Sue Bird’s career, Storm season ends in game four loss to Las Vegas Aces

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September 6, 2022

N3L07955 — Photo by Channel Foster / fi360 News

Seattle, WA – In their game four matchup of the WNBA Playoff semifinals, the Seattle Storm would fall to the Las Vegas Aces, 97-92. In yet another down to the wire game in this series, Seattle punched first and seemingly had the upper hand for a majority of the series. As the fourth quarter waned on, the Aces showed their toughness, weathering the Storm and pulling ahead late. Seattle could not overcome their slow third quarter, thus their season, and Sue Bird’s legendary career, came to an end.

For the fourth time in this series, Aces guard Chelsea Gray struck fear into Storm fans everywhere. As the second half ticked past, Gray started to wake up, hitting numerous contested shots and showing no signs of fatigue. While most of the attention defensively typically goes to A’ja Wilson or Kelsey Plum, Gray has terrorized the Storm all series long. The offensive presence that Gray brought to the table may ultimately have been a major part of Seattle’s downfall, as the Storm were not able to guard all of the Ace’s weapons. Storm head coach Noelle Quinn discussed Gray’s impact postgame.

Sue Bird with the layup. Photo by Aaron Nelson / fi360 News

“I don’t think that anyone on planet Earth can guard her. She was unconscious. We tried a lot of different things this series to slow her down. We slowed her scoring down, limited her scoring. She has the ability to pass and play make, she is an incredible player. I think we did a great job at limiting her, but when a player is on a roll like that? It’s tough,” Quinn remarked.

Breanna Stewart put every fiber of her being towards trying to win this game. Stewart scored a WNBA Playoff record 42 points on the night, setting the tone for Seattle and pushing the pace of the game. Seattle did not help those two out much on the offensive end. A stat that indicates this, was that Seattle went nearly 28 minutes between field goals by players other than Breanna Stewart and Jewell Loyd. This spanned from Sue Bird’s three-pointer at the 7:11 mark of the first quarter until her second three-pointer of the game at the 9:25 mark of the fourth. Stewart shared her thoughts about the result, postgame.

“Tonight, we definitely left it all out on the court… Jewell and I texted before the game, and we wanted to make sure that we left it all out on the court, make sure that we did everything we possibly could. As sad as it is that we aren’t competing for a championship, I think that the most devastating thing is that we can’t be on the court with Sue. We won’t be with her in practice, we won’t see her in games. That’s what hurts the most, is that coming to reality really quickly,” Stewart stated.

The final flight has come to its end. The legendary, historic career of Sue Bird has closed the book on the final chapter. That book features a list of accolades that would take up an entire article on its own, but let’s take a quick walk through. A four-time WNBA champion, the only player in league history to win a title over three separate decades. The league’s all-time assists leader. A 13-time All-Star. Five Olympic gold medals, joined by Diana Taurasi as the only basketball players to have that many. The winningest player in WNBA history, and so much more. Bird herself talked about what it feels like now that her playing journey is over.

“It’s kind a weird, definitely surreal. Initially, you feel sad about the season and the game… and then as the emotions come to the surface, I know that was my last game… overall it just feels kind a weird. I am proud of everything that we accomplished here, and of course I’m sad but, there is happiness too… to have a moment like that with the fans, to have them chant the way that they did,” Bird reflected.

The 2022 Storm season could be deemed successful under most any under circumstances. While the goal for a professional sports team is always a championship, considering the condensed schedule, injuries, and issues with COVID early on, the Storm were very resilient. Breanna Stewart has all but won the most valuable player award. But, and it’s a big one, none of that necessarily matters tonight considering that Sue Bird did not go out with a title. Sadly, our heroes don’t always ride off into the sunset as we hoped.

Clemson Uses Second Half Surge To Secure 41-10 Win Over Georgia Tech

By

Michael Wilson, Jr.

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September 5, 2022

B19W9473 — DJ cuts up field in the red zone. Photo by fi360 News

ATLANTA, Georgia – The Clemson Tigers began its 2022 campaign with a victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Second Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.

The Tigers though still have a lot of work to do before anyone considers them to be legitimate College Football Playoff contenders.

