#8 Wichita State Won't Be Undefeated This Year, #25 Utah Takes Care Of Shockers 69-68 In OT

Wichita State ran the table last year in the regular season, not this year.

You would think the Shockers were destined to pull it off against Utah.  Down by nine late in the second half Wichita State went on a 11-0 run to take a 60-58 lead until Tekele Cotton fouled the Utes Dakarai Tucker with :19 left.

Tucker hit a pair of freebies to sent the game into overtime 60-60.

The game stayed tight in overtime but Utah prevailed when Delon Wright nailed the game winner with :14 left in overtime to give the Utes a huge victory over Wichita State 69-68.


"I knew I had to make a play," Wright said. "I looked for Brandon Taylor but he wasn't open and I found a way to get into the lane and make a shot."

"It was tough," Utah head coach Larry Krystkowiak said. "Our guys just hung in there."

In Krystkowiak's first year at Utah iin the 2011-12 season the Utes won only six games.  Methodically Krystkowiak has increased the win total and talent.

Wednesday night in Salt Lake City was the opportunity the Utes were looking for to get a signature win over Wichita State.

"It's a surreal feeling to see the way this program has turned around a complete 180," Dakarai Taylor said. "I was so hyped out there."

"It was just a gritty game with two teams going at it all night," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "They were just one point better."

The Shockers had won 35 straight regular season games before the loss to Utah.

Wichita State didn't have a comfortable night shooting only 38.1 percent from the field and had a hard time buying a basket in the overtime going 2-7 from the field.

Utah had four players in double figures and shot 42.9 percent from the field and out rebounded Wichita State 40-37.

"This is huge for us and huge for our program." Delon Wright said.  "This is the type of game we have always lost in the past and this time we found a way to get it done,"

Colorado State Takes The First Step Toward The Climb, Take Rocky Mountain Showdown Over Colorado

Old school coaches would love how Colorado State defeated Colorado Friday night in Denver 31-17.


Run, Run and Run some more.

Not necessarily three yards and a cloud of dust but effective.

Colorado State running back Dee Hart (139 yards rushing) and Treyous Jarrells (121 rushing yards) gave the Rams two 100 yard rushers in a game for the first time since 2002.

"I felt really good about our running back situation, and they didn't disappoint."  Colorado State head coach Jim McElwain said.

"It will be fun to have those guys back there." Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson said.  "It is a huge security blanket for me to know that we can run the ball like that."

"It's a huge win."  McElwain said.  "I can't tell you how happy I am for the people of Colorado State University. Those kids in that locker room, that prepared to go win a football game like a good team should. There wasn't any talking or any of that stuff. They just went out and played good football. The way Colorado State Rams should."

Raise the Rocky Mountain Showdown trophy coach.  The Rams deserve it.

UPSET: #1 Arizona Goes Down To Cal

Justin Cobb is a household name Sunday morning because he hit this fadeway jumper with less than a second left to lift California to a 60-58 upset of #1 Arizona.

Thanks Pac-12 Networks:

“We talked about." Cobb said. "If we got a stop no timeout, just run it straight into a pick-and-roll and see if we could get to the basket, but [Kaleb] Tarczewski did a good job and I couldn’t get there so I just stepped back and shot a good shot and it was able to go in for me.”

"Justin was feeling good offensively."  California head coach Mike Montgomery said.  "He really got off his feet on the last shot and rose up. It was a little bit like Oregon. It looked good the whole time.”

"We'd always found a way to be on the positive end of it," Arizona head coach Sean Miller said. "Tonight in that same moment, we didn't make the shots and we didn't get the big stop."

In the locker room the Bears celebrated big time.

Thanks Pac-12 Networks:



Early in the game Arizona lost Brandon Ashley while going for a rebound to a foot injury.  Wildcat head coach Sean Miller is expecting the worse.

“It’s a foot injury. It looks to be broken,” Miller said. “I don’t think we can say that it is right now just because we have to get the X-rays and overall. But certainly an injury that’s going to have him out a period of time, if not for the entire year."

With Arizona's loss to California you can expect Syracuse to move up to the top spot in the AP Poll that will be released Monday afternoon.

