Roundup: UW's Clay to make first in front of ailing mother
Adam Jude tells us that Washington strong safety Brian Clay will make his first collegiate start in front of his ailing mother, who recently moved to Boise to live with her sister. His mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when Clay was a sophomore in high school.
UCLA defensive back Ishmael Adams was arrested on suspicion of felony robbery early Sunday morning. According to the Orange County Register’s Joey Kaugman, Adams was released from jail Tuesday morning and his court date has been moved from Tuesday to Sept. 22.
USC AD Pat Haden said he made his decisions regarding Steve Sarkisian “in the best interest of USC.” On the “Trojans Live” radio show (via the Los Angeles Times, via CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson), Haden said Sark has already started the counseling part of his treatment.
Zac Ellis of Sports Illustrated predicts that Oregon will make the College Football Playoff alongside Auburn, Ohio State and Baylor. He also has USC playing in the Rose Bowl against Michigan State. Also, Chantel Jennings writes that graduate transfers Vernon Adams and Matt Hegarty are bonding at Oregon (and they better bond quickly, because Hegarty will be snapping to Adams for real starting Saturday).
Here’s something to cheer about, ZonaZoo – Arizona fans have better grammar than Arizona State fans, according to the Grammarly Top 25 (Auburn is No. 1, Oregon is No. 3, Stanford is No. 6, Arizona is No. 7, USC is 11th, UCLA is 16th and ASU is 19th). In case you’re curious, rankings compiled using mistakes per 100 words on reader comments from SB Nation team blogs for each school. Also, Daniel Berk features Arizona free safety Demetrius Flanningan-Fowles, who could very well see some time in the season opener against UTSA Thursday as a true freshman. Thursday could be his first game action since his junior year in high school (he transferred high schools as a senior and was deemed ineligible).
Todd Graham said Monday that he thinks Mike Bercovici could be better than Taylor Kelly. Doug Haller has the story.
Officially named the starter for Thursday’s season opener on Monday, Utah quarterback Travis Wilson feels confident heading into the Michigan game, notes Kyle Goon.
Can Cal football break through in 2015? That’s the question Jeff Faraudo ponders in this article.
Brian Howell writes that Colorado isn’t sure what to expect from Hawaii in Thursday’s season opener. Late night for you Buffs fans in Boulder Thursday with a kickoff time of 11:04 p.m. MT. Call in sick Friday.
Gina Mizell and Danny Moran of The Oregonian analyze the 2015 Oregon State football schedule. Both think the Beavs will go 4-8 in Gary Andersen’s first season at the helm in Coravllis.
Jacob Thorpe takes a quick look at Washington State’s season opener against Portland State.
Not a bad start to her collegiate career – Stanford women’s volleyball opposite Hayley Hodson was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. The No. 1 national recruit last year, Hodson averaged 3.17 kills and 3.83 digs per set in a couple of three-set victories over Texas A&M and Minnesota.