SB Nation Boston: All Posts by Joey Kaufman

GameDay Open Thread: USC Vs. Syracuse At MetLife Stadium

2012-09-08T19:15:09Z

And so USC makes a rare east coast roadtrip and is set to face Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. in the second game of the season (lucky for Paragon and CC's northeast contingent).

Here is the open thread, as the game kick offs at 12:30 p.m. PST on ABC. In the meantime, here are this afternoon's starting lineups, courtesy of USC's official Twitter account.

USC starting offense: QB Barkley; RB - McNeal, Redd, Vainuku; WR - Lee, Woods; TE Telfer; OL - Walker, Martin, Holmes, Martinez, Graf.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) September 8, 2012

Of note on defense: MLB Lamar Dawson, who missed the Hawaii game, is expected to start. He said as much during practice this week. Cornerback Torin Harris, who also missed last week due to a hamstring, is reprotedly dressed and could play, too.

USC starting defense vs. SYR: DL - Breslin, Uko, Woods, Tavai; LB - Pullard, Dawson, Bailey; DB - Robey, McDonald, Starling, Brown.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) September 8, 2012

Feel free to post your thoughts below throughout the game.

And so USC makes a rare east coast roadtrip and is set to face Syracuse at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. in the second game of the season (lucky for Paragon and CC's northeast contingent).

Here is the open thread, as the game kick offs at 12:30 p.m. PST on ABC. In the meantime, here are this afternoon's starting lineups, courtesy of USC's official Twitter account.

USC starting offense: QB Barkley; RB - McNeal, Redd, Vainuku; WR - Lee, Woods; TE Telfer; OL - Walker, Martin, Holmes, Martinez, Graf.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) September 8, 2012

USC starting defense vs. SYR: DL - Breslin, Uko, Woods, Tavai; LB - Pullard, Dawson, Bailey; DB - Robey, McDonald, Starling, Brown.
— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) September 8, 2012

Feel free to post your thoughts below throughout the game.

SB Nation Bowl Projections: Oregon In The BCS Championship Game

2012-08-27T18:23:02Z

The mothership has released its bowl projections for the upcoming season, and of note for the Pac-12: Oregon, not USC, is winning the conference and heading to the national championship game for a rematch against LSU, which handed the Ducks a 40-27 defeat in the Cowboys Classic last September in Arlington, Texas. The site for the title game is Sun Life Stadium in suburban Miami.

If you're wondering where the Pac-12 school fall, here's a quick guide. A remarkable nine schools from the conference are projected to land in one bowl game or another. Would be a pretty impressive feat. Here's the list, now. Feel free to sound off.

BCS title game: Oregon vs. LSU

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Michigan State

Sun Bowl: UCLA vs. N.C. State

Alamo Bowl: Utah vs.TCU

Holiday Bowl: Cal vs. Baylor

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Washington vs. Navy

Military Bowl: Arizona State vs. Army

Maaco Bowl: Stanford vs. Boise Sate

New Mexico Bowl: Washington State vs. Fresno State

Taylor Kelly To Start At Quarterback For Arizona State

2012-08-20T19:10:05Z

Arizona State entered fall camp with a three-man quarterback battle waiting to be solved. It's now clear.

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Kelly has emerged as the leader of the pack and will be the Sun Devils' starter on Aug. 30 against Northern Arizona, per Craig Morgan.of Fox Sports Arizona.

Taylor Kelly will start at QB for ASU, Michael Eubank will also get snaps.
— Craig Morgan (@cmorgancbsfoxaz) August 20, 2012

A season ago, Kelly served as a backup to Brock Osweiler, now with the Denver Broncos after being selected in the second round of last April's NFL draft. Kelly, a 6-foot-1, 203-pound signal caller, appeared in two games: the opener against UC Davis and Arizona State's homecoming game against Colorado. In total, he completed all four of his passes for 31 yards -- all against the Aggies.

It comes as a bit of a surprise, slightly, as Eubank stands at 6-foot-5 and 242 pounds, drawing a handful of comparisons in terms of his physicality to former Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. Though it sounds like Eubank will certainly play/

From Brad Denny of House of Sparky, SB Nation's Arizona State blog:

While he's not the strong-armed and polished passer like Bercovici nor a running threat the caliber of Eubank, Kelly has improved his passing game-especially on deep throws-while being a speedy running threat outside of the pocket. While his physical skills and stature (6-foot-1, 203 pounds) won't turn a lot of heads, his game management skills stood out among the group and landed him the starting job. For now.

So he is, for now. Sound off. Taylor Kelly as the starter?

Up And Down The Coast, Pac-12 Lunch Links: Arizona Schools' Rivalry Warming Up

2012-08-20T16:54:03Z

Up And Down The Coast is our twice-per-week links post and comes stocked with the best Pac-12 links, news and commentary we can find.

