Friday Fast Facts
Injury Update
Out for the Season:
Jared Bell– (Soph.) – defensive back – Out since August with a torn ACL
Doug Rippy – (Jr.) – linebacker – suffered torn ligaments in his knee against Washington – surgery pending
Blake Behrens – (Sr.) – offensive lineman – chronic shoulder and bicep tendinitis have ended his career
Tony Poremba – (Sr.) – defensive lineman – suffered a concussion in practice on October 4th, one of many in his career
Will Harlos – (Fr.) – defensive back – hamstring and concussion injuries have ended his season
Sherrard Harrington – (Fr.) – defensive back – suffered a hip contusion during the summer, decision to red-shirt made in August
Out for an extended time:
Jack Harris – (Soph.) – offensive tackle – Likely out for the season with a broken ankle, surgery on 9/22, still 2-4 weeks from a possible return
Rodney Stewart – (Sr.) – running back – suffered a knee sprain against Washington – out 1-2 more weeks
Brian Lockridge – (Sr.) – defensive back – suffered a sprained ankle v. Washington State – out another 1-2 weeks
Anthony Perkins – (Sr.) – safety – suffered an ankle sprain nine plays into the Oregon game – listed as “doubtful” for Arizona State
Kyle Cefalo – (Sr.) – wide receiver – elbow injury suffered v. Washington State; sprained knee v. Washington – out 1-2 weeks
Shawn Daniels – (Sr.) – offensive lineman – Suffered a severe calf strain on August 11th; resumed practice two weeks agao – listed as “day-to-day” (for the third week in a row)
Others:
Tyler Hansen – (Sr.) – quarterback – suffered a concussion in the first half against Oregon – with limited practice this week, may be held out for Arizona State. The Daily Camera is reporting that Nick Hirschman will be the starter against Arizona State.
Paul Richardson – (So.) – wide receiver – suffered a severe strained knee in practice on October 5th – listed as being out 1-2 weeks, but may play as early as this weekend
Travis Sandersfeld – (Sr.) – defensive back – suffered a fractured fibula in practice on September 13th – practiced this week – “probable” for Arizona State
Ray Polk – (Jr) – safety – Has a bad wrist, a fractured sternum and a concussion … held out of Oregon game – “probable” for Arizona State
D.D. Goodson – (Fr.) – defensive back – After two days of practice at the position, suffered a concussion against Oregon – “probable” for Arizona State
Josh Hartigan – (Sr.) – linebacker – suffered a stinger in practice on October 4th – played with it against Stanford; sat out against Washington; “probable” for Arizona State
Jason Espinoza – (Sr.) – defensive back – suffered a concussionn against Washington; held out against Oregon – “probable” for Arizona State
Suspended indefinitely – violations of team rules:
Parker Orms – (So.) – defensive back – lower leg injury suffered against Ohio State
Paul Vigo – (So.) – defensive back – hamstring – out since the Colorado State game
Ayodeji Olatoye – (So.) – defensive back – had played the first four games of the season (no tackles)
Liloa Nobriga – (So.) – linebacker – dressed for two home games and CSU game, but had not yet played a down
Overall, Colorado has lost 70 games to date from player who figured to be in the two-deep roster, or just under 20 percent of the possible 352 (eight games times 44 players). This total projects to be the highest total of lost games since 1984.
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Colorado v. Arizona State – Notes worth Noting
– The schools are less than 600 miles apart, but have only played twice before. The two teams met in a home-and-home in 2006 and 2007, with Arizona State winning both games.
– The 2006 game, played in Boulder, pitted the No. 22 Sun Devils against a Colorado team which had lost seven games in a row dating back to the end of 2005, and was coming off humiliating losses to Montana State and Colorado State. Arizona State prevailed, 21-3. Mason Crosby gave Colorado a 3-0 lead early, but the rest of the game was owned by the Sun Devils.
– The 2007 re-match was most note-worthy for the game-time temperature of 102 degrees (even with a 7:15 p.m. kickoff). The game was the first 100-degree game in Colorado history, with the warmest kickoff temperature previously being 99 degrees, recorded in the Rose Bowl for kickoff between Colorado and UCLA on September 21, 2002.
