ESPN College Football

So who deserves a helmet sticker for a job well done?

Brandin Cooks, WR, Oregon State: Cooks was the best player on the field in Corvallis, decisively winning his battle with Colorado WR Paul Richardson in the Beavers' 44-17 victory. Cooks caught nine passes for 168 yards (18.7 yards per catch) with two touchdowns. He also rushed five times for 47 yards.

Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon State: Cooks was brilliant, but Mannion was also stellar, throwing six touchdown passes, a new team record. He completed 27 of 52 passes for 414 yards with an interception in the blowout win. That pick, by the way, bounced off the chest of his receiver, so it shouldn't count against him.

Bishop Sankey, RB, Washington: Sankey set a school record with 40 carries in the Huskies' 31-13 win over Arizona. He gained 161 tough yards and scored a TD.

Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State: Kelly completed 23 of 34 passes for 351 yards with three touchdowns and an interception in the Sun Devils' 62-41 win over USC. He also rushed for 79 yards on just four carries -- 19.8 yards per pop.

Alden Darby, S, Arizona State: Darby had two interceptions against USC, including one he returned 46 yards for a touchdown. He also forced and recovered a fumble and tied for second on the Sun Devils with seven total tackles

Bralon Addison, PR, Oregon: Addison returned two punts for touchdowns against California, the first for 75 yards and the second for 67 yards.

Devon Cajuste, WR, Stanford: The big receiver was the star of the Cardinal's new downfield passing game. He caught four passes for 115 yards in their 55-17 win over Washington State, including touchdowns of 57 and 33 yards.

There's nothing like being unbeaten in college football. Food tastes better. The air smells sweeter. Love pervades the campus community, enveloping the football team with warm fuzzies.

It's been a long time since Colorado could feel good about its football team, but the Buffaloes will enter Pac-12 play Saturday at Oregon State at 2-0, feeling pretty darn good about themselves, particularly after a dismal, 1-11 campaign in 2012.

"It's the energy and the spirit around this place, not only with the football team but with the school," defensive end Chidera Uzo-Diribe said. "You're getting a lot more students coming up to you, wishing you good luck and congratulating you on the 2-0 start. It makes you want to practice even harder."

Of course, there's a catch for the Buffs. They've been riding a 2-0 high for almost three weeks, as they last played on Sept. 7. So the euphoria has died down a bit. Moreover, their Sept. 14 game with Fresno State was canceled due to serious flooding, which led to loss of life and significant property damage.

Instead of playing a revenge game against the Bulldogs, who pummeled the Buffs 69-14 in 2012, the Colorado players served meals to emergency personnel and flood victims. It became a moment for perspective. There are emotional swings with 2-0 as well as 0-2, but real-world events possess a far greater gravity.

Some players were directly affected by the flooding, so coach Mike MacIntyre gave his team a couple of days off to get things back in order in their personal lives.

Now, attention turns back to football. MacIntyre's chief task is rebooting the early momentum so his team doesn't look rusty and out of sorts against the Beavers.

"It seems like three years ago since we last played," he said. "We've been trying to do everything we can to keep up the speed of the game. This is almost like another opening game for us."

The early returns from the 2-0 start suggest that MacIntyre has his team's attention. In both games, a squad that seemed to lack mental toughness a year ago took control in the fourth quarter. Colorado has outscored foes 39-10 in the fourth quarter this season. Last year, despite being hopelessly behind in most cases, the Buffs were outscored 112-59 in the fourth.

"I think it's the coaching," said Uzo-Diribe, when asked what the biggest difference from last year is. "A lot of the guys playing now are the same guys who played last year, but with this coaching staff, we are starting to take on an identity on defense and on offense. We really all bought into a system and schemes."

The Buffs seem more detail-oriented. For example, the biggest play of the victory over Colorado State was cornerback Greg Henderson's 53-yard scoop and score in the fourth quarter, which made Colorado's lead 33-24. Uzo-Diribe caused the fumble.

Not only had the defense taken a renewed focus on creating turnovers during spring and preseason practice, they'd scouted tendencies from Rams running back Kapri Bibbs, who sometimes was careless with ball security. That popped into Uzo-Diribe's head as he came up behind Bibbs.

"We came into the week after watching the film knowing that their running back's ball security wasn't great," Uzo-Diribe said. "Last season, both [running backs] showed that they fumbled the ball a lot. It was something we had in our mind that when we saw that running back -- get a strip attempt on the ball."

