Tre’Quan Smith eager to deliver big plays
AUTO RACING: Chip Ganassi Racing will return to a two-car team in the IndyCar Series next season. Scott Dixon will return as driver of the No. 9, and the team said a driver for the No. 10 would be announced later . ... Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato will return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing next season after one season with Andretti Autosport.
BOXING: Jake LaMotta, the former middleweight champion whose life was depicted in the film “Raging Bull,” died in Miami from complications of pneumonia. LaMotta, 95, compiled an 83-19-4 record with 30 knockouts. He fought Sugar Ray Robinson six times, handing Robinson his first defeat. LaMotta threw a fight against Billy Fox, which he admitted in testimony before a Senate committee, because he said he was promised a shot at a title . ... Unbeaten heavyweights Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 knockouts) and Luis Ortiz (27-0, 23 knockouts) will fight Nov. 4 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Nov. 4.
COLLEGES: Midwestern State CB Robert Grays, 19, died after suffering a neck injury while making a tackle Saturday . ... LSU RB Derrius Guice is “very questionable” with an undisclosed injury for Saturday’s game against Syracuse, coach Ed Orgeron said . ... Montana QB Reese Phillips said he suffered a season-ending injury, breaking his fibula and rupturing ligaments in his foot, in Saturday’s victory over Savannah State . ... The Bowl Subdivision has had a 73 percent increase in the number of targeting penalties enforced through the first three weeks of the season compared with the same point in 2016 . ... Oklahoma President David Boren, who spearheaded the Big 12’s failed push for expansion, end of the school year. will retire at the
SOCCER: Josh Sargent, a 17-year-old forward who starred on U.S. youth teams, agreed to sign with Werder Bremen of the Bundesliga . ... England’s women’s team coach Mark Sampson was fired over “inappropriate and unacceptable behavior” involving players in a previous job, though no details were disclosed . ... UEFA said Atletico Madrid’s new stadium will host the 2019 Champions League final . ... Real Madrid extended the contract of striker Karim Benzema until the end of the 2021 season . ... Real Madrid’s faltering start to the Spanish league season continued with a 1-0 loss at home to Real Betis . ... Chelsea highlighted the third round of the League Cup with a 5-1 win over Nottingham Forest keyed by striker Michy Batshuayi’s hat trick . ... Christian Pulisic sealed a 3-0 win for Borussia Dortmund at Hamburger SV. The team has not conceded a goal in the Bundesliga this season . ... Augsburg captain Daniel Baier was fined and suspended for one Bundesliga game for making an obscene gesture at Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhuettl.
ALSO: Pacific University was punished by the NCAA for academic and recruiting violations under ex-basketball coach Ron Verlin and ex-baseball coach Ed Sprague. ... Garbine Muguruza began her reign as No. 1 with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Monica Puig in the round of 16 at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo . ... Blues F Alexander Steen will miss the rest of training camp after injuring his left hand in the team’s first exhibition game. .. 76ers C Joel Embiid has yet to be cleared for five-on-five drills
After last year’s doubleovertime loss to Maryland (3-0), UCF (1-0) receiver Tre’Quan Smith hopes his efforts on the field combined with sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton’s leadership skills will be enough for the Knights to get a big win over the Terrapins on Saturday.
Smith, a former Delray Beach Village Academy standout, discussed his game plan and what he’s expecting from the matchup with Maryland.
Question: What’s going to be the big thing to remember going into this game against Maryland?
Answer: “The biggest thing for us is not to lose our edge. … It’s been a long time since we’ve been on the football field playing against an opponent. We’re just trying to get back in our rhythm, trying to get back the hype that we had after playing the FIU game. That’s all that is, just trying not to lose our edge.”
Q: What are the keys from last year’s Maryland game and this year’s FIU game that you’ll be bringing into this game?
A: “It’s all about attention to details and getting in on watching film. You can never get enough film, and you can never know too much about your own playbook. With communicating with your teammates [and when] your communication is up to par, you’re gonna see good things on the field.”
Q: What have you been noticing in preparation his team.
“I’m sure he meant that we didn’t play to the expectations that we had for our defense,” Richt said Wednesday. “I think four 10-play drives, the first drive of the game going 7 minutes to open the season, that’s not what anyone expected. … We think we can do better than that, and we expect to do better than that.”
Players and coaches were set to return to South Florida after practice Wednesday, the first time most have been back to campus since the storm made landfall more than a week ago.
The challenge for the UM coaching staff this week has been picking up where the Hurricanes left off after a 41-13 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 2.
“I think our guys have done a good job the first two practices we have seen them here this weekend,” Diaz said. “Our strength staff is trying to run the guys and get them back into shape. This is where our depth matters. It has to matter. We have been saying all along, ‘How do you get all these guys in the game?’ This is why you’ve got to get all these guys in the game.”
Richt said he hasn’t seen anything from his players to cause concern.
“If you base it strictly on what we normally see on a Tuesday practice, what I saw yesterday looked normal. It looked typical,” said Richt, who is in his second season leading the Hurricanes. “I didn’t go, ‘Oh man, we’re in trouble.’”
Richt said the heat dur- for this game?
A: “The Maryland defense, they’ve got a really good defense. Some guys, they play really well on the defensive side of the ball. We’re just trying to match their intensity, because we know they are gonna come out aggressive.”
Q: Is this 22-day streak without a game the longest you’ve gone without playing a football game in college?
A: “Yeah, during a season, definitely yes. It makes us anxious to wanna get out there and play against somebody else and stop practicing against each other. It feels like camp, when camp’s over, everybody’s hype again.”
Q: Knowing you’re one of the biggest targets on the field, what does it feel like knowing the best of the opponent’s defensive players will be matching up against you?
A: “I like it. I feel like it’s a challenge. Good on good. I know I’m gonna give my best every single play, and I know they are gonna give their best every single play. I love competition. That’s what Coach [Scott] Frost teaches us. To embrace competition.”
Q: Anything you remember from last year’s game against Maryland specifically?
A: “I remember that we lost and I’m not trying to go over there and lose again… Last year we had a couple of turnovers that we wish we could have had back. Coming into this game, we know that turnovers are very vital to winning this game.” ing practices has been a challenge, but his players argue they need to get used to it after their time off.
“It’s good getting back out and acclimated to this weather,” junior defensive tackle Kendrick Norton said after practice, which featured temperatures in the mid-90s with a heat index that felt more like the 100s. “It was good for us.”
Miami is scheduled to face Toledo at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Hard Rock Stadium. The Rockets (3-0) play a high-tempo style of offense, averaging more than 75 plays on offense per game so far this season. It’s something the Miami (1-0) defenders have been keying on all week.
“They’re a team that likes to go fast and to catch you disorganized,” Norton said. “We’ve got to be ready for that on defense.”
Toledo senior quarterback Logan Woodside is ranked second in the MidAmerican Conference in total offense (995 yards) while adding eight touchdown passes with one interception.
“He’s outstanding,” Richt said of Woodside. “His fundamentals are great. He knows the system so well. He knows when and where to go with the ball. He’s the kind of guy that, if you pressure him, the ball is going to come out quick to the right guy.
“He’s one of the best the country for a reason.”
Norton agreed with his coach’s assessment, adding: “He’s a guy that can make all the throws all over the field. He can pick you apart.”
mmurschel@ orlandosentinel.com in