Pac-12 Football

Despite rumors of his impending firing, Chip Kelly isn't concerned about his future as UCLA's head coach.

Following the Bruins' 38-20 win against Caleb Williams and USC, Kelly spoke to reporters about the rumors.

"Not an issue for me," he said, according to Justin Rudolph of On3.com. "I've never been governed by the fear of what other people say, and the lessons that this game has taught me is that there's gonna be highs and there's gonna be lows. And you gotta lean into the lows, embrace them, and then you just gotta go to work."

Kelly also revealed that he spoke with executive senior associate athletic director Josh Rebholz, who relayed a message from athletic director Martin Jarmond that denied the validity of the rumor.

"Josh [Rebholz] came over the other day and said, 'Hey, there's a report about this, and Martin [Jarmond] told me it was inaccurate, inappropriate," he said, per Rudolph. "I don't pay attention to that stuff, I don't read that stuff, I never see that stuff."

It didn't appear to affect Kelly's team, either. The Bruins' 38 points scored was the team's third-highest total of the season, ending a two-game losing streak.

Starting quarterback Ethan Garbers threw for 155 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, recording zero interceptions. Running back T.J. Harden crossed the century mark for the first time all season, racking up 142 yards on his 22 carries.

"You can see by the performance today it didn't bother the team," Kelly said, according to Rudolph. "I never talked to the team about it, never talked to our coaches about it. We're just fortunate. We're all blessed that we get to play this sport. And every day that we get to coach it, I'm the happiest man in the world."

UCLA moved to 7-4 after the win, as the Bruins are bowl-eligible for the third time in six years under the former NFL head coach.

While the Lincoln Riley experience at USC has certainly had some success, the program has regressed in his second season at the helm.

And the Trojans hit a new low Saturday following yet another loss, this one to rival UCLA 38-20 at the LA Coliseum. It's the Trojans' (7-5, 5-4 PAC 12) fifth loss in the last six weeks and their lone win came by one point in a 50-49 shootout against Cal.

Riley knows that he has missed the mark over the past few weeks as the program's CFP aspirations have been totally flushed.

"I've clearly not done a good enough job in the second half of the season to get this team ready," Riley said via ESPN's Paolo Uggeti. "I've got to do a much better job."

USC will still go bowling but that wasn't the goal when it entered the season as the No. 6 ranked team in the country with reigning Heisman winner Caleb Williams leading the way.

However, Saturday's game was an amalgamation of all things that were wrong with this USC roster and coaching staff. Defense left plenty to be desired and there were too many sloppy, unforced mistakes.

And as good as Williams is—the front-runner for the No. 1 overall pick in April's NFL draft—it wasn't enough to patch up the deficiencies all season long. Williams had 34 completions for 384 yards to go along with a touchdown and an interception Saturday.

It may very well have been his final game in a Trojan uniform as he decides what to do with his future.

"He came here and took a chance on this place and took a chance on being a part of restarting this program and getting it going," Riley said of Williams. "He's a special player, special competitor, and obviously we'll see what goes on from there."

Regardless of whether Williams returns or not, Riley knows there are a lot more things that need to be fixed in Tinsel Town if he's going to lead the program to another championship.

The recent firing of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch clearly hasn't made an impact. So, now is the time for real self reflection from Riley and the rest of his staff.

"The reality is, you play better and you coach better, then you're not in that many [close games]," Riley said. "It sucks right now. It hurts right now, but I've never been more motivated and had more of a fire in my belly than I do right now."

Oregon Ducks star Bo Nix is one of the best quarterbacks in college football, but is he worthy of the Heisman Trophy?

Nix was dominant in Saturday's game against the Arizona State Sun Devils before being pulled late in the third quarter in favor of Ty Thompson with Oregon up 42-3. He completed 24 of 29 passes for 404 yards and six touchdowns, in addition to rushing for seven yards on three carries.

It was one of his best games of the season.

Bo Nix and @oregonfootball are going CRAZY 😳

ANOTHER touchdown for the Ducks in the first half! pic.twitter.com/hkOE1cUY6P

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 18, 2023

After Nix was pulled, college football fans were quick to dub the former Auburn quarterback the Heisman Trophy favorite:

Bo Nix is coming for that Heisman Trophy. Jayden Daniels might need to have a field day tonight.

— Barrett Sallee 🇺🇸 (@BarrettSallee) November 18, 2023

Bo Nix is making his case for the Heisman. He has 303 yards and 5 TD passes and it isn’t even halftime yet.

