Utah offense crushes No. 24 Georgia Tech
Travis LaTendresse felt all alone at times during the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, catching pass after pass without a Georgia Tech defender anywhere near him.
The sixth-year Utah senior wasn’t lonely afterward. He got a ride on his fans’ shoulders following another blowout bowl victory for the Utes and their phenomenal offense.
LaTendresse caught 16 passes for 214 yards and an NCAA bowl record-tying four touchdowns, Brett Ratliff passed for 381 yards and Utah rolled up 550 total yards in a 38-10 victory over No. 24 Georgia Tech on Thursday.
Quinton Ganther ran for 120 yards and added a 41-yard TD romp in the fourth quarter for the Utes (7-5), who finished their follow-up season to their 12-0 run through the Bowl Championship Series in 2004 with an offensive performance more than worthy of former coach Urban Meyer’s sublime team.
Though the prize was smaller and the stars have changed, the result was the same as last year’s Fiesta Bowl win over Pittsburgh: a comfortable victory and countless style points for the exciting Utes.
“I don’t think the ACC has seen a passing attack like the ones in the Mountain West,” said LaTendresse, a Northern California native with 100 friends and relatives in the stands. “We came out with a chip on our shoulders. That was an ACC team which said they didn’t belong here. We took it personally that they don’t respect us.”
Reggie Ball passed for 258 yards for the Yellow Jackets, who were disappointed to be so far from Atlanta for the postseason – and it showed.
Carroll agrees to extension
USC coach Pete Carroll agreed to a long-term contract extension that is expected to keep him among the highest-paid coaches in the nation and, he said, should end the speculation he will leave for an NFL job.
Carroll, 54, and Trojans administrators would not reveal details of the extension. However, the extension is believed to be for at least five seasons, will pay Carroll well more than $2 million annually and will put him in the same salary range as Texas’ Mack Brown, Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops and Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis.
Orange Bowl update
Penn State receiver Derrick Williams is doubtful for the Orange Bowl against Florida State on Monday because of an arm injury that sidelined the freshman for two months. Williams was a key player for Penn State’s offense until breaking his arm in a 27-25 loss to Michigan on Oct. 15.
“Florida State’s leading tackler was suspended by the team and questioned by police in Hollywood, Fla., after a 19-year-old woman accused him of sexually assaulting her. A decision regarding whether to charge senior linebacker A.J. Nicholson will be made following the completion of an investigation expected to extend into next week, police said.
Famed Fordham star dies
John Druze, the last surviving member and captain of Fordham’s famed “Seven Blocks of Granite,” has died. He was 91. Druze died Tuesday in Scottsdale, Ariz., of natural causes, Fordham said.
Druze, an end and kicker, was the captain of Fordham’s 1937 team that went 7-0-1, the school’s last undefeated season.
In 1936 and 1937, Druze teamed with Al Babartsky, Vince Lombardi, Alex Wojciechowicz, Nat Pierce, Ed Franco and Leo Paquin to form the second version of Fordham’s famed “Seven Blocks of Granite” under coach Jim Crowley. The line coach on those teams was Frank Leahy, later the head coach at Notre Dame.