Roundup: Stanford must exorcise its road demons
For some Stanford prep, we take you to David Lombardi, who writes that Stanford must exorcise its road demons in order to play in the 100th Rose Bowl. The Cardinal offense hasn’t been nearly as crisp away from The Farm as it is on it. In another link, the San Jose Mercury News’ Jon Wilner predicts that Stanford will beat Arizona State 30-23.
The Forks got worked in the first half against Stanford and fell down 39-7 before making some sort of game against the Card, but Tyler Lockman of Fox Sports Arizona believes that ASU is different in important ways since the Stanford loss. Winning 10 games this year got him $150,000 and taking the Sun Devils to the Pac-12 Football Championship Game earned him another $230K, so you could say that Arizona State’s success is paying off in a big way for Todd Graham.
Here’s the latest from Montlake: Marques Tuiasosopo has been named Washington’s interim head coach for the bowl game, while it looks like that Chris Petersen and Doug Nussmeier are the apparent frontrunners for the head coaching gig.
Yesterday, Colorado regents approved a far-reaching athletic facilities plan that is estimated to cost at least $140 million. So, what’s all the money gonna go to? Here's an abbreviated preview: An indoor multipurpose practice facility with a football field and 300-meter track, a renovation of the Dal Ward Athletics Center and the addition of a 21,900-square foot high-performance sports center for starters. Now it’s time to raise some money, folks.
While the USC AD is happy with his new hire, Pat Haden did acknowledge contacting Jon Gruden, saying that the former Raiders and Bucs head coach wants to coach in the NFL.
Also, here’s UCLA AD Dan Guerrero talking about Jim Mora’s contract extension. Big re-signing for the Bruins, obviously.
Marcus Mariota made headlines earlier this week by announcing he was gonna remain a Duck for another year, and his former coach Chip Kelly says Mariota made a “good decision” to return to Oregon. And The Oregonian explains what the returns of Mariota and Hroniss Grasu mean for Oregon football.
There has been a lot of clamor about the new rules in college basketball that have led to a whole lot more whistles, and former Arizona coach Lute Olson is another big name who doesn’t like the new rules, as he thinks all the foul calls take teams out of their rhythm. Also, be sure to check out Ka'Deem Carey on the Pac-12 Networks' Football Podcast (Uncle Ted is on there too).
In case you missed “The Drive” last night, check out this segment featuring the Cal players and coaches reaffirming their commitment to improve.
With nine teams achieving bowl eligibility in the Pac-12, Oregon State AD Bob De Carolis is unsure about the Beavers’ bowl situation. Arizona, Washington State and Oregon State, all at 4-5 in the Pac-12, are holding their breath a lil’ bit right now. We’ll find out Sunday where they all go.
There is a student group at Utah that has asked the school to drop its ties to the Ute tribe, reports Lya Wodraska of the Salt Lake Tribune. It must be noted that the Ute Indian tribe has approved the university’s use of the Ute name and still wants to keep its relationship with the school. We’ll keep track of this as the story develops.
We’ve already linked out a bit on the Cougs’ bowl situation, so why continue to do that when we can talk about this week in Cougar athletics?