The first quarter was a penalty-riddled, defensive slugfest. On Georgia Tech’s first offensive play, Clemson defensive back Andrew Mukuba intercepted a deep pass from quarterback Jeff Sims. The Yellow Jackets defense responded with a three-and-out. On the Tigers next offensive series, quarterback DJ Uiagalelei fumbled the ball deep in Georgia Tech territory.

Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets had a bad habit of gaining tough yards on offense, then losing those yards (and then some) with multiple penalties. Their defense mitigated a potential disaster by limiting the Tigers to 43 total yards, 0-for-2 on third down conversion attempts and no points. Uiagalelei admitted that the Georgia Tech defense “had a lot of good calls” that prevented Clemson’s offense from sustaining drives.

Clemson’s offense finally came to life midway through the second quarter. Will Shipley scored on a 1-yard touchdown run that was set up when Brannon Spector recovered a muffed Georgia Tech punt on the 5-yard line. It still took the Tigers 4 plays to go the 5 yards needed for the score.

Clemson went up 14-0 on its next possession, when Uiagalelei found wide receiver Beaux Collins in the back of the endzone for a 6-yard touchdown.

Just before the half, the Yellow Jackets finally got on the board with a 45-yard field goal by Jude Kelley.

In the third quarter the Yellow Jackets made the game interesting – momentarily. The offense put together a 9 play, 57 yard drive, culminating with Sims throwing a 13-yard touchdown pass to E.J. Jenkins, to make the score 14-10.

Clemson finally decided that they had enough.

While the Tigers defense and special teams unit held the Yellow Jackets scoreless the rest of the way, the offense scored on five of their last six possessions. B.T. Potter kicked two field goals, Uiagalelei and Shipley each added touchdown runs, and backup quarterback Cade Klubnik threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Will Taylor to solidify the 41-10 victory.

After the game, Georgia Tech Head Coach Geoff Collins acknowledged that “ten penalties and two blocked punts is not a recipe [for success] against a team of that caliber.” The Yellow Jackets also suffered when star linebacker Charlie Thomas went out of the game. Even though his backup came into the game and played well, Coach Collins lamented that “when you lose a player of the caliber of Charlie, it hurts.” Ultimately, Coach Collins felt that his team had some good things to build on. He intends to use the next five days to put this loss to bed and get his team ready to take on Western Carolina.

Coach Dabo Sweeney was happy that his Tigers won the first game. He lauded the defense for starting the game strong. He praised his offense for going 7 out 7 in the red zone. He also acknowledged that Uiagalelei was under a lot of pressure to show improvement, and he felt that his quarterback handled the situation well. For his part, Uiagalelei tuned out the outside noise. When asked how he felt about his performance, Uiagalelei responded that he was happy that the offense found its rhythm and “did a good job of keeping drives alive.” As the game went on, Uiagalelei felt more comfortable. “The first two dives in the second half [in particular] really felt good and the game really slowed down. It is a lot of fun and makes the game a lot easier.” Uiagalelei and Coach Sweeney both hope that that sentiment, coupled with improved play from the line, his playmakers and the defense, will carry over from this game to the rest of the season.

UP NEXT:

Clemson hosts Furman and Georgia Tech welcomes Western Carolina to Atlanta on 09/10/22.

Storm collapse in overtime, losing game three to Aces in thriller

By

Charles Hamaker

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September 4, 2022

Seattle, WA – In a critical swing game, the Seattle Storm failed to hang with the Las Vegas Aces in overtime, falling 110-98. A myriad of things went wrong for Seattle, but the Storm only have themselves to blame. Missed free throws late that should have iced the game, poor defense against the best offensive team in the league, and an ice-cold start doomed the Storm. Seattle now has their backs against the wall, and will have to force a game five in Las Vegas. Game four is now a win-or-go-home situation.

Prior to the game, Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon stated that her team must “win” the first five minutes of this contest. Five minutes in, they had done that, with a score of 14-7. Although that’s only a seven-point lead, the Aces were hitting essentially any shot that they wanted. The Storm couldn’t buy a basket if they tried, and those two factors created a disaster mixture for Seattle.