Texas Tech QB Davis Webb Enjoyed His Holiday With 4 Touchdown Passes. Texas Tech Defeats Arizona State 37-23

Texas Tech quarterback Davis Webb must have been tired of the losing.

The Red Raiders had lost five in a row heading into their Holiday Bowl match-up with Arizona State.

Everybody was not high on us on in the beginning of the year, we won 7 games, everybody was on our shoulders and we lose five in a row and everybody disappeared." Webb said.

Texas Tech showed up Monday night in San Diego and Webb had a huge game as the Red Raiders defeated Arizona State 37-23.

Thanks AJ Media


The final numbers for Davis Webb, he completed 28 of 41 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns which ties the Holiday Bowl record.

Thanks ESPN


"When Coach told me I was going to start, there was nothing but joy," Webb said. "I told myself that I was going to make sure that I was going to send the seniors out right. We came prepared. We leaned on each other and we showed that today."

"Everybody in that locker room believed that we could beat Arizona State and we did that." Webb added.

Webb left San Diego with the Holiday Bowl offensive MVP award.

"It's always great to end on a win especially in a big-time bowl game like this, the Holiday Bowl, so it will definitely help our cause." Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury said.

BUZZER BEATER: Southern Cal's Pe'Shon Howard's 3 Defeats Dayton

[HT: Los Angeles Times]

After transferring from Maryland this is Pe'shon Howard's one and only year playing for Southern California and Sunday he gave Trojan fans a shining moment.

Tied at 76 and with 4.7 seconds left Howard took the inbounds pass, dribbled to the right side of the floor and nailed an off-balance 24 foot shot to win it for the Trojans 79-76.

Thanks Pac 12 Network


"J.T. [Terrell] told me if I can't get it to him, I'm coming to you," Howard said,  "I think I'm a good shooter so I was trying to get to the three-point line. So I came across half court and two guys came over late, so I just tried to lean and get the shot off." 

"When it left my hand it felt good and I'm watching the ball. That's in, that's in. "Howard said.  "I had to flop, too, so maybe I could get a foul."

"When you have our four seconds you can at least get to the three point line or close to it." USC head coach Andy Enfield said.   "You don't need to throw up a half-court shot. Our players didn't understand that our last game, and I'm just glad they figured it out."


Howard would score 12 points in the Dayton game and was 3-5 from the three point line.  Very appropriate for Pe'shon Howard to take the shot to win it since he had the hot hand from behind the arc.

Southern California was led by Byron Wesley who scored 26 points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench.

Let's Get You Ready For The New Mexico Bowl

Bowl season begins today in Albuquerque, New Mexico as Colorado State and Washington State meet in the Gildan New Mexico Bowl.

We will let the bowl itself let you feel the excitement and anticipation for the game.  Cue up the band.

Thanks Gildan New Mexico Bowl


Love the rendition of Feliz Navidad because the natives will tell you there is nothing like Albuquerque during the Holidays.

By the way it's been 10 years since Washington State has been to a bowl game so to Cougar fans the New Mexico Bowl is a big deal.  A few of those loyal Coug fans made the trip.

Thanks KXLY-TV Spokane, WA


Of course it all about the bowl gifts and the New Mexico Bowl has some nice ones.

• Gift suite (Includes 23 inch Toshiba 1080P LED TV, Blu-Ray player, Fossil watches, Skullcandy headphones, iPhone cases, Bluetooth sound system
• Portable mobile device charger
• 8 GB USB drive
• Oakley Breadbox sunglasses
• A hat
• Oakley Fine Knit beanie
• Oakley Flak Pack XL backpack
• Gildan stadium blanket

For those who care about the football game, it's hard to believe that Colorado State and Washington State have never met.    

Just a guess but I bet many points will be scored in this one.

So, Sark Goes Back To USC...Perhaps...Now With Updates

And it looks like he did interview after all...

From Joe Schad and his Twitter, looks like he took the job...

But, there are others who are saying that a contract has been delivered, but not signed and sealed... (@InsideUSC gets the tip for that one...)

Sarkisian was the USC QB coach in two stints- 2001-03 and 2005-06- and was Assistant Head Coach and OC from 2007-08.