— WestCoastCFB (@WestCoastCFB) November 18, 2023

Decent first half. pic.twitter.com/EjEOQK9p84

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) November 18, 2023

Bo Nix and Oregon torching ASU. Nix has thrown SIX TD passes and has just five incompletions in the first half. Ducks lead 42-0... still in the first half. Nix now has a 35-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio this year. Wow.

— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 18, 2023

Nix gonna win the Heisman.

— Joe Healey (@JoeHealey42) November 18, 2023

Bo Nix is trying to win the Heisman today. #GoDucks

— The Real Avery Lynch (@YoungBull_Lynch) November 18, 2023

Bo Nix for Heisman #Heisman

— Travis Williams (@daddyshangout) November 18, 2023

I present to you… future Heisman winner Bo Nix pic.twitter.com/CVMOLl23NG

— Adrian Abshere (@adrianabshere) November 18, 2023

BO NIX FOR THE HEISMAN

— ☠️Jacob⚪️⚫️ Beaulieu☠️ (@JacobBeaulieu) November 18, 2023

Alright, Bo Nix for Heisman

— B-Mike-D (@bmduncan3) November 18, 2023

Bo Nix is your Heisman winner.

— Shaq (@ShaqMitchell) November 18, 2023

Bo Nix has 6TDs in the 1st half. Heisman wrapped up

— Amajahl Knowles (@3AM__MO) November 18, 2023

Nix entered Saturday's game having completed 77.7 percent of his passes for 3,135 yards and 29 touchdowns against two interceptions in 10 games, in addition to rushing for 121 yards and five scores.

The 23-year-old entered the season having been considered a Heisman Trophy contender behind the likes of USC Caleb Williams and UNC's Drake Maye, but he arguably has outplayed both signal-callers en route to the top of the ladder.

Oregon will improve to 10-1 on the season with a win over Arizona State and Nix could wrap up the Heisman next week with a solid performance against Oregon State to close out he regular season.

Colorado Buffaloes running back Kavosiey Smoke has clarified his comments regarding his team's "selfish ball."

Smoke claimed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his team would be undefeated if they hadn't played "selfish ball" following the team's 56-14 loss to Washington State Friday night.

After the post made the rounds, Smoke addressed the coverage of his comments on X.

"Y'all trying to make something bigger than what it is," Smoke wrote. "Be forgetting this y'all job."

yall trying to make something bigger than what it is😒be forgetting this yall job https://t.co/S2rb8J4sgd

— Kavosiey Smoke (@_KS20_) November 18, 2023

Smoke's comments come after the Buffaloes dropped their fifth consecutive game and seventh overall this season. While Colorado's 4-7 record is still an improvement from its 1-11 2022 record, the hype around the team after hiring Deion Sanders suggested the Buffaloes were poised for a bigger leap.

The Buffaloes are last in the Pac-12 at 1-7, and a final matchup against No. 16 Utah makes a second conference victory seem even more unlikely. While the overall improvement should be looked at positively for the program from a macro standpoint, the high-end talent on the roster figured to produce a bowl-eligible record.

Smoke has seen limited action in 2023, with season totals of minus-two yards on two carries, but has amassed 1,581 yards and 13 touchdowns in his collegiate career. His experience at the Power Five level, as he transferred to Colorado after five seasons with Kentucky, shows that he can recognize the talent that the team has.

The game against Utah will be an opportunity for Colorado to end its tenure in the Pac-12 on a high note before returning to the Big 12 in 2024.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was knocked out of Friday's 56-14 loss to Washington State in the second quarter with a wrist injury.

Speaking to reporters after the game, head coach Deion Sanders said Shedeur was dealing with "some numbness in his hand" and he "couldn't really grip the ball."

Deion was also asked about possibly shutting Shedeur down for the rest of the season, but he responded by saying his son "is not the kind of player" that wants to shut down.

🦬 @DeionSanders on the health of Travis Hunter who appeared to be banged up several times tonight, “Travis is good.”

On whether or not there’s a thought of shutting down QB Shedeur Sanders, says that’s not who he is, they haven’t discussed it yet but he’s pretty sure. pic.twitter.com/eb58891wtP

— Mat Smith (@RealMatSmith) November 18, 2023

Shedeur appear to suffer two different injuries in the game. He was favoring his upper-body after a strip-sack in the first quarter that knocked him out for one offensive possession.

After returning to the game, Shedeur was tackled on a quarterback keeper in the second quarter and was clutching his right arm.

Ryan Staub enters for Sanders after an apparent injury pic.twitter.com/v0WIz6YTyd

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 18, 2023

Sanders did have one spectacular highlight before leaving the game. He threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter late in the first quarter, on his first series after injuring his upper body, to cut Washington State's lead to 14-7.