Turnovers could be critical Saturday because it's likely both defenses will have their hands full. Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion ranks second in the nation with 401 yards passing per game. Colorado quarterback Connor Wood is fourth with 370.5. Wood's go-to guy is Paul Richardson, who leads the nation with 208.5 yards receiving per game. Beavers receiver Brandin Cooks is second with 159.8 yards per game. Cooks leads the nation with 10.8 receptions per game; Richardson is second at 10.5.

So it's a heck of a matchup of pass-catch combinations playing against defenses that remain works in progress.

Of course, it's likely the game will come down to who gets more out of their seeming weaknesses. Both teams have struggled to run the ball this year. Oregon State has 11 sacks in four games. Colorado has just three in two games. Both teams are positive so far in turnover margin. The Beavers are down three starters on their offensive line because of injury.

For the Beavers, a victory would set them up at 4-1 and 2-0 in Pac-12 play, with four consecutive wins putting some distance between them and an opening weekend loss to Eastern Washington, an FCS team. With a bye next week, the conference's most injury-ravaged team also could start to get healthy.

For the Buffaloes, an upset road victory would probably win over more than a few folks who have been slow to jump on the bandwagon in Boulder. At 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the conference, it would be reasonable to speculate about potential bowl eligibility, particularly if the school is able to schedule a patsy to replace the lost Fresno State game.

Uzo-Diribe said the Buffs locker room already believes.

"The past couple of seasons we've said that, but as the season went on, we didn't really believe it," he said. "I feel like this season, guys see it, guys believe it. They are working towards it."

Sean Mannion emerged in August from one of the nation's most closely watched preseason quarterback competitions as the Oregon State starter over Cody Vaz. That competition was particularly noteworthy because it featured two players with significant experience who had mostly played well when behind center.

Mannion's winning the job, however, became a secondary story when the 25th-ranked Beavers lost their opener to Eastern Washington, an FCS team. While Mannion's big numbers against the Eagles merited note -- the 49-46 defeat certainly wasn't the offense's fault -- it was the inglorious defeat that dominated the conversation, including plenty of handwringing over a horrible defensive performance.

But after the Beavers seemingly righted themselves with wins over Hawaii and an overtime triumph at previously unbeaten Utah, it might be worthwhile to check in and see what Mannion has been doing and whether he was a good QB choice as the Beavers prepare for a visit to San Diego State.

Hmm. Mannion is averaging 412 yards passing per game, which ranks second in the nation. His 12 touchdown passes is tied for first in the nation. He has thrown just one interception. He ranks 11th in the nation in passing efficiency, according to the NCAA, and also is 11th with ESPN Stats & Information's Total QBR rating.

So, yeah. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior is mostly validating his selection as the starter.

Mannion thus far has corrected his biggest problem in 2012 -- throwing interceptions in bunches. He hurled 11 of his 13 total picks in just three games, including four-interception performances against Washington and Oregon.

A lot of those is just growth, coach Mike Riley said.

"He's confident, he's seeing things real well, been making good decisions," Riley said. "He's been very accurate with the ball."

Mannion also is not forcing things anymore. He's not afraid to go with short pass in a check-down or even just throw the ball into the stands when nothing is open.

Mannion, the son of a high school coach, also feels like the competition with Vaz helped him.

"It helped me focus on the things that I can control and not worry about anything else," he said." Throughout the competition, I tried to not worry about what other people were thinking or saying and just focus on becoming the best player I could be. I definitely feel like the competition helped me become a better player."

Riley said Mannion was "really obsessive about getting ready for this season."

The loss to Eastern Washington knocked the Beavers off the national radar, but the schedule still sets up for them to get back into the national rankings, starting with a date Saturday with 0-2 San Diego State. While the widely projected 7-0 start no longer is possible, 6-1 certainly seems possible, though a road trip to Washington State on Oct. 12 certainly looks a bit tougher than it did in the preseason. At that point, it will be up to Oregon State to break through against a homestretch that goes: Stanford, USC, Arizona State, Washington and Oregon.

Ah, but that's looking ahead or underestimating the present task. That wouldn't be smart. The good news is there has been experience in the locker room handling dispiriting opening losses. Many of the present Beavers suffered through a season ruined by a loss to an FCS team in the opener -- 2011's 3-9 finish that began with a gag-job versus Sacramento State. Mannion said that loss taught some hard lessons.

"When guys have been through it before, I think there is a more conscious effort [to stay focused]," Mannion said. "The guys who were young there have become leaders of our team. Everyone was really conscious of that."

As for being second in the nation in passing, Mannion isn't focused on that.

"I never really look at stats, but it's something you hear about," he said. "It's not something I actively care about. The only stat that matters is winning."

That said, the guy who had to fight to win back his starting job decides to add, "But, it is cool, I guess."

