In all of his 32 years of coaching, Dana Holgorsen said he’s seen things he’s never seen before through UH’s first four games of 2022. | Sean Thomas/The Cougar

If you didn’t watch the game, you would have thought UH had come out on the losing end of the Bayou Bucket based on the way Dana Holgorsen aired out his frustrations during his postgame press conference.

“I don’t know what to say,” Holgorsen said. “We’re somehow 2-2.”

While a D’Anthony Jones strip sack that led to a scoop and score by Nelson Ceaser lifted UH past Rice on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium, the Cougars created even more questions regarding whether they have what it takes to be the legitimate American Athletic Conference title contenders. 

Self-inflicted wounds and lack of discipline had been the theme for UH in nonconference play and that once again remained prevalent against crosstown rival Rice.

“A lot of stupid stuff once again,” Holgorsen said. “ I ain’t taking responsibility for that. At some point, we’ve got to quit doing that.”

For the fourth straight game, the Cougars committed double-digit penalties with 10 for a loss of 110 yards against the Owls.

“That’s four games in a row with double-digits (penalties),” Holgorsen said. “I’ve coached the same way for 32 years and this s— is hard. It’s getting irritating.”

The UH’s defense’s inability to hold its ground in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, which was on full display in its games against UTSA and Texas Tech, was once again an issue.

Down seven with no timeouts and 24 seconds left on the clock, Rice got the ball at its own 6-yard line needing to drive 94 yards. A 19-yard pass followed by a 15-yarder and capped off by a massive 51-yard completion and the Owls were suddenly at the Cougars’ 9-yard line with one second remaining.

Even though the UH defense got the stop as time expired to secure its seventh straight Bayou Bucket victory, Holgorsen was in utter disbelief that his defense even gave Rice a chance when it seemed like the Owls had no life left.

“The inability to be able to play defense with no time on the clock. God dang,” Holgorsen said.

All of this could have been avoided in the first place if the UH offense could have picked up a single yard on third-and-one to put the game to rest.

“It’s every game,” Holgorsen said. “How about offensively we get a dang first down and victory (formation) it. Our short yardage offense was pitiful … Offense, (why can’t) we get in Victory formation and close the damn game out? We couldn’t. So we give them the ball and they almost go (94) yards in 24 seconds. I haven’t seen anything like this ever.”

Senior quarterback Clayton Tune needed only one word to sum up the Cougars’ stretch of nonconference games — drama.

“We’ve definitely made it more stressful than it needs to be,” Tune said.

There’s a case to be made that the Cougars should be 4-0 but there is just as strong of a case that they are lucky to not be sitting at 0-4. Ultimately, UH’s repeated mistakes have resulted in five overtimes and a 2-2 record.

All this has left Holgorsen feeling worn out and searching for any answers he can find to get things moving in a positive direction for the UH program as it heads into AAC play.

“I’m tired of doing it, man,” Holgorsen said. “I’m tired of yelling at them. I’m tired of motivating them. I’m tired of all that crap.”

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“UH’s nonconference play leaves Dana Holgorsen with many questions” was originally posted on The Cougar

If you were looking to see the USC offense that averaged 50 points per game through their first three contests of the season, I hope you didn’t travel to Corvallis.

“[I’m] obviously not real enthused about how we played offensively, other than the fact that we finished,” said Head Coach Lincoln Riley. 

The Trojans escaped Reser Stadium with a 17-14 win in what Riley called a “slugfest,” but raised some serious questions along the way. The defense accounted for 4 interceptions, which were crucial in supporting an offense that looked off-kilter and sloppy. 

“Our defense, the 4 turnovers, the huge stops, closing the game… you can’t say enough about how we played defensively,” Riley said. “A lot of guys stepped up and played through a lot of things. It was a gutsy performance by the defense.”

Sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams, who sported a 74% completion rate through the season’s first three games, completed just 16 of his 36 passing attempts and threw only 1 touchdown — a perfectly placed ball to junior wide receiver Jordan Addison in the game’s final minutes to put the Trojans back on top for good. 

