Simming the Season, Week 2: Cougs hang tough, lose to Trojans late

Well, at least it wasn't 63-3 this time. While nursing their wounds from last week's beat down, the Cougs rolled into The Colosseum and hung with the Trojans until late in the 4th quarter. A 34-24 loss is downright encouraging. Going into the 4th quarter, the Cougs only trailed by three. After trading touchdowns with USC, star receiver Marqise Lee scored on a 61 yard TD pass with only 0:36 seconds left, running the score to a 34-24. So while the Cougs lost by 10, it was a damn close game. Connor Halliday led the way on offense for the Cougs, while Ioane Gauta went HAM en route to being named Pac 12 Defensive POTW.

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Passing:

Connor Halliday: 16/36, 246 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 4 sacks, L51

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Max Wittek: 20/38, 330 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT

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Rushing:

Teondray Caldwell: 4 attempts, 1 yard, 1 TD
Halliday: 11 attempts, 0 yards

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Receiving:

Dominique Williams: 7 catches, 89 yards
Bobby Ratliff: 3 catches, 29 yards, 1 TD, 1 drop
Gabe Marks: 2 catches, 18 yards
Brett Bartolone: 1 catch, 51 yards, 1 drop
Vince Mayle: 1 catch, 43 yards, 1 TD
Cole Madison: 1 catch, 4 yards

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Victor Blackwell: 8 catches, 134 yards, 2 TDs
Marquis Lee: 5 catches, 196 yards, 2 TDs

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Defense:

Ioane Gauta: 8 tackles, 4 solo, 4 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 FF
Xavier Cooper: 8 tackles, 3 solo, 1 TFL
Darryl Monroe: 7 tackles, 4 solo, 1 TFL, 1 FR (31 yards)
Deone Bucannon: 6 tackles, 3 solo, 1 deflection, 1 INT (38 yards)

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Special Teams:

Andrew Furney: 1/1, L31, 3/3 XP
Michael Bowlin: 8 punts, 415 yards (51.8 avg), 350 net (43.7 net avg), 3 inside the 20, L65

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• The Cougs rushed for a total of one yard. That is both hilarious and sad, because it's not inconceivable.
• Lee also had over 200 combined return yards (kicks & punts), so by himself, he was worth 400+ yards.
• After thumping Boise State 38-10 in their home opener, UW jumped to #17 in the nation after a bye week. They went from 24 to 17 without playing a game. I didn't realize EA Sports was a subsidiary of the Tyee Club.
• After losing a shocker to FCS West in the opener, Oregon State lost to Hawaii 19-17, dropping to 0-2 on the young season.
• Two things about OSU's loss to an FCS team: 1) this year, FCS West is known as the "Fusion", and their logo is a radioactive symbol. I wanted to call them the Springfield Isotopes. 2) The Fusion beat OSU 31-10, so it's not like it was a last second FG that did the Beavers in. Yikes.
• UCLA comes in at #11 in the nation. Bruin's Nation still wants to fire Chanti Dan.

That's it for this week, but we'll see you on Monday with another edition of Simming the Season. Happy gaming, and Go Cougs.