Aces Coach Becky Hammon. Photo by fi360 News

While Seattle was able to shore up their shooting percentage a bit by the time the final whistle blew, their bone-chillingly cold start would set the stage for a slew of self-inflicted wounds. Tina Charles missed two free-throws with seven seconds left that should have been the final nail in the coffin. The Storm were very poor in the rebound department. And there were too many occurrences where the Storm were left in the dust on defense.

It really doesn’t need to be stated, but Sue Bird is one of the most iconic players in basketball history, let alone women’s basketball history. The Storm point guard almost had another iconic moment to hang her hat on in this game. A potential game winner, spoiled by the defensive breakdown that took place on the very next play.

With 1.9 seconds left on the game clock, and the Storm down by two points, Seattle had a decision to make. Who would get the ball in this situation? Breanna Stewart, who was heating up in the fourth quarter? Jewell Loyd, a player with clutch ability in her DNA? Or Stephanie Talbot, who had scored all of her points in that quarter? None, Sue Bird got the ball in the corner and splashed a three pointer to put Seattle ahead by two. What should have been one of the most memorable shots in league history, was essentially wiped away right after. Bird where she thought the game was really lost.

Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum (10) (Photo by fi360 News)

“We were up four with not a lot of time left, and that really to me is where we lost the game. Letting them take the lead, meaning they scored five points in three seconds, that to me is where we really let this one go. I understand the last plays will stick out because they’re dramatic and great TV, but we were up four,” Bird remarked.

At several points throughout this game, the Storm looked like a team that was drowning. Unable to find much of any rhythm offensively, simply couldn’t stop the Aces shooting, even with great defensive positioning. This game can easily be viewed as a potential must win, considering the depth and firepower that the Aces have. Now, after stealing a critical first game in Las Vegas, the Storm have failed to play to a level that would match the Aces in back-to-back matchups. Sue Bird discussed how Seattle can bounce back after the loss.

Seattle bench celebrate. (Photo by Channel Foster)

“You just do. I think right now, you’re not going to see happy faces, you’re not gonna see people that are thrilled with what happened, and that’s okay. You kind of have to go through those emotions to get to the other side, and then tomorrow we have one day to prepare… You just have to find a way to put this one behind you and move on,” Bird reflected.

The next game in this WNBA playoffs semifinals series is on Tuesday, September 6th. The series remains at Climate Pledge Arena, in a do-or-die game for the Storm. Tipoff is at 7PM PST between the fourth seed Seattle and first seed Las Vegas. Sue Bird’s final season rests on the shoulders of what takes place this Tuesday.

Washington Huskies handle Kent State for season opening win

By

Charles Hamaker

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September 4, 2022

NelsonAaron_Montana_Washington_9_4_2021-29 — Washington Huskies at Alaska Airlines Field at Husky Stadium in Seattle, WA., (Aaron Nelson / fi360 News)

Seattle, WA – The Kalen DeBoer era for the Washington Huskies began with a bang, thanks to a 45-20 victory over the Kent State Golden Flashes. The season opening win is a much better result for Washington, compared to the disastrous loss to Montana that opened the 2021 campaign. Starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr hushed doubters with a great game through the air, while safety Asa Turner snagged two of the defenses three interceptions. The win is a positive sign moving forward, as the Huskies look to establish a new identity with a new head coach.

The Washington offense last season under John Donovan lacked creativity, and more importantly, an ability to move the football. With a new coaching staff, the offense moved the ball in a balanced manner against Kent State. Transfer quarterback Michael Penix Jr aired the ball out to ten different receivers, finding talented wideouts Rome Odunze and Jalen McMillan often. Washington used a committee at running back, with transfer Wayne Taulapapa, Will Nixon, and Cam Davis splitting carries.

Of the ten drives that Washington had tonight, only three of them failed to score points. Those three drives all came in the second half with the Huskies up by multiple touchdowns. After Washington first drive of the game, coming off of a first play interception, the Huskies rattled off three drives of 75+ yards. This sort of efficiency and balance is an incredibly encouraging sign, and showed what Michael Penix Jr is capable of behind center. Washington head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke about his starting quarterback, and his efficiency, postgame.

