A former Michigan State punter is transferring to Texas
At one point in time, Australian punter Jack Bouwmeester was in line to be the future starting punter for Michigan State football. Then, the pandemic sent him back to Australia, and he reset his collegiate football career with Utah.
Now, Bouwmeester’s unique journey will take him to one of the top programs in the country as he committed to transfer to Texas on Friday.
Bouwmeester led the Pac-12 in average punt yardage in 2023 with 45.5 and averaged 44.7 yards per punt in 2024.
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The Notre Dame women’s basketball team lost both games it played in the Cayman Islands Classic to TCU and Utah. In doing so, it seriously hurt its perception among those who follow women’s basketball for a living.
Not only did the Irish drop seven spots in the latest AP Top 25 poll from third to 10th, further than any other team, but they fell in Charlie Creme’s latest bracketology for ESPN. After a road win over USC allowed them to ascend to a No. 1 seed, they have fallen to a No. 3 seed.
What’s more, the Irish are in the quadrant featuring UConn, the top overall seed in this bracketology. Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs have been bumped up to a No. 2 seed.
While the Irish remain highly ranked, this past week has led many to believe they aren’t as good as previously thought. The good news is it’s early in the season still, and there’s plenty of time to convince people to come back around on them. But it might become harder if they don’t beat at least one of Texas or the Huskies in two of their next three games.
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The Notre Dame women’s basketball team had a very damaging Thanksgiving weekend. After getting swept in the Cayman Islands Classic by TCU and Utah, the voters in the first AP Top 25 Poll of December were not sympathetic.
The Irish dropped seven spots in the latest poll from No. 3 to No. 10. That was the biggest fall of any team from the previous poll. Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs had the biggest jump of any team from that poll, ascending from No. 17 to just past the Irish at No. 9. The Utes didn’t crack the poll but received five votes after not accumulating any in the previous week.
Just when the Irish were riding high after beating USC on the road, reality has hit them hard. It’s a reminder that this season might not be as smooth a ride as many thought it would be. The test for them now is responding well to this setback beginning with their game against No. 5 Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
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Well, this certainly isn’t a pleasant way to get your first two losses.
The Notre Dame women’s basketball team got a rude awakening during the Cayman Islands Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. It’s hard to know if the tropical setting affected the Irish, but what is known is that the Irish won’t just cruise to a national championship.
One day after the Irish suffered their first loss of the season, a 76-68 decision to a ranked and undefeated TCU team, they lost, 78-67, to a Utah team that wasn’t even receiving votes in the latest poll. That drops the Irish to 5-2 on the season, and they most definitely will drop from their No. 3 ranking in the latest poll.
It was a real disappointment for the Irish after defeating USC in its own building, and the schedule won’t get any easier. They next face Texas in the ACC/SEC Challenge, which will come ahead of their ACC opener against Syracuse and then a game against fellow blue blood UConn.
This is a true test for the Irish, and how they tackle it will say a lot about them.
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Utah fans are mad at the refs for bad calls in Saturday’s BYU game. USC fans noted how little sympathy Utah fans had for the Trojans two years ago in Salt Lake City.
On Saturday night, a controversial ending in the rivalry football game between BYU and Utah sparked a strong reaction from USC fans, for one very obvious set of reasons.
Trailing 21-19 in the game’s final two minutes, BYU faced a 4th and 10 at its own nine-yard line. With the Cougars out of timeouts, a failure to convert would end the game.
Utah sacked BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, causing the Cougars to turn the ball over on downs. However, the Utes were called for a highly questionable holding penalty, extending the drive. BYU then drove down the field and kicked a game-winning field goal to emerge with a 22-21 triumph.
After the game, Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan ripped into the officials, claiming that the Utes had the game “stolen” from them. Many Utah fans followed suit.
With the Trojans leading 14-0 late in the first quarter, the USC defense intercepted a pass thrown by Utah quarterback Cam Rising. However, defensive lineman Stanley Ta’ufo’ou was called for a highly questionable roughing the passer penalty, giving Utah the ball back. The Utes would score a touchdown on the next play.
