Biggest Concerns: Arizona State and Cal

Arizona State makes it back on the “Biggest Concerns” list after losing to San Diego State. The Sun Devils once again had problems on defense as they couldn’t stop the run. Although San Diego State senior running back Rashaad Penny may be one of the best running backs in college football right now, ASU knew coming into this game that the Aztecs were going to run the ball more than 60 percent of the time. Penny had two runs of more than 90 yards and sophomore running back Juwan Washington added 56 yards on 16 carries. Penny ended the night with 216 rushing yards on 18 carries and a touchdown.

Cal had an underwhelming 33-20 victory over Weber State Saturday. On paper the Cal offense was productive with four rushing touchdowns, three coming from Patrick Laird and the Golden Bears only had one turnover which was a fumble. But this was a game Cal should have won by a much larger margin considering Weber State is an FCS school. Weber State played very well on defense and went into the fourth quarter up by three. Cal scored 16 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and although they managed to pull away at the end, the Golden Bears played down to their competition in this game.

Game of the Week: No. 20 Washington State vs. Boise State

This game was a wild ride not only because it went into multiple overtimes, but because of the quarterback situation for both schools. Boise State starting quarterback Brett Rypien was injured in the first quarter after he was sacked by Washington State’s Frankie Luvu. Senior quarterback Montell Cozart played the rest of the game and finished with 161 passing yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Washington State senior quarterback Luke Falk surpassed Connor Halliday as the Cougars career passing leader on a 59-yard pass to Renard Bell late in the second quarter. After playing poorly in the third quarter Falk was benched and sophomore Tyler Hilinski took the reins. Hilisnski threw an interception on his only possession and Faulk returned to the game. He was then injured later in the game and didn’t return. Hilinski ended up helping the Cougars to a 47-44 victory in a triple overtime thriller.