Gangline Recap: Week 5

Opponent's Season Record: 31-24

Opponent's Record Last Week: 3-7

Do I need to say ouch? Granted one of those losses was Stanford, this was an absolutely horrible showing by our gangline. The three wins were LSU, Oregon, and Oregon State, and of those three wins, only one of them helped the win-loss record in a positive way. There were a total of 5 games where a win would have boosted the win column without an effect on the loss column, and in those games the gangline went 1-4. After the Dawgs licked Stanford, we are now down to three undefeated opponents: LSU, Oregon, and Oregon State. Their combined record is 13-0. On to the recap.

SDSU (2-3) at Fresno State (3-2)

What a season this is turning into for SDSU. Each game is a shootout, and if you don't include the game against UW, the Aztecs are averaging a score of 41-34. This week the Aztecs took on a strong Fresno State team, playing its first conference game in the Mountain West. David Carr's little brother, Derek Carr, threw for 536 yards, 5 TDs, and 2 interceptions. In the 3rd quarter, Carr threw a 96 yard pick-6 that put the Aztecs up 40-36. That was the last time SDSU scored. Ryan Katz was the leading rusher for San Diego, with 89 yards ... The Aztecs punted 5 times, showing that Rocky Long has decided to go against never punting. On a side note, Ryan Katz also has 1 punt for 29 yards on the season. Final Score: Fresno State wins 52-40

Towson (2-2) at LSU (5-0)

If somebody told me that Towson was going to be winning 9-7 half way through the second quarter of this game, I would have laughed - a lot. That's what was going on however in Tiger stadium. Sure, LSU ended up running away in this game ... but I get this odd feeling that LSU only gets up to play football a couple of times a year. This year, one of those games happened to be against UW, and the other one will be against Bama ... at least if you're an LSU fan that's what you hope. The Bayou Bengals turned the ball over three times, and that was really the difference. They held Towson to 291 total yards, but actually gave up 188 on the ground. That was also surprising ... Final Score: LSU wins 38-22

Portland State (1-4) at Northern Arizona (4-1)

Portland State's defense came to play this week. Unfortunately, they left the offense at home. The Vikings were held to 271 yards, 154 in the air and 117 on the ground, and coughed up the football twice. They just couldn't overcome a quick start, partly because of the turnovers, and never really got close. Portland State took the lead 3-0 with a first quarter field goal, but NAU came back up the field in a 16 play drive; it would have been held to a field goal but for a costly PI penalty on a third and goal that set up a TD for NAU. On Portland State's next drive, they threw an interception that was returned 32 yards to the PSU 17 yard line that set up another TD, and the Vikings were quickly down 14-3. Portland State got to 10-17, but then another TD by NAU sealed it. Final Score: NAU wins 24-10.

Oregon (5-0) at Washington State (2-3)

This game showed me two things: this year's Washington State football team is the most unpredictable team I have ever witnessed, across all sports, and Oregon's tempo makes me tired, especially in the second half of a football game. I enjoyed reading bits and pieces of the ATQ game thread, though I couldn't look for long since all the expletives I witnessed would have made my grandmother think much less of me ... The game ended with yet another team beating the ridiculous spread against Oregon by a few points ... in this case by 6.5. Garbage time sucks. If you missed it, at the half Oregon was up 23-19 ... Washington State, apparently under the impression that a good showing against Oregon for 1 quarter was enough, decided to pack it in for the rest of the game. Final Score: Oregon wins 51-26

Oregon State (3-0) at Arizona (3-2)

First I want to say that the final score of this game surprised me. Second, I did not think the Beavers had the firepower to keep up with the Wildcats if they scored more than 30 points. This game might show that the Beaver D isn't as stout as previously thought, which means that Wisconsin sucks, a lot. It might also show that the Arizona offense is legit, and difficult to stop, as long as the Wildcats don't kill themselves. After Arizona scored with just over 5 to go in the 4th quarter, Sean Mannion drove down the field for the game-winning touchdown with a minute to go. The Beaver D dammed up Arizona's attempts to score again and the rest is history. Final Score: Beavers win 38-35

Arizona State (4-1) at California (1-4)

Cal managed to lay its fifth egg in a row in its latest loss. As much as I'd like to blame Mr. Maynard for this loss, I just can't ... never mind, I blame Maynard. As a result of his inability to connect with anyone other than Keenan Allen, the Bears couldn't score more than 17 points. He has plenty of protection to get even a 5 step drop off ... but it doesn't seem to matter. ASU came and played well enough to win. Taylor Kelly showed poise, taking his team on the road and pulling off the victory. For some reason, Mr. Bigelow was once again absent from any meaningful playing time, even though he was the SOLE reason Cal was able to hang with the Buckeyes. Final Score: Devils win 27-17

UCLA (4-1) at Colorado (1-4)

My neighbor, who is a CU fan, was telling me that he's upset with the Buffs for giving him false hope. I can't blame him. After that improbable 4th quarter comeback, against the aforementioned inconsistent Cougs, CU fans were expecting a little bit more. Honestly, up until UCLA scored that second TD in the second quarter, CU was making a decent showing. They drove the field for a score, and the D was at least playing better. Apparently, though, they only had 1 and a half good quarters in them this game, which was still better than Wazzu ... Brett Hundley is playing quite well in his inaugural season. He passed for 281 yards and 2 TDs in the winning effort. I don't think the Buffs will win another game this season. But hey, at least they're not winless this year. Final Score: UCLA wins 42-14