Stanford Wins ACC Debut; Cal/SC Fall Short; Cardinal Kickers Shine; 49ers Blow One; The Caitlin Clark Effect

Several former Pac-12 schools opened league play in their new conferences last weekend, with mixed results.

Stanford made an impressive debut in its first ACC game, upsetting Syracuse 26-24, while Cal came up short at Florida State in its own ACC opener, 14-9. 

In the Big Ten, USC lost a heart-breaker to Michigan. And in the Big 12, Utah held off a strong Oklahoma State team, 22-19, despite the absence of quarterback Cam Rising.

The Cardinal, who travelled nearly 3,000 miles to Syracuse for its first ACC contest, showed some promise on both sides of the ball. Coach Troy Taylor finally got some production from his running backs, and his defense completely shut down the Syracuse run game.

A pair of freshmen, Chris Davis, Jr. and Micah Ford, injected some life into the Stanford ground attack. Davis, who hails from Picayune, Mississippi, had 79 yards on nine carries, including a 47-yard burst. Ford, a former high school quarterback from Toms River, NJ, carried eight times for 47 yards and also had a TD reception that was called back by a holding penalty.

The Stanford rushing defense was near perfect, holding Syracuse to  a meager 26 yards on 17 carries.

But the epic plays both offensively and defensively came in the passing game. Stanford's All-America calibre receiver, Elic Ayomanor, made an incredible one-handed catch for the Cardinal's first TD (above), and safety Mitch Liegber had a 71-yard pick six. 

You may recall Liegber was forced into action at running back two years ago when all the regular Stanford ballcarriers were out with injuries. He started the 2022 Big Game and scored his first touchdown and rushed for 88 yards against the Bears.

Stanford will have to make another cross country trek this week to face No. 17 ranked Clemson, which has bounced back from an opening game 34-3 loss to Georgia to score 125 points in one-sided wins over App State and North Carolina State.

Cal Stymied: The previously undefeated Cal Golden Bears had their opportunities to beat previously winless Florida State, but the Bears missed a pair of field goals from inside 40 yards which would've given them the victory. In all, Cal was in the red zone five times but came away with only nine points. 

That's not going to get it done. QB Francisco Mendoza made some good things happen with his legs, but was often off target with his throws.

Trojans Collapse Late: In Ann Arbor, USC had a 24-20 lead in the final minute, but somehow allowed Michigan running back Kalel Mullings to bust loose for a 63-yard run with 37 seconds left that set up the winning touchdown.

The Big House: One thing to note about the USC-Michigan Game. Over 110,000 fans attended the game in the Big House. And five million watched the game on TV.

That's why the Trojans went to the Big Ten instead of staying in the Pac-12, where a home game in the Coliseum might have 30,000 fans disguised as empty seats.

Spartans: We've been remiss in failing to mention the San Jose State Spartans, who are enjoying a strong season under first year coach Ken Niumatalolo, formerly the head man at Navy.

Niumatalolo is a class act. We got to know him when he brought his Midshipmen to the Fight Hunger Bowl to play Arizona State. He'll do well in San Jose.

The Spartans are 3-1 after losing to Washington State, 54-42, in a double overtime thriller Friday night. Previously they'd beaten Sacramento State, Kennesaw State and Air Force.

SJS is still hoping for an invite from the Pac-12, but a history of low TV ratings is working against them.

Get Your Kicks: It was a banner weekend for Stanford placekickers.

With all the transfer mania in college football, it's nice to see a player who sticks around and gets rewarded for his loyalty.

Stanford placekicker Emmet Kenney (above) sat behind two-time All-American Joshua Karty for three years and waited his turn. Going into this season, Kenney had kicked all of two PATs and one kickoff.

Now he's the guy, and so far this season, he's been perfect, making eight straight field goal attempts and 10 straight PATs.

Last Friday night he realized every kicker's dream, hitting a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give Stanford a 26-24 win on the road at Syracuse. It was Kenney's fourth FG of the game.

The 6-2 senior from Fargo, ND, is used to kicking in high pressure games. He was two-time state special teams player of the year in North Dakota and helped his Shanley HS team win the state championship in 2018.

Karty Wins for Rams: The man Kenney replaced at Stanford, Joshua Karty, was drafted in the sixth round by the LA Rams and is already making his mark in the NFL.

On Sunday, his 37 yard field goal with two seconds remaining gave the Rams a come-from-behind 27-24 win over the 49ers.

Niners Blow One: The 49ers, sparked by quarterback Brock Purdy and receiver Jauan Jennings,  controlled the game throughout and should've won in a rout. They held a 10-point lead with six minutes left, but Karty's first field goal pulled the Rams within seven, and then after SF kicker Jake Moody missed a 55-yarder, the Rams evened the score on Kyren Williams' third touchdown of the game. 

Then after the Rams forced the 49ers to punt with a minute remaining--thanks to a dropped pass by Ronnie Bell--Rams rookie Xavier Smith returned the punt 38 yards to set up Karty's game-winner.

The 49ers were playing without offensive stalwarts Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, but it was their defense, special teams, and coach Kyle Shanahan's play-calling that cost them the game.

Defensive coordinator Nick Sorenson's defense has been susceptible to long balls. Special teams has been a disaster, including a blocked punt last week, the missed field goal and failure to stop a fake punt and late kick return this week.

And Shanahan continues his strange propensity, which was evident in last year's Super Bowl, to stop running the ball in the second half. The passing emphasis gives opponents more time to come back, as the Chiefs did in February and the Rams did yesterday. The 49ers blew 10-point fourth quarter leads in both games.

So a team with the best talent in the league is 1-2.

Clark Effect: The recently concluded WNBA regular season attracted record attendance and record TV viewership. 

The biggest reason: Caitlin Clark.

Seventeen of the WNBA's 20 highest-rated TV games featured Clark's Indiana Fever. Clark's TV games averaged 1.178 million viewers. All other WNBA games averaged 394,000.

Attendance-wise, the league's average was 9,8067 fans per game. The Fever averaged 16,084--17,035 at home and 15,133 on the road. The Fever's regular season finale against the Mystics in Washington DC set a league attendance record with 20,711.

Beginning with the 2023-24 college basketball season and Final Four, Clark has given us a year of brilliant basketball. She has elevated the sport to heights no one dreamed possible.

Yet Clark has been the target of cheap shots on the court and petty jealousy off the court.

It's pathetic. 

Every WNBA player should thank her for bringing in the record crowds and TV viewers that will put more money in all their pockets when the league's collective bargaining agreement is re-negotiated next year.