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Malik Rosier solid in guiding No. 14 Miami to win over Duke in ACC Coastal clash

By Bryan FischerSep 29, 2017, 10:30 PM EDT
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All offseason long, folks wondered just how well the ACC could respond to losing a number of quarterbacks to the NFL. A quarter of the way through the season, the answer in Miami sure seems to be that the Hurricanes will be one of the teams that are just fine on that front.

Signal-caller Malik Rosier out-dueled his highly touted counterpart at Duke on Friday night and helped lead Miami to a 31-6 win that gives the team a solid inside track in the Coastal Division race.

Rosier didn’t have an incomplete pass until well into the second quarter as part of a hot start and wound up finishing with 270 yards, two touchdowns and an interception to go with another 45 yards and a score rushing. While things didn’t quite come as easy for the redshirt junior in the second half, it was nevertheless another quality start for a team that moves to 3-0 ahead of their big rivalry game at Florida State next week.

While it was a good night for the quarterback, star running back Mark Walton didn’t quite have it so easy. Though he broke off a few nice runs throughout the evening, he finished with just 51 yards on the ground and was injured in the fourth quarter that saw him limp off with a leg injury. Backup Travis Homer promptly ripped off a 40 yard touchdown on the next series to seal the victory after taking over in the backfield.

Not everything went well on the night for the ‘Canes however. Punter Zach Feagles made the highlight reel in a way no specialist wants to by booting a negative one-yard punt (that wasn’t blocked) in the third quarter. Yes, really.

As for the Blue Devils, they were on the verge of getting right back into things several times throughout the game but never could turn the corner. QB Daniel Jones had his moments, but was under pressure all night and managed just 166 yards on 21 completions while also tossing an interception. Though he did everything he could with limited options, the team went just 5-of-19 on third down and converted just one of their fourth down attempts.

Given the ACC Coastal chaos we’ve seen in the division in the past, a loss by no means knocks Duke out of the title race. Still, the big takeaway from Friday night came on the other sideline as Miami took home a victory and made another big step in the right direction under Mark Richt.

UTEP mourns passing of TE Luke Laufenberg, 21, after two-year battle with leukemia

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By John TaylorAug 22, 2019, 8:28 PM EDT
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For the second time this month, the insidiousness that is cancer has struck at the heart of college football.

Following a nearly two-year battle with leukemia, Luke Laufenberg passed away early Thursday morning, his father, former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Babe Laufenberg, heartbreakingly revealed on Twitter. ” The hole in our hearts will never be filled,” Laufenberg wrote. “You are my hero. RIP my sweet Luke. See you on the other side.”

The younger Laufenberg had just signed with UTEP this past February as a tight end and was expected by many to win a starting job before his health began to fail again later on in the offseason.

Laufenberg actually began his collegiate career as a walk-on at Texas A&M. On the day after Christmas 2017, Laufenberg was diagnosed with leukemia; in May of the following year, he was declared cancer-free and, after the 230-pound player had regained the 90-plus pounds he had lost during chemotherapy, began his trek back to college football, first at a junior college in 2018 before signing with UTEP earlier this year.

By the summer, sadly, the disease had returned with a fatal ferocity, with doctors telling his family in July that “his condition was terminal and that he had just a few weeks left.”

Below is a statement from UTEP head coach Dana Dimel:

Luke Laufenberg touched our hearts and souls forever. His spirit and fight are reminders of what it means to play and coach the game of football. He was a fighter, a champion and a wonderful person. He was a very talented young man that lived his life and left a huge mark on everyone he came in contact with. He was a wonderful individual and will not be forgotten on our football team. Our student-athletes learned from how he prepared himself and the way he handled adversity. I know Luke loved playing football for UTEP and he will forever be a MINER!

Our thoughts, prayers and condolences go out to all of those affected by the young man’s way-too-early passing.­

Syracuse no longer calling the Carrier Dome the, uh, Carrier Dome

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By Bryan FischerAug 22, 2019, 6:31 PM EDT
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Stadium names change all the time in college football and we’ve seen some strange mash ups over the past few decades but there’s been an interesting twist in upstate New York.

Thanks in part to a growing spat with the company over the naming rights to the aptly named Carrier Dome, Syracuse has embarked on a bit of a rebranding for their longtime football and basketball home by shortening things to just ‘The Dome.’

As spotted by Syracuse.com, the school has removed some 64 mentions of the word Carrier in their annual football media guide and have even gone as far as to leave out any mentions of the company in their season ticket materials too.

“We will be contacting the university to discuss further,” Carrier Senior Director of Communications Ashley Barrie said in a statement to the site.

Orange officials have said they are not de-emphasizing the ‘Carrier’ part of the Carrier Dome to send any sort of message but rather reinforcing the ‘Dome’ part of the stadium’s name.

Something says that as much as that may be their public stance, this rebranding battle is something that figures to get some lawyers involved in soon enough. The football team’s home opener isn’t until Sept. 14 against defending champion Clemson so there’s certainly some time to work things out but it sure seems like a new name for the venerable venue is something we’ll all have to start getting used to.

Ex-Auburn, Miami RB Asa Martin lands at Memphis

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By Bryan FischerAug 22, 2019, 5:27 PM EDT
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After going from AU to the ACC, tailback Asa Martin is now ticketed for the AAC.

Got that?

Per 247Sports, Martin has apparently enrolled at Memphis for the 2019 season. Per transfer rules he’s sitting out the year either way unless there’s some sort of NCAA waiver involved but it’s still the sophomore’s third school in nine months.

Martin was originally a four-star recruit in the class of 2018 and saw action in five games for the SEC Tigers as a true freshman, rushing for 57 yards all told while catching two passes for 36 yards. He entered the transfer portal in late December though, just after Auburn’s season had concluded.

Eventually Martin found a home at Miami and enrolled in time for spring practice. Perhaps he was not thrilled at the situation because come mid-June the tailback was back in the transfer portal looking for a new program to play with.

We’ll see if this latest move to Memphis sticks because we’ve certainly seen that Martin is no stranger to moving around.

Penn State transfer Tommy Stevens gets the nod as Mississippi State’s starting QB

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By Bryan FischerAug 22, 2019, 4:35 PM EDT
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Tommy Stevens’ reunion with Joe Moorhead has proven to be a fruitful one.

The Penn State transfer was named the starting quarterback on Thursday by the Mississippi State head coach, ending a camp battle with Keytaon Thompson and others in the bid to replace Nick Fitzgerald under center for the Bulldogs.

Stevens made his way to Starkville rather surprisingly this offseason after spring practice for the Nittany Lions wrapped up. While he was expected to be the heir apparent to Trace McSorley in State College for the 2019 campaign, it seems that a competitive battle with fellow Penn State QB Sean Clifford pushed him to enter the NCAA transfer portal instead.

While some may have questioned the move initially given that Thompson has starting experience at MSU and in Moorhead’s system, things apparently worked out in the end as Stevens takes over for Fitzgerald instead.

A noted dual-threat with the ball in his hands at PSU, Stevens rushed for 118 yards and two touchdowns last year while also passing for 110 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Mississippi State opens the season against Louisiana-Lafayette in New Orleans on Aug. 31 before their home opener against Southern Miss on Sept. 7.