“There are some subtle things a fan would not understand, especially in the second quarter. He must’ve checked the protection three or four times… he kept us out of the bad plays, some things that he saw and heard. Putting pieces together, knowing where the pressure might come from, where the defense might be. Just really impressed about him,” Deboer remarked.

On the other side of the ball, the Huskies saw mixed results. The very first play of the game was an interception by junior safety Asa Turner, setting the tone immediately. After Kent State’s first two drives, quarterback Collin Schlee seemed to find some rhythm. The Golden Flashes used a heavy run game and receivers Dante Cephas and Devontez Walker heavily. With that sort of mixture, Kent State put up a fight and the Husky defense couldn’t properly dominate.

Washington’s defense failed to get much pressure on the quarterback, but did see success in pass defense, a calling card the Huskies have held for years. There were gashing runs and blown coverages that will need to be adjusted. On special teams, Washington’s kickoff coverage allowed Kent State to have great field position too often. Those sorts of things come in a season opening game. Football, like all sports, is a game of adjustments.

This victory alleviates some of the nerves and anxiety that surrounded this game, due to a number of reasons. Following the loss to Montana to open up last season and the general turmoil that carried throughout the year, Husky fans and players wanted to rip that page out and start anew. While it wasn’t pristine, the win showed some great potential of what the program an do this season, and some healthy areas of growth. The Huskies look to be in a good spot, and DeBoer seems ready to build off of this. The first-year Washington coach would reflect on the game.

“There are teams you should beat, but it’s never easy. You still gotta go out and do it. They made it tough for us and times, I thought that we were steady… took what they gave us offensively, we were efficient and converted when we needed to. In the second half, we got off of the field when we needed to,” DeBoer reflected.

Coming off of this victory, Washington will continue their non-conference schedule next week when they host Portland State. Kickoff for the September 10th 1PM PST.

The Huskies will look to capitalize on a Portland State Vikings team that struggled last season in the Big Sky conference, and opened this season with a loss to San Jose State.

USC dominates Rice on both sides of the ball to win season opener

By

Eric Ramos

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September 3, 2022

COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEPT 03 RICE at USC — LOS ANGELES, CA -SEPTEMBER 03: US Running Back Raleek Brown strikes a Hiesman pose in the end zone after scoring a touchdown during a college football game between the Rice Owls and the USC Trojans on September 03, 2021, at United Airlines Field at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/fi360news)

Los Angeles, CA – Lincoln Riley’s debut saw the USC Trojans score early and often with the defense scoring 21 points in a dominating 66-14 win over Rice on Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 249 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 68 yards on six carries.

LOS ANGELES, CA -SEPTEMBER 03: USC Quarterback Caleb Williams looks to throw the ball during a college football game between the Rice Owls and the USC Trojans on September 03, 2021, at United Airlines Field at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/fi360news)

USC had three pick six in the game and finished with four interceptions. USC’s three interceptions returned for a touchdown in today’s game tie the school single game record of three also accomplished on Nov. 11, 1982 at Arizona.

“Great first win. Really, really proud of the team,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said. “It’s a fun moment to finally be here. I think the team was anxious and excited just with all the buildup, just ready to finally go play, and I thought we responded well. Obviously, how do you start with anything but the three pick-sixes? I was told its a Pac-12 record and a USC record. They’ve been playing ball around here for a long time. You don’t break records very often.”

The Riley era got off to a hot start as USC drove down the field on its opening possession and scored on a Caleb Williams 5-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison.

LOS ANGELES, CA -SEPTEMBER 03: USC Head Coach Lincoln Riley during a college football game between the Rice Owls and the USC Trojans on September 03, 2021, at United Airlines Field at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/fi360news)

Rice responded with a 16-play, 74-yard drive that was capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Ari Broussard. Rice evened the score 7-7 with 3:09 remaining in the first quarter.

On their second possession of the game, Stanford transfer Austin Jones scored from four yards out to give USC a 14-7 lead in the second quarter. USC freshman running back Raleek Brown used his speed to get into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown and a 21-7 lead.

