Tar Heels hand the Cardinal their first loss of the season 90-72

Photo credit: gostanford.com

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Monday, November 12, 2018

North Carolina used a dominant first half to defeat Stanford 90-72 in its men’s basketball home opener at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., handing the Cardinal their first loss of the season.

No. 7-UNC (3-0) led 52-26 at the half behind an early run kick-started by Kenny Williams. The senior guard, after starting the season missing his first 10 shots, made a layup and followed that with a 3-pointer 90 seconds into the game.

Stanford (2-1) got off to such a bad start that Coach Jerod Haase used his first time out nearly 2 ½ minutes into the game. The Cardinal opened the game shooting 1 of 12.

KZ Okpala led the Cardinal with 16 points, hitting 6 of 13 from the field — 1 for 2 on 3-pointers. Okpala also grabbed nine rebounds. Cormac Ryan was next with 14 points and six assists, and Oscar Da Silva had 11 points.

Cameron Johnson led UNC with 17 points. Johnson connected on 7 of 11 from the field — 3 of 4 3-pointers. Luke Maye was next with 16 points, with Garrison Brooks and Kenny Williams each adding 12 points apiece.

Tar Heels held a 45-35 rebounding edge, with Ray and Brooks each pulling down eight boards, and Johnson adding seven. Williams, Coby White and Seventh Woods each had four assists.

The Cardinal return home to host Wofford this Friday night at 7:00 pm PT on PACN.

San Jose State closes out home football schedule on Senior Day Saturday

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Saturday afternoon is going to be a special day for 15 San Jose State football seniors who will be honored in the pregame ceremonies at CEFCU stadium before the 2:00 pm PT kickoff versus Nevada. The Wolf Pack is a high scoring team, so it’ll likely be a challenge for the Spartans; but it’ll be a special day nonetheless.

Anyways, here’s what you need to know about Saturday’s game.

Basics
San Jose State vs. Nevada
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018,
CEFCU Stadium
San Jose, Calif., 2:00 pm PT
ESPN3

San Jose State’s record
1-9, 1-5 Mountain West. Most recently, the Spartans lost at Utah State, 62-24, on Nov. 10.

Nevada’s record
6-4, 4-2 Mountain West. The Wolf Pack won their third consecutive game, 49-10, over Colorado State on Nov. 10.

How to get tickets?
sjsuspartans.com/ticketsticketmaster.com

Athletics Ticket Office, 1393 S. 7th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, weekdays, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

For home games at CEFCU Stadium:
• New modern family plan
• Spartan alumni season ticket pricing in a distinct seating section

Series history
Nevada leads the series, 20-9-2, dating back to 1899. The Wolf Pack have wins in the last eight of the last nine meetings between these teams including a 59-14 victory in Reno a year ago.

The Spartans’ last win in the series was a 14-10 decision at home in 2016.

For 15 years, these teams held the NCAA FBS single-game record for total yards in a game by both teams (1,640). San Jose State out-gained Nevada, 849 to 791, in a 64-45 victory in San Jose on Nov. 10, 2001.

Radio
KLIV (1590 AM, San Jose) originates San Jose State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play. Kevin Richardson provides commentary. The Nevada broadcast begins at 1:30 pm PT with a pregame show.

San Jose State’s network affiliate is KION (1460 AM/101.1 FM, Salinas).

KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) also will broadcast the San Jose State-Nevada game starting at 1:45 pm PT.

Television
ESPN3 will provide play-by-play coverage of the San Jose State vs. Nevada game. Trey Bender calls the play-by-play. Al Groh offers analysis. The live telecast is scheduled for 2:00 pm PT.

Final home game for Spartan seniors
San Jose State will be recognizing 15 seniors in pregame ceremonies.

2018 schedule rated as one of the toughest
According to the NCAA Statistics Service for games played through Nov. 10, San Jose State’s first 10 opponents compiled a .593 winning percentage, tied for 34th best among FBS schools and tops along with Wyoming among the 12 Mountain West members.

Incorporating the current records of the Spartans’ final two opponents, Nevada and Fresno State, San Jose State’s schedule is tied for he 17th most challenging based on opponent winning percentage (.613). No other Mountain West school is in the top 50.

Tre Walker produces 2018 Mountain West best
Wide receiver Tre Walker produced the Mountain West’s first 200-plus yard receiving game of the 2018 season with his seven receptions for 209 yards and two touchdowns at Utah State on Nov. 10.

Walker’s 209 receiving yards are tied for 16th best nationally this season in games played through November 10. Prior to his breakout game, the Mountain West best was 188 yards by Colorado State’s Preston Williams in the Aug. 25 game at Hawaii.