The penalty completely changed the course of the game. Instead of getting the ball back up by 14 points, USC’s lead was cut to one score. The Trojans would go on to lose 43-42 on a Rising 2-point conversion run in the final minute. There was another dubious roughing-the-passer penalty called on the Trojans in the fourth quarter which kept a Utah drive alive. What Utah fans felt on Saturday night, USC fans felt in October of 2022.
At the time, Utah fans were not particularly willing to listen to the USC crowd complaining about the officiating. With the tables now turned and the Utes being on the wrong side of a call, USC fans were not about to sit around and listen to their sob stories.
While Saturday obviously won’t erase the outcome from two years ago, it is nice to see that what comes around, goes around.
The Utah quarterback has been through so much already
Despite entering college as a freshman in 2018, Utah quarterback Cameron Rising has amazingly played in just 29 games total. And it’s not for a lack of trying to get more snaps.
The now 25-year-old from Ventura, California has suffered some absolutely brutal injury luck, even for a sport as dangerous as college football. All of that would be tragic enough on its own, but it’s even worse knowing how incredible the quarterback is when he’s able to play at full strength.
Rising was named First-Team All-Pac-12 in 2021, won the Pac-12 Championship MVP in 2022 and took Utah to back-to-back Rose Bowl games during that stretch.
Now, just as he was back starting for Utah in 2024 and trying to make his injury problems a thing of the past — something that hasn’t been particularly easy — a new injury has struck. Here’s a look at Rising’s wild ride through his time in the NCAA:
2021: Rising loses the starting job out of camp to Charlie Brewer, but returns as QB1 after two games to finish the season with 2,493 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions passing. Rising exited a Rose Bowl loss to Ohio State after sustaining a concussion in the fourth quarter.
2022: Rising returns as starter and puts up a career-best 2,939 yards and 25 touchdowns passing, but gets hurt once again in the Rose Bowl, this time tearing multiple ligaments in his knee in a loss to Penn State.
2023: Medical redshirt
2024: Rising returns as starter for Utah but suffers a hand injury in Week 2 against Baylor, keeping him out for three weeks.
The Black Desert Championship will make its debut without one of its favorite sons.
With the PGA Tour headed to the Beehive State for the first time in more than 60 years, the organizers of the inaugural Black Desert Championship decided to trot out as many Utah natives as they could – from Tour members Zac Blair and Patrick Fishburn to 65-year-old veteran Jay Don Blake, who is expected to make his fond farewell from the game after his 500th start. (Current BYU golfer Zac Jones and former Cougar stars Peter Kuest and Mike Weir, not long after his role as International Team captain at the Presidents Cup, also are representing in Ivins, Utah, as is 18-year-old Utahn Kihe Akina, who is making his Tour debut, and Dustin Volk, who qualified through the Utah PGA Section.)
But one local product is missing – world No. 24 and fan-favorite Tony Finau isn’t teeing it up this week. Even though his status for next season is locked up and he technically has nothing to gain (other than further lining his pockets, which added more than $5.7 million to date this year in official earnings), he’s a shoo-in to play a Tour event in his own backyard, no, and bring some much-needed star power to the brand-spanking new event?
The Thanksgiving Point All-Stars are headed to the PGA Jr. League 13-and-under championship.
Well, it turns out Finau has a legit excuse and he doesn’t need a doctor’s slip for it. Finau, 35, is the assistant coach for the PGA Junior League’s Thanksgiving Point All-Stars, which are competing in the 13-and-under division of the National Car Rental PGA Jr. League Championship. Finau has a conflict with coaching duties – his 12-year-old son Jraice is a member of the team – and will be in Frisco, Texas at Fields Ranch West, Oct. 10-13.
“It was a tough decision but it really wasn’t a decision at all,” Finau told Golfweek at the Presidents Cup two weeks ago. “I’m committed to being a coach and I’ve got to help coach the team.”