Mike Caston is living to see USC win another Rose Bowl: The L.A. Times columnist visits with a 64-year-old diehard USC fan with Lou Gehrig's disease. (T.J. Simers, Los Angeles Times)

The Arizona-Arizona State football rivalry is heating up: Heard this one before, but there are new coaches now! (Poala Boivin, AZCentral.com)

The Pac-12 Networks: Broadcasting To You Live From The Future: The latest conference TV network has now been launched. (Spencer Hall, SBNation.com)

Fresh start for Jordan Webb, Colorado: The Buffaloes new starter at quarterback, Webb, a Kansas transfer, looks to turn things around for CU in 2012. (Kevin Gemmell, ESPN Pac-12 blog)

Random bullet can't stop dancer: After being shot by an AK-47 in October of 2008, Alicia Brady, who would enroll at the University of Arizona, is dancing. (Patrick Finley, Arizona Daily Star)

For everything related to Pac-12 football, basketball and Olympic sports, stay tuned to Pacific Takes or follow us on Twitter. Want more? Like Pacific Takes on Facebook, as well.

Up And Down The Coast, Pac-12 Lunch Links: Pac-12 Networks To Launch Wednesday

2012-08-14T18:00:33Z

'Up And Down The Coast' is our twice-per-week links post and comes stocked with the best Pac-12 links, news and commentary we can find.

Conference showcase Pac-12 Networks will launch Wednesday: The TV outlet, including the six regional networks, is scheduled to launch this week. So what's to expect? (Baxter Holmes, Los Angeles Times)

USC prospers despite sanctions: How the appeal allowed USC and head coach Lane Kiffin to sustain scholarship losses. (Ivan Maisel, ESPN.com)

Arizona State QB Taylor Kelly emerges as leader: The 6-foot-1 sophomore has the leg up in the three-way quarterback competition. (Doug Haller, Arizona Republic)

UCLA Linebacker Patrick Larimore Medically Retires: The senior linebacker sustained his second concussion in a six-month span. (Cody Ulm, SBNation.com)

Cougars' Mike Leach era includes evenhanded discipline: The Pirate wants to win. (Bud Withers, Seattle Times)

For everything related to Pac-12 football, basketball and Olympic sports, stay tuned to Pacific Takes or follow us on Twitter. Want more? Like Pacific Takes on Facebook, as well.

Lane Kiffin 'Relinquishes' Vote In USA Today Coaches Poll

2012-08-13T15:20:49Z

USC head coach Lane Kiffin won't be voting in the USA Today coaches poll this season, he said in a letter to Grant Teaff, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association.

"It is an opportunity and responsibility that I do not take lightly," Kiffin said. "However, I find it necessary to relinquish my voting status."

The saga related to Kiffin and the poll began last week when USA Today revealed Kiffin's vote after he said he "would not vote USC No. 1" when asked following a practice which team he put atop his ballot. From the USAT:

A coach's vote is normally kept confidential until the final poll of the regular season under an agreement between USA TODAY Sports and the AFCA.

But when a voter volunteers false or misleading information about his vote in public, then USA TODAY Sports, in its oversight role as administrator of the poll, will correct the record to protect the poll's integrity.

Kiffin had said last week that his quote meant he would not vote USC No. 1 if he were in the media or coaching another team. "We have less players (because of scholarship restrictions) than everybody else," he said then. "So looking at it from the outside, I wouldn't (vote the Trojans No. 1). Did I? Yeah, I did."

The Trojans' third-year coach said he didn't care if he kept voting. Guess he didn't.

2012 London Olympics Medal Count: Team USA Reaches 100-Mark, Clinches Top Spot

2012-08-12T04:18:33Z

The United States eclipsed the 100-medal mark on Saturday with three gold, three silver and two bronze to bring their overall total for the London Games to 102. Most importantly, though, Team USA also clinched the top spot in the medal count for the fifth consecutive Summer Games. The U.S. added medals in both diving and track and field earlier in the day.

During the 2008 Games in Beijing, the U.S. captured 110 medals compared to China's 100. Sunday marks the final day of competition.

The top five countries on the overall medal leaderboard through Saturday, Day 15, are below, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

United States: 44 gold, 29 silver, 29 bronze (102 overall)
China: 38 gold, 27 silver, 22 bronze (87 overall)
Russia: 21 gold, 25 silver, 22 bronze (78 overall)
Great Britain: 28 gold, 15 silver, 19 bronze (62 overall)
Germany: 11 gold, 19 silver, 14 bronze (44 overall)

For a complete schedule of events and dates medals will be awarded, visit NBC Sports' official Olympic website. For complete coverage from the 2012 London Olympics, keep checking this StoryStream and visit SB Nation's Olympics hub.

2012 London Olympics Medal Count: U.S. Clinches Top Spot For Fifth Straight Summer Games

2012-08-12T04:09:03Z

During the 2008 Games in Beijing, the U.S. captured 110 medals.

The top five countries on the overall medal leaderboard through Day 15 are below, courtesy of Yahoo! Sports.

United States: 44 gold, 29 silver, 29 bronze (102 overall)
China: 38 gold, 27 silver, 22 bronze (87 overall)
Russia: 21 gold, 25 silver, 22 bronze (78 overall)
Great Britain: 28 gold, 15 silver, 19 bronze (62 overall)
Germany: 11 gold, 19 silver, 14 bronze (44 overall)

For more on local Olympians, stick with SB Nation Pittsburgh's London 2012 Olympics StoryStream. For more from around the games, head over to SB Nation's London 2012 Olympics Hub Page.