal defense
The Cardinal defense stifled the Trojans in the 17-3 rout on Saturday. Every time the Trojans terrorized, the Cardinal defense responded in a big way. Moreover, the Cardinal defense to less than three points in this series since a 13-0 shutout at the Coliseum in 1941.

If you need a refresher, you catch watch the video below.

The Cardinal will host the UC Davis Aggies on Saturday, September 15 at 11:00 am PDT on Pac-12 Network.

Three takeaways from SJSU at Washington State

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

In case you missed it, the San Jose State Spartans were shutout by the Washington Cougars 31-0. Okay, you didn’t miss much, unless if you were a Cougar fan. But seriously, the Spartan fans deserve better; and it doesn’t even have to be a pretty Cinderella story. It just has to be more than two wins this season.

Here are three takeaways from SJSU at WSU. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading.

3. Vanishing offense
If you follow SJSU, you should already know that the Spartan defense was there. Inside linebacker Jesse Osuna was one of the few bright spots for the Spartans, as he led their defense with 7 tackles and 1 interception at the half.

But where was the Spartan offense? That’s a question that may never receive a concrete answer. The offense was nowhere to be found in the first half and it certainly didn’t show signs of life in the second half. Moreover, quarterback Montel Aaron looked nervous during parts of the game and threw off his back foot countless times. Aaron just didn’t look like he was able to handle the inevitable pressure.

2. Lack of yards from scrimmage
The Spartans had just 109 total yards, as opposed to the Cougars’ 544 total yards. For the Spartans, 9 of those 109 yards were rushing. For the Cougars, 124 of those 544 yards were rushing. Those were major differences among the two teams, and SJSU has nowhere to go but onward.

1. No power of interceptions
The Spartans caught three interceptions, but were unable to capitalize on any of them. Sure, it was awesome freshman linebacker Kyle Harmon came away with an interception for his first career interception and third interception of the game, but the Freedom High School alum was unable to capitalize on it.

SJSU will take on No. 15 Oregon on Saturday, September 15 at 2:00 pm PDT on the Pac-12 Network along with KLIV 1590 AM and KSJS 90.5 FM.

San Jose State gets blanked 31-0 by Washington State

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Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

Following a depressing 44-38 loss to the UC Davis Aggies, the San Jose State Spartans were looking to flip the script at Martin Stadium against the Washington State Cougars on Saturday night.

The Spartans traveled to the Pacific Northwest in Blue and Gold gear. According to @SJSUSpartanFB, there was only one thing on the Spartans’ minds Saturday and that was to beat WSU. Most things, if not everything, had to go right for SJSU tonight.

Unfortunately, WSU got on the board first. Tay Martin scored a 15-yard passing touchdown off a throw by Gardner Minshew. Blake Mazza’s PAT kick was good. The Cougars led 7-0 at the 12:55 mark of the first quarter.

Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, Martin scored his second touchdown of the game–a 36-yard passing touchdown off a throw by Minshew–and Mazza’s PAT kick was good. The Cougars led 14-0 with 5:45 left in the first quarter.

The Cougars continued to get it their way, as Mazza’s 36-yard field goal kick put themselves ahead 17-0 with 5:48 left in the second quarter.

The Cougars got a down-to-the-wire touchdown–a 1-year rushing touchdown by Minshew–and Mazza’s PAT kick was good. WSU took a 24-0 lead to the locker room at the end of the first half. While the Spartans’ offense was nonexistent, the Spartans’ defense was a bright spot, as Jesse Osuna led with 7 tackles and 1 interception at the half.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, but the Cougars capped off the scoring with a late touchdown with 4:39 left in the fourth quarter. James Williams caught a 3-yard passing touchdown off a throw by Minshew and then Mazza worked his magic one last time with a successful PAT kick. The Cougars blanked the Spartans 31-0.

Notes
Prior to the kickoff, the Cougars led the series with the Spartans 7-4-1. These two teams met for the first time since 1996, where the Cougars routed the Spartans 52-16 behind four touchdown passes from Ryan Leaf, who currently works as a program ambassador for the Transcend Recovery Community, a group of sober living homes in Los Angeles, Houston and New York. The Spartans won the previous meeting 20-13 over the Cougars in 1986.

Cougars head coach Mike Leake is in his seventh season at WSU, while Spartans head coach Brent Brennan is just in his second season at SJSU. Despite the wide gap in experience, both head coaches did whatever they could to make things interesting for their respective fanbases.

Up Next 
The Spartans head to Autzen Stadium to take on the No. 23 Oregon Ducks on Saturday, September 15 at 2:00 pm PDT on the Pac-12 Network.