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| Thursday, October 5 Simonton gets national exposure after big USC game By Dan Rosen Special to ESPN.com | |||||
There's a Heisman Trophy candidate strutting around the campus of Oregon
State University and running past defenders at Reser Stadium.
That's not a statement you hear very often, but it's not very often Oregon State lands a player like junior running back Ken Simonton.
Not well known throughout the nation because he plays football in Corvallis, Simonton has been making a name for himself ever since his career
began in 1998 after redshirting in 1997. And finally, last Saturday, he put
himself into the national headlines with his 234-yard, three touchdown performance in the Beavers gigantic 31-21 upset victory over USC, earning himself the Pac-10 offensive player of the week award.
Arizona The Wildcats may have finally found that running back willing to step up and take the starting job in true freshman Clarence Farmer, who was fourth on the depth chart prior to Camp Cochise in August. Farmer became the first UA freshman running back to gain over 100 yards in a game since Vance Johnson did it with 183 yards against Fresno State in 1981. Farmer ran for 116 yards in the Wildcats 27-3 win over Stanford last Saturday. "We have been looking for one of the backs to really step up and I think Farmer has made a statement," coach Dick Tomey said. ... Junior OG Steven Grace decided Tuesday to have surgery on his banged up shoulder that he injured in the preseason. Grace will be on the shelf for the next four months, but expects to be ready for spring practice. ... Senior DE Idris Haroon was named the conference's defensive player of the week after his performance at Stanford. Haroon made headlines with his flip into the endzone that drew a penalty flag for excessive celebration after his 32-yard fumble recovery TD run. He also recorded a quarterback sack and was a major part in the Cats holding the Cardinal to just 68 yards rushing. ... UA ranks ninth nationally in rushing defense and has recorded 14 sacks. Defensively they are giving up only nine points per game and have allowed a touchdown in only one game. They are seventh in the nation in turnovers (1.75 per game) and fifth with nine fumble recoveries. Arizona State Senior QB Ryan Kealy has dealt with a healthy dose of bad luck throughout his career with five knee surgeries. Well, he might have to add a sixth and officially end his playing days after suffering a knee injury against UCLA that by all indications appears to be a torn ACL in his right knee. "The doctors looked at him on the sidelines, and again in the locker room, and they saw him again Monday," coach Bruce Snyder said. "Obviously there are more tests to be run, MRIs and so forth, but the consensus is that he has a torn ACL." ... Snyder expressed interest in having Kealy, who just returned from a two-month team imposed suspension, stay on as an undergraduate assistant, but he is leaving that decision up to Kealy. "I think it would be terrific for him to remain with the football team and be actively involved. A real detailed plan hasn't been set, we need to let things settle." ... Redshirt freshman QB Jeff Krohn was forced to sit out of the UCLA game after being diagnosed with mononucleosis, and after Kealy went down, senior QB Griffin Goodman took over. Goodman, who was third on the depth charter entering the week of practice leading up to the UCLA game, was solid in the 38-31 loss, completing 11-of-23 for 167 yards and a touchdown. Goodman was named as the starter for this weekend's game against Cal at Sun Devil Stadium. ... Snyder formerly coached Cal from 1987-91 and garnered a 29-24-1 record while in Berkeley, Calif. Cal Senior punter Nick Harris returns home this week to face Arizona State. Harris is a graduate of Westview High School in Avondale, Ariz., which is about 30 miles west of Sun Devil Stadium. In his three previous games against ASU, Harris has 23 punts for an average of 46.4 yards. ... The Bears have found a sophomore tandem at running back that is working. Joe Igber and Joseph Echema combined for 36 carries and 146 yards in the 21-17 loss to Washington State last Saturday. Together the two are averaging 113.8 yards per game, but breakout speed has been a problem as Igber's longest run of the year is only 21 yards while Echema's is 18. ... Cal will start its fifth different lineup at offensive line this Saturday as they have been riddled with a plethora of injures. Redshirt freshman RT Mark Wilson is the only regular to start each game. "We're not as good as we want to be on the offensive line," coach Tom Holmoe said. "If every run we had produced five yards, we'd be really good. We're not hitting on all cylinders every run. We've got to expand and open it up in the secondary, and