UCLA rally thrills Buffs’ MacIntyre
Having wrapped up a 17-3 victory over Colorado State on Friday, Colorado head coach Mike MacIntyre was already deep into his study for this week’s opponent, Texas State, on Sunday night.
A staffer briefly interrupted MacIntyre to let him know that UCLA was getting beat pretty bad by Texas A&M, and the Colorado coach didn’t give it another thought for the next two hours. That’s when he walked into the offensive coaches’ room and saw that the Bruins were trying to come back from a 34-point, third-quarter deficit.
“I thought, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’ ” MacIntyre said on the Pac-12 conference call Tuesday.
MacIntyre cheered for UCLA during the final five minutes of the second-best comeback in major college-football history, sitting with all of his staff members and using time-management cards to practice how they would handle similar situations.
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen threw for 292 of his 491 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner, in the fourth quarter. It completed the conference’s 11-0 record in Week 1, a season after it went 6-5 with a loss to an FCS team.
“What a great win. What a phenomenal win for Jim Mora, his staff, the team and for the Pac-12,” MacIntyre said. “I thought that was awesome.” Trojans’ ground game strong, too: Heisman favorite Sam Darnold will demand the most buzz heading into Saturday’s game between No. 6 USC and No. 14 Stanford, but it might not be the Trojans’ quarterback whom the Cardinal are most focused on stopping.
Junior Ronald Jones II gained 159 yards and scored three times on 18 carries in USC’s 49-31 victory over Western Michigan on Saturday. Stanford head coach David Shaw said the running back reminds him of Jamaal Charles, a four-time NFL Pro Bowl selection.
“I think he was overshadowed last year,” Shaw said. “That great run they had at the end of the year, he was a big part of that.
USC will bring a 10-game winning streak into the Pac-12 opener with Stanford, and a lot of that has to do with Jones, who added 10 pounds of muscle in the offseason and is a noticeably better receiver than a year ago.
Asked for his favorite thing about coaching Jones, Clay Helton said: “Getting to hold my breath every time he touches the ball.” Fires chase Ducks: Oregon moved its practice Tuesday to Florence, about 60 miles west of Eugene, because of the smoke caused by forest fires throughout the state. The Ducks aren’t sure when they’ll be able to play on campus as health officials have deemed the air quality “hazardous.”
“We didn’t want any distractions,” head coach Willie Taggart said ahead of a marquee matchup with Nebraska. “We want to be able to go out and practice like we’re used to practicing.” Downs honored: Cal inside linebacker Devante Downs was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week, becoming the first Bear to earn the honor since Stefan McClure in October 2015. Downs had 13 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception in Cal’s 35-30 upset at North Carolina on Saturday.