Roundup: USC fights on to victory
After USC stunned Stanford on a late field goal to shake up the Pac-12 (again), Arash Markazi writes that Ed Orgeron is the only choice for USC. The Men of Troy are 5-1 since he has taken over as interim head honcho and are still in contention for the Pac-12 South (they need some help, though). The Trojans are keeping their options open, however, because it has been reported that USC interviewed Jack Del Rio for the head coaching vacancy. (If you ask Coach O about the Del Rio interview, he’ll say “I really don’t care.”)
To add insult to injury for the Cardinal, a USC fan took a selfie with David Shaw after the game. Shaw was not amused – not because of the fan, but because Stanford’s BCS title hopes were derailed by USC. Still a shot at a BCS game for Stanford, though. Hey, at least Stanford was one of four Pac-12 men’s soccer teams selected for the NCAA tournament, right? Washington, Cal and UCLA will join the Farm Boys in the field of 48.
You know what that USC win means… the Ducks take over the top spot in the North, as Stanford now has two Pac-12 losses. Of course, Oregon had to do its job earlier in the day, which it did by beating Utah 44-21. It was a game in which Marcus Mariota’s right arm was enough to beat Utah and restore faith in the quarterback’s threat. No read option for the Quacks because of Mariota’s bum knee, but the QB did his thing as a pocket passer.
At 4-6, Utah still has the goal of reaching bowl eligibility, but Kurt Kragthorpe opines that the Utes need to salvage their crumbling season. Four straight losses can be remedied with wins in the final two weeks at Wazzu and at home vs. Colorado.
Oregon State fans have probably heard enough about the Beavs’ 30-17 loss to Arizona State, (but here’s a look back just in case they haven’t), so here’s a lil’ somethin’-somethin’ about President Obama taking in the OSU basketball game at Maryland yesterday (a 90-83 road triumph for the Beavs, no less).
As if that rewind wasn’t enough, here’s another look back at ASU’s triumph over Oregon State from a Sun Devil reporter’s perspective. Now at 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the South, an “opportunity” awaits Arizona State football in a showdown with UCLA next weekend.
In beating Arizona 24-17 in Tucson on a late touchdown, Washington State found success and unity on the road. Now the Cougs are just one win away from bowl eligibility.
Two close home defeats in a row now for the Wildcats, and the bowl picture becomes murky for Arizona after the loss to Washington State.
So many things went right in this banner weekend for the Buffs: Not only did Colorado beat Cal 41-24 on the gridiron, but both cross country teams earned bids to the NCAA championships, both basketball teams handled biz against a pair of SWAC schools, and women’s soccer upset Denver in the first round of the NCAA tournament (#ExtendGeorge). One more note on the football game, though: Nelson Spruce put on a show with a career day against Cal. The receiver had eight grabs for 140 yards and scored a touchdown on an on-side kick recovery.
The Golden Bears have no time to feel sorry for themselves this week, because Cal faces a big challenge in the 116th Big Game. A date on The Farm awaits.
Before alllllll of that action happened, UCLA took care of Washington 41-31, and UCLA’s football team is rising to the challenge in a difficult stretch: The Bruins have beaten Arizona on the road and now U-Dub, with Arizona State and USC still on the horizon. But back to the U-Dub game – Myles Jack was at it again Friday night, scoring four touchdowns and registering five tackles, and Fox Sports West believes that Jack is emerging as college football’s new superstar.
The Huskies have long since moved past the loss nearly 72 hours ago, so how about a little love for Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who was named a semifinalist for the John Mackey Award honoring the nation’s top tight end? Also, congrats to the Washington men’s soccer team for winning the Pac-12 regular season title after beating Oregon State 1-0 on Sunday.