Williams was under serious pressure throughout the game thanks to a strong pass rush and lockdown coverage from Oregon State. The speedy quarterback was able to use his legs to pick up yards when necessary but did not look like a Heisman candidate for much of the night. 

“Some days you’re not going to be at your best,” Riley said. “Some things are not going to go your way and how you respond in those moments is what separates you.”

Despite struggling throughout the game, Williams kept his composure, delivering when it was needed most. On 4th and 6 on the Trojans’ winning drive, Williams scrambled for 7 yards, past impending defenders and was met at the line to gain by a dam of Oregon State Beavers. 

Redshirt senior offensive lineman Brett Neilon sprinted downfield and, along with the rest of the offensive line, pushed Williams across the line, extending the drive that would lead to Addison’s incredible game winning catch. 

The Trojans got off to a rocky start, with their first drive resulting in a turnover on downs after Williams was unable to convert a 4th and 6. It was the first time this season that USC had not scored a touchdown on their opening drive. USC’s typically high-powered offense would go on to score just 3 points — one field goal — in the first half. 

“We just kind of had trouble seizing momentum and, you know, give them credit… They made some competitive plays and made things tough on us,” Riley said. “I thought at times we had some routine things, whether it was calls, whether it was throws, whether it was catches, that we just did not do to the level that we need to.”

Redshirt freshman placekicker Denis Lynch had a chance to put the Trojans ahead in the first quarter, but missed a 35-yard field goal attempt. Oregon State took advantage of the momentum, with redshirt junior quarterback Chance Nolan making solid completions before redshirt sophomore running back Deshaun Fenwick scored a touchdown on a 4-yard run. 

Williams and his typical targets were out of sync, as the Oklahoma transfer only connected with sophomore wide receiver Mario Williams once and didn’t target Addison at all in the first half. A few of Williams’ throws could have been intercepted but, fortunately for the Trojans, they were dropped by Oregon State defenders. Williams has yet to throw a pick this season. 

The USC defense held Oregon State to just 2 touchdowns and 320 yards of total offense. While the Beavers were able to sustain long drives and USC struggled at times to defend against the run, the Trojan defense adapted to Oregon State’s play calling and shut things down when they needed to.

Turnovers at key points in the game proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Beavers.

Sophomore inside linebacker Eric Gentry put a 39-yard drive to rest with the first interception of his USC career. The lanky Arizona State transfer, who stands at 6 foot 6, bobbled Nolan’s pass before securing the interception at the line of scrimmage. 

Early in the second half, redshirt freshman defensive back Ceyair Wright intercepted Nolan deep in Oregon State territory, setting up a 7-yard touchdown from redshirt senior running back Travis Dye. 

After a pass interference penalty brought the Beavers near the 50-yard line, redshirt senior defensive back Mekhi Blackmon made an excellent play on a pass from Nolan, making an interception at the USC 5-yard line. 

Finally, to ice the game for the Trojans and secure their fourth win of the season, redshirt junior defensive back Max Williams snagged a pick, Nolan’s fourth interception of the game. 

“What happened tonight was, on top of the turnovers, we played more eleven-man ball on defense… we had significantly less [busted plays] in this game than we’ve had in the first couple,” Riley said. “When you turn the ball over and you play sound, you’re going to have a night like the game tonight and that’s called great defense.”

The post Trojans rally for win in Corvallis appeared first on Daily Trojan.

Minnesota made themselves feel at home in their long-awaited return to East Lansing. In their first conference game of the season, Minnesota played a near-perfect game, beating Michigan State 34-7.

P.J. Fleck entered Saturday’s game with a 1-4 record in conference openers as Minnesota’s head coach. The Spartans were set to be a tough matchup for Fleck as they were previously ranked before losing to Washington. However, the game proved to be anything but a challenge for Fleck and the Gophers.

The Gophers showed off their versatility during their first offensive drive with six players involved in ten plays. The drive ended in Mohamed Ibrahim’s 41st rushing touchdown, breaking former Gopher running back Darrell Thompson’s record for most touchdowns in program history.

Linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin and defensive end Thomas Rush were immediate contributors on defense for the Gophers. The duo helped force a three-and-out and put the ball back into the hands of quarterback Tanner Morgan.

Morgan capitalized on the opportunity for an early lead by high-pointing a 23-yard pass to Daniel Jackson, who made an impressive catch for the Gophers’ second touchdown in the first quarter.

By the end of the first quarter, the Spartans gained a measly one yard on offense and zero first downs.

The second quarter kicked off with an 11-play drive orchestrated by Morgan and topped with a 26-yard field goal from kicker Matthew Trickett.

The Spartans responded with their first 1st down of the day. Moments later, the Spartans were faced with a fourth down. In an attempt to convert, quarterback Payton Thorne threw his first interception of the day to cornerback Justin Walley.

Morgan started off the following drive on his own 33-yard line. He was able to march down the field quickly thanks to a 26-yard catch by wide receiver Dylan Wright. But while in opposing territory, Ibrahim would return the favor by fumbling the ball away to Michigan.

Later, near the second quarter, receiver Michael Brown-Stephens ran out of bounds as the clock hit zero. Referees reviewed the play and discovered a clock management error. Teams were required to re-enter the game and witnessed Morgan take a knee to close out the first half.

Michigan State received the ball in the second half and displayed a newly-found confidence on offense. Thorne completed seven of his eight attempts and had 62 yards passing before reaching Minnesota’s six-yard line.

Spartans would run a keeper with Thorne to the left side, but he met Rush head on. Rush forced the ball out of his hands and Walley recovered it, putting Minnesota’s offense at their own 10.

On one of the first plays of the drive, Ibrahim went up the right side and twisted his ankle on the tackle. At that moment, Gophers fans held their breaths as memories of last year’s home opener replayed through their heads.

Luckily, Ibrahim stood up under his own power, went into the medical tent and returned to the game. His first carry back was a reassuring 11-yard gain supported by a couple of offensive linemen pushing him past the first down marker.

The return inspired the offense enough to maintain their momentum down field. The drive ended with a six-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Nick Kallerup, the first of his career.

In the third quarter, the Gophers were up 24-0 and had 400 total yards on offense. But the terrorizing didn’t stop there.

Michigan State’s next drive ended in another interception thrown by Thorne, this time to defensive end Danny Striggow. Gophers gave Ibrahim the rock again to put him over 100 yards rushing, his 13th consecutive game hitting that mark.

At the top of the fourth quarter, Morgan found Jackson in the end zone for the second time. This time, it was in the red zone from four yards away.

The seemingly ever-increasing point deficit made Michigan State look hopeless. Their starting offense attempted to make strides, only for players to commit mental errors. They would not score until the final minutes of the game with their second stringers on the field.

To pick one player to be named MVP would be a daunting task. All sides and positional units played in unison. As a result, it produced one of Fleck’s most sound wins at Minnesota.

Next week, the Gophers will host the Purdue Boilermakers for their homecoming game on Saturday at 11 a.m. Fans are asked to wear colors according to their assigned section in an attempt to “Stripe the Bank.”

Freshman receiver Matthew Golden takes a screen pass from senior quarterback Clayton Tune 19 yards into the end zone in the first quarter of UH’s win over Rice on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium. | Sean Thomas/The Cougar

UH needed late heroics from defensive lineman D’Anthony Jones and Nelson Ceasear to keep the Bayou Bucket with the Cougars as they defeated Rice 34-27 on Saturday night at TDECU Stadium to improve to 2-2 and extend their winning streak to seven against the Owls.

Tied at 27 late in the fourth quarter, Jones sacked Rice quarterback TJ McMahon to force a third and long deep in Owls territory. On the next play,  Jones once again got to McMahon, stripping him of the ball which was picked up by Ceaser and returned 11 yards for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown.

Despite the offensive disaster on its previous possession, Rice drove the ball down into UH territory looking to tie the game before the Cougars’ defense came up big once again.

With the ball at the UH 35-yard line, McMahon fired a ball that hit off the hands of his intended receiver, Isaiah Esdale, and ended up in the hands of UH senior safety Thabo Mwaniki to seal a Cougars’ victory.