Walker also became the first San Jose State player in 11 years to gain at least 200 yards in pass receiving in a game. The last time it was done was Kevin Jurovich’s 233 receiving yards in a 2007 game vs. New Mexico State.

Justin Holmes becomes the 29th
Senior Justin Holmes became the 29th San Jose State player to catch 100 passes in a career with his one reception at Utah State.

Seniors Tre Harley (97) and Josh Oliver (93) are next in line to the 100-career reception plateau.

A punt return for a touchdown
Freshman Tre Jenkins scored San Jose State’s first punt return touchdown in the Utah State game on a 41-yard return. Jenkins’ run back for a score was the first by a Spartan since Tyler Ervin’s 85-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 2015 AutoNation Cure Bowl.

What’s new with the San Jose State football team?

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It was sort of expected, but I have to reiterate the unfortunate fact the Spartans got on the board first and then tied the score 10-10 before the Aggies took complete control of the game for a 62-24 blowout at the Maverick Stadium in Logan, Utah this past Saturday.

Fast forward to Monday afternoon. Spartans head coach Brent Brennan delivered his weekly press conference inside Simpkins Stadium Center in San Jose, Calif.

Here’s my Q&A with Brennan:

1. Utah State seemed to take advantage of most, if not all, of San Jose State’s mistakes. A lot of people know the Aggies have a good offense, but what are a few things about Jordan Love and company that they don’t know?
I think their running backs have played well. I didn’t know how good they were until I saw them in person. Even though they’re not very big, they’re incredibly powerful and hard to bring down. I thought they did a really good job breaking tackles.

The other thing that’s hard to see if you’ve watched the game on TV is the type of temperament that they played with. To me, it reminds me of when I was coaching at Oregon State, we were playing Oregon, Marcus (Mariota) and those guys and how fast they were on every snap.

2. San Jose State had their fare share of big plays and Tre Walker had himself a day, but what could you and the other coaches do during practice to make sure that pass plays lead to scores?
I think there’s just a consistency there. On Saturday, we dropped too many passes, and I thought there were a couple of breakdowns in protection; but for the most part, the protection was better. But that was just one of the things that I thought were what went wrong with that game. We dropped too many passes and some balls weren’t on the money.

I thought Michael Carrillo went in there and threw the ball well. So I think continuing to kind of to work on those details, just absolutely specific depths on routes, our connection with the football and where the ball placement is by the quarterback are a couple of things we need to know.

3. San Jose State will honor 15 seniors before this Saturday’s kickoff versus Nevada. There’s not much to be proud of in terms of the record, but what are you most proud of when it comes to this group of guys?
What I’m most proud of this group of guys is easy. It’s how they’ve continued to work and push the team, even though we weren’t getting the results on Saturday we wanted.

Since I’ve been here, this current group of seniors has been outstanding in every way–they’re good in the classroom, they work really hard during practice and they lead the team. I’m so appreciative of how hard they’re worked to help us move this program in the direction we want to take it.

I’m disappointed we haven’t gotten the results for them. That really hurts me.

Cal Bears Football podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal, after surprise comeback at USC, gets set to host Stanford for the Big Game Saturday

Photo credit: @CalFootball

On the Cal Bears Football podcast with Morris:

#1 A miracle comeback for the Cal Bears (6-4) Saturday at USC (5-5) for a 15-14 win, snapping a 14-game losing streak to USC at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

#2 Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said it’s great to be bowl eligible.

#3 The Bears were hibernating in the first half of Saturday’s game at USC but started to make their comeback in the third quarter and Traveon Beck scored Cal’s second touchdown for the game winner.

#4 USC had a 14-0 lead, but the Bears roared back. Cal got their first touchdown in the third quarter and took a one-point lead 15-14.

#5 The Bears will face Stanford (6-4) and Colorado (5-5) for their next two games. The Big Game is this Saturday at Cal, which it could turn out to be one of the season’s best.

Morris does the Cal Bears podcasts each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

NCAAFB podcast with Daniel Dullum: New AP Top 25; Cardinal back in hunt for the bowl; USC coach Helton on the bubble after loss to Cal

photo from Louisville Courier: Bobby Petrino didn’t have answers as Wake Forest beat the Cards 56-35, giving Louisville a record of 2-6 start, its worst season since 1997’s 1-10. Oct. 27, 2018.(Photo: Matt Stone/Louisville Courier Journal)

On the NCAAFB podcast with Daniel:

1. Louisville Cardinal Bobby Petrino (36-26) fired their coach during his show on WAVE TV. The announcement came from the crawl on the screen below.