SHEDEUR SANDERS DIME TO TRAVIS HUNTER 😮‍💨

(via @CFBONFOX) pic.twitter.com/RVV5iWgFIG

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 18, 2023

Sanders finished the game 6-of-10 for 86 yards and a score. Ryan Staub and Gavin Kuld both saw action after Sanders was injured. They combined to go 6-of-17 for 78 yards and one interception.

A season that started with such promise for the Buffaloes is ending on a down note. They were 3-0 and ranked as high as No. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 going into a Sept. 23 game against Oregon.

Colorado lost 42-6 to Oregon and has been on a downward trajectory since then. Coach Prime's team is 1-7 in their last eight games and allowing 38 points per game during this stretch.

The Buffaloes' loss to Washington State ensured they won't be bowl eligible. Sanders' injury only compounded the problems they were having because the defense wasn't stopping the Cougars even before he left the game.

Sanders has a playing style that leaves him open to taking hits, though he's managed to make it work for the offense. He's been sacked an FBS-high 52 times this season.

Despite all of those hits, Sanders is still completing 69.3 percent of his attempts for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Colorado will wrap up the regular season on Nov. 25 against No. 16 Utah.

Colorado's season hit its nadir on Friday night with a 56-14 loss to Washington State in a game that also saw star quarterback Shedeur Sanders leave with an injury.

Sanders initially suffered what appeared to be an upper-body injury when he was strip-sacked in the first quarter. He missed one offensive series before returning to the game and throwing a 45-yard touchdown pass to Travis Hunter.

SHEDEUR SANDERS TO TRAVIS HUNTER 😤

WHAT A PLAY FOR @CUBuffsFootball 🦬 pic.twitter.com/42evo0PftJ

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 18, 2023

That would be about as good as things got for the Buffaloes. Sanders was injured again two possessions later when he was tackled on a keeper. He remained on the ground for a brief period and appeared to be favoring his right arm.

Ryan Staub enters for Sanders after an apparent injury pic.twitter.com/v0WIz6YTyd

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 18, 2023

Freshman Ryan Staub took over the offense for most of the game. He finished 5-of-14 for 56 yards. Gavin Kuld also saw playing time, but he only went 1-of-3 for 22 yards with one interception.

Head coach Deion Sanders' team has now lost seven of its past eight games after a 3-0 start. Friday's loss means the Buffaloes won't be bowl eligible for the third consecutive season.

Colorado started 3-0 in non-conference.

They really seemed to be a Cinderella story in action.

Today, they are 4-7 and just got eliminated from bowl game contention.

What a disastrous finish to the season for the Buffaloes 😬 pic.twitter.com/c3X3T7AEkq

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) November 18, 2023

"The 2023 Colorado Buffaloes from Weeks 1-3"

pic.twitter.com/YwUQZiSb77

— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 18, 2023

https://twitter.com/JWalizerJr/status/1725849313333379096

Me telling my kids what it was like when Coach Prime was 1-0 at Colorado and the greatest coach of all time…. pic.twitter.com/q5OKSUYVt3

— Kevin Standart 〽️ (@kstand40) November 18, 2023

This is the type of hype Colorado was getting after starting 2-0 against TCU and Nebraska https://t.co/9iRwARVLvv

— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) November 18, 2023

Said it all year.

It’s hard getting everyone’s max effort when you’re a bad team.

But that’s what Colorado gets every week because of how much it talked to start the year.

Every opponent knows it’ll be social media famous if they don’t show up.

— Bud Elliott (@BudElliott3) November 18, 2023

Things got so out of hand early in this game that Washington State fans, despite coming into Friday with the same record as Colorado, decided to break out "overrated" chants.

'Overrated' chants break out from the Washington State student section pic.twitter.com/f7vgaVuBwM

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 18, 2023

The problems in this game are the same issues Colorado has had all season. The offensive line couldn't block anyone. The quarterbacks were running around constantly, trying to make something happen. The defense is completely overmatched against even average competition.

So Colorado ended up having the season most of us expected.

Get destroyed on the lines, Shedeur gets banged up, Buffs get everyone's best shot, won't be bowling in a tough P12.

Still a big improvement from last year, but the nature of the TCU game warped everything.

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 18, 2023

Last year Colorado won just 1 conference game. With a win over #22 Utah next week, Colorado has an opportunity to DOUBLE that total in Deion Sanders' first season with the team.

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) November 18, 2023

Coach Prime told reporters after the game he wouldn't expect Shedeur to be shut down for the remainder of the season if his injury isn't serious, but they will discuss it at some point.