While the UH defense came up big when it mattered most, the majority of the game it wasn’t pretty for the Cougars.

As time expired in the first quarter, freshman receiver Matthew Golden found the end zone from 19 yards out on a screen pass from senior quarterback Clayton Tune.

After getting the back early in the second quarter, Tune fired a dart over the middle to senior receiver KeSean Carter, who was lit up by Rice linebacker Treshawn Chamberlain, causing the ball to pop up in the air and into the hands of linebacker Myron Morrison.

The rest of the first half was dominated by the Owls.

Rice capitalized on the turnover four plays later when running back Ari Broussard found paydirt from 2-yards out.

A quick three-and-out from the UH offense, and Rice quickly marched down the field again, needing just five plays to drive 63 yards that ended in another Broussard rushing touchdown.

The Cougars cut into the deficit late in the second quarter as senior kicker Bubba Baxa hit from 37 yards out.

For the fourth straight game, UH went into the half trailing.

UH looked like a different team coming out of the locker room — at least on offense.

The Cougars wasted no time on the opening of the second half, needing just four plays to retake the lead as Tune connected with junior receiver Nathaniel Dell on a deep ball for a 40-yard touchdown.

The lead was short-lived. 

Rice responded with a touchdown of its own on a 52-yard touchdown pass from McMahon to receiver Luke McCaffery to put the Owls up 21-17.

Facing a second-and-29 in Rice territory on the ensuing possession, UH senior running back Ta’Zhawn Henry broke loose for a 28-yard gain down to the Owls’ 4-yard line. Henry did the rest on the next play, finding the endzone to put the Cougars back on top.

Rice tied the game back up late in the third quarter on a Christian VanSickle 42-yard field goal.

Tied at 24 to begin the fourth quarter, the Rice defense stuffed Henry on a fourth-and-inches to give the Owls the ball at the Cougars’ 47-yard line.

A third down sack by UH linebacker Trimarcus Cheeks forced a Rice field goal attempt which VanSickle nailed from 43 yards out to put the Owls up by three.

After a 28-yard catch by Dell to convert on third-and-15 set up UH deep in Rice territory, a pair of holding penalties killed the drive. Baxa connected on his second field goal, this one from 32 yards, to tie the game at 27.

From there, the UH defense did the rest to secure the Cougars’ seventh straight win over Rice.

sports@thedailycougar.com

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“UH survives Rice, extends Bayou Bucket win streak to 7” was originally posted on The Cougar

Emory University’s Student Government Association (SGA) President Noah Marchuck (24C) announced Sept. 22 that he vetoed Bill 56sl26, which confirmed Asmita Lehther (24Ox) as an associate justice of the Constitutional Council. The bill was passed on Sept. 12. This is Marchuck’s first veto in his tenure as SGA president.

Marchuck, who originally sponsored the bill, told the Wheel he made his decision after a lack of communication from Lehther about the fact that she was also running to be an Oxford SGA (OxSGA) first-year senator. 

Lehther did not mention her involvement with OxSGA on her associate justice application, Marchuck said, despite a specific question asking about “other involvements or possible commitments.” This prevented Marchuck, who personally reviewed all associate justice applications, from flagging Lehther’s application for containing a potential conflict of interest. 

Marchuck added that Lehther’s intention to run was also not made clear throughout the rest of the application process. He said Lehther told Chief Justice of the Constitutional Council Pavel Ramirez (23C) she was considering running for Oxford Senate during her interview for the associate justice position. Marchuck added that Lehther allegedly checked with the Oxford attorney general and elections chair, but did not voice her confirmed intent to run with anyone involved with Emory SGA. 

“Oxford also reports to us, so she went to the smaller organization, but didn’t check in with the bigger one to make sure it was OK with us,” Marchuck said.

However, Lehther maintained that she was clear about her intentions to run for Oxford SGA during her interview with Ramirez. She also said he reassured her that she could hold both positions after she was sworn in as an associate justice on Sept. 12. 