He does get the culture...

Now, the Silly Season leads itself to U-Dub...and poo-poo's the story earlier this morning on ESPN.com speculating that Vandy's James Franklin and Boise State's Chris Peterson were the USC leaders in the clubhouse.

Anyone calling Chris Petersen...??? Paging Chris Peterson. A call from Seattle on Line 2.

RealDawg247 is reporting that there is a 2PM meeting on the U-Dub campus to tell the team "something..."

Perhaps, that they can get a better head coach than the one that they're letting go...

More when we know more...

Sarkisian's not stopping presses, but USC obviously couldn't do any better. They tried. They got stoned. This is who they are now.
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) December 2, 2013

It's not apples-to-apples, but should USC fans be concerned that Lane Kiffin had a better Pac-12 winning pct than his replacement?
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 2, 2013

Note--Reports say interim USC coach Ed Orgeron has turned down an offer to become Associate Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.

Confirmed: Despite being offered more money and an Assistant HC position, Coach Ed Orgeron has sent in his resignation to #USC.
— Heather Brittany (@HeatherBrit) December 2, 2013

here's how the news is being viewed in Seattle...
((HT: KING5))

DeAnthony Thomas Was Half Right...

((HT: KVAL-TV))

The Oregon running back said that his team would put up 40 on Stanford...

Hate to say it (actually, the HQ doesn't), but Oregon needed the other half as their national title hopes went up in smoke (for now, it is November...) and lost to Stanford 26-20...

Offensively, Stanford stayed with the run and kept Oregon's defense on the field...
Defensively, Stanford pressured Marcus Mariota and kept the running game to only 20-percent of its weekly efficiency...

So much for that idea...

Here's Collin Harmon...


For the second straight year, Stanford knocked them off and blew up Marcus Mariota's post-season trophy hopes...

For now, it is November...

Stanford's Statement, We Are Still Hanging Around, Cardinal Defeats Ducks 26-20

Florida State fans are rejoicing.  Number 2 Oregon has a loss.

In a game that had the west coast buzzing Stanford raced out to a 26-0 lead until the middle of the fourth quarter.  Oregon rallied as Marcus Mariota threw two touchdown passes but the rally fell short.

Stanford defeats Oregon 26-20.


"Our guys played extremely well today." Stanford head coach David Shaw said. "The fact that we've won two in a row against these guys, credit to our players, the coaches and preparation. Bottom line, they didn't give it to us. They didn't give it to us. We had to play our game and finish the game at the end, and we did."


"Our guys competed, no question." Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich said.

The Ducks defense couldn't figure out how to stop Stanford running back Tyler Gaffney who had a school record 45 carries.  Gaffney ended up with 157 yards rushing and a touchdown.

"Tyler Gaffney ran the ball tonight the way running back backs are supposed to run the ball in this game of football." Shaw said.

"Oregon's really good at filling in with their safeties, with their backside backers." Gaffney said. "It came down to lowering the shoulder and hoped for the best."

Marcus Mariota ended up 20-34 for 250 yards and two touchdowns.  Mariota admits he banged up, the knee brace he wore against Stanford is evident of that but he's not making excuses.

"I've got to learn to play with it."  Mariota said. "I've never really played with a knee brace before, so that's something that I've been doing in practice and getting used to."

With the Oregon loss Florida State sits in good shape to be Alabama's opponents in the BCS National Championship Game.

That is if the season ended today.

Coach "O" Brings Fun Back To USC Football, And A Win Over Arizona 38-31

[HT: Los Angeles Times]

Could it be it's fun to play football again at Southern California?

It sure seems that way with USC's 38-31 win over Arizona.



Interim head coach Ed Orgeron has brought is Cajun enthusiasm to L.A. and it seems to be catching on.  You can chalk that up to what a difference a coaching change can make.

There were Trojans with "Coach 'O'" painted on their chest and it seemed USC was playing with more passion than before athletic director Pat Haden made the move to change coaches.

“Coach O was awesome,” Haden said to the Los Angeles Times. “An entirely different energy for our team.

“It was just fun watching our kids having a blast. The game is supposed to be a game of joy and they played with joy tonight.”

