After Midnight

For once this college football season, there was little drama after midnight.

Boise State more than took care of business at hapless Hawaii. Southern California had plenty of challenges in its home win over Oregon State, but really was never in danger in the second half.
The most notable late game probably was Stanford’s easy victory over Arizona State, now 4-3. The Cardinal, now sporting a 5-3 mark, used a balanced attack that included TB Toby Gerhart’s 127 yards rushing against ASU’s second-in-the-nation run defense. In leading 24-0 at the halftime break, Stanford played as termed by Fox Sports Network commentator Petros Papadakis “as nearly a perfect half as possible.”

In the fourth quarter (well after midnight in the East), Sun Devils fans got what they’ve been screaming for most of the season. Starting fifth-year-senior quarterback Danny Sullivan, who had opened the third quarter with a touchdown pass to WR Chris McGaha, went out with a twisted knee. In trotted freshman QB Brock Osweiler, one of the most renowned passers ever to leave high school from Montana.

The TV cameras revealed Osweiler to be a bit of a short-arm thrower, but he got no help from a case of the “drops” by his receivers. Osweiler’s tepid aerial debut went 1-for-7 for 18 yards.
If viewers wanted to see a sparkling frosh QB, they surely enjoyed the performance of Stanford’s Andrew Luck, who pitched 17-for-28 for 236 yards. Luck, the son of former West Virginia and Houston Oilers QB Oliver Luck, fakes sharply with the ball, throws well on the run, and showed excellent accuracy last night. Is their Heisman talk coming his way in about 2011?
--Bob Boyles