The Pac-12 conference has announced its players of the week. Offensive honors go to Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion, with the defensive honors going to UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr. Mannion’s teammate, kicker Trevor Romaine, was named special teams player of the week.

Here are the details, per the Pac-12’s release:

Mannion, a junior from Pleasanton, Calif., completed 27 of 44 passes for a career-high 443 yards in a 51-48 overtime win over Utah. His five touchdown passes tied a school record while his yard total is the fourth most in team history and the highest total for a Beaver since 2003. Mannion currently co-leads the nation in touchdown passes (12) and ranks second in the country in total yards (1,237) and total offense per game (404 ypg).

Barr, a senior from San Pedro, Calif., led the Bruins’ defense in a come-from-behind 41-21 win over No. 23-ranked Nebraska on the road. He collected a career-high 11 tackles, including two for a loss, as the Bruins held the Cornhuskers scoreless for the final 37 minutes of the contest. Barr forced three fumbles on the day, with the third one ending Nebraska’s best chance to score in the second half on the 12 yard-line. The Barr-led Bruins held the then ninth-ranked rushing team in the nation to 128 yards on 42 attempts.

Romaine, a junior place-kicker from Corona, Calif., made all three of his field goal attempts in Oregon State’s overtime win over Utah in the first Conference game of the season for both squads. His three kicks sailed through the uprights from 20, 36, and 49 yards, the latter being a career-high. The Beaver’s kicker has made five of six attempts on the season and now ranks ninth in team history with 184 career points.

Also nominated for offensive player of the week honors were quarterbacks B.J. Denker of Arizona, Jared Goff of California, Marcus Mariota of Oregon, Brett Hundley of UCLA, Cody Kessler of USC, Travis Wilson of Utah and Connor Halliday of Washington State; and running backs Marion Grice of Arizona State, Tyler Gaffney of Stanford and Bishop Sankey of Washington. Also nominated for defensive player of the week honors were safeties Demetrius Wright of USC and Deone Bucannon of Washington State; linebacker Jourdan Grandon of Arizona, cornerback Osahon Irabor of Arizona State, defensive end Josh Shirley of Washington and Taylor Hart of Oregon’s defensive line. Also nominated for special teams player of the week honors were kickers Zane Gonzales of Arizona State, Vincenzo D'Amato of California and Andy Phillips of Utah; and punters Drew Riggleman of Arizona, Sean Covington of UCLA and Kris Albarado of USC.

If you don't like where you are in the Power Rankings, play better.

See last week's Power Rankings here.

1. Oregon: The power rankings are about reacting to the latest games as well as the cumulative body of work and general perception of butt-kicking ability. The Ducks are now tops in all three. And after witnessing Mark Helfrich's tour-de-force presser following his team's bludgeoning of Tennessee, reporters realized we've still got some Chip Kelly wiseacre to enjoy.

2. Stanford: Stanford falls behind due to style points. Of course, Stanford knows that winning, if continued, will conquer style. The Cardinal just needs to keep doing the former, starting with an interesting visit from Arizona State on Saturday.

3. UCLA: The Bruins now own the highest quality win in the conference with Saturday's emotional 18-point come-from-behind victory at Nebraska. Furthermore, how the Bruins took care of business -- 38 consecutive points? Are you kidding me?! -- was freaking impressive on both sides of the ball. Jim Mora and his staff seem to be pretty good in a halftime locker room.

4. Washington: The Huskies took care of business on the road against a solid Illinois team. After Idaho State, the visit from Arizona on Sept. 28 will present a big test for both teams.

5. Arizona State: The Sun Devils looked like the superior team against Wisconsin, but that doesn't change the fact they nearly blew it and -- let's face it -- got lucky with how things went down at the end with Pac-12 officials Larry, Curly and Moe. Still, it was a good win since the scoreboard says it was. Now, what can the Sun Devils do on the road against Stanford?

6. Washington State: The Cougars should improve to 3-1 on Saturday against Idaho. Then they get Stanford in Seattle, the first of four consecutive games against North Division foes. It's a tough stretch, but it certainly looks closer to a potential 2-2 run than it did in August. And two wins puts the Cougs one win away from bowl eligibility with four games to play.

7. Arizona: The Wildcats have been the quietest team in the conference because they played three weak nonconference opponents. They have looked pretty good, with an improved defense being particularly noteworthy. But we still don't know these guys and won't until they go to Washington on Sept. 28.

