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Big 12 Notes – Arizona Week
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October 14th
… Foe Pause …
Utah’s Cam Rising out “indefinitely”; Utes return to true freshman at quarterback
From ESPN … Utah quarterback Cam Rising will be out “indefinitely,” and true freshman Isaac Wilson will start in his place, Utes coach Kyle Whittingham announced Monday.
Rising returned to the field Friday against Arizona State after sitting out the previous three games because of a hand injury, but he sustained a lower-leg injury early in the contest. He remained in the game but was visibly hampered and completed only 16 of 37 passes with three interceptions and no touchdowns in a 27-19 loss.
Whittingham usually does not provide injury updates unless they are season-ending in nature but began his news conference by addressing Rising’s status.
“Isaac Wilson will be our starter until further notice — that way we don’t have to address that each time we talk,” Whittingham said. “I can’t give you a timeline. It could be the rest of the season. I’m not sure how exactly long it will be, but I know it’s going to be a minute.”
Rising’s injury is the latest in a string setbacks that have plagued him throughout his career. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury early in the first game of the 2020 season; exited the Rose Bowl game because of a concussion to end the 2021 season; and suffered a serious knee injury in the Rose Bowl the following season that caused him to sit out all of 2023.
Rising, 25, began his career at Texas, where he redshirted in 2018, and sat out the 2019 season after transferring to Utah. Whittingham hinted at the possibility Rising could have another season of eligibility, but it’s unclear if that will happen.
“Now that we’re in the situation that we’re in, that’s a possibility,” Whittingham said. “We’ll have to explore that in detail with the compliance department. And I’m not even sure Cam would be interested in going that route. He’s got a lot to think about, and so [he needs] to just take a step back right now and let them get this most recent injury thoroughly diagnosed. … That would be something we’re talking about sooner rather than later.”
… Continue reading story here …
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Arizona struggling on offense heading into game against CU
From the Arizona Republic … (On Arizona’s 41-19 loss to BYU) …
Same story, different game with Arizona’s offense.
Subsequent to a fourth-down stop by Arizona’s defense to begin the game, the Wildcats had a promising start with their opening touchdown drive that featured quarterback Noah Fifita throwing two critical third-down passes; the first one, a 39-yard completion to wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, then a 14-yard touchdown to Montana Lemonious-Craig on a slant route for the wide receiver’s first touchdown of the season — first in eight games dating back to last season.
That was Arizona’s only touchdown until just under three minutes left in the game. Finding the end zone is one of Arizona’s most noticeable weaknesses this season. The Wildcats have eight total touchdowns in their last five games.
In those five outings, Arizona has finished 30 drives inside its opponents’ side of the field. In those 30 drives, the Wildcats scored eight touchdowns, made 12 field goals, committed four interceptions and turned the ball over on downs four times. When Arizona’s offense passed the 50-yard line in the last five games, the Wildcats have scored touchdowns on 27% of those drives. Since putting up 61 points in the season opener, Arizona averaged 18.6 points in the last five contests.
“When we’re getting to that fringe or high red area, we have not effectively kicked the door down there,” said Arizona head coach Brent Brennan. “That’s where we tend to stall out. Because (kicker) Tyler Loop has been so effective lots of times, we’ve opted to swing field goals from there.
“We all know you’re not going to win in this league kicking field goals. We have to find a way to put ourselves in position to get first downs and score touchdowns.”
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October 13th
… Foe Pause …
Utah falls out of AP poll; Iowa State moves into the the Top Ten
From ESPN … Oregon and Penn State each moved up a spot in the Associated Press college football poll Sunday following thrilling wins in high-profile games, and Top 25 newcomers Navy and Army are in the rankings together for the first time since 1960.
Texas strengthened its hold on No. 1 with its 31-point victory over Oklahoma. The Longhorns received 56 of 62 first-place votes, four more than last week and their most since they were a unanimous No. 1 in October 2008.
This weekend wasn’t as wild as the week before, when four of the top 11 teams were upset and only two teams held their spots in the ensuing rankings shuffle.
That’s not to say Week 7 was devoid of excitement.