The USC defense got in on the scoring when safety Caleb Bullock intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 93 yards for the touchdown and a 28-7 lead in the second quarter.

Broussard scored his second touchdown of the game to cut USC’s lead 28-14 with just under two minutes left in the first half. USC added a field goal and took a 31-14 lead into halftime.

LOS ANGELES, CA -SEPTEMBER 03: USC Linebacker Shane Lee intercepts the ball and returns it for a touchdown during a college football game between the Rice Owls and the USC Trojans on September 03, 2021, at United Airlines Field at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/fi360news)

USC linebacker Shane Lee opened the third quarter with a pick six. He returned the interception 40 yards to give USC a 38-14 lead. On the ensuing drive, linebacker Ralen Goforth gave USC its third pick six of the game. Goforth returned the interception 31 yards for the score and a 45-14 lead.

“I think that’s what we set out to do as a defense is to play together, play hard, just run into the ball and be physical, and I think we did,” Lee said. “I think we accomplished that today. Especially by playing together. This is the first day we got to step on the field against an opponent, someone that wasn’t in the same color as us.”

LOS ANGELES, CA -SEPTEMBER 03: USC Linebacker Ralen Goforth intercepts the ball and returns it for a touchdown during a college football game between the Rice Owls and the USC Trojans on September 03, 2021, at United Airlines Field at The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/fi360news)

Williams threw his second touchdown of the game to Addison and the Trojans took a 52-14 lead in the third quarter. Jones and Darwin Barlow scored a pair of rushing touchdowns to extend the lead and put the game away.

Next week USC will travel to open PAC-12 play verse Stanford.

Plummer leads Cal in Season Opener

By

Troy Ewers

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September 3, 2022

DSC_4878a — UC Davis Aggies Vs. California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on, September 03, 2022. (photo by Jorge Birelas / fi360 News)

The only time it looked like UC Davis had a chance to make a comeback, Hastings would be intercepted by freshman cornerback Jeremiah Earby and from there the game would genuinely be put to bed. The 4th quarter was a stalemate until Jack Plummer would throw his final touchdown of the day to Mavis Anderson, making the final score 34-13 Cal. An impressive game by a quarterback who before the game started was the biggest variable fans and media had going into the game.

The topic of discussion from every media guy in the stadium was “how good is Cal’s quarterback Jack Plummer?” and this first game can make anyone believe that Plummer might be the guy.

UC Davis Aggies Vs. California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on, September 03, 2022. (photo by Jorge Birelas / fi360 News)

If you only watched the first quarter of this game, then Plummer made no impression on you. Between getting sacked twice in the first 2 drives to getting intercepted by Teddye Buchanan of Davis in the 3rd drive, Plummer was not the guy that would be considered a person who can lead a team. At the end of the quarter, it was 7-0 UC Davis and energy was down in Berkeley, but the second quarter would change the energy for the rest of the day.

At the start of the quarter, Plummer only had 4 passing yards. By the time he was on the field this quarter, he strung together 3 straight passing first downs, 2 of them to Junior receiver Jeremiah Hunter who would end his day with 78 yards and a touchdown which would occur on this exact drive that tied up the game 7-7.

Plummer would get the ball back halfway through the 2^nd quarter and in 4 minutes and 8 seconds, he led the team 87 yards for another passing touchdown to backup running back Jayden Ott. 14-7 Cal. Plummer was showing poise all through the quarter and before the half, Cal would get a field goal (17-7), but the highlight before the half was how Plummer led the drive only passing to Hunter and Ott.

After halftime momentum was clearly in Cal’s favor after UC Davis quarterback Miles Hastings would throw an interception to Craig Woodsoon for a touchdown making the game 24-7 Cal. A 60 yard touchdown run by Ulonzo Gilliam Jr. would scare the fans a little, but that touchdown would be the last for the Aggies today.

Plummer would lead the team down the field all 3rd quarter, but would only get a field goal. His composure when the pocket collapsed was the highlight of his day. Cal’s offensive line never was able to keep UC Davis from getting to Plummer, but his awareness would leave him unscathed. He was obviously my standout performer today, but Jeremiah Hunter, Jayden Ott, and Jeremiah Earby were the players that deserved a round of applause for making big plays when it mattered.

