Mills gets Big Game start at quarterback for Stanford
Redshirt sophomore Davis Mills will be Stanford’s starting quarterback when the Cardinal goes for its 10th straight win over Cal at the 122nd Big Game on Saturday.
Regular starter K.J. Costello will miss his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. The Cardinal will also be without all-conference cornerback Paulson Adebo and senior safety Malik Antoine against the Bears.
Cal may also be without its starting quarterback as Chase Garbers was hurt again in the Bears’ loss to USC on Saturday. His status for the Big Game is not yet known.
Mills will be making his fifth start this season. Mills threw for a school-record 504 yards in last Saturday’s 49-22 loss at Washington State, breaking Todd Husak’s 21-year-old record of 450 yards. But Mills’ two fourth-quarter interceptions undermined his comeback attempt for the Cardinal.
Stanford (4-6, 3-5) needs to win its two remaining games against Cal (5-5, 2-5) and Notre Dame to have a chance to extend its school-record 10-year bowl streak.
Cal needs a win over Stanford or UCLA in its final game to become bowl eligible.
NO CHANGE AT THE TOP >> The College Football Playoff rankings were unchanged at the top this week, with LSU first followed by Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia.
The selection committee’s third weekly rankings had little movement in the top 10, with Alabama fifth followed by Oregon, Utah, Penn State, Oklahoma and Minnesota.
Minnesota and Baylor, both of which lost for the first time last weekend, dropped in the rankings. Minnesota went from eighth to 10th after losing at Iowa. Baylor slipped from 13th to 14th after blowing a 25-point lead to Oklahoma. DIVINITY BACK WITH LSU BUT STATUS UNCLEAR >> LSU linebacker and sacks leader Michael Divinity is back with the team, but his role going forward was unclear. Two weeks ago, Divinity left the Tigers for personal reasons, but coach Ed Orgeron left the door open for him to return. On Monday, he did.
Oregeron did not indicate when Divinity could play again. TAGOVAILOA’S PARENTS THANK PUBLIC FOR WELL WISHES >> The parents of injured Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa released a statement, expressing their gratitude for the support for and care of their son.
Tagovailoa suffered a dislocated hip on Saturday in the Crimson Tide’s win over Mississippi State. He had surgery Monday and will miss the rest of the season.
“We would like to thank all of the Alabama family and everyone across the world for the prayers and outpouring of love and support for our son and our family. We felt the unceasing prayer, and words can’t express how overwhelming and uplifting that has been for us,” Galu and Diane Tagovailoa said.
”The care and support Tua and our family has received is nothing short of amazing.”
VANDERBILT SAYS MASON STAYING AS HEAD COACH >> Vanderbilt athletic director Malcolm Turner says Derek Mason has his full support as the Commodores coach and they’ll be working together to give the football program the resources and support needed to succeed.
Turner issued a statement with Vanderbilt 2-8 in Mason’s sixth season.
“I want to make it very clear that Derek Mason will be our head football coach moving forward,” Turner said. “Coach Mason has my full support, and I am committed to working with him to ensure our football program has the necessary resources and support to succeed.” MINNESOTA QB MORGAN (CONCUSSION) NOT CLEARED TO PLAY >> The status of quarterback Tanner Morgan is uncertain for 11th-ranked Minnesota’s game at Northwestern after back-to-back sacks in the last game put the sophomore in the concussion protocol.
Coach P.J. Fleck said Tuesday that Morgan has made progress this week, but the Big Ten’s leading passer has not been cleared. The Gophers (9-1, 6-1) play Saturday against the Wildcats (2-8, 0-7), with a one-game lead in the West Division on Wisconsin. They finish the regular season Nov. 30 against the Badgers.
Morgan could be a game-time decision. If he doesn’t play, either Jacob Clark or Cole Kramer would start. They’re both true.
PENN STATE QB SAYS HE GOT DEATH THREATS AFTER MINNESOTA LOSS >> Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford said he received death threats on social media after the Nittany Lions’ Nov. 9 loss at Minnesota. Clifford, a redshirt sophomore who has started all 10 games this season, made the revelation on a conference call as he discussed why he had deleted social media this week before the ninth-ranked Lions’ game Saturday at No. 2 Ohio State.
“I completely deleted it after the Minnesota game,” he said. “It’s kind of sad to say how some fans get. It gets a little crazy. I was kind of sick and tired of getting death threats and some pretty explicit and pretty tough-to-read messages. But you learn how to deal with certain things.”