"I had a blast," Orgeron said.  “I think I woke up happy for the first time in my life [Thursday] morning, besides the day I married my wife and had my kids.

“I’m not a happy guy, but today I was happy. Just a feeling of happiness of being able to represent USC.”

Leave it to Arizona head coach Rich Rodriquez to bring up USC's former head coach.

"And give Lane Kiffin credit. Lane recruited those guys and their talented and they played hard." Rodriquez said.

They played hard for Coach "O".

Southern California may have found another star receiver in Nelson Agholor who caught seven passes for 161 yards and a touchdown.  Agholor had to step up against Arizona with All-American receiver Marqise Lee out with a knee injury.

USC quarterback Cody Kessler was an efficient 15-30 passing for 297 yards and a touchdown and no interceptions.

“It was awesome,” Kessler said to the Los Angeles Times as he left the field. “It was great to come out and make a statement. I think people are excited about USC football again.”

Notre Dame is next up for the Trojans.

Stanford's David Shaw vs. Washington's Steve Sarkasian: Who ya got?

Sounds like a little chirping going on from the suddenly powerful Pac 12 football conference.

On the heels of Stanford holding off Washington, 31-28 this past Saturday, a war-of-words has broken out between Stanford head coach David Shaw and Washington coach Steve Sarkasian.

It started after the game when Sarkasian accused Stanford of faking injuries to slow down the Husky offense. He told local radio station KJR; "Their defensive line coach was telling them to sit down" "I guess that's how we play here at Stanford, so we'll have to prepare for that next time. At some point, we'll get repaid for it. That never serves a purpose for us, and we'll never do that"

Ironically, Washington had an assistant suspended in 2010, for doing just that. Tosh Lupoi, then an assistant at Washington sat for a game after having players fake injuries.

Shaw fired back Tuesday on his teleconference saying "We don't fake injuries and never will. I don't teach it, don't condone it, don't allow it. I don't care what Steve Sarkasian thinks he saw. We don't do it. We didn't do it vs. Oregon, so why would we do it against UW? We are one of the most respected programs in the country and I won't put that on the line just to beat Washington."

Oooohhh....slap...

Of course Stanford is not beyond reproach either. The Cardinal, according to many, did exactly what they are being accused of in 2010, when Shaw was the offensive coordinator, against Oregon.

Late Night CFB: Stanford Survives Washington

Two of the Pac-12's best football teams squared off late Saturday night in California and put on a game that most of the east coast probably missed.

Stanford held off a late Washington rally and walked away with a 31-28 hard fought win. The win raised their record to 5-0 and positioned them as the one team who could derail Oregon.

Washington dominated the game statistically, but the difference may have been on the opening kickoff. Stanford's Ty Montgomery brought it back 99 yards for the score and Stanford was off to the races.

Husky QB Keith Price threw for 350 yards and a couple of scores but an overturned 4th down pass ended up being the difference3.

Washington drops to 4-1 in the Pac-12 and a prime time matchup with Oregon in Seattle next weekend.
Stanford moves on to face Utah next week.

Your highlights from ESPN:

What Were The Badgers Thinking? Strange Ending In Arizona State's 32-30 Win Over Wisconsin

Can you explain this ending by to the Wisconsin - Arizona State game?



Wisconsin head coach Gary Anderson tried to explain.

It is a shame that it went down that way." Anderson said.  "If there is 18 seconds left we teach the kids to spike it and of course he slipped but that is what we practice. We were worried we would have a kickoff our way.”

Wisconsin fans are calling this the "Valley Of The Stun."

Washington St beats USC: Is Coach Kiffykins Toast?

Those of us on the East Coast undoubtedly did not stay awake to watch this game. Why would you?

Washington State pulled off what many feel may have been an upset, but maybe it wasn't. The Cougars took down apparently over-rated USC 10-7, late Saturday night at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

As usual, most of the generic Sportswriting masses picked USC to be a "Top 25" team. Under coach Lane Kiffin, it appears they are not. The USC fans who remained to see their team lose their first home opener since 1997, serenaded their head coach with "Fire Kiffin" chants.