The only weaknesses I saw from this Cal team was the offensive line and that’s not a surprise considering their All Pac-12 o-linemen Brett Johnson will be out due to injury. The defense of Cal is very strong from what was seen today.

The secondary never let a big pass get through and inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon is clearly the leader of this Bears defense. All that being said, Cal will be tested heavily this season, playing Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford, and USC, so even though this game against UC Davis is a good confidence booster, it’s still just the first game of the season. At least the coaching staff can breathe a sigh of relief knowing Jack Plummer is their guy for 2022.

Next week Cal will host UNLV at 1pm in Berkley.

UCLA fights back to win their opener

By

Manny Nunez

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September 3, 2022

Bowling Green vs UCLA Sep 03, 2022 Photo by Jerry Kelly / fi360 News

Pasadena, CA – Down 17-7, UCLA had to battle through the heat and humidity to take command. Dorian Thompson Robinson found his rhythm after struggling early to give the Bruins a 45-17 win in their season opener.

After Thompson Robinson threw an interception that eventually led to the Falcons’ 10 point lead in the second quarter, the Senior quarterback managed to recover, finishing 32 for 43 with 298 yards and three total touchdowns. His 68 yard quarterback keeper sparked 38 unanswered points.

“We dug a hole,” said UCLA coach Chip Kelly, “but we didn’t keep digging.”

Defensively the Bruins had its way after Bowling Green’s first quarter surge. After the Falcons put up 17 points, they managed only 57 yards in the second and third quarters. Falcons quarterback Matt McDonald only managed 111 yards passing with his lone touchdown coming after his defense managed an interception in the first quarter.

Zach Charbonnet ran up the field with ease on 21 carries going 125 yards with a touchdown. As a team the Bruins gained over 600 yards of total offense.

Compared to last season, UCLA has loaded their non-conference schedule with far less than formidable opponents and have created a very home heavy schedule.

Next week they have FCS Alabama State and conclude with South Alabama. With opponents that are more than winnable, the real question will lie if this will be enough to get them ready for Pac-12 play.

San Diego State comes up short at the grand opening of Snapdragon Stadium

By

Jennifer Moore

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September 3, 2022

FOOTBALL: San Diego State v Arizona — 03 September 2022: San Diego State football open’s up the 2022 season against Arizona at Snapdragon Stadium. (Credit: Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State)

San Diego, CA- The San Diego State Aztecs were welcomed home by a rude Arizona Wildcats who spoiled the Snapdragon debut giving them an opening 38-20 loss.

Before they could look up the Aztecs were down two touchdowns in sweltering 100 degrees heat. The heat had no effect on the 44-yard field goal by Jack Browning to start off the second quarter to only trail 10-3.

Aztecs quarterback Braxton Burmeister only threw for 51 yards completing 5 of 10 pass with a touchdown and an interception while also rushing 33 yards. Receiver Tyrell Shavers was the recipient of the 11-yard touchdown pass to be written in Snapdragon History.

“Overall, starting with coaching, starting with me, it wasn’t very good,” said Aztecs coach Brady Hoke.

Arizona amassed 461 total yards with 299 passing yards finding the holes in the Aztecs defense. Jayden de Laura four touchdown game with one interception was a great kickoff to their season.

Wildcats Jacob Cowing looked like the fastest guy on the field catching 8 passes for 152 yards with a game high three touchdowns.

Aztecs Welcome Arizona Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium - SDSU Athletics — Derrick Tuskan/San Diego State

“We’re very appreciative that those guys had faith and belief in us, and chose to come to the University of Arizona,” said Arizona coach Jedd Fisch, who doubled his win total with the Wildcats. “We’re just getting started. We’re building this. We really believe we can build something special.”

The new look Wildcats with a whole new look is not the same team that just couldn’t find the win column past seasons.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1566228681953054721

A bright spot in the Aztecs defense is senior linebacker Michael Shawcroft who lead with 9 total tackles that included Noah Avinger who had 7 solo tackles with 8 total.

The Aztecs new stadium will be a crown jewel in the Mountain West Conference and next week will host Idaho State at 5pm Snapdragon Stadium.

