Sun Devil coaching candidates, high school Open division teams, more…

Arizona Sports News online

I traveled to Tucson Saturday night to see how second-year head coach Jedd Fisch is progressing. Sure, bottom-feeder Colorado was the opponent, but my Wildcat season ticket holding friends have been pleased with Fisch and they gush about the brand of football that the Wildcats have been playing. Fisch moved to 3-2 with a 43-20 victory(CU can’t tackle to save their lives). 

Even before the game started, there was a buzz in the stadium about a high-profile recruit in the house.

(Photo credit Michael Rincon Photography)

The next four games Arizona has Oregon at home, at Washington, USC in Tucson, and at Utah. Can they get to six wins and become bowl eligible? The offense is fun through air. Lot of options for quarterback Jayden de Laura.

At Arizona State, the interim tag for Shaun Aguano won’t come off unless he gets to five or six victories. I like Shaun and believe that with the right staff(not just assistant coaches) he could have the interim tag removed. He’s trying to install discipline into a roster that doesn’t know if he’s going to be the voice for them next year. That is not an easy job for a coach.Tough penalties and mistakes(onside kick early block midway through the fourth quarter) were part of the night at USC. It was a strange game. Watching it back, the Sun Devils had opportunities till the end, but errors, bad breaks,  shortage of talent and discipline kept ASU from pulling off the upset of the Trojans.

 

 

 

 

 

In terms of potential candidates for the Sun Devil job other than Aguano.

Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham had a good night vs Stanford. Lot of dots are connecting Dillingham top the job. If Oregon keeps winning, I would think he’d be in the favorite position. 

Please don’t waste my time or your time by floating Urban Meyers name. Great for web clicks, not reality for the job…

Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Ruhle would be a strong candidate but he’s still employed. That may change in the coming weeks. Panther fans are reportedly getting restless with Ruhle. The Cardinals indirectly could help the Sun Devils coaching search with a win on Sunday,…

Deion Sanders. Soooo, if Deion were interested and able to get the head coaching job at Arizona State, the Sun Devils 2023 season opener against Southern Utah would be on Prime Time….

Interesting to see what the NCAA did to Air Force football this week for violations during COVID. I think this is important for Sun Devil fans to know. https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/9/29/media-center-air-force-football-committed-recruiting-violations.aspx

Longbow Golf club operator Bob McNichols closed out his run with the popular Mesa course on Friday, selling to Thompson Golf Group. I’ve known Bob for many years, and he’s done so much to grow the game in the junior, high, school, college, and adaptive levels. I played Longbow on Wednesday(not well), but it’s always a good stop. I have a feeling that Bob won’t be too far away from the game…

My Open Division high school football teams in the first week of October in no particular order -Liberty, Chandler, Hamilton, Basha, Casteel, Desert Mountain, Centennial, Saguaro. Now, how many more losses could Saguaro take before they are out? What about a school like Highland?  Casteel hosts Chandler this week. If the Colts win one of their Premiere Region matchups against Basha, Hamilton, or Chandler they should be in.  Basha v Liberty this Friday is the place to be…

Philadelpia Eagles come to the Valley next Sunday. Will they be on the Super Bowl teams? Former Cardinal Seth Joyner, now doing TV in Philly, will be with me on Monday’s show…

Will Kyler outrush Baker Sunday?…