PAC-12 CANCELS ANOTHER GAME
Washing ton State Athletic director Pat Chun said the school has nine football players in COVID-19 protocols and four players had to be put into the protocol Friday morning leading to the cancellation of today’s Cougars’ game at Stanford.
Chun said as of last weekend, the Cougars had zero players in their COVID protocols and the first positive test came early in the week.
The four positives Friday morning kept the Cougars from reaching the Pac-12 mandate of 53 scholarship players available.
“I’m disappointed for our team and our players. They have battled through so much this year,” Washing ton State coach Nick Rolovich said in a statement. “We had a good week of practice and were excited to play this game. I recognize the pain they feel with this lost opportunity but this 2020 football team is a resilient group of young men.”
Chun said it was too early to know whether next Friday’s Apple Cup against rival Washing ton will be played as scheduled.
He said figuring out the situation around the Apple Cup would begin Sunday.
“We’re going to get through (today) as planned and come Sunday we’ll start making our daily assessments about where our roster is at and where we’re at with everything related to trying to field a team on Friday,” Chun said.
More games moved
Seventh-ranked Cincinnati’s game against No. 25 Tulsa has been moved again in a shuff ling of the American Athletic Conference schedule.
The Bearcats and Golden Hurricane are now set to play Dec. 12, a week before the planned date of the conference championship game. The game was originally scheduled for Oct. 17, then moved to Dec. 4.
The AAC also announced new dates for five other games postponed because of COVID-19 issues. The first is Memphis at Navy on Nov. 28.
Three games have been set for Dec. 5: Houston at SMU, Memphis and Tulane and Tulsa at Navy. Houston at Memphis was rescheduled for Dec. 12.
More COVID news
Pittsburgh said its players will be outfitted with face coverings to use on the field and sideline during its home game against Virginia Tech on Saturday, in accordance with recent guidelines handed down by state officials in Pennsylvania.
Pitt later clarified that players will not be required to pull up the face coverings while they are competing.
In a statement, Penn State said the new orders include exceptions for competition to be played without face coverings “in the context of rigorous and stringent University and Big Ten testing, health and safety protocols.” The Nittany Lions host Iowa today.
Friday’s results
Minnesota 34, Purdue 31: Josh Aune’s interception with 44 seconds left at the Minnesota 13-yard line after a disputed penalty on visiting Purdue gave the beleaguered Gophers defense a big lift and preserved a victory over the Boilermakers.
Jack Plummer completed 35 of 42 passes for 367 yards and three scores in his first start of the season for Purdue, which took the ball with 2:01 left at its 39.
The Boilermakers (2-2), boosted by a career-high 15 receptions for 116 yards from Rondale Moore in his long-awaited return, moved in position for what they believed was a 19yard touchdown catch by tight end Payne Durham in the final minute. Durham was f lagged for offensive pass interference, angering the Purdue sideline after replays revealed scant evidence of a foul. Aune picked Plummer off on the next play.
Mohamed Ibrahim, the FBS leader in rushing yards per game, scored his third touchdown of the game — and 13th of the season — early in the fourth quarter to give Minnesota a 34-24 lead before a missed extra point.
Purdue used a fourth-and-1 conversion on a drive capped by Durham’s scoring reception that cut the lead to three points with 8:31 left. The Boilermakers got the ball back quickly after Seth Green, the wildcat quarterback for the Gophers, was taken down for a 3-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from their own 31. But Edward Dellinger, who had a 27-yard field goal blocked in the second quarter, pulled his 33-yarder wide right to keep Minnesota (2-3 Big Ten) in the lead.
Lousiville 30, Syracuse 0: Malik Cunningham accounted for two touchdowns to offset three first-half turnovers, and host Louisville held Syracuse to a season-low 137 yards with three takeaways for a victory.
All of the turnovers occurred before the break, though Cunningham’s two interceptions around a fumble in Syracuse territory weren’t as costly. That’s because the Cardinals’ replenished defense created just as many opportunities, two of which the offense converted into 10 points for a 13-0 lead in the second quarter.
Syracuse (1-8, 1-7) never got going in losing its sixth consecutive game. Freshman JaCobian Morgan completed 5-of-12 passes for 40 yards in his second start and the ground game managed just 92 yards.
Air Force 28, New Mexico 0: Brad Roberts rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns, Haaziq Daniels added 56 yards rushing and a score, and Air Force overcame three second-half turnovers to beat New Mexico.
Air Force scored a touchdown on its first three possession of the game while New Mexico punted on three of its first four — along with a fumble. The Falcons fumbled it on three straight drives in the second half, but New Mexico followed each with a missed field goal.
Roberts, in his second game with Air Force, had scoring runs of 5, 12 and 44 yards. Daniels scored from the 4, and also completed 4-of-5 passes for 66 yards.
Air Force (2-2, 1-2 Mountain West) secured its first shutout in a conference game since the 2011 season — also against New Mexico.
Trae Hall was 23 of 42 for 221 yards and an interception for New Mexico (0-4, 0-4). The Lobos missed field goals of 37, 40, 50 and 51 yards.
Florida Atlantic 24, Massachusetts 2: Freshman Javion Posey passed for 203 yards and rushed for a 70-yard touchdown to help Florida Atlantic (5-1) beat Massachusetts (0-2) in the first meeting between the schools.