Saturday, October 29, 2011

Stanford survives 3 OT against USC, 56-48

What are the ingredients to a PAC 12 thriller? Two ranked teams, a BCS bid on the line, a festive atmosphere in the LA Coliseum, and a lot of Luck. That's what Saturday's prime time match up brought as the Cardinal travelled to the upset-minded Trojans of USC. Many people picked the Cardinal in a close, defensive battle; however the game was a shootout. Andrew Luck carried the Cardinal against USC and the Trojans gave them as much as they could handle. As Stanford was driving for the lead, Luck made a critical mistake as he threw a pick-six and USC went up by 7. Luck would then lead Stanford down the field to get the game-tying TD and the game went to OT. The game went back and forth with plenty of exciting TDs but the game was decided when USC attempted to rush for the game-tying TD, but the ball was fumbled in the End Zone and Stanford kept their perfect season. Any team would be happy with a 3 OT away, but this game showed how a team can beat Stanford: run the ball. Stanford should fix these defensive lapses before they take on Oregon or else they might not be smelling Roses or tasting Sugar in January.

Huskies push past the Cats, 42-31

When you play the Huskies, you need to limit two things: Keith Price's knack for big plays, and Chris Polk's grinding running style. Cats kept Price in check and limited Polk's big plays, but the atmosphere in Seattle was too much for Arizona to overcome. Despite many controversial calls by the officials against Arizona, the Cats found themselves on top 31-28 in the 4th quarter, however they squandered some opportunities to put the game away and the Huskies took advantage. With a bounce back win from last week's demolition at Stanford, the Huskies got themselves a win decided by all the little factors of the game of football: home-field, officials, weather, and momentum. They'll expect a tough game next week as they take on #7 Oregon at home. The Cats on the other hand, stumble to 2-6. They played well, but they can't afford any slip-ups if they want to go bowling. The game at Arizona State becomes the only priority for the remainder of this season.