Roundup: Big change in Troy
A 62-41 loss to Arizona State proved to be the final straw for Pat Haden, and USC fired head coach Lane Kiffin after the game. The interim head coach will be Ed Orgeron, but now Pat Haden faces the biggest decision of his tenure in choosing a leader for the future. So, where does USC go from here? Kiffin leaves Troy with a 28-15 mark in what was his fourth season as its head man.
So yeah, the big news coming out of that USC-Arizona State game was the firing of Kiffin, but we gotta give credit where credit is due, because Arizona State’s offense had a historic night in its win over USC. The 62 points the Sun Devils scored is tied for second most in a Pac-10/12 game in school history, while their 612 yards of offense were the most they had put up in more than 10 years. As a result, Arizona State is back in the AP Top 25 after Saturday’s win, jumping up to No. 22.
Stanford looked like the No. 5 team in the country and then some as it whipped Washington State 55-17. It was a complete performance for the Cardinal, and Barry Sanders showed flashes of his famous father. Hashtag Juke City.
Stanford’s cruise-control victory sets up a big-time matchup next Saturday on The Farm with the No.15 Huskies, who most recently dispatched of Arizona 31-13 at home to improve to 4-0. The Huskies have quite the running back, and with a school record of 40 carries for 161 yards against the Wildcats, Bishop Sankey was a workhorse for Washington.
While we’re on the subject of winners, No. 2 Oregon beat Cal 55-16 to cruise in a deluge (rain, it’s what the Pacific Northwest does). The win didn’t come without its consequences, however, as De’Anthony Thomas injured his ankle on the opening kickoff. Luckily for the Quacks, Byron Marshall was crucial for the Ducks after Thomas went down against Cal. After fumbling twice early, the San Jose native rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries.
As for our other winner on Saturday, Oregon State disposed of Colorado 44-17, and it was a game in which the fly sweep came alive again as the Beavers handled the Buffaloes. Looks like the Beavs have really bounced back well after that season-opening loss to Eastern Washington.
And now for the ones who didn’t come out victorious…first L of the season for Colorado, a game in which the Buffs fell flat. On the bright side of things in Boulder, however, Colorado women’s volleyball shocked No. 11 UCLA in five sets to end a 41-match losing streak against ranked opponents.
The Cougars look much improved over a year ago, but Washington State is beat up after the loss to Stanford. That Cardinal defense really put a lickin’ on Leach’s crew.
Arizona is no longer undefeated after that loss to U-Dub, and B.J. Denker and the Wildcats were overwhelmed by the season’s first test.
Cal fumbled the ball on its first four possessions in that 39-point loss to the Ducks, so you could say that rain affected Cal’s Air Raid offense. Monsoon-like conditions in Eugene; a torrential downpour, if you will. Also, defensive end Chris McCain has been dismissed from the Bears for conduct detrimental to the team.
No football contest to report on for Block U supporters, so they’ll probably be entertained by this story about men’s basketball coach Larry Krystkowiak detaining an alleged thief near the Huntsman Center for police. As Coach K later tweeted, you don’t mess with the Utes, yo.
In absence of football news in Westwood, UCLA men’s basketball began practice Saturday like the rest of the college hoops world. The Steve Alford era is officially underway.