Roundup: Stanford-USC is a must-see game

Kyle Bonagura writes that Stanford-USC has become a must-see game. The last five games have been decided by one score.

Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times reports that blind long snapper Jake Olson practiced with USC Tuesday and donned a yellow No. 17 jersey as he participated in non-contact drills (he hasn’t been cleared for them yet).

Aaron Fentress of CSN Northwest reports that Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams has a broken index finger on his throwing hand. He suffered the injury in the opener against Eastern Washington but gutted through it in the loss to Michigan State.

Bad news in Boulder – Colorado left tackle Jeromy Irwin is out for the season after tearing his ACL against UMass. He had played in 119 snaps this year and had yet to yield a sack.

Kevin Gemmell details the injury troubles Utah has had with quarterbacks over the years. How about this – Utah hasn’t had a QB start every game in a season since 2008 (Brian Johnson). It looks as though that streak will continue into 2016, as an injured Wilson isn’t expected to return until the Oregon game next weekend.

Erick Smith of USA Today has moved UCLA into his College Football Playoff projection alongside Alabama, Ohio State and TCU.

Hmmm… Might Cal be wearing blue matte helmets against Texas Saturday?  Doug Samuels of Football Scoop offers some potential evidence. Let’s hope so.

Great story from Christian Caple on Washington defensive tackle Taniela Tupou, who went from playing sparingly his first four seasons at Washington to being named a starter and team captain in 2015. He blocked a field goal attempt against Sacramento State, which meant his teammates paid for Jack in the Box for him.

Washington State kicker Erik Powell was named one of the Lou Groza Award Stars of the Week after going 3-for-3 on field goal attempts in a 37-34 win at Rutgers Saturday.

Ryan Finley of the Arizona Daily Star features Arizona backup quarterback Jerrard Randall, who broke off a 57-yard touchdown run against Nevada last weekend. Coaches might be thinking about using the speedster as a running back or wide receiver.

Oregon State forward Timmy Mueller was named Pac-12 Men’s Soccer Player of the Week after scoring two game-winning goals last weekend against Duquesne and Cornell.

Sweet – Former Arizona State big man Jordan Bachynski signed with the Detroit Pistons, according to 21-year old Yahoo Sports prodigy reporter Shams Charania. It’s a non-guaranteed deal, so he could be nothing more than a training camp body. But still, kudos to Blockchynski.