8. Oregon State: That was a big, clutch win at Utah. A potential season-changer. The preseason perception was the Beavers had a good shot at a 7-0 start. It's not unreasonable to be leaning toward ending up 6-1 now, particularly if QB Sean Mannion keeps doing his NFL QB-looking thing. Next up is a visit to a San Diego State team that can't -- please, Beavs, no! -- can't be overlooked.

9. USC: Not unlike Oregon State getting off the carpet, the way USC handled Boston College was enough to suggest it's premature to throw in the white towel for the Trojans' 2013 season. Clancy Pendergast's defense has been dominant, for one. And just maybe the offense is starting to figure things out.

10. Utah: Ouch. So many "what ifs" from the home loss to Oregon State. A great comeback, only to fall in overtime. Again, ouch. It's probably good news that a visit to BYU is up next. That's a big emotional game, and the Utes need to move on from a big emotional game.

11. Colorado: The grudge match with Fresno State was canceled due to major flooding -- unquestionably the right call, by the way -- so the renewed Buffs were on the sidelines and again will be off this week. It will be interesting to see how two consecutive weekends without a game will affect the visit to Oregon State on Sept. 28. That's a sneaky interesting game.

12. California: The Bears are the only team in the conference with a losing record, though that is a function of tough scheduling against a pair of ranked Big Ten teams in two of the three weeks. If Cal had played Arizona's schedule, it would be 3-0 and we'd be celebrating new coach Sonny Dykes and true freshman QB Jared Goff. But, as it is, the 1-2 record stands as the only available body of work. And that defense? Pretty yucky so far, injuries or not.

The Pac-12 went 8-0 against nonconference competition in Week 2, setting the stage for some good showdowns in Week 3.

The Pac-12 blog might be going off the rails here, but the weekend results suggested that the pool of potential bowl teams perhaps should widen. So we have projected 10 bowl-eligible Pac-12 teams, which means we've included two teams getting selected for at-large berths in bowls that are not contracted to the conference.

Of course, many teams with early optimism should keep in mind the schedule ahead. I know Utah fans are happy with a 2-0 start, but they should look at the schedule and see if they are confident four more wins lie ahead. It certainly won't be easy, as the toughest part is yet to come.

Further, as bad as USC looked against Washington State, the Trojans can't possibly be headed for a losing season ... can they? And what about Oregon State: Was the Eastern Washington game merely just one of those college football oddities? And can Washington State keep winning?

Lots of questions.

Does the math here pencil out? Probably not. But it makes as much as sense as doing bowl projections in week two.

We still like Stanford atop the conference. But the Ducks sure did look good at Virginia.

VIZIO BCS National Championship: Stanford vs. BCS
Rose Bowl Game Presented by VIZIO: Oregon vs. Big Ten
Valero Alamo: Washington vs. Big 12
Holiday: Arizona State vs. Big 12
Hyundai Sun: UCLA vs. ACC
Las Vegas: Arizona vs. MWC
Fight Hunger: Oregon State vs. BYU
Gildan New Mexico: Washington State vs. MWC
Pinstripe: USC vs. American
Heart of Dallas: Utah vs. Conference USA

 

So who deserves a helmet sticker for a job well done?

Taylor Kelly, QB, Arizona State: Sure, it was against Sacramento State, but Kelly was darn near perfect in a 55-0 win. He completed 23 of 31 passes for 300 yards with five TDs and no interceptions. That earned a 96.3 Total QBR rating (out of 100) from ESPN.com Stats & Info.

Travis Wilson, QB, Utah: Again, we don't get too excited about games against FCS teams, but Wilson has been sharp in two consecutive starts. In the 70-7 win over Weber State, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 264 yards with three TDs and no interceptions. He also rushed three times for 93 yards and two scores, one a 51-yarder.

De'Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon: Thomas, looking like a much more polished, complete running back than in the past, rushed for 124 yards on just 11 carries -- 11.3 yards per pop -- and scored three TDs in the Ducks' blowout win. He also caught one pass for 28 yards, but his catching just one ball shows that he's really a RB and not as much a "slash."

Jared Goff, QB, California: Goff completed 30 of 47 passes for 457 yards with two touchdowns in the Bears' comeback 37-30 win over Portland State, an FCS team. ... While he wasn't always on target -- he missed a number of potential big plays -- he didn't throw any interceptions. He had three while also putting up big numbers last week in the loss to Northwestern, including a pair of pick-6s. The true freshman has already thrown for 900 yards this year.

Paul Richardson, WR, Colorado: Two games, two 200-yard receiving games. Richardson caught 11 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns in the Buffaloes' 38-24 win over Central Arkansas. The Buffs went 1-11 last year without Richardson. They are 2-0, in large part because he's back.