From Instagram:



Ironically, Washington State, a supposed offensive power under the mad genius coach Mike Leach didn't score an offensive touchdown, they got a field goal and a 70-yard TD on an interception return.

Yes, the game was that ugly.

Highlights from Fox Sports:

Utah Comes From Behind To Defeat Rival Utah State

In the third quarter Utah was down 23-14 to Utah State and it looked as if the Aggies would win their second in a row over the Utes.

That didn't happen.  Utah quarterback Travis Wilson led the Utes to four scoring drives in the second half in their 30-26 win over the Aggies.







“The team responded well tonight" Utah quarterback Travis Wilson said. We never doubted ourselves and kept our confidence up. We were able to make some big plays downfield that set us up well for our touchdowns.”

Wilson threw for 302 yards against Utah State, only the second time in his career.

 Our guys showed resiliency, especially after getting down 23-14, we didn’t fold and kept fighting." Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham said.  "In the end it was just enough to get the win.”

University of Oregon Gets Sanctions/Wrist Slap

((ht: goducks.com))

So, along with the other things going on this morning, the University of Oregon learned what the NCAA has decided to do with the charges of recruiting violations and using a non-compliant recruiting service (Wille Lyles).

And it's not nearly as bad as it probably could have been.

Here's the abridged version:

The NCAA found 6 issues--

1) Recruiting violations by the owner of a recruiting/scouting service how became a representative of the school's athletic interests
2) Use of said service which didn't comply with the NCAA legislation
3) Impermissible calls by non-coaching staff members
4) Too many football coaches
5) Former head coach (Chip Kelly) failed to monitor
6) Failure to monitor by the institution

And your slap on the wrist/penalties:

1) Public reprimand and censure
2) 3 Years probation, starting today (June 26th, 2013)
3) Loss of one scholarship for the next 2-years
4) Loss of 4 'Paid Visits' by coaching staff to recruits
5) Loss of 6 'Football Evaluation Days' from 42 to 36
6) No subscription recruiting services during probation
7) The recruiting service provider (Lyles) will be disassociated from the school (already happened)

And the penalty to former coach Chip Kelly, who now coaches the Philadelphia Eagles:

--An 18 month "Show-Cause" penalty, which means he can't coach in the NCAA until the end of next year. Not that he would want to now...

GoDucks.com provides the entire 28-page document RIGHT HERE

So--essentially, the NCAA is saying, "Yeah, you did some bad things, but we are going to slap your wrists". There is no bowl ban. There's minimal loss of scholarships and the NCAA can say "You were bad". And they get to say, without saying it, that it's Chip Kelly's fault.

What's the point?

This does little if anything to slow down Nike U/Oregon.



UPDATE:

Here's a statement released by former head coach Chip Kelly:

“Now that the NCAA has concluded their investigation and penalized the University of Oregon and its football program, I want to apologize to the University of Oregon, all of its current and former players and their fans.  I accept my share of responsibility for the actions that led to the penalties. As I have I stated before, the NCAA investigation and subsequent ruling had no impact on my decision to leave Oregon for Philadelphia. I have also maintained throughout that I had every intention to cooperate with the NCAA’s investigation, which I did."

USC Student Manager fired for deflating Oregon's Balls

Well, the headline here is a bit deceiving, but only slightly.

USC's football team had to fire one of its student team managers Wednesday after it was discovered he let the air out of Oregon's game balls during last Saturday's 62-51 Oregon victory over the Trojan's.

The sort-of elaborate scheme had the manager waiting until after the game officials certified the balls as good to go to start the game. It appears, at least according to the USC Football website, the officials figured out something was wrong and took care of the problem at halftime.

The manager appears to have fessed up to the violation, the school has disavowed any and all knowledge of such an act and the PAC-12 has reprimanded and fined the school.

And no, it didn't slow Oregon down...at all.

Highlights--in case you missed them from FOX Sports:

Oregon make USC look pathetic 62-51

Good thing they play exciting offense in the PAC-12, because based on the score of the Oregon/USC game Saturday night, the defense is sure missing.