2 The New AP Top 25.

3 Stanford romps past Oregon State, Cardinal now Bowl Eligible.

4 Cal slips past USC, Trojans coach can begin packing his bags; Bears are Bowl Eligible.

5 Arizona State stuns UCLA, Sun Devils now Bowl Eligible under Herm Edwards!

6 Boise State upsets No. 16 Fresno State in the Mountain West.

7 Minnesota upsets Purdue 41-10, same Boilermakers who drubbed Ohio State 49-20 on Oct. 20.

Daniel does the NCAAFB podcasts each Sunday for Michelle Richardson at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Three takeaways from Stanford’s 48-17 win over Oregon State

Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By: Ana Kieu

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal electrified Stanford Stadium on Saturday night, which was also Senior Night for the soon-to-be Stanford alumni, with a 48-17 win over the Oregon State Beavers. It was a fun night for those who were rooting for the Cardinal.

Here are my three takeaways from Stanford’s 48-17 over Oregon State.

Stanford’s apparent luck on Senior Night
It’s plain and simple, Stanford’s apparent luck on Senior Night has shined bright like a diamond for quite a while. With the win, Stanford improved to 7-1 under head coach David Shaw on Senior Nights. That statistic includes four wins in a row for the Cardinal.

Shaw told the media: “Proud of the way our football team came out. We made some changes to our routine. Put some pressure on some guys to step up as leaders, made sure we started the games better the rest of the year. And our guys came out tonight with a fire and energy.”

Shaw added: “So excited about our seniors. A lot of our seniors made big plays tonight, contributed a lot tonight. Both up front and on the offensive and defensive lines–Bryce Love, Cameron Scarlett, Jake Bailey. Guys came in and just made some great plays for us. Trenton Irwin made some nice catches.”

The new Cardinal in town
Look out, John Elway and Steve Stentstrom! There’s a new Cardinal in town–K.J. Costello!

On Saturday, Costello became the third Cardinal with six 300-yard passing games in a season, joining the likes of Elway (six in 1982) and Stentstrom (eight in 1993), respectively. Costello also moved into ninth place in Stanford history with 37 career touchdown passes, moving past Trent Edwards (36 from 2003-06).

When asked about Costello’s performance in Saturday’s game, Colby Parkinson said: “K.J. is awesome. He’s going to put the ball where it needs to be, going to give you a shot to go up and get it. Like I said earlier, this is stuff we’ve been working on for a year and a half now. It’s not something that just happened tonight. It’s not something that is spur of the moment. This is what we do every day in practice.”

37 years
It took only 37 years (just kidding, I’m only 25!) for the Cardinal to score 48 points in a game in which the Beavers were their opponent.

The Cardinal’s 48 points versus the Beavers on Saturday were the most by a Cardinal squad since their 63-9 blowout of the Beavers back in 1981. So yeah, it wasn’t only a high scoring game, it was also a statistic breaker.

Congratulations to the Cardinal on their huge victory over the Beavers!

San Jose State drops a 66-59 decision to Southern Utah

Photo credit: @SJSUMBB

By: Ana Kieu

When it comes to the men’s basketball program, San Jose State was looking to make it two wins in a row at the Event Center on Saturday night versus the Southern Utah Thunderbirds. Unfortunately, the Spartans’ wish didn’t come true, and they dropped a 66-59 decision to the Thunderbirds.

Southern Utah was off to a good start. Andre Adams made a jumper in the paint, Dwayne Morgan made a layup and Adams followed up with another jumper.

San Jose State, however, got themselves back into the game. The Spartans were benefited by Brae Ivey’s jumper in the paint and Zach Chappell’s free throw on the fastbreak. San Jose State held a 21-18 advantage over Southern Utah at the 7-minute mark of the first half. At the time, Seneca Knight led the Spartans with 6 points and Michael Steadman had 5 boards.

The Spartans and Thunderbirds were tied at 31 apiece at the half. Steadman led the Spartans with 8 points and 5 rebounds. Knight had 6 points.

The second half felt and looked ugly for the Spartans. The Spartans trailed the Thunderbirds 37-34 at the 17:12 mark of the half. While the Spartans could’ve bounced back to beat or at least even the score versus the Thunderbirds, that never happened, which left most, if not all, Spartan fans shaking their heads and asking why their team was unable to beat the Thunderbirds.

