Utah State players opt out of playing vs. Colorado State.
Utah State canceled its football game against Colorado State amid concerns voiced about religious discrimination during the search for a new football coach.
Aggies players issued a statement to Stadium on Friday, saying they were opting out of today’s game because of alleged comments made by University President Noelle Cockett about the religious and cultural background of interim coach Frank Maile.
Cockett’s comments were reportedly made during a video call Tuesday with Athletic Director John Hartwell and the Utah State University Leadership Council to discuss Maile’s candidacy for the permanent head coaching job.
Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson resigned to take over Utah State, a source told The Associated Press on Thursday.
“We want our message to be clear that this has nothing to do with the hiring of Coach Blake Anderson, the recently-named head coach of the program,” the players said in their statement. “We are sure he is an excellent coach; we look forward to meeting him and his staff. We are highlighting the ongoing problems of inequality and want to create a better future for the community of Logan and Utah State University.”
Maile is in his second go-round as an assistant coach at Utah State, with a stint at Vanderbilt from 2014-15 in between. He has been assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator for the past five seasons and was named interim head coach when Gary Andersen was fired after an 0-3 start this season.
“I am devastated that my comments were interpreted as bias against anyone’s religious background,” Cockett said in a statement.
Friday’s result
Arizona State 70, Arizona 7: D.J. Taylor returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and visiting Arizona State scored twice in the opening 56 seconds to rout rival Arizona (0-5).
Arizona State (1-2) made a mockery of the annual Territorial Cup game from the opening kick return, capitalizing on a string of Arizona turnovers to build a 35-0 lead by early in the second quarter.
Rachaad White ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns, Jayden Daniels accounted for three scores and Arizona State won its fourth straight in the series for the first time since 1975-78.
Notable
Six months working inside the confines that came with playing college football in the middle of a pandemic was enough for the Pittsburgh Panthers. Pitt removed itself from bowl consideration, a day after finishing off the regular season at 6-5 following a 34-20 victory over Georgia Tech.