Gangline Recap: Week 6

Washington Opponent's Record: 38-28

Record this Week: 7-4

Record in Games that Mattered: 4-1

I decided to add just one more win-loss record on here: record in games that mattered. Let me explain, since all the games played matter to some degree. The games that matter for purposes of this feature are the ones where our opponents play teams we don't play. In effect, these are the games that really help or hurt our opponents' collective win-loss record. For example, the Stanford vs. Arizona game didn't matter, since no matter the outcome, our opponents' win-loss record would be 1-1 after the game ... since we play both those teams. Cal vs. UCLA on the other hand mattered since the outcome would be either 0-1 or 1-0 ...

This week, our opponents combined for a very reasonable 4-1. The only loss was from a lackluster effort on the part of LSU in front of the Florida Gator hopeful. Cal actually came to play this week ... something they haven't done since the road game in Columbus, and SDSU and Portland State cleaned house.

Games that Mattered

Hawaii (1-4) at San Diego State (3-3)

A struggling Warriors team came into this game hoping to compete ... but that failed miserably. SDSU's defense held Hawaii to 173 total yards, 112 in the air and 61 on the ground. They also forced 3 turnovers. Ryan Katz continues to rack up yards on the ground. He had three rushing touchdowns, a 27 yarder, 34 yarder and 9 yarder, en route to 57 yards rushing. He also had 190 yards in the air and 2 additional touchdowns ... for a 5 TD game. Not too bad ... SDSU continues to punt on 4th down, and also kick it's field goals. It seems that for now, Rocky Long has decided to play conventional 4 down football. He didn't go for it once on 4th down this game; out of five 4th downs, he punted four times and kicked one field goal. Final score: SDSU wins 52-14.

LSU (4-1) at Florida (5-0)

Injuries finally affected the scoreboard this week for the Tigers. They went into a tough place to win, and the offense couldn't do anything ... looks like another year of conference play in the SEC. The Bayou Bengals started hot out of the gate, kicking a field goal in each of the first two quarters ... but that's as far as they got. Taking a 6-0 lead into half-time, I'm sure the Tigers were confident they could keep the Gators from getting into scoring position more than once ... which would mean a 6-3. The Gators were able to sustain 2 long touchdown drives, one in the third quarter and one in the 4th, and that was all she wrote. You couldn't ask for a more average SEC game. Final score: Gators win 14-6

Idaho State (1-4) at Portland State (2-4)

I had basically given up on Portland State getting any more wins this season ... I guess I forgot they were playing Idaho State, the perennial cellar dweller of the Big Sky Conference. The game was close in the second quarter, with Portland State in the lead 21-10 after a field goal by Idaho State ... but those were the last 3 points the Bengals scored the rest of the game. The Vikings score 56 unanswered points after they gave up the field goal. The Vikings forced 4 turnovers in their big run: one was a pick-6 and another was a fumble recovery for a TD. The Vikings gained 758 yards on offense ... 321 in the air and 427 on the ground. Final score: Vikings win 77-10

UCLA (4-2) at Cal (2-4)

I honestly don't know what to say about this game. If somebody told me Mr. Maynard was going to go 25-30 for 295 yards and 4 TDs, 1 interception and one more TD rushing, I would still be laughing. But hey, he did, and the rest is history. Nothing sums this game up better than the picture for this post, you know ... the one where an extremely old looking Jeff Tedford is hugging one of his players in complete and utter disbelief, happiness, relief ... to name a few emotions. Not only did Cal prove that it is the most schizo team in the Pac12 (even including Wazzu, though this could be a toss-up), it also proved that when it can play well in all three phases of the game, WATCH OUT. UCLA looked awful out there. Final score: Cal wins 43-17

Everyone Else

Arizona (3-3) at Stanford (4-1)

Stanford showed everything it didn't show against UW last week. It played offense ... unfortunately, the Cardinal forgot to play defense, and it almost cost them the game. Arizona came to play, and they were up by 2 touchdowns with 9:13 left in the 4th quarter. Then Stanford scored consecutive touchdowns to put the game into OT. After that, the feeling in the game was that Stanford's defense was going to stop the Wildcats ... they did, and Stepfon Taylor scored the game winning TD. Here's the stat of the game: Arizona total offense: 617 yards; Stanford total offense: 617 yards. Matt Scott had another crazy game, going 46/69 (yes, he attempted 69 passes ...) for 491 yards, 3 touchdowns, and one pick. Josh Nunes redeemed himself, and actually played a decent game, taking the final two TDs on his own in the 4th quarter. Final score: Stanford wins 54-48

USC (4-1) at Utah (2-3)

Lack of depth on the side of the Utes, and Marqise Lee, turned out to be the demise of Utah this week. They jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, then jumped up to 21-10 a little later. The early turnovers, including this one, provided a spark, but the there wasn't any fire for the Utes. USC scored 28 straight points and really put Utah out of it's misery. Lee had 12 receptions for 192 yards and one touchdown (an 83 yarder by the way). USC kicked it into high gear half way through the second quarter and never looked back. They can only hope that Stanford loss is behind them. Final score: USC wins 38-28

Oregon State (4-0) at Washington State (2-4)

These are two teams heading in opposite directions. Oregon State won yet another game on account of its stout defense and Washington State forgot, once again, to show up. Jordan Poyer had three interceptions in this game, and the Beavers held the Cougs to two measly field goals. The one constant this season for Wazzu is its ability to play at a slightly lower level then whoever it's playing. Sean Mannion was picked off three times, and all the quarterbacks who played did a great job looking sloppy. Oregon State held Wazzu to 20 rushing yards and, once again, Leach's Air Raid was MIA. Final score: Beavers win 19-6