Expectations for Colorado were completely warped because of early wins against a TCU team that was ranked No. 17 to start the season, but was dramatically overrated based on its 4-6 record coming into this weekend.

This is still a successful first season for Sanders and his staff with the Buffaloes. They basically brought in a whole new roster of transfer players and led the program to three more wins than they had in all of 2022.

The next step for Deion will be recruiting and filling out the holes on his roster to make the team better in 2024.

Before putting a bow on 2023, though, the Buffaloes will wrap up the regular season on Nov. 25 against No. 16 Utah at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

The 10 departing Pac-12 schools are fighting back against a Tuesday ruling that made Washington State and Oregon State the conference's only governing and voting members.

As Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports shared, the University of Washington was the one to file a motion in the state's Supreme Court on behalf of all the schools that are exiting the league:

The University of Washington, on behalf of the 10 departing Pac-12 schools, has filed a motion in Washington Supreme Court to put Tuesday’s ruling in favor of OSU and WSU on hold & extend the restraining order to allow the Supreme Court to schedule a complete review. Expected. pic.twitter.com/ORqMlNnzzr

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 15, 2023

The appeal filing was done in an effort to put Tuesday's ruling on hold so there can be a complete review from the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, Whitman County (Washington) Superior Court Judge Gary Libey granted the request from Washington State and Oregon State for a preliminary injunction.

Dellenger noted the appeal filing argued that two teams controlling the board would give them the opportunity to "swiftly re-write" league rules and distribute "the conference's hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues to the detriment of the student-athletes" by leaving out the 10 departing schools.

USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington are going to the Big Ten, while Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State are going to the Big 12. Stanford and Cal are going to the ACC.

Kyle Bonagura of ESPN reported on Tuesday's decision and noted Oregon State and Washington State argued conference bylaws state schools that revealed they were leaving for other leagues forfeited their rights to make decisions on the conference board. They said that was the case when UCLA and USC announced they were going to the Big Ten.

However, they said the other schools changed their tune when it became apparent everyone in the league except for the Cougars and Beavers were leaving.

"I grew up where conduct spoke louder than words. That's how my parents treated me, and that's how I treated my children when they were growing up," Libey said before issuing his decision on Tuesday. "With that in mind, this court finds in favor that the plaintiffs are likely to prevail on their interpretation of the bylaws."

Had Libey ruled in favor of he leaving schools, they could have easily outvoted Oregon State and Washington State in any board action.

"At the heart of the dispute is forthcoming revenue," Bonagura wrote.

The schools leaving are worried that Oregon State and Washington State will withhold revenue they expected for this academic year before departing, while the Beavers and Cougars are concerned the other schools could dissolve the Pac-12 and distribute its assets.

This will all be the backdrop for some high-stakes football games in the coming weeks.

Both Washington and Oregon are in the middle of the College Football Playoff race and play Oregon State during the next two weeks. The Beavers could deliver significant blows to the championship hopes of the Huskies and Ducks all while the schools are fighting in the courts.

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders isn't holding a grudge against the high school students alleged to have stolen items from the Buffaloes locker room during an Oct. 28 matchup against UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

"Let's not crucify and punish these high school kids. ... Let's not abort the rest of their opportunities and lives because of a mistake," Sanders told reporters Tuesday. "... Let's make sure those kids atone for what transpired, whether it's community service or whatever it is, but they don't lose the opportunities to change their lives. They are kids. They made a stupid, dumb, idiotic mistake. When I was 17, 18, so did I. All right? So did you."

Pasadena Police identified prospective UCLA recruits from Beaumont High School in Riverside County, California, as suspects in the theft of jewelry, headphones, cash and other items from the Colorado locker room.

However, UCLA said the suspects were not on an official recruiting visit when the alleged theft occurred.

"As this is still an ongoing investigation, we cannot confirm anything other than that the individuals in question were not on an official visit," UCLA said in a statement to USA Today.

Additionally, the Beaumont Unified School District said in a statement that the students were not at the game as part of a school-sponsored event:

We are disappointed and disheartened to hear of the alleged involvement of Beaumont High School students in the incident at the UCLA-Colorado football game on October 28. We strive to promote strong character and integrity in our students, and the alleged actions do not represent our core values as a school, District, and community. While the students were not at the UCLA-Colorado football game as part of a school-sponsored event, the District is cooperating fully with Pasadena Police Department's investigation.

In a "Well Off Media" video posted to YouTube after the game, players were captured discussing the items they were missing. One player said he lost a chain he recently purchased.