if we can do that, it will complement the run game." Oregon With the Ducks win over then No. 6 Washington, its 18th straight at Autzen Stadium, Oregon jumped 10 spots in the Top 25 poll to No. 15, becoming the second highest ranked Pac-10 team behind the Huskies who dropped to No. 11. ... Senior punter Kurtis Doerr was named the conference's special teams player of the week after averaging 41.7 yards on six punts, and pinning Washington inside its 20-yard line four times and inside the 10 twice. The Huskies average starting field position was its 17-yard line. ... Ken Simonton isn't the only running back making headlines in the state of Oregon, the Ducks junior Maurice Morris is garnering his fair share. Morris, a junior college transfer brought in to replace the recently departed Reuben Droughns, has rushed for 625 yards on 122 carries and five touchdowns this year. He is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and 125 yards per game. Oregon State After beating USC 31-21 on Saturday, the Oregon State fans stormed the field in celebration. Normally, this could be considered a safety hazard, but to coach Dennis Erickson, it was a sign of what is to come for his newly revamped program. "I'd like to publicly thank the students and fans for their support Saturday," he said. "I thought it was unbelievable as far as the enthusiasm and the noise level and all the things we had asked for during that game." Erickson added that he was proud of the students behavior following the win in the celebration saying, "They stormed the field and had a good time, but didn't do anything that would harm our program or themselves." ... The 23rd ranked Beavers, now 4-0 and out to the best start in school history since 1957, have jumped into the Top 25 for the first time since the conclusion of the 1968 season. "We are getting recognized and we are getting respect," Erickson said. "That's the only thing about being ranked at this time of the year, it really doesn't make any difference until the end." ... Oregon State will enter a similarly hostile environment this Saturday compared to last Saturday at Reser Stadium, only this time they will be the visitors. The Beavers travel to face Washington, who is coming off a tough 23-16 loss at Oregon. "You can't deal with it. I mean, you deal with it the best way you can deal with it," Erickson said of the fan support at Husky Stadium. "You can use silent counts, you can do a lot of different things -- you can practice with noise in the stadium, but that doesn't do any good. You've got to develop a game plan that isn't predicated on audibilizing or on things that you've got to do at the line of scrimmage, because you can't do it." Stanford After getting pummeled by Arizona's defense this past Saturday in their 27-3 loss, the Cardinal will take a breather from conference play and hit the road. Oh, but wait, this is no breather, they are traveling to Notre Dame. It's the Cardinal's eighth trip to Notre Dame Stadium in a series that began in 1988 and has been ongoing ever since, except in 1995-96. The Irish lead the series 9-5. ... True freshman QB Chris Lewis made his first collegiate start against the Cats, and struggled. He was only 14-of-32 for 177 yards and got blitzed and burnt by a defense that held the Cardinal running game to just 68 yards. ... Stanford has won six straight games after a loss. This year, they lost to San Jose State (40-27), but came back to beat then No. 6 Texas (27-24). UCLA The first quarter and a half against Arizona State last Saturday was something that the Bruins would love to forget about. Coming back from being down 21-0 to win 38-31 healed some wounds, but now UCLA has learned that its leading rusher, junior RB DeShaun Foster, will be sidelined 2-6 weeks with a broken right hand. "We'll miss him, he's one of the great backs in the country, how can you not miss him," coach Bob Toledo said. "You always drop off when your starter is out. But the key is, what is the quality of your backup people" ... The Bruins proved they have the talent in the reserve tank to still muster a running attack without Foster. They managed to accumulate 233 yards, the most since they had 297 on Oct. 10, 1998 at Arizona. Senior Jermaine Lewis had 104 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries and freshman Akil Harris added 13 carries for 100 yards and two scores. Foster, who will not need surgery, injured the hand in the second quarter, right before UCLA turned on the jets and stormed back from the 21-point deficit. Foster has rushed for 501 yards and two touchdowns on 123 carries this season. ... Sophomore QB Cory Paus also helped the offense in its comeback, as he was 17-of-30 for 267 yards and two touchdowns in his first full game of the season. He injured his shoulder just three snaps into the opening game