The Northwest Report-Week 9 Rewind
By Nick Haswell for Football Reporters Online

The 9th Saturday of the college football season provided two great matchups in the Northwest. Unfortunately, neither game lived up to its expectations as the home team in each game scored decisive victories. The victors of each game still have hope of winning a National Championship in their teams’ respective classifications, while the losers of each game have seen their championship dreams vanish.

Game of the Week #1-USC at Oregon: In Eugene, the Oregon Ducks established themselves as the team to beat in the Pac 10 conference after dismantling the USC Trojans 47-20. Duck QB Jeremiah Masoli accounted for 386 yards of total offense and 2 TDs. RB LaMichael James added 183 yards rushing as Oregon rolled up 613 yards of total offense; the most yards given up by a Pete Carroll led USC defense. The Ducks now enjoy a one-and-a half game lead on 2nd place Arizona in the Pac 10 standings. USC, meanwhile, falls to 3-2 in the conference, which ties them for 4th.

Game of the Week #2-Weber State at Montana: In Missoula, the Montana Grizzlies separated themselves from the rest of the Big Sky with their 31-10 win over the Weber State Wildcats. Montana dominated the Wildcats on both offense and defense, as evidenced by the total offense difference of 506-299. Chase Reynolds led Montana with his 241 yards rushing and a TD. The Wildcats also suffered from 4 Cameron Higgins INTs, including 2 by CB Trumaine Johnson. The Griz are just a victory over cellar dweller Idaho State away from clinching a share of their 12 consecutive Big Sky Conference Championship. With the loss, Weber State is now tied with Eastern Washington for 2nd place at 5-2, but has more than likely seen their postseason hopes dashed due to its 5-4 overall record.

Washington State vs. Notre Dame (in San Antonio, TX): Notre Dame dominated Washington State at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio by winning 40-14. The Fighting Irish enjoyed a 592-206 total yard edge and won the time of possession battle by over a 2:1 margin. RB Dwight Tardy for the Cougars racked up 72 yards rushing, but only on 8 carries, as the Cougars fell behind quickly and was forced to throw early and often.

UCLA at Oregon State: James Rodgers ran for a 17 yards TD with 44 seconds left in the game to lift Oregon State over UCLA 26-19. UCLA had tied the score at 19 with 2:06 left in the 4th quarter on a 7 yard TD and successful 2-point conversion. The Rodgers brothers, James and Jacquizz, accounted for 338 of the 463 total yards of offense for the Beavers and Jacquizz also threw for a 14 yard TD in the 2nd quarter.

San Jose State at Boise State: Kellen Moore completed 21 of 33 passes for 278 yards, 3 passing TDs and a rushing TD in leading the Boise State Broncos to a 45-7 win over the San Jose State Spartans. After the Spartans tied the score at 7 with 11:28 remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Broncos scored 17 points to finish the first half, including 2 TDs in the final 44 seconds of the half, in pulling away from San Jose State.

Louisiana Tech at Idaho: DeMaundray Woolridge scored his 2nd TD of the 4th quarter with 52 seconds left, and Trey Farquhar kicked the extra point to lead Idaho over Louisiana Tech 35-34. Vandal QB Nathan Enderle threw for 327 yards with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. The difference in the game proved to be a missed PAT by Louisiana Tech after its final TD, after going up 34-21 in the 4th quarter.

Portland State vs. Eastern Washington (in Seattle, WA): Eastern Washington CB Matt Johnson tied a Big Sky record by picking off 4 passes in a game in the Eagles’ victory over Portland State 47-10. EWU QB Matt Nichols passed for 413 yards and 4 TDs. Eastern limited PSU to 278 yards of total offense, including only 163 passing. Last year, Vikings QB Drew Hubel threw for 623 yards and 5 TDs against Eastern Washington.

Idaho State at Montana State: Montana State RB rushed for 108 yards and 2 TDs as the Bobcats blew out the dismal Idaho State Bengals 41-10. Idaho State actually led the game 10-3 until a Bobcat TD tied it at 10 with 4:07 left in the 2nd quarter. After that, it was all Montana State. Idaho State finished with only 144 yards of total offense, including just 17 on the ground.