Oregon’s 32-31 home win over Ohio State featured seven lead changes and moved the Ducks to No. 2 with the other six first-place votes. It’s their highest ranking since they ended the 2014 season at No. 2 after losing to the Buckeyes in the inaugural College Football Playoff championship game.
Penn State rose to No. 3 with a 33-30 overtime win at USC, the Nittany Lions’ highest ranking in seven years.
Penn State-USC was one of four games involving AP Top 25 teams that went to overtime Saturday, including three in the top 10.
Ohio State dropped two spots to No. 4, and Georgia remained No. 5. Miami, Alabama, LSU, Iowa State and Clemson rounded out the top 10.
Army, which beat UAB 44-10, and Navy, which was idle, broke through for their first simultaneous rankings since Oct. 3, 1960.
Their coinciding appearance that season lasted just one week. Army was 3-0 and ranked No. 18 before dropping two straight games and finishing 6-3-1. Navy had entered the rankings a week earlier, at No. 17, and ended the season 9-2 and ranked No. 4.
Army (6-0) and Navy (5-0) have not each been unbeaten at this point in a season since 1945, weeks after World War II ended and in the era when service academies were powerhouses of the sport.
| 1. Texas (56) | 6-0 |
| 2. Oregon (6) | 6-0 |
| 3. Penn State | 6-0 |
| 4. Ohio State | 5-1 |
| 5. Georgia | 5-1 |
| 6. Miami | 6-0 |
| 7. Alabama | 5-1 |
| 8. LSU | 5-1 |
| 9. Iowa State | 6-0 |
| 10. Clemson | 5-1 |
| 11. Tennessee | 5-1 |
| 12. Notre Dame | 5-1 |
| 13. BYU | 6-0 |
| 14. Texas A&M | 5-1 |
| 15. Boise State | 5-1 |
| 16. Indiana | 6-0 |
| 17. Kansas State | 5-1 |
| 18. Ole Miss | 5-2 |
| 19. Missouri | 5-1 |
| 20. Pittsburgh | 6-0 |
| 21. SMU | 5-1 |
| 22. Illinois | 5-1 |
| 23. Army | 6-0 |
| 24. Michigan | 4-2 |
| 25. Navy | 5-0 |
Others receiving votes … Vanderbilt 68, Nebraska 62, Arizona State 39, Oklahoma 36, Washington State 32, Iowa 29, Texas Tech 18, Syracuse 13, Arkansas 13, Utah 7, Louisville 6, USC 5, Liberty 2, UNLV 1
Dropped from rankings: Utah 16, Oklahoma 18
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Big 12 lines for Week Eight – CU opens as a 3.5-point road underdog
From Draft Kings …
From the Big 12 …
Friday, October 18th
- Oklahoma State at No. 13 BYU … 8:15 p.m., MT, ESPN … BYU is a 9.0-point home favorite …
Saturday, October 19th
- Arizona State at Cincinnati … 10:00 a.m., MT, ESPN+ … Cincinnati is a 2.5-point home favorite …
- Houston at Kansas … 1:30 p.m., MT, ESPN+ … Kansas is a 6.5-point home favorite …
- Colorado at Arizona … 2:00 p.m., MT, Fox … Arizona is a 3.5-point home favorite …
- Baylor at Texas Tech … 2:00 p.m., MT, ESPN2 … Texas Tech is a 6.5-point home favorite …
- UCF at No. 9 Iowa State … 5:30 p.m., MT, FS1 … Iowa State is a 13.5-point home favorite …
- No. 17 Kansas State at West Virginia … 5:30 p.m., MT, Fox … West Virginia is a 3.5-point home underdog …
- TCU at Utah … 8:30 p.m., MT, ESPN. Utah is a 7.0-point home favorite …
2 Replies to “Big 12 Notes”
Cam Rising’s college career is done…. Whittingham drove him into the ground and now Utah doesn’t have a viable quarterback.
Here is my big 12 note
“He looked a little rusty” the decision to play is safety son and not take him out cost the game. The defense looked in disarray as the rest of the DB’s tried to cover up his presence TRUTH!!!
https://x.com/FolsomFrenzyPod/status/1845866734219141448
https://x.com/KayFromX/status/1845840853014642979\
Go Buffs