Roundup: Bear Raid hosts Air Raid
‘Tis a bit of a slow week in the Pac-12 with just eight teams in action, but there will be nothing slow about Cal-Washington State in Berkeley to kick off the action Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks). The good news for the Bears is that running back Daniel Lasco is expected to play against Washington State after missing the last two games with a hip muscle strain.
On the other sideline, Jacob Thorpe features Washington State running back Keith Harrington, who has scored a touchdown in each of his first three collegiate games. And, if you didn’t see it, here’s a video of Harrington’s dad reacting to his son scoring against Wyoming. Pretty priceless. Sidenote – did I just talk about two running backs in a game that will likely feature 100 combined passes?
UCLA hopes to continue cementing itself as a Pac-12 contender when it welcomes Arizona State to the Rose Bowl late Saturday afternoon (4:30 p.m., FOX). Kyle Bonagura writes that even though he’s a freshman, UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen has experience facing the pressure Arizona State will send his way. Czech this stat – Rosen has completed 61 percent of his passes when he has been blitzed.
Meanwhile, offensive coordinator Mike Norvell has taken responsibility for Arizona State’s problems on offense, notes Ryan Bafaloukos of House of Sparky. The Sun Devils are 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring offense and 10th in rushing offense.
Nightcap No. 1 places us in Boulder, as Colorado looks to reverse its Pac-12 fortunes in the new conference year against Oregon (7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT, ESPN). Kevin Gemmell writes that Colorado defensive back Jered Bell’s experience is a big plus for the Buffs. Starting his collegiate career in 2010, Bell has played for four different coaches in Boulder (one of them interim).
Meanwhile, the Ducks are trying to improve by simplifying things, reports Andrew Greif of The Oregonian. Also, former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for September and former Oregon cornerback Ifo Ekpre-Olomu is expected to collect a loss-of-value draft insurance policy after slipping in the 2015 NFL draft. If the claim is indeed paid, Ekpre-Olomu would be the first player to receive a payout (CBS Sports).
The nightcap to the nightcap takes us to The Farm, where No. 18 Stanford faces barely-unranked (third-most also receiving votes) Arizona (7:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks). Stanford sports information director David Kiefer whips up this great piece on when Stanford and Arizona played in Tokyo in 1986 in a game called the “Coca-Cola Bowl” (it wasn’t an actual bowl game; just the last game of the regular season).
Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon is listed as questionable for the Stanford game on the team’s official injury report. He suffered a concussion in the second quarter of the loss to UCLA.
Gina Mizell points out that Oregon State’s passing game has improved over the four games this season. Seth Collins can be something special one day.
It’s a bye week for the team with arguably the best résumé in college football right now, so this is a good time to tell you that Utah unveiled a $36 million basketball practice facility Thursday. Kareem Copeland of the Associated Press lets us know that the building is 90,000 square feet and houses two 12,000 square-foot practice gyms. Is that big?
It’s been a while since we’ve gotten “The Details” with Mason Kelley, so let’s return to the well for his story on Washington men’s basketball player Andrew Andrews, the fifth-year senior (and the only senior on the team) who wants nothing more than to make the NCAA tournament.
USC women’s soccer defeated Washington State 1-0 Thursday night thanks to a goal in the 78th minute by Morgan Andrews. The Trojans improved to 2-0-0 in Pac-12 play, handing the 20th-ranked Cougars their first conference loss in the process.