Reigning National Champion Georgia Bulldogs Blowout The Oregon Ducks In The 2022 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game

By

Michael Wilson, Jr.

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September 3, 2022

ATLANTA, Georgia – The Reigning National Champion Georgia Bulldogs sent two clear messages with their impressive win over a talented, 11^th Ranked Oregon Ducks squad.

First, the Bulldogs put to bed any notion that this might be a rebuilding year. Instead, Georgia put college football on notice that it remains one of the top programs in the country. This is the case despite losing five defensive starters in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, having fifteen players selected overall, and despite losing former defensive coordinate Dan Lanning, who took over the head coach position at Oregon.

Second, the Bulldogs reiterated the fact that SEC speed is still much faster than Pac12 speed.

Georgia started the game with an impressive first half. Quarterback Stetson Bennett IV went 18 for 21, for 254 yards and one touchdown, and added a 1-yard touchdown run. Bennett remarked that he was “most proud” of converting on all third down plays, and ability of the offense to execute. He added that today “was probably” the best game he has ever played, because of “a combination of things” including the fact that he is in his third year in Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken’s system.

In any event, Bennett carried over into today’s game that hard-earned/hard-won confidence he gained in leading the Bulldogs to its most recent victory over Alabama a few months ago, to help Georgia claim its first National Championship in forty-one years.

The offensive line did its part as well. On several occasions, Bennett had enough time in the pocket to hit his third, fourth and fifth reads. The Bulldogs in many ways looked more like a PAC-12 team, showcasing receivers Kenny McIntosh, Ladd McConkey and Adonai Mitchell and tightend Brock Bowers, and only calling 10 running plays, much to the delight of the Georgia faithful. Those running plays though accounted for two lightning-quick touchdowns, as Georgia raced out to a 28-3 lead.

Then there was Georgia’s defense. Not only did the Bulldogs bottle up Oregon’s vaunted run offense, but their defensive backs intercepted Oregon quarterback Bo Nix twice and blanketed the Ducks receivers all day.

A majority of Nix’s 142 first half pass yards came on screen plays – the only plays that seemed to result in any positive yardage. Georgia defensive back Chris Smith stated “we [are] always trying to make a statement,” and he did not want anyone to get the impression that the defense would slip due to NFL Draftees.

Oregon for its part did not do much to help itself. Maybe it was because of the hostile environment – a majority of the record-setting 76,490 fans in attendance at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium were decked out in Georgia red and black. Perhaps the Ducks still have scar tissue from their two-game losing streak (including the somewhat shocking loss to Utah in the PAC-12 Championship). Or maybe, the sluggish start is due in part to the fact that Nix – who transferred to Oregon from SEC stalwart Auburn — has not had enough time to build good chemistry with his playmakers.

Whatever the reason, Oregon was uncharacteristically slow out the gate. Their first few drives featured conservative play calls. Short runs, followed by lateral or screen passes, in which the Ducks running backs and wide receivers never had a chance to showcase their speed, get into any kind of rhythm, or produce the types of plays that typically get their fans excited. Then, just when you wanted to splash your face with water to stay awake, Nix finally attempted a deep pass. Unfortunately, Bulldogs defensive back Malaki Starks intercepted that pass at the Georgia 8-yard line to kill that drive.

Oregon finally got on the board a few drives later, just before halftime. A ticky-tack unsportsman like conduct penalty on a tackle of Oregon RB Noah Whittington — for what looked like a textbook tackle by the Georgia defender — moved the Ducks into the redzone, and set up first down on the Georgia 12-yard line. After failing to move the ball, however, and then incurring a false start penalty, Oregon settled for a Camden Lewis 35-yard field goal, to make it 21-3. The field goal would be Oregon’s only scoring drive of the day.

The Bulldogs poured it on in the second half. Georgia Bennett led two more scoring drives. He finished his day going 25-31, for 368 yards and two touchdowns, along with his earlier rushing touchdown, before giving way to quarterback Carson Beck, with the score 43-3. Georgia’s new starting running back – Kendall Milton – also had a career day, rushing for 50 yards and a touchdown on eight carriers, and then hauling in 9 passes for 117 yards.