Oregon State's defense: A week after becoming a national laughingstock for their horrid performance against Eastern Washington, the Beavers' D bounced back against Hawaii, holding the Rainbow Warriors to 239 total yards and no second-half points in a 33-14 victory.

Ka'Deem Carey, RB, Arizona: His suspension ended in the second quarter with a bang when he took his first carry 58 yards for a TD. He finished with 171 yards on 16 carries -- 10.7 yards per carry average -- with two touchdowns in the Wildcats' blowout victory.

Damante Horton, CB, Washington State: His 70-yard interception return provided the Cougars their only TD in a 10-7 win over USC. It was the most memorable of his two picks -- one for each Trojans QB. He also had two tackles for a loss among his four total tackles.

Tyler Gaffney, RB, Stanford: Gaffney returned to college football after a year off playing pro baseball by rushing for 104 yards on 20 carries with two touchdowns in the Cardinal's 34-13 win over San Jose State.

All day Saturday, the question seemed to hang in the air. Who was it going to be this week? Who would be the Week 2 goat?

The Pac-12 was a double-digit favorite in all of its nonconference games. Yet it always seems there is one team that fails to meet expectation, underwhelms and ultimately coughs up one that it shouldn’t. California? Oregon State, again? How about Colorado, which hasn’t been 2-0 since 2008?

Turns out we should have been looking in-conference. Because while Cal, Oregon State and Colorado all got scares, they eventually held serve, and the Pac-12 went 8-0 against nonconference competition. The rest of the league looked dominant against overmatched opponents.

However for the second consecutive week, the league also saw one of its ranked teams fall after Washington State shocked the No. 25 Trojans at home 10-7. It was USC’s first home-opening loss since 2000 -- which coincidentally also came at the hands of Washington State.

Call it a choke job by the Trojans. Call it a gritty effort from Washington State. Call it a testament to the depth of the league and its nine-game conference schedule. Call it kooky that the Cougs won without an offensive touchdown.

Outside of the lone conference game, the Pac-12 was hardly perfect. But it still managed perfection, which is exactly what it needed to do. No slipups. No embarrassing upsets. No stubbed toes. Because Week 3 presents a fresh set of challenges that will greatly influence the national perception of the league next week and in weeks to come. By winning the games it's supposed to win, the league has upped the ante for Week 3, making some already-intriguing games that much better.

The lineup looks a lot tougher than the soft serve it scooped in Week 2, including three ranked teams, four Big Ten teams, a 2-0 SEC team and a couple of more undefeateds.

The Pac-12’s Week 3 opponents went 8-2 this week, and the combined record of next week’s competition is 18-2 through the first two weeks. The ranked teams -- Ohio State, Nebraska and Wisconsin -- were all easy winners this week. Illinois is a surprising 2-0. Fresno State embarrassed Colorado last year -- now they meet as undefeated foes.

And that’s the early conference storyline for Week 3: Pac-12 versus Big Ten, quality competition versus quality competition. Had Cal or Colorado fallen to FCS opponents, they would have likely slipped into obscurity. But now Fresno State at Colorado looks pretty fascinating. Jared Goff's performance for Cal makes the Ohio State game, which may or may not include Braxton Miller, look a lot more interesting.

The fact that Taylor Kelly and the Sun Devils looked freakishly efficient in their opener makes their game against Wisconsin a must-see. UCLA and Washington were on byes this week, but both had credible wins in Week 1 that make their road showdowns against Nebraska and Illinois, respectively, potentially thrilling.

The East Coast got a good look at Oregon -- all 557 total yards of them -- and that was with jetlag! Now the Ducks host a Tennessee team that has yet to be tested. (But it’s 2-0 and in the SEC, so it should be in the top 10 when the new rankings come out).

We still don’t have a clue who will start at quarterback for USC against a 2-0 Boston College squad. Maybe it's time to give Morgan Breslin a look under center? It’s worth tuning in to see how/if the Trojans can pick up the pieces.

Even Washington State’s follow-up against FCS Southern Utah is a lot more intriguing after the Cougs ... wait for it ... won with DEFENSE!

Stanford did what it does -- grabbed a lead and then pounded away on a weaker opponent until it broke. And while it shouldn’t have that much of an issue with Army, it should be fun watching that Cardinal front seven go against Army’s run-heavy offense.

And the one conference game next week -- Oregon State at Utah -- is a lot more interesting after the Utes offense pasted 70 on Weber State, and the Beavers eventually pulled away from Hawaii.

Week 2 wasn’t as bromidic as it should have been, but ultimately the league took care of its out-of-conference-business. And that sets the stage for a fascinating Week 3.