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Utah turnovers, BYU mistakes mar first half of the Holy War

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By Bryan FischerSep 10, 2016, 9:20 PM EDT

Holy War? Try Holy Moly.

BYU and Utah played a game of hot potato to renew the regular season edition of their gridiron rivalry on Saturday evening, with the Utes narrowly jumping out to a 14-13 lead at halftime thanks to a late scoring drive.

Things got weird early and didn’t seem to let up at all before both teams went to the locker room in Salt Lake City. BYU’s first play of the game was intercepted off a tipped pass, which Utah linebacker Sunia Tauteoli snagged out of the air before running 41 yards to the end zone for the first point of the game.

That would turn out to be about the best thing to happen for the Utes until the final few seconds of the half considering the team’s offense turned the ball over four times. Quarterback Troy Williams threw two interceptions — one in the red zone — and the team fumbled twice to end a pair of first quarter drives. If there was any individual bright spot, tailback Troy McCormick rushing for 60 yards on just nine carries was likely the extent of it until Williams found Tim Patrick in the corner of the end zone for a touchdown and the late lead.

 

Cougars quarterback Taysom Hill did rebound from his first pass of the game, throwing for 69 yards in the first half and scrambling for 39 on a touchdown run in the closing minutes of the 2nd quarter. Safety Kai Nacua was all over the field for BYU in the first half and recorded the two interceptions off of Williams.

Both head coaches appeared to be visibly upset with their teams heading into the locker room and one can certainly understand why after such a sloppy first half from each side.

 

VIDEO: LSU RB Derrius Guice squats 650 pounds

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By Zach BarnettJun 25, 2017, 2:06 PM EDT

Derrius Guice may be the most underrated player in college football.

Playing in the shadow of Leonard Fournette, Guice posted an eye-popping 8.55 yards per carry (51 rushes for 436 yards) as a freshman in 2015, then kept his big-play ability as his usage increased while Fournette battled injuries in his final college season. Guice rushed 183 times for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns; his 7.58 yards per carry average was the most among Power 5 rushers with at least 180 carries.

So, yes, Guice is really good. He’s also a physical freak.

LSU captured and tweeted video Friday of Guice squatting 650 pounds, more than three times his listed 212 pounds.

If — and this is a massive, Les Miles-firing if — LSU can consistently throw the ball in 2017, go ahead and make Guice your darkhorse Heisman contender in 2017.

(HT CBS Sports)

Former Miami TE Jovani Haskins headed to West Virginia

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By Zach BarnettJun 25, 2017, 12:41 PM EDT

Jovani Haskins announced two weeks ago he was leaving Miami for “somewhere else.” That somewhere else proved to be a favorite destination of other Sunshine State transfers: West Virginia.

“WVU is my new home and I can’t wait to perform in front of the fans of West Virginia!” he tweeted on Saturday.

A 3-star prospect out of Bergenfield, N.J.., Haskins was offered by West Virginia in the class of 2016 and most recruiting experts actually had him signing with the Mountaineers before a surprise commitment to Miami.

Haskins joins two former state of Florida players on WVU’s roster: starting quarterback Will Grier (Florida) and former Miami quarterback Jack Allison (Miami). The Mountaineers also employed Florida State transfer Clint Trickett at quarterback and Miami transfer Antonio Crawford at cornerback.

Haskins redshirted in 2016 and will presumably sit out 2017 before gaining eligibility in ’18. West Virginia could use the help immediately; the roster lists one scholarship tight end at present. WVU currently has two tight ends pledged for the 2018 class in addition to Haskins.

 

BYU wearing special patch in honor of LaVell Edwards

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By Kevin McGuireJun 24, 2017, 4:43 PM EDT

BYU got the summer media day fun started on Friday with their football media day. BYU tends to pull out all the stops on its media day with coach and player interviews, alumni returning, and a handful of announcements about the future of the program. In addition to news about their relationship with ESPN, BYU also announced the football team will be sporting a patch this season in honor of the late LaVell Edwards.

In addition to players wearing the patch on their jerseys, BYU coaches will also wear the patch on their sleeves.

Edwards passed away in December at the age of 86. The BYU coaching legend spent 29 seasons on the sidelines in Provo and accumulated 257 wins along the way. Among those was a national championship season in 1984, which remains the most recent national championship to be claimed by a program not currently in a power conference. Edwards took 22 BYU teams to a bowl game.

Now if we can just keep getting BYU to stick to that lighter shade of blue as their main home uniform, we’ll be in great shape.

Former Vanderbilt football player Brandon Banks found guilty of rape

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By Kevin McGuireJun 24, 2017, 2:22 PM EDT

Former Vanderbilt football player Brandon Banks was convicted by a jury on Friday for rape of a female Vanderbilt student. Following 15 hours of jury deliberations, the verdict of guilty on one count of aggravated rape and one count of aggravated sexual battery was in.

”He’s shocked but understands that this is only the first part of this process, there’s a lot more to do from here on,” Banks’ lawyer, Mark Scruggs, said after the verdict. ”We have some really good issues to raise.”

Part of Banks’ defense was built on succumbing to peer pressure, suggesting he feared he may be beaten up by teammates if he did not participate in the scandalous activity. The jury, having reviewed videos and photos from the incident, some of which were shot by Banks, determined that was not a viable defense.

”Making fun of another person is not right, but we know it happens,” Assistant District Attorney Roger Moore said in closing arguments, according to the Associated Press. ”But it doesn’t give you a legal defense to commit a crime, particularly not an aggravated rape, an aggravated sexual battery. I mean if that’s the case, then we’d have the ‘football team defense.”’

Banks will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison. One count of aggravated rape has a minimum sentence of 15 years.

Other former Vanderbilt players had previously been convicted for their roles in the 2013 rape. Cory Batey was found guilty of aggravated rape and sentenced to 15-25 years in prison in April 2016. Brandon Vandenbeurg was found guilty and sentenced to 17 years in prison.