– The 2007 game opened as had the 2006 game, with Colorado taking the early lead. The Buffs jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, with Terrence Wheatley returning an interception 35 yards for a touchdown in the first minute of play. Unfortunately, as had been the case in the 2006 game, the Buffs did not score again, with Arizona State rolling to a 33-14 victory. Arizona State did have 12 penalties on the evening, including seven personal fouls, giving Colorado a school record seven first downs by penalty.
– Arizona State head coach Dennis Erickson is 2-1 vs. Colorado, though the record was accumulated coaching three different teams. In 1987, Erickson was the head coach at Washington State when the Buffs defeated the Cougars, 26-17. In 1993, Erickson returned to Boulder, this time as the head coach for Miami. That game, which ended with a 35-29 victory for the Hurricanes, is famous for the fights between the players on the field, and officiating which was so poor that Colorado athletic director Bill Marolt actually confronted the officials on the playing field (ahhh, those were the days). Erickson’s third game against the Buffs was as the head coach for Arizona State in the 2007 game.
– Colorado is 1-3 in Sun Devil Stadium, counting the 2007 loss to the home-standing Sun Devils and three Fiesta Bowls. Colorado has lost to Syracuse and Oregon in Tempe, with the lone victory coming in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame.
– Arizona State is coming off of a bye week. Since 2000, the Sun Devils are 5-6 following a bye.
Pac-12 Notes of Note
– ESPN GameDay is in Pac-12 territory for the second time in three weeks. After setting up shop in Eugene for the Oregon/Arizona State game, ESPN will be in Los Angeles for Stanford v. USC.
– It’s Washington State’s turn to take on Oregon this weekend. The Ducks have rushed for over 300 yards in each of the past five games, averaging 378 yards rushing per game. Oregon has won four straight over Washington State … and has averaged 52.3 points in those four games.
– Former Colorado Buff Josh Smith had 209 all-purpose yards in a 43-7 loss to Arizona last week (62 yards receiving / 147 in kick returns). Smith’s 1,383 career kickoff return yards ranks fourth all-time at UCLA. He needs just 93 more yards to move into second place.
– UCLA sophomore walk-on wide receiver Jerry Rice, Jr., will see his first action this weekend against Cal. Rice has spent the last two and a half seasons with the scout team but will be forced into duty this week because four UCLA receivers have been suspended for their actions during a bench-clearing brawl at Arizona last Thursday. “I’m very excited, but also very nervous and anxious,” Rice said. “I’ve been waiting for a long time for a chance to play and hopefully I can do something with it.” Coach Rick Neuheisel wouldn’t commit to a number of plays he expects Rice to play, but it’s almost a given that he will under the circumstances. Taylor Embree, son of Colorado head coach Jon Embree, Shaquelle Evans, Ricky Marvray and Randall Carroll all must sit out one game leaving Nelson Rosario and Josh Smith as the only receivers with significant experience available for Saturday’s game.
– Utah has designated this weekend’s game against Oregon State as its “Blackout Game”. In the three previous “Blackouts”, the Utes are are 2-1, with the sole loss coming last year against TCU.
– Stanford’s 446 yards rushing against Washington last weekend was a school record. Stanford had 44 rushes, with none going for negative yardarge. The 65 points scored were the most ever for the Cardinal in a conference game.
– Stanford leads the nation in red-zone scoring, going 38-for-38, with 30 touchdowns and eight field goals (Colorado is 6th in the conference, at 84.2% – 16-19, with 12 touchdowns and six field goals). Stanford also leads the conference in red-zone defense (61.1%), while Colorado is 11th (92.1%; 35-38).
– Stanford is USC’s oldest rival, with the series dating back to 1905.
– USC has allowed 17 or fewer points in five of seven games this season.
– USC’s sophomore wide receiver Robert Woods is the only player in nation who is in the top three in receptions (10.3 per game), receiving yards (128.9 per game) and all-purpose yardage (179.2 yards per game). Woods is on pace to break the Pac-10/12 season record for receptions (102).
– At 6-1, USC rejoined the rankings after defeating Notre Dame last weekend, coming in at No. 20. Last week, despite a 5-1 record, the Trojans were unranked, the first time in school history that a 5-1 USC team was unranked. The No. 20 ranking for USC this week represents the lowest ranking ever for any 6-1 USC team.
– The 42 points Arizona scored in the first half of its 48-12 victory over UCLA last week represented the most points ever scored in a half as a member of the Pac-8/10/12.
One Reply to “Friday Fast Facts”
Josh Smith once again benefits in A.P. yards via a poor defensive showing by his team.