Pac-12 bowl projections: Utah’s path widens
In 10 minutes, Utah transformed its Saturday, its season and its postseason.
In 10 minutes that spanned the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third, the Utes blasted through USC for 267 yards, four touchdowns, an insurmountable lead and one indisputable statement: They are back.
The victory created ample margin for error as Utah chases its seventh consecutive bowl berth (in non-pandemic years).
Excluding last winter, the Utes haven’t been home for the holidays since 2013, at the end of the multiyear roster fortification process that followed their transition into the Pac12.
Their path looked treacherous in late September after a loss to Brigham Young and an overtime defeat at San Diego State.
But efficient quarterback play and an improved defense fueled consecutive victories over Washington State and USC, thereby altering the postseason calculation:
The Utes need just three wins in their final seven games to qualify -a stretch that includes dates with struggling Colorado and Arizona.
A victory Saturday over Arizona State would leave Utah as the Pac12’s only undefeated team in conference play, with head-to-head wins over USC and Arizona State and only one other legitimate contender in the division: UCLA, which visits Salt Lake City at the end of the month.
Win Saturday, and by the close of October, the Utes just might have full control of the South and a bowl berth locked up.
Projections: Oregon in the Rose Bowl; Arizona State in the Alamo Bowl; Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl; Oregon in the Holiday Bowl; UCLA in the Sun Bowl; Stanford in the LA Bowl; USC in the ESPN Bowl; Washington in an at-large bowl.
Non qualifiers: Arizona, Cal, Colorado and Washington State.
— Jon Wilner
NBA IRVING BARRED PROM PLAYING, PRACTICING >>
Kyrie Irving can keep refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but he can’t play for the Brooklyn Nets.
The Nets announced Tuesday that Irving wouldn’t play or practice with the team until he could be a full participant, ending the idea he could play in only road games. Under a New York City mandate, professional athletes playing for a team in the city must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to play or practice in public venues.
Without mentioning his vaccination status, general manager Sean Marks said Irving has made a decision that keeps him from being a full member of the team. Irving hasn’t said he isn’t vaccinated, asking for privacy when he spoke via Zoom during the team’s media day on Sept. 27.
Marks said he and owner Joe Tsai together made the decision, adding it came through discussions with Irving and his associates. NBA players are not required to be vaccinated, but they face more testing and social distancing. The league had said that players wouldn’t be paid for games they miss because they are ineligible to play.
Marks said Irving will still be paid for road games.
Soccer
DENMARK QUALIFIES FOR WORLD CUP >> Denmark became the second European team to qualify for next year’s World Cup by beating Austria 1-0 to maintain the team’s perfect record in Group F.
Joakim Maehle’s 53rd-minute goal at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, secured an eighth straight qualifying win for the Danes, who have the only 100% record.
Germany was the first team to reach the 2022 tournament in Qatar via qualifying, sealing first place in its group on Monday.
With just the first-place finisher qualifying automatically, Denmark holds an unassailable seven-point lead over Scotland, which is still on track to finish runner-up and advance to the playoffs in March.
However, Scotland tested the nerves and patience of its fans as a 1-0 win at the Faeroe Islands was secured only in the 86th by Lyndon Dykes’ header after the home side had several scoring chances.
Scotland is four points clear of third-place Israel — which beat visiting Moldova 2-1 — with two rounds left in November.
Scotland can seal its place in the 12-nation playoffs by winning its next game at last-place Moldova.
WNBA WRIGHT HIRED TO COACH DREAM >>
The Atlanta Dream hired longtime WNBA player Tanisha Wright as its new head coach, looking to bring stability to a team that struggled under two interim coaches this past season.
Wright, 37, played 14 seasons with the Seattle Storm, New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx. She retired after the 2019 season and spent the last two years as an assistant for the Las Vegas Aces. She also had been a college assistant with Charlotte since 2017.