The Northwest Report Week 8

By Nick Haswell For Football Reporters Online

So much for this past weekend being a non-descript one in the Northwest college football landscape. With several of the teams having the week off and not many enticing matchups, Week 7 looked like a weekend to be forgotten. Instead, it will be a weekend to be remembered in the Northwest by fans, and one to be forgotten by several Northwest teams.
Here are some short recaps from each game this past weekend:

Game of the Week #1-Eastern Washington at Montana: It was hard to find one Game of the Week, as there were three great games this weekend. The first one matched up the Eastern Washington Eagles (4-2) against the top team in the Big Sky Conference, the Montana Grizzlies (5-0). Eastern needed the win to keep pace at the top of the Big Sky standings and for any hope of a postseason berth (depending on their appeal to the NCAA on this season’s postseason ban). Eastern took an early 10-2 lead, but Montana took a 20-13 lead into the half. The Griz scored another TD half way through the 3rd quarter to go up by 14, but the Eagles ended up tying the score before the end of the quarter. An 82 yard punt return for a TD by Marc Mariani put Montana back on top before EWU tied the score at 34 with fewer than 5 minutes left. Facing a 4th and Goal at the Eagles 1 with a little over a minute left, Montana’s Bobby Hauck went for the TD rather than kicking a go-ahead field goal. Chase Reynolds bowled over a defender at the goal line for the TD and the Grizzlies held on for the 41-34 win.

Game of the Week #2-South Dakota at Montana State: Just 166 miles to the east of Missoula, another great game was taking place in Bozeman between the South Dakota Coyotes (3-3) and the Montana State Bobcats (3-2). The game winded up going to overtime with the teams tied at 24. The Bobcats scored on a 36 yard TD pass from Cody Kempt, starting his first game of 2009, to Elvis Akpla on the 2nd play of overtime. South Dakota drove to the 3 yard line on their possession in OT, but a pass on 4th and Goal bounced off a wide open receiver’s hands in the end zone, allowing MSU to escape with a 31-24 win.
Game of the Week #3-Washington at Arizona State: The Washington Huskies (3-3) looked to be headed to OT versus the Arizona State Sun Devils (3-2) as the score was tied at 17 with under a minute left. But a curious 3rd and 1 pass play on their own 19 that went to complete and subsequent punt gave Arizona State the ball at midfield with less than 15 seconds left in the game. Sun Devil QB then stunned everyone watching by throwing to a wide open Chris McGaha down the middle of the field for the winning TD. A coverage break down by Husky FS Nate Williams left McGaha wide open on the final play.

Boise State at Tulsa: The Boise State Broncos snuck out of Tulsa with a 28-21 victory over the Golden Hurricane(4-2) to remain unbeaten at 6-0. Sophomore QB Kellen Moore led the balanced Bronco attack by tossing 3 TDs. RB Doug Martin added 112 yards rushing, including 83 in the 3rd quarter alone in his second game back from moving from the defensive side of the ball following the injury of starting RB D.J. Harper.

Hawaii at Idaho: DeMaundray Woolridge rushed for 4 TDs and added 81 yards rushing in Idaho’s victory over the Hawaii Warriors (2-4). The Vandals (6-1) are bowl eligible for the first time in a decade after gaining 420 yards of total offense in the win. QB Nathan Enderle bounced back from an off game last weekend by completing 14 of 17 passes for 226 yards and a TD.

Northern Arizona at Portland State: The Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (4-2) blew out the Portland State Vikings 44-23 last Saturday. The Vikings (2-5) managed just 274 yards of total offense as starting QB Drew Hubel missed the game due to injury. Backup QB Connor Cavanaugh struggled in his place, completing just 11 of 23 passes and throwing 3 INTs. PSU also struggled on defense, allowing 458 yards of total offense.

Northern Colorado at Idaho State: Idaho State (0-7) missed perhaps their best opportunity for a victory in 2009 by losing to the Northern Colorado Bears (2-5) by the score of 30-7. UNC held ISU to negative 11 yards rushing and just 197 yards of total offense last Saturday. The Bengals now own the 4th worst offense in the FCS in total offense and have the worst rushing offense in the FCS at 26 yards per game. The previously dormant Bear offense came alive against the Bengal defense by gaining 435 yards of total offense.

This weekend’s games include all the Northwest teams in action this week. Let’s look ahead and preview each game and take a look at the keys to each game:

Game of the Week-Oregon State at USC: Oregon State (4-2) will have had two weeks preparation for this weekend’s game versus the USC Trojans. Is this another trap game for USC (5-1), after hanging on against Notre Dame and facing off against Oregon in Eugene next weekend? The Beavers will be looking to beat USC for the 2nd year in a row, and for the 3rd time in 4 years. The key to the game appears to be whether OSU will be able to slow down USC Freshman QB Matt Barkley enough to keep them in the game. OSU has had to break in 3 new starters in the secondary this season and the defense is currently 9th in the Pac 10 in pass defense.

