Pac-12 notes: Stanford, UW rivalry heats up
There may be a new rivalry brewing in the Pac-12 North. The past two years the matchup between Stanford and Washington has been well worth the DVR space. But that rivalry has tipped the scales from “competitive” to “heated” in the aftermath of the Cardinal’s 31-28 victory in Stanford, Calif., on Saturday.
After the game, UW coach Steve Sarkisian accused Stanford defensive line coach – and 21-year UW assistant – Randy Hart of telling players to fake injuries to slow down the Huskies’ hurry-up offense. The game was stopped when star linebacker Shayne Skov and others were seemingly unable to stand, but the Cardinal players then appeared to recover remarkably quickly on the sideline.
Stanford coach David Shaw bristled at the insinuations, going so far as to make an unusual opening statement during Tuesday’s Pac-12 coaches’ teleconference to address the matter.
“I don’t care what Steve Sarkisian thinks what he saw, we’ve never done it, we didn’t do it against Oregon so why in the world would we do it against Washington,” Shaw asked.
Shaw’s remarks referenced accusations in 2010 that Stanford was faking injuries to slow down Oregon’s vaunted high-speed offense. Linebacker Chase Thomas appeared to injure his ankle right before the Ducks snapped the ball, but returned to a cascade of boos after sitting out just one play. Shaw was an assistant coach at Stanford at the time.
Shots were fired by Shaw as well, who added, “I believe it’s unprofessional to call out an assistant coach by name in the media. The only defensive line coach that I know of that’s ever instructed players to fake injuries works at Washington, not at Stanford.”
The second remark was an allusion to the one-game suspension that UW defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi served when he was at Cal after telling players to fake injuries to slow down Oregon. The strategy may have had merit as UO – who would lose to Cam Newton and Auburn in the BCS National Championship Game – narrowly won 15-13. That year the Ducks averaged over 46 points per game.
The annual game between the UW and Stanford is already beginning to have serious ramifications in the Pac-12 North. If this week’s verbal sparring is any indication, next year’s contest in Seattle may be worth the full price of admission.