No. 8 USC routs Colorado 55-17, but loses RB Dye to injury

Associated PressNov 12, 2022, 4:09 PM EST

Wally Skalij/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES — Everybody on Southern California’s sideline poured onto the Coliseum field to surround the cart transporting running back Travis Dye, whose collegiate career had just ended with one awkward tackle.

The Trojans then shook off that abrupt heartbreak and kept rolling toward their ultimate goals for a remarkable rebound season in which Dye has been a prime producer and an emotional leader.

“There’s no way we would be sitting here as a football team if it wasn’t for him,” coach Lincoln Riley said.

Caleb Williams passed for 268 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for two more scores, and No. 8 USC overcame their top ball-carrier’s left leg injury in a 55-17 victory over Colorado on Friday night.

Williams accounted for five total touchdowns in his fourth consecutive outstanding game for the Trojans (9-1, 7-1 Pac-12), who warmed up for season-defining games against No. 9 UCLA and No. 20 Notre Dame in the next two weeks with a slow start followed by a blowout victory over the Buffaloes (1-9, 1-6).

Former Colorado receiver Brenden Rice had 70 yards receiving and a touchdown for the Trojans, while Tahj Washington and Austin Jones caught TD passes from Williams in the third quarter. Jones threw up a 2 and a 6 after his score to honor the jersey number of Dye, the Pac-12’s second-leading rusher with 884 yards.

“To see him go out like that, it hurts me,” Jones said. “We’ve got to step up and take on what he’s been doing so well, and keep it going.”

Dye left the field with an air cast on his left leg after going down awkwardly in the second quarter. The Oregon transfer and Los Angeles-area native has been a key component of the Trojans’ immediate transformation from a four-win program to a College Football Playoff contender.

Riley said he doesn’t expect Dye to play again this season, but the injury shouldn’t cause him long-term damage. Dye flashed USC’s signature V for Victory to his cheering fans on his way to the Coliseum tunnel before he returned to watch the second half from the sideline on crutches.

“He’ll be playing on an NFL team next year,” Riley said.

The Trojans still scored at least 41 points for the fourth consecutive game with a prolific offense led by Williams, who had another standout game despite throwing only his second interception of the season. Williams has accounted for 37 total touchdowns in 10 games at USC.

“I just care about competing and winning,” Williams said. “If I come out with five (touchdowns), I come out with five. If I come out with one, I come out with one.”

Alex Fontenot rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown for the Buffaloes, who have yielded 188 points during their four-game losing streak under interim coach Mike Sanford.

J.T. Shrout passed for 124 yards and rushed for a late TD while Colorado fell to 0-16 against USC in a series that began in 1927 and includes 11 straight Pac-12 losses for the Buffs.

USC’s defense had its best game in a month, with Tuli Tuipulotu recording 2 1/2 sacks to increase in FBS-leading total to 11 1/2, but the Trojans actually trailed 3-2 after an ugly first quarter.

“Looking at the last two weeks in particular coming into this game, I mean, there’s all the reasons in the world probably to hang your head and not start fast defensively,” Sanford said. “It just shows the resolve and the belief that those players have, and I think you’re also starting to see some great individual efforts.”

USC’s second drive ended when Williams’ underthrown long pass was wrestled away from Rice by Nikko Reed, but USC’s defense scored the game’s first points on a safety moments later when Tuipulotu pressured Shrout into an intentional grounding penalty in the end zone.

Williams quickly took control, and he excelled even with a third straight week of minimal help from his top two receivers. Jordan Addison made only one reception in limited action during the Biletnikoff Award winner’s return from a two-game injury absence, but receiver Mario Williams missed his third straight game with an injury.

THE TAKEAWAY

Colorado: The Buffs’ first quarter will look good on film when Sanford tells them they’ve got a chance to win one of their final two games. This lost season is a motivational challenge, but Sanford’s team clearly is still playing hard with what it has.

USC: Dye’s absence is a blow to the Trojans’ leadership and heart, but they’ve got talented options in Jones and Raleek Brown, who had a career-high 90 total yards and made a 25-yard TD catch from Miller Moss in the fourth quarter. USC’s defensive play, not its running game, almost certainly will determine where the Trojans finish this regular season.

INJURIES

Colorado RB Deion Smith and S Trevor Woods both sat out with injuries, but Sanford expects them to play in the Buffs’ final two games.

UP NEXT

Colorado: At Washington on Saturday, Nov. 19.

USC: At UCLA on Saturday, Nov. 19.