Oregon at Washington: Will this weekend bring another down to the wire game for the Huskies? After 3 consecutive heart stopping finishes, UW (3-4) faces the top team in the Pac 10 standings, the Oregon Ducks (5-1). Oregon had an extra week to prepare for the Huskies after their win over UCLA 24-10 two weeks ago. The Ducks are still not certain that QB Jeremiah Masoli will be back to start against the Huskies. If he can’t start, Nate Costa will start his second consecutive game. UW’s defense has played better against the run the last few weeks, but they face the top rushing offense in the Pac 10 in the Oregon Ducks.
Washington State at California: California (4-2) got back on the winning track after a two game losing streak in defeating UCLA last weekend. Washington State (1-5) did not play last weekend. Wazzu ranks last in the Pac 10 in nearly every offensive and defensive category. Their best chance to keep it a close game is to throw the ball well against the susceptible Cal secondary.

Boise State at Hawaii: The Broncos (6-0) look to stay unbeaten on their visit off the mainland against the Warriors (2-4). Hawaii’s best bet to pull off the upset is to win the turnover battle and keep the nation’s most efficient passer, Kellen Moore, off the field.

Idaho at Nevada: Idaho (6-1) is on a 5 game winning streak and Nevada (3-3) has won their last 3 after losing their first 3 in 2009. Whoever wins the battle between Nevada’s rushing offense (#1 in the WAC) and Idaho’s rushing defense (#1 in the WAC) probably will win the game.

Montana State at Eastern Washington: A key game in the Big Sky Conference is this weekend between the Montana State Bobcats (4-2) and the Eastern Washington Eagles (4-3). A loss by either team would hurt their playoff chances, whereas a win would keep their hopes alive. EWU suffered a big loss last weekend when their top WR Aaron Boyce went out with a season ending injury. MSU’s defense boasts the best rushing defense in the Big Sky, but also is the worst against the pass, allowing more than 300 yards through the air per game. The Eagles top the Big Sky in rushing offense in the Big Sky at about 150 yards per game, but they also have an effective passing attack led by QB Matt Nichols.

Montana at Sacramento State: The #2 Montana Grizzlies (6-0) travel down to Sacramento to take on the 2-4 Hornets. The Griz have the top scoring offense in the Big Sky at 36.8 points per game, as well as the top scoring defense at 19.7 points per game. The Grizzlies appear to be a mismatch for the Hornets, as Sacramento State’s defense is 8th (out of 9) in total defense in the Big Sky in allowing almost 436 yards of offense per game.

UC-Davis at Portland State: The 2-5 Portland State Vikings face off against the 3-3 UC-Davis Mustangs in a non-conference matchup. Portland State faces a tough UC-Davis team who nearly defeated Montana earlier in the season and played Boise State tough into the 4th quarter. Portland State has to take advantage of a weak UC-Davis running game that averages only 55 yards per game to pull out a victory.

The Northwest Report Week 7
By Nick Haswell Football Reporters Online

It’s hard to believe that it’s about the mid-point of the 2009 college football season. It seems just a week ago that the Washington Huskies were coming into the season with a 14 game losing streak and battling the visiting LSU Tigers tough. For the most part overall, the 2009 season has lacked the drama or a defining moment. Actually, the defining moment so far in 2009 is probably Washington defeating #3 USC on a late second field goal. Football in the Northwest in 2009 has actually had perhaps some of the craziest and most controversial action. From Oregon’s LaGarrette Blount’s punch on Boise State’s Byron Hout on the season’s opening night to UW defeating Arizona on a tipped interception off Arizona WR Delashaun Dean’s foot, college football in the Northwest has not lacked excitement. Here’s to the rest of the season being as exciting in the Northwest, and hoping that it carries over to the rest of the college football nation the rest of the 2009 season.

Here’s a quick review of last week’s Northwest college football action:

Game of the Week- Arizona at Washington: Arizona beat UW everywhere on the stat book, but lost on the scoreboard. Arizona was able to keep Jake Locker and UW’s offense off the field with a short, quick passing game, but UW defensive coordinator Nick Holt adjusted just in time that led to Mason Foster’s 37 yard INT return for a TD to win the game36-33 on the same screen play that had given UW trouble all night long.

