Roundup: USC-Ohio State in Cotton, Washington-Penn State in Fiesta
No hiding from the fact that the Pac-12 is a disappointing 1-5 in bowl games so far this year, but the Pac-12 can save face with wins in a couple of New Year’s Six bowl games on Friday. Let’s start with giving you a USC-Ohio State Cotton Bowl preview courtesy of Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports (5:30 p.m. PT, ESPN).
To get you informed for the Fiesta Bowl featuring Washington and Penn State (1 p.m. PT, ESPN), check out this Adam Jude article on the relationship between Washington cornerback Byron Murphy and his two cousins who have a rare form of dwarfism.
It wasn’t as dramatic as two years ago, but TCU pulled off another comeback in the Alamo Bowl to defeat Stanford 39-37 (Yahoo Sports). The Horned Frogs trailed Stanford 21-3 late in the second quarter before roaring in front. I’m sure Oregon fans don’t need to be reminded about what happened in 2015…
The big news from Washington State’s 42-17 loss to Michigan State in the Holiday Bowl was that Washington State quarterback Luke Falk missed the game with an apparent injury (he was photographed earlier in the week with a cast on his left wrist). Mike Leach did not comment on the matter. Not sure I’ve ever seen the Associated Press describe a person as “condescending” as it does regarding Leach here.
Don’t forget about the Sun Bowl featuring Arizona State and NC State (12 p.m. PT/1 p.m. MT, CBS), and Doug Haller writes that Arizona State is trying to “sidestep distractions” to give Todd Graham one last win.
Oregon State has hired Terry Boss as its next men’s soccer head coach, AD Scott Barnes announced Thursday. An Oregon native, Boss was an assistant coach for the Beavers in 2013.
Cal men’s basketball opens Pac-12 play at Stanford Saturday night, and check out the preceding link to peruse the Cal game notes.
Colorado men’s basketball is looking for more consistency as Pac-12 play begins, notes Pat Rooney. The Buffs open up the league slate at Oregon State.
Thuc Nhi Nguyen gives us five “burning questions” for UCLA men’s basketball entering Pac-12 play.
Lynn Worthy gives us a Utah-Oregon men’s basketball primer in the league lid-lifter for the Utes and Ducks Friday night in Eugene.
Check out this snippet of Allonzo Trier talking about his mom supporting his basketball career – the full story will air on the “Pac-12 Basketball Pregame Show” on Saturday.
Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated details former Oregon defensive lineman Dion Jordan’s rise from alcohol and drug abuse to making an impact with the Seattle Seahawks with three sacks in four games. Very good read here; well worth the 10 minutes.