Georgia extends contract for AD Josh Brooks, plans two new football practice fields

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:14 PM EDT

Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

ATHENS, Ga. – On the heels of a second straight national football championship, Georgia has rewarded athletic director Josh Brooks a contract extension that ties him to the Bulldogs through at least 2029.

The athletic association board, wrapping up its annual spring meeting Friday at a resort on Lake Oconee, also announced plans for a new track and field facility that will free up space for two more football practice fields.

Brooks’ new contract will increase his salary to $1.025 million a year, with annual raises of $100,000.

The 42-year-old Brooks, who took over the athletic department in 2021 after Greg McGarity retired, called the Georgia job “a dream for me” and said he hopes to spend the rest of his career in Athens.

“I am extremely grateful,” Brooks said. “I got into this business 20-plus years ago as a student equipment manager. My first job at Louisiana-Monroe was making $20,000 a year in football operations.”

The Georgia board approved a fiscal 2024 budget of $175.2 million, a nearly 8% increase from the most recent budget of $162.2 million and the sign of a prosperous program that is flush with money after its success on the gridiron.

The school received approval to move forward with its preliminary plans for a new track and field facility, which will be built across the street from the complex hosting the soccer and and softball teams.

The current track stadium is located adjacent to the Butts-Mehre athletic facility, which hosts the practice fields and training facilities for the football program.

Georgia lost a chunk of its outdoor fields when it built a new indoor practice facility. After the new track and field stadium is completed, the current space will be converted to two full-length, grass football practice fields at the request of coach Kirby Smart.

“He wants to find efficient ways to practice, and there is a lot of truth to the issues we’ve had with our current practice fields,” Brooks said. “There is a lot of strain on our turf facilities staff to keep that field in great shape when half the day it is getting shade, so that has been a challenge as well. For our football program, it is better to practice on grass fields than (artificial) turf, so to be able to have two side-by-side grass fields is huge. It makes for a much more efficient practice.”

The new track and field complex, which will continue to be named Spec Towns Track, will also include an indoor facility, the first of its kind in the state of Georgia.

Iowa AD Gary Barta announces retirement after 17 years at Big Ten school

Associated PressMay 26, 2023, 9:11 PM EDT

Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa athletic director Gary Barta will retire on August 1 after 17 years at the university, the school announced Friday.

Barta, 59, is one of the longest-tenured athletic directors in a Power Five conference. He was hired by Iowa in 2006 after being the AD at Wyoming.

An interim director will be announced next week, Iowa said.

In September, Iowa hired former Ball State athletic director Beth Goetz to be deputy director of athletics and chief operating officer, putting her in position to possibly succeed Barta.

“It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve in this role the past 17 years,” Barta said in a statement. “This decision didn’t come suddenly, nor did it come without significant thought, discussion, and prayer.”

“That said, I’m confident this is the right time for me and for my family.”

Iowa won four NCAA national team titles and 27 Big Ten team titles during Barta’s tenure. The women’s basketball team is coming off an appearance in the national championship game and the wrestling team is coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA championships.

Barta served as the chairman of the College Football Playoff committee in 2020 and 2021.

He faced heavy criticism over more than $11 million in settlements for lawsuits in recent years alleging racial and sexual discrimination within the athletic department.

Lawsuits filed by former field hockey coach Tracey Griesbaum and associate athletics director Jane Meyer led to a $6.5 million payout.

Iowa had to pay $400,000 as part of a Title IX lawsuit brought by athletes after it cut four sports in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the agreement, Iowa reinstated the women’s swimming and diving program and add another women’s sport.

Iowa added women’s wrestling, the first among Power Five schools to compete this year.

A lawsuit brought by former football players alleging racial discrimination within the program was settled for $4.2 million last March, which prompted state auditor Rob Sand to call for Barta’s ouster.

“Gary Barta’s departure is a long time coming given the four different lawsuits for discrimination that cost Iowa more than $11 million,” Sand posted on Twitter.

The university did not allow taxpayer money to be used for the settlement with the former players.

Barta led Iowa through $380 million of facility upgrades, including renovation of Kinnick Stadium, the construction of a new football facility, a basketball practice facility and a training center for the wrestling teams.

Under Barta, Iowa has had just one head football coach (Kirk Ferentz), women’s basketball coach (Lisa Bluder) and wrestling coach (Tom Brands). All were in place when he arrived.

Barta has also come under scrutiny for allowing Ferentz to employee his son, Brian Ferentz, as offensive coordinator. To comply with the university’s nepotism policy, Brian Ferentz reports to Barta.