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Arkansas DB Kevin Richardson out for year with torn pectoral

By Kevin McGuireSep 5, 2016, 11:28 PM EDT
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Arkansas escaped an upset bid from Louisiana Tech in the season opener, but they did so at a cost. Defensive back Kevin Richardson suffered a torn pectoral muscle and will now be out for the remainder of the 2016 season. Razorbacks head coach Bret Bielema announced the injury news on Monday.

According to a report from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Richardson was scheduled to undergo surgery on Monday. The rehab process is expected to take up to four months, meaning a return for a bowl game might be a reach. Richardson had been playing backup defensive assignments and starting on special teams for Arkansas.

“Just his demeanor, his attitude, he’s everything I want in this program,” Bielema said, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette report. “He knows the defensive package as well as any coach.”

‘Health-related issue’ to sideline Oregon State WR Seth Collins indefinitely

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By John TaylorOct 19, 2017, 6:22 AM EDT
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Over the past calendar year, Seth Collins hasn’t caught many breaks health-wise. This week, that unfortunate luck continued.

Oregon State has announced that Collins will be sidelined indefinitely because of what was described as a health-related issue by the football program. The wide receiver did not play in last Saturday’s game because of an unspecified illness.

Per the school, this illness is not related to the unspecified health event last season that left him hospitalized and caused him to miss not only the last two games of 2016 but spring practice this year as well.

“Losing Seth sucks,” quarterback Darell Garretson said according to The Oregonian. “I love that kid to death. It brings me a bunch of pain and a lot of emotion thinking about it. Obviously, I hope he gets his year back. I think he is going to.”

The good news, such as it is, is that Collins, a true junior, could pick up another season of eligibility as he missed the first three games of this year because of an injury unrelated to the twin illnesses.

Despite missing more than half of the Beavers’ games, Collins is currently tied for fifth on the team in receptions with 12 and sixth in receiving yards with 130. Prior to the latest illness cropping up, he set a season-high with 91 yards in the Week 6 loss to USC.

Last season, his first as a receiver after converting from quarterback, Collins was second on the team in catches (36) and yards (418).

VIDEO: UCF head coach Scott Frost shows off wheels running the option as scout team QB

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By Bryan FischerOct 18, 2017, 7:42 PM EDT
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In terms of accomplishments as a college football player, few coaches have the resume of Scott Frost.

After all, the now-UCF head coach won a national title back in 1997 with Nebraska and compiled a 24-2 record as a starter with the Cornhuskers. What made him so dangerous? Well, he was the perfect fit for the team’s triple option offense and was one of the best in terms of using his arm and his legs in leading the team to all those wins.

“I love option football,” Frost told the Associated Press “I lived it. I feel like option quarterbacks now are kind of like giant pandas, they only exist in zoos and military academies now.”

That’s particularly relevant this week, as his Knights are set to play Navy on Saturday in a huge AAC matchup that will have an impact on who receives this year’s Group of Five bid. Given how well the boss is at running the option, it seems he decided to put on a helmet and run the scout team offense to better prepare his defense for what they’ll see out of the Midshipmen and signal-caller Zach Abey.

From the looks of things, Frost still has it even if he’s got 20 years on his players.

Ohio State reportedly opting for all-gray alternate uniforms for Penn State game

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By Bryan FischerOct 18, 2017, 6:28 PM EDT
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Recruiting never stops, even for a blue-blood like Ohio State. That’s one reason why the team is reportedly set to go with an all-gray alternate uniform for the team’s biggest game of the year when Penn State rolls into Columbus.

Team site Eleven Warriors posted that they have obtained images of the retail uniforms the Buckeyes are set to wear, which includes a top that is completely gray with only a sliver of scarlet for the team’s logo on the chest:

OSU opting for alternate uniforms in big games is nothing new for the program under Urban Meyer, especially since a new Nike deal kicked in a while back. They donned some for the Michigan game last season and have worn several versions in other contests. This latest monochrome look, which is still a report and subject to change mind you, still seems a bit bland all things considered.

If nothing else, it could make things very hard for the broadcasters despite all eyes being on the horseshoe for one of the most important Big Ten games of the year.

ESPN apologized to Washington over cupcake stunt during broadcast

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By Bryan FischerOct 18, 2017, 5:30 PM EDT
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It seems that budding feud between ESPN, Washington and Huskies head coach Chris Petersen is starting to die down just a bit.

ESPN has apologized to the school for a stunt on a broadcast two weeks ago during the Washington-Cal game, in which commentators took the team’s weak non-conference schedule to task and used literal cupcakes to represent the Huskies’ opponents during the first few weeks of the season.

“I felt more like that was such a disrespectful move for the people we play,” athletic director Jen Cohen told the Seattle Times. “For those that do this, we do this because we love the kids. These are somebody’s sons, somebody’s brothers. They’re 18- to 22-year-old kids, and so I was more offended, not for us, as I was for our opponents.

“It was a class act (to apologize), and he made the right call.”

According to the Times, Cohen received a call from Peter Derzis, ESPN’s senior vice president of college sports programming and events, offering the apology.

As nice as the mea culpa was from ESPN, Cohen and Petersen were probably even more elated to hear the news that their October 28 game against UCLA was slated to be televised at 12:30 p.m. PT after an oft-criticized string of night games that made the head coach quite ornery last week. It might not make up for the fact that the team lost to Arizona State on Saturday but there are definitely a few baby steps being taken to repair the relationship between the school and one of the Pac-12’s primary broadcast partners.