Tony Finau reacts after a putt on the first green during the second round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Valhalla Golf Club. (Photo: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports)
The Thanksgiving Point All-Stars took care of the Bend Bombers 1 All-Star Team, 11-1, in match play on Sept. 8 to advance to the finals in Frisco. Jraice Finau got the Utah team off to a fast start when he chipped in for eagle on the first hole. The team, led by Coach Tele Wightman, PGA, returns to the championship after finishing as runners-up in 2023. This hasn’t been fact-checked but going out on a limb to say there aren’t too many other Jr. League teams with a six-time Tour winner and member of the victorious U.S. Presidents Cup team who serves as an assistant coach.
So, the Black Desert Championship will make its debut without one of its favorite sons but the tournament is signed up for the next four years. Hopefully, Finau will be able to bring his many talents to the lone pro event in his home state before too long.
The Irish have some business to do Thanksgiving weekend.
The only part of Notre Dame’s schedule that wasn’t know before Tuesday was its opponents for the Cayman Island Classic. We knew this tournament meant the Irish would spend Thanksgiving weekend together, but we didn’t know which other teams lined up would face them. Wonder no longer.
The Irish will face TCU on Nov. 29, then have a meeting with Utah on Nov. 30. Both teams previously have played the Irish three times in the history and lost every single time. The Horned Frogs last lost to the Irish in 2016, while the Utes were knocked out of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
Among the notable storylines here is that the Irish will face Frogs transfer Hailey Van Lith, a two-time First Team All-ACC selection during her days at Louisville, where she went 5-2 against the Irish. She played last season with defending champion LSU, which fell to Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the Elite Eight.
Let’s hope the Irish will be ready for some fun in the sun over the holiday. More importantly, let’s hope that fun includes a couple of wins.
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The New Orleans Saints signed wide receiver Samson Nacua, the older brother of Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua:
More reinforcements are on the way for the New Orleans Saints. The black and gold announced Friday that they had signed wide receiver Samson Nacua, the older brother of Los Angeles Rams star Puka Nacua. He played at Utah for five years before transferring to BYU in 2021 where he got to play alongside his younger brother.
He’s taken a harder road to the NFL. Initially signed by the Indianapolis Colts as as an undrafted free agent in 2022, Nacua most recently suited up for the USFL’s Pittsburgh Maulers in 2023 and the UFL’s Michigan Panthers in 2024 after the spring league merged with the XFL.
The Saints were shorthanded in the receiving corps after injuries sidelined Cedrick Wilson Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown, and rookie draft pick Bub Means. In addition to Nacua, they re-signed Marquez Callaway, who spent last season on their practice squad. Backup quarterback Nathan Peterman was let go in a corresponding move.
Countdown to Kickoff: Nephi Sewell is the Saints Player of Day 45. He made impressive progress last season but is still recovering from a serious knee injury
With only 45 days to go until the Saints season kicks off, we are inching ever so closer to the star of the NFL season. This makes Nephi Sewell today’s New Orleans Saints Player of the Day. Let’s get to know him better:
Football is a huge part of the Sewell family. Nephi has three brothers who play professional football. His brothers are Penei Sewell of the Detroit Lions, Noah Sewell of the Chicago Bears, and Gabriel Sewell of the Houston Roughnecks. He also had two uncles who played in the NFL.
Sewell went undrafted in 2022 but signed with the Saints. Sewell played a key role on special teams and was a rotational piece on the Saints’ defense this past season. He carved out a role for himself last season defensively but suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 31 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He finished the season with nine tackles and 59 total snaps. Unfortunately, Sewell was placed on the PUP list on July 18 while recovering from that knee injury. We’ll keep an eye out for updates on his progress in recovery. He’ll be striving against several other linebackers (including rookie draft pick Jaylan Ford) for a roster spot but Sewell’s growth last season could give him a leg up on his competition.