Kenjon Barner ran for 321yards and 5 TD's, Marcus Mariota threw for 304 yards and 4 TD's as the Ducks racked up 730 yards of total offense on the night.

And they had to because USC had 615 themselves, led my Matt Barkley's 484 and 5 TD's.

But Oregon did what they had to and just exposed USC as a WAY over-rated team. The game got as close as 41-38 late in the 3rd quarter, but the Ducks just sprinted away from the apparently overmatched Trojan D.

Oregon moves to 9-0, 6-0 in the PAC-12, USC, who was picked by the Geniuses at ESPN to win it all, falls to 6-3, 4-3 in the PAC-12.

The Ducks, at least to us, solidified their hold as the 2nd best team in the NCAA and still have 2 hurdles left, Oregon State and the PAC-12 title game which may...or may not be a re-match with USC.

Your highlights (and there were a lot) from ESPN:

Washington Upsets Oregon State, Sean Mannion Pulled Late In Game

Sorry Oregon State but you just don't waltz into CenturyLink Field (was Husky Stadium) in Seattle with an unbeaten record and expect to stay that way.  Just ask Stanford who were beaten down in Seattle a month ago.

Especially against a desperate Washington Husky team that had lost three in a row coming in.

And when the Huskies broke out the black jerseys the “black magic” voodoo would get the best of the Beavers.

Husky quarterback Keith Price was efficient going 18-30 passing for 194 yards.  Bishop Sankey rushed for 92 yards and scored both of U-Dubs two touchdowns as the Huskies were a perfect 3 of 3 in the red zone as the Dawgs upset the Beavers 20-17.

The guys who called the game for the PAC-12 Network, Ted Robinson and Glenn Parker, say it was the Husky defense that shined in this one. (Thanks PAC-12 Network)

“It was a tremendous amount of adversity that they were faced with in the game and they continued to show the mental and physical toughness that teams need to possess to beat a top 10-ranked team opponent.” Washington head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “I was proud of the character ours guys possessed, their ability to persevere when the game could’ve really started swaying in Oregon State’s favor when they notched it up 10-10 but our defense continually came up with stops.”

Here’s more post game sound right after the game. (Thanks KING-TV Seattle)

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion looked rusty following a three game lay off due to a knee injury throwing three interceptions.  Cody Yaz come in late in the game and led the Beavers to the tying touchdown.

“It was one of those things where I thought that it would just be good for our team.” Oregon State head coach Mike Riley said. “Cody made some good plays, almost made a couple there at the end.”

“Would I have liked to play? Obviously, but at the same time I know it’s about the team and not me. I’m behind Cody 110%.” Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion said.

Oregon State has only one tough road game left, in two weeks at Stanford.  All the Beavers want to do now is hold serve for the Civil War showdown with Oregon, this year it’s in Corvallis. 

USC's Matt Barkley Bounces Back VS Utah, Throws For 3 TD's And No Interceptions

Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley had a lot to prove Thursday night against Utah.  The stench of a stinker of a performance against Stanford has lingered. 

In Salt Lake City Thursday night the Trojans found themselves down two touchdowns to open to game to the fired up Utes.

Barkley didn’t make the same mistakes he did against the Cardinal nor did he throw an interception.  Barkley was just locked on to his receivers.

In the 2^nd half alone Barkley threw three touchdown passes of  23 yards, 6 yards and the hat trick was an 83 yard bomb to Marqise Lee that doomed Utah. USC heads back home with a 38-28 win and a 4-1 record.

"The quarterback [Barkley] played really well, to go on the road versus a defense that can give you some problems.”  USC head coach Lane Kiffin said. “To complete over 70 percent of his passes, no interceptions, no sacks, three touchdowns and was maybe two catches away from a huge night, it's good to see; because we all know what happened the last time we went on the road with our offensive line. So, back-to-back no sacks, it was good."

Come on Kiffykins, call you quarterback by name not just “the quarterback”.  Barkley did a nice job in a hostile environment and led the Trojans to a well earned win on the road. 

Here’s the highlights from Salt Lake City.  (Thanks KSL-TV)
Southern Cal’s D.J. Morgan rushed for 46 yards against Utah and offered his thoughts after the game. (Thanks USC Athletics)