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ARIZONA: The Wildcats opened the season on Friday against Toledo on the road
and dominated on both sides of the ball en route to a 41-2 victory. Junior
quarterback Nick Foles completed 32-of-37 passes for 360 yards, two
touchdowns, and a pick to lead Arizona. Foles also rushed for a touchdown for
the Wildcats (1-0), who went 8-5 last year. Matt Scott connected on 5-of-7
passes for 53 yards and a touchdown. Senior Nic Grigsby carried the ball eight
times for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Juron Criner caught 11 passes for 187
yards and one touchdown, while David Douglas and Keola Antolin each had a
receiving TD. Up next for the Wildcats is a clash with The Citadel in Tucson
on Saturday, September 11th.
ARIZONA STATE: The Sun Devils began the 2010 campaign against Portland State
on Saturday, and the result was an easy 54-9 victory. Cameron Marshall ran the
ball only four times, but those totes resulted in 104 yards and three
touchdowns for ASU. Quarterback Steven Threet connected on 14-of-21 passes for
239 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, and Deantre Lewis scored
twice and racked up 100 yards receiving on only three catches. The Sun Devils
racked up 553 total yards in that affair and limited PSU to 263 yards. A total
of three interceptions also helped the Sun Devils cruise to victory. ASU will
clearly be favored this upcoming weekend when they host the Northern Arizona
Lumberjacks.
CALIFORNIA: UC Davis was the season-opening opponent for the Golden Bears on
Saturday, and Cal rolled to a 52-3 victory as expected. The winners posted 26
first downs in the affair while permitting the Aggies to move the chains just
four times. Cal rolled up 517 total yards in the affair while holding their
overmatched opponent to 81 yards. Kevin Riley completed 14-of-20 passes for
258 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and Keenan Allen posted
120 receiving yards and a touchdown. As for the ground attack, Shane Vereen
led the charge with 67 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries. This
upcoming weekend, the Golden Bears will play host to Colorado.
OREGON: The Ducks kicked off their 44th season at Autzen Stadium with a
staggering 72-0 romp over New Mexico. Kenjon Barner rushed for a career-best
147 yards and four touchdowns on 17 carries in place of the suspended
LaMichael James. The Ducks' sophomore back was suspended for the opener after
pleading guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. Darron Thomas
finished 13-of-23 for 220 yards, two scores and an interception in his
inaugural collegiate start for the Ducks (1-0), who finished 10-3 a year ago,
including a Rose Bowl defeat to Ohio State. Jeff Maehl made five receptions
for 91 yards. This upcoming weekend, Oregon will play a much anticipated game
against Tennessee in Knoxville.
OREGON STATE: The Beavers opened the season on Saturday against sixth-ranked
TCU, and that game resulted in a 30-21 loss on the road. Ryan Katz went 9-
for-25 for 159 yards and two scores for the Beavers (0-1), who finished 8-5
last season. Jacquizz Rodgers had 18 carries for 75 yards and a score, while
James Rodgers and Jordan Bishop each caught a touchdown pass. TCU totaled 453
yards on the ground and held the ball for close to 39 minutes. Meanwhile,
Oregon State finished the game with 255 yards. The Beavers will be idle this
upcoming weekend and will be back in action on September 18th against
Louisville.
STANFORD: The Cardinal began the new campaign on Saturday with a matchup
against Sacramento State, and the result of that tilt was a 52-17 victory.
Andrew Luck was outstanding under center as expected, as the stud signal
caller connected on 17-of-23 passes for 316 yards with four touchdowns and no
interceptions. Doug Baldwin was the best of the Stanford receivers, as he made
four catches for 111 yards and a pair of scores. While the Cardinal were busy
racking up 529 total yards, they certainly got the job done defensively,
limiting the Hornets to 167 yards, including 54 rushing yards. The Pac-10
season begins this upcoming weekend, as the Cardinal will take on UCLA in Los
Angeles.
UCLA: A late rally fell short for UCLA in its season opener against Kansas
State on Saturday, and that road affair resulted in a 31-22 defeat. Kevin
Prince struggled mightily under center, completing 9-of-26 passes for 120
yards with a pair of interceptions. The ground attack did net 193 yards on the
strength of a committee approach, but the overall offensive showing simply
wasn't good enough. Defensively, UCLA allowed Kansas State to rack up 313
rushing yards at a clip of 5.8 yards per carry, overshadowing the fact that
the Wildcats were only able to gain 64 yards through the air. The Bruins will
play host to Stanford on Saturday in the Pac-10 opener for both squads.
USC: The Trojans traveled to Hawaii to begin the 2010 campaign on Thursday and
kicked off the Lane Kiffin era with a 49-36 victory. Matt Barkley tied a
school record by throwing for five touchdowns and completed 18-of-23 passes
for 257 yards. Ronald Johnson caught three scoring passes and returned a punt
89 yards for another TD for the Trojans, who posted their 13th straight win in
a season opener. Despite being ranked to start the season and with high
aspirations, the Trojans won't be going to a bowl game. They were hit with a
two-year postseason ban as a result of violations stemming from former USC
standout football player Reggie Bush and basketball star O.J. Mayo.
Marc Tyler ran for 154 yards and a touchdown for the Trojans in the opener.
USC will begin the home portion of their schedule on Saturday with a non-
conference clash against Virginia.
WASHINGTON: The Huskies finally got to play the much-anticipated season opener
against BYU on the road this past weekend. Unfortunately for Washington, it
was held scoreless in the second half and fell by a 23-17 final. Jake Locker
threw for 266 yards and one touchdown to lead the way in defeat, while Chris
Polk ran for 92 yards in the losing effort. Jermaine Kearse caught five passes
for 108 yards and a touchdown as well for the Huskies, who only kept
possession of the ball for 25:53. BYU totaled 408 net yards and was simply the
better team in the contest. To the credit of both teams, there wasn't a single
turnover in the tilt. On Saturday, the Huskies will play host to Syracuse of
the Big East Conference.
WASHINGTON STATE: The Cougars faced Oklahoma State of the Big 12 Conference in
the season opener this past weekend, and they proved to be no match for the
Cowboys, falling in Stillwater by a 65-17 final. Washington State was led by
quarterback Jeff Tuel, who threw for 212 yards and one touchdown, despite
completing just 14-of-29 passes. Marquess Wilson was on the receiving end of
Tuel's touchdown pass and finished the contest with 108 yards on only four
receptions. Unfortunately for Washington State, it managed only 12 first downs
in the tilt and was 5-of-18 on third down conversion attempts. A pair of lost
fumbles didn't help the cause either. The Cougars will take on Montana State,
an FCS squad, this upcoming weekend in Pullman.