After the game Milton remarked that today was a culmination of all the time he put in, in the offseason, and the time he spent waiting and watching great backs like DeAndre Swift and others set the standard that he wanted to uphold now that it was his turn to be Georgia’s starting tailback.

Meanwhile, the Georgia’s defense shutout the Ducks. Even though the Oregon players seemed to play until game clock read 0:00, the image of the normally sassy and confident Oregon Duck Mascot – on the 360° HD Display Halo Board — offering the Georgia Bulldogs Mascot (UGA) a large bone in exchange for showing mercy best summed up how the day went.

In case you are wondering, Georgia showed some mercy: Oregon’s starting offense moved the ball down the field against Georgia’s backups. The Ducks still didn’t score. The Bulldogs took over on downs, after Oregon failed to convert on a fourth down play in the redzone.

After the game, Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart was glad to get the win. He nonetheless wanted to pour cold water on the praise and accolades that the media and others will likely heap onto his team following this dominant win. Focusing on the fact that he wants to get better, he noted that “we didn’t have any sacks, did we?” Even though he credited Oregon Nix with being a smart player who is hard to sack/tackle, he expects more from his defensive line.

Coach Smart, however, did dole out compliments to the offensive unit. He was pleased that ten different receivers caught passes, adding that any prospective college players watching tv will want to come to Georgia where “we spread the ball around.” All told Coach Smart was most pleased with the fact that he wanted his team “to be aggressive.” He lauded the players and his staff for answering the call on both offense and defense. He wants that mentality to carry Georgia as it begins its 2022 campaign and title defense.

UP NEXT:

Georgia hosts Samford on September 10, 2022 before opening SEC play at South Carolina the on September 17, 2022.

Oregon hosts Eastern Washington on September 10, 2022, before hosting BYU the following week.

The Buffaloes can’t handle the Frogs

By

Devon Martinez

-

September 2, 2022

Boulder, CO – With the Buffaloes new look offense fans were looking for more with Bredon Lewis who is a dual treat quarterback. They ran into TCU team that just kept the pressure on all night until they were victories 38-13 over Colorado.

Colorado linebackers Guy Thomas (1) and Josh Chandler-Semedo (8) chase after TCU quarterback Max Duggan (15) in the fourth quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder CO on Friday September 2, 2022. TCU won 38 to 13 (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

“Well, I wasn’t expecting,” said Dorrell, whose Buffs dropped opening game of the season 0-1 for the first time since 2015, “that type of game.”

Colorado will have to regroup plug some wholes after allowing TCU to rush for 261 yards in the second half as the game began to get away from them. Four rushing touchdowns by four different backs. Kendre Miller & Emari Demarcado both put their stamp on the game finding paydirt.

Some will say who stopped TCU best the lightning with the weather delay or the Buffaloes defense…

Colorado safety Trevor Woods (43) tackles TCU tight end Geor’Quarius Spivey (12) in the third quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder CO on Friday September 2, 2022. TCU won 38 to 13 (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

Safety Trevor Woods lead Colorado with 6 tackles and 2 for loss. This shows that the front seven needs to step up this season.

“We didn’t have the answers,” Dorrell said. “They had the better adjustments in the second half. We have to put our guys in better position.”

TCU running back Emari Demercado (3) cuts back to avoid Colorado safety Jayden Striker (2) in the third quarter at Folsom Field in Boulder CO on Friday September 2, 2022. TCU won 38 to 13 (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

TCU took on a challenge coming West to face Colorado before playing their next three games in Texas. The Horned Frogs will play nine games in the state of Texas only leaving the state 3 times in a 12 games season.

Before Lewis was benched and boo late in second half to try regain something. Lewis did rush for 42 yards on 8 carries and threw 13/18 for only 78 yards. Between Lewis and hot transfer J.T. Shrout they connected with 12 receivers

Coach Karl Dorrell will have his hands full leading up to its PAC-12 match up with UCLA in game four. After tonight the Buffs will host a heavy run Air Force team and then the following week travel to Minnesota to see if they can Row the Boat.