against Alabama. ... The Bruins enter a bye-week before they face Cal on the road. USC The Trojans are preparing themselves to host Arizona this Saturday at the Los Angeles Coliseum, but the preparation is different than the rest of the season for the coaching staff. "The last of couple of days have been a lot different than the first month of the season -- a tremendous disappointment," coach Paul Hackett said. "We talked a week ago about how difficult it was to win on the road and how this Oregon State team was better than San Jose State. But that one's over and there is nothing you can do about it other than learn and regroup." ... Hackett called the Arizona team the best they will face so far this season, which is a huge compliment to the Cats, who were the preseason No. 8 team in the conference and USC has already played Penn State, Colorado and Oregon State. "This is a team that presents a defensive problem that is very unique," he said. "They generally lead the conference in running defense, and they have a young secondary that I think is playing quite well. They present a lot of problems for our offense." ... Junior RB Sultan McCullough slightly sprained his knee in the second half and Hackett said sophomore WR Kareem Kelly hurt his ankle in the Oregon State game. They are both expected to see action against Arizona. ... The Beavers limited the Trojans rushing attack to just 68 total yards, and with Arizona's ninth-ranked rush defense in the nation coming into town, it doesn't get any easier for USC. "We are in the heart of the conference schedule and certainly when you win on the road like Arizona did at Stanford, that just gives them more momentum coming in," Hackett said. "This is going to be a tough ball game and a tough week. It will take our best game to defeat this team." Washington The Huskies, coming off a 23-16 loss at Oregon, will be able to return to the friendly confines of Husky Stadium for a huge conference battle with Oregon State. "We are anxious to fix what's broken," coach Rick Neuheisel said. "It's the rallying cry. We are playing a very, very good Oregon State team. Clearly, the best team Saturday against USC." ... Neuheisel said that sophomore TE Kevin Ware's ankle injury will most likely keep him out for two weeks until the Huskies play Cal on Oct. 21. Ware has yet to catch a pass this year as UW has relied upon sophomore TE Jerramy Stevens, who leads the team with 20 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown. ... Neuheisel also said that a few changes may be made in the running game. Freshman Rich Alexis, who rushed twice for eight yards against the Ducks and has 11 carries for 78 yards on the season is expected to see some more time. "I just think that Rich will give us those sledgehammer type yards that we were missing with the departure of Mo Shaw." ... Sophomore Paul Arnold is still listed as the starter, but Neuheisel said a week of practice may change that. Washington State Injuries keep piling up for the Cougars, but luckily, so do the wins. WSU is just one win shy of last year's total of three. They are 2-2 and are taking a week off from the conference schedule to host Boise State this Saturday. However, the injuries are stacking up against them, with the newest patient being senior OT Reed Raymond, who was lost for the season with a knee injury in the 21-17 win over Cal last Saturday, the Cougars first road victory since their 1997 Rose Bowl season. Raymond tore his medial collateral ligament, and it may be career-threatening. Junior LB James Price (hand), sophomore LB Melvin Simmons (neck) and sophomore RB Deon Burnett (knee) will be evaluated later in the week and the medical staff will then make a decision on whether they will play or not against Boise State. Senior FS Lamont Thompson (stiff neck), a preseason Thorpe Award candidate for the nation's top defensive back, has yet to see any action this year in the games or in practice. He is currently undergoing physical therapy and neck-strengthening exercises, but his return is unknown. He has yet apply for a medical redshirt. Junior kicker Nick Lambert is also not expected to return for two weeks. ... With Boise State (3-1) coming in to Martin Stadium, the Cougars may have their best chance to break a four game home losing streak, which dates back to a 27-13 loss to Oregon State last Oct. 30. | ALSO SEE Big East notebook Big Ten notebook Big 12 notebook Big West notebook Conference USA notebook MAC notebook WAC notebook Mountain West notebook AUDIO/VIDEO   Joey Harrington fires the ball 13 yards to Justin Peelle for a TD.avi: 829 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Marques Tuiasosopo takes it in from seven yards out.avi: 1206 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 | ||||
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