The Pac-12 North title is on the line for No. 13 Washington State as they take on rival No. 17 Washington in the Apple Cup but neither team seemed to sense the urgency of such stakes after a half of play in rainy Seattle, with the Huskies slogging their way to a 24-0 lead in a game mostly dominated by defense.
Quarterback Jake Browning threw for only 68 yards but couldn’t find much down the field and was pressured several times as Chris Petersen’s team stuck mostly with the ground game given the conditions. Running back Myles Gaskin ran for 114 yards and two of the game’s touchdowns while Browning had a keeper for the other score.
Injuries were perhaps the bigger story for Washington in the half as two of the team’s biggest playmakers both went to the locker room with lower leg injuries. FBS record holder and leading receiver Dante Pettis was hurt while fielding a punt while No. 2 tailback Lavon Coleman seemed to twist his leg into the turf while getting tackled.
Much of the offense was the result of big defensive plays amid a pretty fired up crowd on Montlake. Wazzu quarterback Luke Falk managed just 132 yards through the air, getting sacked four times while throwing two interceptions. To make matters worse, the senior signal-caller also fumbled on a scramble in what was a nightmare start for the team needing a win in order to take the division crown and wind up in the Pac-12 title game.
The Cougars still have plenty of time and firepower to get back in this one but Washington is looking pretty determined to ruin their rival’s title hopes and hit the double-digit win mark for the second year in a row. The Apple Cup has been full of some wild games but you don’t get the vibe that this year’s edition will be all that memorable unless Falk, Mike Leach and company get things fixed in the locker room and come out determined to reverse this outcome.
Here’s to guessing that everyone involved will say “War Damn Worth Every Penny” and not blink at writing that check.
With a berth in the SEC championship game and a possible spot in the College Football Playoff on the line, No. 6 Auburn upset top-ranked Alabama in the latest installment of the Iron Bowl. Not surprisingly, Tigers fans stormed the field to celebrate the win over their hated rival.
Given the SEC’s policy on field/court-storming, it’s also not surprising that the conference announced shortly after the huge win that the university has been fined $250,000. From the league’s release:
Financial penalties, which were increased by action taken during the 2015 SEC Spring Meetings, are imposed for violations in all sports sponsored by the Conference. Institutional penalties range from $50,000 for a first offense to fines of up to $100,000 for a second offense and up to $250,000 for a third and subsequent offenses.
AU had previously been fined $50,000 for storming the field following the 2013 Kick-Six win over Alabama, then $100,000 for court-storming that followed the 2016 men’s basketball win over Kentucky.
“The Conference has unanimously approved a policy requiring fines be applied when spectators enter the playing field after a game,” said SEC commissioner Greg Sankey in a statement. “Fans are expected to remain in the stands and avoid the safety concerns associated with rushing on to the playing field. We want exciting experiences around SEC games, but also seek to maintain a safe environment for student-athletes, coaches, spectators and officials.”
Seeing as the SEC is distributing $40 million-plus per school annually, I’m thinking that, again, there will be no blinking involved when this check is written and cashed.
Here’s the good news for No. 21 Stanford: the Cardinal carries a 14-10 lead over No. 8 Notre Dame at the half in Palo Alto. Here’s the better news: No. 17 Washington leads No. 13 Washington State at the half in Seattle, where a Huskies victory would hand Stanford the Pac-12 North championship and send the club to the Pac-12 Championship opposite No. 11 USC next week.
Notre Dame opened the scoring with an 83-yard snatch-and-dash connection from Brandon Wimbush to Kevin Stepherson, handing the Irish a 7-0 lead at the 3:40 mark of the first quarter. Stanford pulled even on the next drive, knifing 72 yards in five plays, the last 29 on a Trenton Irwin pass from K.J. Costello.
The Cardinal forced a three-and-out on Notre Dame’s next possession, then took the lead with a 6-play, 55-yard march, mostly on Costello’s arm. He hit J.J. Arcega-Whiteside to give Stanford a 14-7 lead with 11:29 left in the first half.
Notre Dame cut into the deficit with a 38-yard Justin Yoon field goal with 2:36 left in the half.
Bryce Love has been mostly quiet in playing through a high ankle sprain; he’s rushed 10 times for 31 yards to this point. Costello closed the half connecting on 9-of-14 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.
Wimbush has hit 7-of-14 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown and leads the team with 37 yards on seven carries. Josh Adams has rushed 12 times for 27 yards.
Those who are no fans of the bloated bowl system (raises hand proudly) can take solace in this development.
This season there are 39 bowl games, including the playoff semifinals, meaning 78 teams need to reach the six-win threshold in order to keep APR scores amongst five-win teams from filling out the postseason field. Fortunately, the latter won’t be necessary.
From the Associated Press:
Temple’s 43-22 win over Tulsa guaranteed that there will be [at least] 78 teams at six wins. The week started with 70 teams already bowl eligible with four games matching 5-6 teams. UCLA, Purdue and Middle Tennessee won what were essentially bowl play-in games. …
Duke, Texas Tech and Buffalo also won their games to reach six wins and qualify.
There are actually four teams that could reach six wins when all of the dust is settled: Louisiana Tech (UTSA) and the winner of the Colorado (5-6) vs. Utah (5-6) matchup tonight, Florida State (Louisiana-Monroe) and New Mexico State (South Alabama) next Saturday.
This will mark the first time since 2014 that a five-win team/teams haven’t been needed to complete the bowl field.
No. 1 and No. 2 have already lost road games this week. It doesn’t appear No. 3 will be in the same danger.
Third-ranked Clemson leads No. 24 South Carolina 20-0 at the break in Columbia.
After downing a punt at the 1-yard line, Clemson’s Ryan Carter capitalized on a miscommunication by South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley as he grabbed an uncontested pass at the South Carolina 12 and waltzed into the end zone for the game’s first score.
That was the only score of the first quarter, but Clemson’s offense got in on the action in the second quarter with a 9-play, 80-yard drive that was keyed by two big Kelly Bryant passes and completed with a 1-yard Tavien Feaster run with 8:12 left in the first half.
Clemson put together a similar drive to close the half, moving 79 yards in 10 snaps, 40 of which came on a deep ball to Tee Higgins. Hunter Renfrow notched his second touchdown grab of the season, a 4-yarder, with 1:59 left in the half. Alex Spence‘s PAT was wide left after Dabo Swinney was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for arguing with officials.
Bentley closed the half hitting 8-of-15 passes for 42 yards with the interception. Tyson Williams led the club with six carries for 35 yards and two grabs for 13 yards.
Bryant connected on 14-of-21 throws for 159 yards and the Tigers rushed for 67 yards on 18 carries in the half.
Clemson will receive to open the second half.
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