"I just got mine, bro. I had the jewelry box and everything. They took it out of my jewelry box," the player said.

Outside linebacker Jordan Domineck was also among the players to have jewelry stolen:

Forgive and forget. To whoever snuck into the locker room and stole my chain, as well as my teammates chains, I forgive you and wish you nothing but the best. Hopefully you turn your life around with whatever you get for mine, and you learn from this. It’s all love 🙏🏾🛐 #Godgotme

— Jordan “JD” Domineck (@jdomineck16) October 30, 2023

Earlier this month, Sanders called for the NCAA to reimburse the team for the stolen items.

"Our kids got robbed during the game last week," Sanders said at the time, per ESPN's Mark Schlabach. "I think that's a travesty. I would expect the NCAA to do something about that. ... This is the Rose Bowl. They said the granddaddy of 'em all, right? I'm sure granddaddy had some money. Grandpa should have some money to give these kids."

Some of the stolen items have since been returned to players, according to police, but other items remain missing. An investigation into the theft remains ongoing.

The Buffaloes are preparing for a matchup against Washington State on Friday before closing out the season against No. 16 Utah on Nov. 25. The team has lost six of its last seven games to drop to 4-6 on the year.

Whitman County (Washington) Superior Court Judge Gary Libey has granted Washington State and Oregon State's request for a preliminary injunction, meaning that the two schools will be the Pac-12's lone governing and voting members.

Here's the judge's full ruling in favor of Oregon State and WSU against UW and the Pac-12.

"I grew up where conduct spoke louder than words."

Stay for the end to see OSU AD Scott Barnes fist bumping the people in the row with him. pic.twitter.com/2O5uXjCRfB

— Brenna Greene (@BrennaGreene_) November 15, 2023

The decision was in response to WSU and OSU's lawsuit against the Pac-12 and the departing 10 schools.

"I grew up where conduct spoke louder than words," Libey said, per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports. "Conduct is what counts and words don't so much. What you do and how you do it is what counts in life."

As noted by Bryan Fischer of Fox Sports, the Pac-12 board can invite the other 10 members to future board meetings. They are all allowed to take in meetings and make suggestions. However, WSU and OSU are the only schools with voting powers.

As Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic noted, the judge stated that the departing schools must still be "treated in a fair and open manner" and can't be harmed. A motion to dismiss was denied.

Per Brandon Marcello of 247Sports, the other 10 Pac-12 schools are "certain to appeal."

Greg Woods of the Spokesman-Review provided more information on the legal front, noting Washington's plan to appeal.

Judge Gary Libey makes this ruling with one caveat: The temporary restraining order will remain through the end of the week, that way UW can appeal before the preliminary injunction goes back into effect.

— Greg Woods (@GregWWoods) November 15, 2023

WSU and OSU will be the only remaining members of the conference after the other 10 schools depart following after the 2023-24 athletics year. Cal and Stanford are headed to the ACC, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State and Colorado are going to the Big 12 and USC and UCLA will join the Big Ten alongside Washington and Oregon.

Chip Kelly's time with the UCLA Bruins will reportedly soon come to an end.

It's "very realistic" that UCLA will fire Kelly following a matchup against the USC Trojans on Saturday, according to Tracy Pierson of 247Sports. However, his firing "could be delayed until after the Cal game" if the Bruins win Saturday's matchup, Pierson added.

Pierson added:

From what I've learned, a significant factor to dimiss Kelly was the perceived lack of a viable path forward as UCLA heads into the Big Ten in 2024. Kelly has little support from donors, especially in terms of NIL donations, which has now become the life blood of any college football program and its recruiting. In fact, from what I know, many UCLA donors have chosen not to donate to UCLA's football NIL fund as long as Kelly is the UCLA head coach.

Kelly has been head coach of the Bruins since 2018, posting a 33-33 record over his six seasons at the helm. And while UCLA is 6-4 entering this Saturday's game against USC, there's little hope for the team to overcome Caleb Williams and the Trojans.

Kelly's squad has only secured a bowl game once, which came during the 2022 campaign when it lost the Sun Bowl to Pittsburgh, and they have never truly competed for the Pac-12 title.

UCLA's 2023 football schedule is believed to be one of the easiest in recent program history, but the Bruins have posted unacceptable back-to-back losses to Arizona and Arizona State, furthering the indication that a new head coach is needed.

With the Bruins slated for a move to a much more difficult Big Ten in 2024, it's no surprise the program may be looking for a new voice as it enters a new era.

That said, UCLA's potential opening could be much more attractive to candidates given their change of conference.