Stanford at Oregon State: Stanford came into Corvallis atop the Pac 10, but the Rodgers brothers dominated the Stanford defense in the 38-28 win. RB Jacquizz Rodgers gained a career high 189 yards rushing and scored 4 TDs, and also added 82 yards receiving. Older brother James contributed another 78 yards receiving and a TD.

Oregon at UCLA: Coming out of the halftime tunnel down 3-0, #13 Oregon put the game out of reach early in the 3rd quarter by returning the 2nd half kickoff for a TD and then returning an INT for another TD just 13 seconds later to go up 14-3. The Ducks would go on to a 24-10 victory in a game where the Oregon defense really dominated the UCLA offense, surrendering just 211 yards of total offense.

Arizona State at Washington State: When a team gets 6 turnovers, you would expect that team to win, except when that team is Wazzu. The Cougars managed just 181 yards of total offense, 99 of them on 1 play. Wazzu’s QBs were also sacked 12 times and the Cougars turned the ball over 4 times themselves. Overall, the Cougars weren’t really as close as the 27-14 final score would indicate.

Idaho at San Jose State: The Idaho Vandals are just one victory away from bowl eligibility after their come from behind 29-25 win over San Jose St. Starting QB Nathan Enderle struggled and was benched in the 4th quarter after throwing 2 INTs. It was RBs Princeton McCarty and DeMaundray Woolridge who picked up the struggling Vandal passing game as they combined for 218 yards rushing and 3 TDs.

Cal Poly at Montana: Montana scored 21 points in the 4th quarter as the Grizzlies beat the Mustangs 35-23. WR Marc Mariani caught 6 passes for 200 yards and 2 TDs, as the Griz overcame 5 turnovers to move to 5-0.
Weber State at Eastern Washington: Perhaps EWU was looking ahead to their game against Montana this weekend. Or Weber State has finally lived up to their preseason’s expectations after dispatching the Eagles 31-13. Matt Nichols threw for 354 yards and a TD, but threw 3 INTs and the Eagles turned the ball over 5 times overall.

Portland State at Northern Colorado: Portland State held on to a 23-18 win over Northern Colorado to improve to 2-4 on the season and win their first Big Sky Conference game in 2009.

Northern Arizona at Montana State: One week after defeating nationally ranked Weber State on the road, Montana State returned home ranked 24th but lost to Northern Arizona 23-10. The Bobcats held NAU to -16 yards rushing, but could only gain 11 yards themselves. NAU QB Michael Herrick carved up the MSU defense for 388 yards through the air and a TD.

Idaho State at Sacramento State: A 21 point 2nd quarter by Sacramento State kept Idaho State winless as the Hornets defeated ISU 38-17. A positive to take from the game is that the Bengals outgained the Hornets 368-335. But 2 INT returns for TDs in that 2nd quarter by Sacramento State sealed ISU’s fate.

And now let’s look ahead to this weekend’s games. It will be a quiet week in the Northwest this weekend as Oregon, Oregon State, and Washington State all have the week off. Boise State also beat Tulsa on Wednesday night 28-21.

Game of the Week- Eastern Washington at Montana: This is a critical game in the Big Sky Conference title race. If EWU wants to figure in the race, they must beat UM based on their loss to Weber State last weekend. It will tough to achieve though, as Montana has not lost at home in conference since losing to EWU in 2005.

Washington at Arizona State: Washington is riding high after their miraculous win over Arizona last weekend. They must travel on the road to Tempe though, where they’re looking for their first road win of the season. The Sun Devils defense ranks #3 in total defense and will give Jake Locker and the Husky offense a tough challenge.

Hawaii at Idaho: The Idaho Vandals are looking to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1999 by defeating Hawaii. Hawaii is coming into the game with a 3 game losing streak, whereas the Vandals are on a 4 game winning streak.

Northern Arizona at Portland State: Portland State snapped a 3 game losing streak with their road victory at Northern Colorado. Northern Arizona’s passing game will provide a tough challenge, as they are averaging close to 319 yards passing per game.
South Dakota at Montana State: The Bobcats are looking to rebound from their home loss to Northern Arizona last weekend with a difficult non-conference tilt versus South Dakota. USD’s offense is one of the most balanced in the nation, averaging 193 yards rushing and 249 passing.

Northern Colorado at Idaho State: Idaho State may have a chance at their first victory of the 2009 season, with 1-5 Northern Colorado visiting Pocatello. The game will match up two of the poorest offenses in the nation, as Northern Colorado averages just over 290 yards of total offense per game and Idaho State averages only 219 yards per game.