Despite the tough loss, there were a few positive things to note about the Spartans. Oumar Barry left a lasting memory on the Spartan fans with back-to-back 3-pointers and Craig LeCesne did the same thing to give the Spartans a 40-37 lead at the 16:05 mark of the half. LeCesne then recorded a game-high 11 points–9 in the final 4 minutes–as the Spartans led the Thunderbirds 48-41 at the 12:24 mark of the half.

The Thunderbirds weren’t ready to back down just yet. The Thunderbirds went on a 7-0 run to tie the game at 51 apiece with 7:37 left in the half.

At the time of the final media timeout, it was still a tight game and anyone’s game for that matter. The Spartans trailed the Thunderbirds 58-53, but stayed put in a hole that they sort of dug themselves in.

Final: 66 Thunderbirds, 59 Spartans

Notes
San Jose State’s starting lineup: Michael Steadman, Brae Ivey, Zach Chappell, Seneca Knight and Oumar Barry.

Up Next
San Jose State makes a visit to Weber State on Thursday, November 15 at 5:30 pm PT.

Cardinal rout the Beavers 48-17 on Senior Day at Stanford Stadium

Photo credit: @StanfordFball

By: Ana Kieu

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal hosted the Oregon State Beavers in its home finale at Stanford Stadium on Saturday night. Not only that, it was also Senior Day for the Cardinal. Fans in attendance received Christian McCaffrey bobbleheads prior to the 6 pm kickoff.

Denver Broncos quarterback and Stanford alum Kevin Hogan took the field as the Cardinal’s honorary captain. Hogan was a three-time Pac-12 champion, two-time Rose Bowl champion and two-time team captain in his college career.

The Cardinal immediately broke open the scoring, thanks to Bryce Love’s 28-yard rushing touchdown. Collin Riccitelli kicked in the extra point to give the Cardinal a 7-0 lead at the 13:12 mark of the first quarter.

Just 3:04 later, the Beavers tied the score 7-7. Trevon Bradford caught a 63-yard pass from Jake Luton for the game-tying touchdown. Jordan Choukair kicked in the game-tying point.

The Cardinal looked to get ahead and did just that. Colby Parkinson scored a 28-yard passing touchdown off a pass from K.J. Costello with 5:25 left in the first. Riccitelli kicked in the extra point, but it was no good. The Cardinal settled for a 13-7 lead to end the first.

Parkinson worked his magic on the field to open the second quarter. Parkinson scored a 9-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Costello at the 14:17 mark of the second. Riccitelli kicked in the extra point to make it a 20-7 game for the Cardinal.

And, if two touchdowns weren’t enough, Parkinson scored his third touchdown of the game–a 75-yarder–off a pass from Costello. The Cardinal took a 27-7 lead just 1:30 later.

More magic was made as Parkinson scored a five-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Costello. Riccitelli kicked in the extra point to help the Cardinal to a 34-7 lead with 7:51 left in the second.

The Beavers pulled within 20 points with 2:36 left in the second, but they still had a long way to go if they wanted to get ahead of the Cardinal or at least tie the game to force overtime. Noah Togiai scored a 7-yard passing touchdown off a pass from Luton. Choukair kicked in the extra point. The score was now 34-14 in favor of the Cardinal.

Choukair closed out the first half with a 40-yard field goal. The Cardinal, however, continued to lead the Beavers 34-17 at the end of the half.

The Cardinal were back at it to start the second half. Cameron Scarlett ran for a 41-yard rushing touchdown. Riccatelli kicked in the extra point. The Cardinal took a 41-17 lead with 9:32 left in the third quarter.

The Cardinal maintained a 41-17 lead at the end of the third.

The Cardinal continued to soar in the fourth quarter. Dorian Maddox ran for a 1-yard rushing touchdown. Riccatelli kicked in the extra point. The Cardinal took a 48-17 lead at the 13:33 mark of the fourth.

After a second half look, that was all she wrote. The Cardinal routed the Beavers 48-17.

Notes
Tonight’s attendance was 34,671.

The Cardinal welcomed Debra Corrales ’91 as today’s Season Ticket Member of the Game. They thanked her for her six years as a Stanford season ticket member.

Up Next
The Cardinal head to Memorial Stadium to face the Cal Bears for the 2018 Big Game on Saturday, November 17.

Three takeaways from San Jose State’s 62-24 loss at Utah State

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

When it comes to the football program, San Jose State has nothing to play for and nothing to lose, but the team still had a game today. SJSU took on USU in Logan, Utah on Saturday afternoon. Final score? 62-24 USU.

Here are my three takeaways from San Jose State at Utah State.

