Roundup: Games like USC-Texas could become rarity in CFP era
Zach Helfand of the Los Angeles Times writes that games like USC-Texas could become a rarity in the College Football Playoff era since it increases a chance for a loss for a big time school; especially in leagues that have a nine-game conference schedule like the Pac-12, and especially for schools like USC that already have a yearly matchup against a big school like the Trojans do with Notre Dame.
ESPN is reporting that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver John Ross will likely make his NFL regular season debut Thursday night against the Houston Texans. The former Husky sprained his knee in the Bengals’ final preseason game.
Former Arizona State star James Harden is ranked fifth on Sports Illustrated’s list of top 100 NBA players. Former Bruin Russell Westbrook is sixth, and of course, LeBron, KD and Steph go 1-2-3.
With a win on the gridiron secured in the rivalry last weekend, Utah women’s volleyball will play BYU for the 100th time Thursday night at the Jon M. Huntsman Center, and Lynn Worthy has an article on the matchup for The Salt Lake Tribune. This should be a juicy one, as both Utah and BYU are 8-1 and ranked in the top 20 (Utah is 16th, BYU is 14th). Catch it on Pac-12 Network (6 p.m. PT/7 p.m. MT); Thad Anderson and Amy Gant on the call.
In case you missed it earlier in the week, Brandon Dawkins will be Arizona’s starting quarterback against UTEP on Friday, head coach Rich Rodriguez announced Monday.
How will Stanford respond to being “punched in the gut” at USC? That’s the question posed by Vytas Mazeika of the Bay Area News Group. The Cardinal heads back to SoCal this weekend to take on a very good San Diego State squad that is fresh off beating Arizona State by 10 on the road.
Addicted to Quack gives us this piece about Willie Taggart and Oregon preparing for their first road game of the season against a Wyoming team that features future pro quarterback Josh Allen.
UCLA women’s volleyball swept LMU in its home opener Wednesday night, and here’s the Pac-12 Networks recap of the event.
Be sure to check out our Yogi Roth’s breakdown of Colorado’s game against Northern Colorado Saturday afternoon (11 a.m. PT/noon MT) on Pac-12 Network.
David Caraccio of The Sacramento Bee dives into why Cal men’s soccer goalkeeper Drake Callender was named Pac-12 Player of the Week. The Fair Oaks, Calif., native (a suburb of Sacramento, hence the writeup from the Bee) made nine saves in a win over Portland Saturday, including stopping a PK in the 90th minute.
Oregon State safety David Morris is making an impact as a true freshman, writes Gina Mizell. Congrats to Gina for accepting a job with The Denver Post to cover the Nuggets. We’ll miss your sure-fire links here on pac-12.com, Gina.
Here’s an Oregon State scouting report for you Coug fans, courtesy of CougCenter. First conference clash of the season for Wazzu.