Big 12 Notes – Arizona Week

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Big 12 Notes – Arizona Week

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October 31st 

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ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt to undergo season-ending surgery

From ESPN … Arizona State starting quarterback Sam Leavitt, the Big 12 preseason offensive player of the year, will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a lingering foot injury, coach Kenny Dillingham said Friday.

Dillingham, speaking to “Bickley & Marotta Mornings” on 98.7 FM radio Friday, said Leavitt wouldn’t travel with the team to Iowa State for Saturday’s game as he prepares for the surgery. Leavitt sustained the injury Sept. 20 against Baylor and has been in and out of Arizona State’s lineup.

He played in last week’s loss to Houston, completing 18 of 35 passes for 270 yards and a touchdown, but left the game in the fourth quarter was listed as out for the Iowa State game on the Big 12 availability report issued Thursday night. The redshirt sophomore has 1,628 passing yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions this season for Arizona State, which dropped to 5-3 following the Houston loss.

“It’s definitely something that’s been lingering all year,” Dillingham said this week. “It’s definitely something that could definitely turn into that (long-term) for sure, just because it hasn’t progressed like we hoped. He’s been dealing with this for pretty much the whole year. He hasn’t been at full speed, so we’ll definitely reassess it during the bye and make a decision from there.”

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October 30th 

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Matt Rhule signs an extension to stay at Nebraska

From ESPN … Nebraska has signed coach Matt Rhule to a two-year contract extension that will take him through the 2032 season, the school announced Thursday.

The extension includes an increase in Rhule’s buyout this season to $15 million from $5 million, which would effectively eliminate him from taking another job in this cycle.

Rhule and his family’s happiness at Nebraska, where he’s in his third year as head coach, was the primary driver behind him agreeing to a new deal, per ESPN sources. Nebraska is 6-2 this season, and Rhule led the program to its first bowl game since 2016 last year. He has spoken frequently about the potential of the Nebraska program.

“The University of Nebraska, the city of Lincoln and the state of Nebraska are special. It is a place our family is proud to call home,” Rhule said in a statement. “We have outstanding leadership from [Nebraska president] Dr. [Jeffrey P.] Gold and [athletic director] Troy Dannen, and I appreciate the support and confidence they have shown in our staff. Our focus remains on building Nebraska Football into a perennial championship contender.”

Rhule had been frequently been linked to the open job at his alma mater, Penn State. And this extension essentially takes another prominent name out of contention for the eight power conference jobs that have opened so far this year.

The new deal does not include any change in base compensation. It does offer the additional incentive for base salary if Nebraska reaches the College Football Playoff. There’s an innovative new clause in the deal that states every time Nebraska qualifies for the CFP, Rhule’s base salary for each year on the deal increases by $1 million.

Rhule’s salary throughout the course of the deal has an AAV of more than $11.7 million (including retention bonuses). That number puts him in the highest echelon of college coaches over the course of the deal.

Rhule’s two additional years are at $12.5 million, the same as the final year of his current deal in 2030. The deal remains 90% guaranteed.

… Continue reading story here …

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October 28th

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ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt expected to miss Iowa State game

From CBS Sports … Arizona State’s hopes of winning back-to-back Big 12 titles took a hit on Saturday. Not only did the Sun Devils lose 24-16 to Houston, giving them two losses in conference play, but they also saw quarterback Sam Leavitt get banged up.

Leavitt spent time in the medical tent after Arizona State’s first drive and left the game again in the fourth quarter after he came off the field with a bit of a limp. While Arizona State didn’t provide much in the way of specifics on Leavitt’s injury, Kenny Dillingham said it’s a tweak of the same foot or ankle injury that forced him to sit out against Utah earlier this season. The tweak is significant enough to keep him out of Saturday’s game against Iowa State, per CBS Sport’s Matt Zenitz and Chris Karpman of 247Sports.

“Sam got re-tweaked there at the end,” Dillingham said. “He got tweaked at the beginning and we sent him in to get some imaging. He wanted to go right back in, and I said, ‘No, you’re going to get imaging before you go back in, don’t care how you feel.’ Then he came back. Then at the end, he tweaked himself again, so we held him out.”

Jeff Sims came in for Leavitt at the end of the loss to Houston and would be in line to get the start on the road in Ames if Leavitt indeed is unable to go. Leavitt has completed 60.7% of his passes for 1,628 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions this season and has added 300 yards and five touchdowns running the ball.

Sims completed 49% of his passes for 182 yards and one touchdown in his two appearances, including the start against Utah, and rushed for 102 yards. The veteran journeyman seems poised for another start against Iowa State in a game Arizona State must win if they’re going to hold out any hopes of another trip to the Big 12 title game.

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October 26th 

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Big 12 Lines: CU opens as a 4.5-point underdog to Arizona

• UCF at Baylor … 10:00 a.m. MT … ESPNU … Baylor is a 4.5-point home favorite …
• West Virginia at Houston, 10:00 a.m., MT … FS1 … Houston is a 15.5-point home favorite …
• Arizona State at Iowa State … 11:00 a.m. MT … TNT … Iowa State is a 3.0-point home favorite …
• Texas Tech at Kansas State, 1:30 p.m., MT … FOX … Kansas State is a 7.0-point home underdog …
• Arizona at Colorado … 5:00 p.m., MT … FS1 … Colorado is a 4.5-point home underdog …

• Cincinnati at Utah … 8:15 p.m. MT … ESPN … Utah is a 6.5-point home favorite …

• Oklahoma State at Kansas … 2:00 p.m., MT … ESPN+ … Kansas is a 24.5-point home favorite …

• BYU, TCU

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New AP Poll: BYU into Top Ten; Houston and Utah in; Arizona State out

From ESPN … Vanderbilt earned its highest ranking in The Associated Press college football poll in 88 years, while LSU dropped out of Top 25 following its third loss in four games.

The top six was unchanged, with Ohio State holding the No. 1 spot for a ninth straight week, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia and Oregon.

The idle Buckeyes received 53 first-place votes and the Hoosiers got 11, six more than last week. Texas A&M was No. 1 on one ballot.

The top six were unchanged for the first time since Nov. 12, 2023, when the top eight stood pat. The last time Texas A&M received a first-place vote was Oct. 11, 2015.

No. 7 Ole Miss and No. 8 Georgia Tech swapped spots, as did No. 9 Vanderbilt and Miami, which is tied at No. 10 with BYU.

Including BYU, the Big 12 has five teams in the Top 25 for the first time this season, with No. 13 Texas Tech, No. 17 Cincinnati, No. 22 Houston and No. 24 Utah also ranked.

The Big 12 last had five Top 25 teams ranked on Sept. 22, 2024.

AP poll … 

Others receiving votes: Navy 86, Tulane 59, Washington 46, Iowa 27, South Florida 22, San Diego State 14, LSU 11, James Madison 9, North Texas 4, Illinois 3, Pittsburgh 1

Dropped from rankings: South Florida 18, LSU 20, Illinois 23, Arizona State 24

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