Walk this way
Okay, there’s not a lot to write about when it comes to SJSU, but sophomore wide receiver Tre Walker was a bright spot on the Spartan roster.

Walker finished the day with 7 catches, 209 yards and 2 touchdowns. You gotta give him credit for making the game a bit more interesting in the third and fourth quarters with his 35-yard passing touchdown from junior quarterback Josh Love and 75-yard passing touchdown from 5th-year quarterback Michael Carrillo, respectively.

Pumped up kicks
You can believe in senior kicker Bryce Crawford to get the job done. He kicked in a 28-yard field goal in the second quarter along with extra points to cap off the touchdowns scored in the first, third and fourth quarters.

Aside from SJSU’s record, it has been a great senior season for Crawford, who ranks in the top 25 nationally in punting average and field goals per game. He’s the only FBS player to rank in the top 30 nationally in field goals made per game and punting average. He has made seven straight field goals and averages 1.4 makes per game. He has also been averaging 43.96 yards per punt.

This house is on fire
Yes, I know this was a home game for USU, but the Aggie offense was sweltering hot.

The No. 14 Aggies entered the game as one of the nation’s best teams at finding the end zone. They trailed just Alabama in scoring offense with 50.1 points per game. They also ranked 14th in total offense with 4,371 yards. In addition, USU ranked second among FBS teams with 19 scoring drives under a minute.

The Aggies were known for piling up points and yards first, and Saturday’s game versus SJSU was no exception.

San Jose State suffers yet another loss to Utah State 62-24

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

San Jose State has been playing a lot of far-fetched opponents and Utah State was one of them. The Spartans wrapped up their road trip with the Aggies inside the Maverik Stadium in Logan, Utah on Saturday.

The Spartans opened the scoring as Tre Jenkins had the punt return for a 41-yard touchdown on the muted punt for an early 7-0 lead at the 11:09 mark of the first quarter.

The Aggies hastily tied the score 7-7 with 8:45 left in the first. Jordan Love threw a 42-yard pass to Jordan Nathan, who scored the game-tying touchdown, and Dominic Eberle kicked in the extra point.

Eberle kicked in a 26-yard field goal to put the Aggies ahead 10-7 with 5:24 left in the first.

The Spartans trailed the Aggies 10-7 at the end of the first.

The Spartans opened the scoring to start the second quarter. Bryce Crawford kicked in a 26-yard field goal to tie the score 10-10 at the 13:53 mark of the second.

From there, the game was pretty much in the Aggies’ hands. Love threw a 24-yard pass to Gerold Bright and Eberle kicked in the extra point for a 17-10 lead at the 10:22 mark of the second. Love rushed for a 1-yard touchdown and Eberle kicked in the extra point to make it 24-10 Aggies with 7:29 left in the second. Bright rushed for a 29-yard touchdown and Eberle kicked in the extra point to give the Aggies a 31-10 lead with 5:20 left in the second. Darwin Thompson capped off the first half scoring with a 7-yard passing touchdown from Love and an extra point from Eberle to help the Aggies to a 38-10 lead at the end of the half.

The Aggies struck first to start the second half. Darwin Thompson rushed for a 59-yard touchdown and Eberle kicked in the extra point to expand the Aggies’ lead to 45-10 just 31 seconds into the third quarter.

Love threw a 35-yard pass to Tre Walker, who scored a touchdown, and Crawford kicked in the extra point to help the Spartans reduce the deficit to 45-17 at the 10:12 mark of the third.

The Aggies added two touchdowns in the third to put the game out of reach for the Spartans. Love threw a 37-yard pass to Jalen Green, who scored a touchdown, and Eberle kicked in the extra point for a 52-17 lead with 7:09 left in the third. Love then threw a 88-yard pass to Darwin Thompson, who scored a touchdown, and Eberle kicked in the extra point to make it a 59-17 lead with 4:33 left in the third.

Not much scoring occurred in the fourth quarter, but it didn’t matter as the Spartans dug themselves in a hole from the get-go. Eberle kicked in a 24-yard field goal to put the Aggies ahead 62-17 with 8:37 left in the fourth. Spartans head coach Brent Brennan put in Michael Carrillo to the game, and while Carrillo threw a 75-yard pass to Walker for the final touchdown to cut the deficit to 62-24 just 11 seconds later; it was too little, too late.

San Jose State got blown out by Utah State 62-24.

Notes
The Spartans sported their white and gold uniforms for today’s game.

Up Next
The Spartans return home to host the Wolf Pack on Saturday, November 17 at 2:00 pm PT.