“Basically, Pavel was … just dropping me off to the shuttle and there was a conversation again about that, because that’s how I mentioned [OxSGA President] Andrew [Yang] was wondering whether or not it was possible,” Lehther said. “And it was again affirmed like, ‘Yes, it’s fine.’”

SGA Attorney General Grace Lee (21Ox, 24C) swears in Asmita Lehther (23Ox) as an associate justice of the Constitutional Council alongside other SGA members during a general body meeting on Sept. 12. (Madi Olivier/News Editor)

Ramirez was unable to provide comment by press time.

Lehther noted that she received confirmation that it was OK for her to run for both the Oxford first year senator and associate justice positions in a Sept. 13 email from Yang. 

“I checked with our Attorney General and he has confirmed that you are able to hold both FYS and Associate Justice of Constitutional Council,” Yang wrote in the email to Lehther, which she forwarded to the Wheel.

This information, however, was not conveyed to Marchuck.  

Lehther said her removal from the associate justice position came as a shock after hearing she was allowed to hold both positions.

“It was difficult for me, because I wasn’t aware of it,” Lehther said. “When you’re told that you weren’t being transparent throughout the process, it’s just frustrating because I tried to take every step I could to make sure that I was communicating with them.”

However, Lehther added that she understands that the purpose of SGA is to act with the best interest of the student body, so she does not hold any animosity toward Marchuck. 

“I’d rather just find out the ways that I can be involved as a senator and just try and help with that,” Lehther said. “Even if that means that I could have or should have been involved with the associate justice position, it wouldn’t make sense for me to focus all of my attention on that when there are more pressing issues on campus.”

While on a phone call with Lehther on Sept. 22, SGA Speaker of the Legislature Alyssa Stegall (21Ox, 23C) advised her to present her case for holding both positions to Yang and Marchuck, as well as to Emory SGA Advisor Lisa Loveall and OxSGA Advisor Michaela Foronda.

“At the time, I believed that was the best course of action given how the situation stood and I was under the impression that she decided to follow that advice,” Stegall wrote in a statement to the Wheel.

Marchuck was also on the call with Stegall and Lehther, during which he said he did not mention the veto because his first intention was to see Lehther’s perspective and to clear up any potential misunderstandings. However, he said they were not able to work out an immediate solution.

“She was not ready to let go of either position or understand the position I was coming from,” Marchuck said.

Lehther alleged that during their conversation, Marchuck said he would keep an open mind and wait until after she presented her case to make a decision. However, she only had time to talk to Foronda — who Lehther said approved her reasoning — before the veto was announced that night at 11:37 p.m., which Lehther found frustrating.

“If I had had a little more than less than 12 hours, I would have been able to talk to people about it, or at least just present my interpretation of the Constitution, which is also kind of ironic, because that was going to be my job,” Lehther said.

Despite this, Stegall stood by Marchuck’s decision.

“I would like to make it clear that just because my advice to Asmita was not what Noah chose to do, does not negate the fact that he acted within reason,” Stegall wrote. “At the end of the day, the three branches of government are separate but equal, and Noah acted as the head of the Executive branch.”

Marchuck clarified that Lehther’s decision to run was not what led him to veto the bill. Although both Oxford First-year Senate and Constitutional Council can be significant time commitments, he said he could have discussed alternative options or ways to find a balance between the two jobs with her. 

Ultimately, Marchuck’s reasoning behind the veto was her lack of communication to him about her intent to run, and the minimal time he had to provide a solution, he said. 

“I don’t believe she’s the best candidate for an associate justice position anymore,” Marchuck said. “We’re supposed to stay true to the values of SGA, and by not remaining transparent throughout this process, I don’t believe that she still has that standing, and there are other candidates … who I believe will be transparent about these issues going forward.”

Lehther said she was “hurt” by Marchuck’s description of her as no longer being the most qualified candidate, which he also mentioned in his Sept. 22 letter to SGA members. 

“I was frustrated by the association of my merit as a candidate with this whole process,” Lehther said. “I did my best to clarify everything and to have that communication aspect.”

Marchuck said Lehther prevented him from having enough time to find another solution by not contacting him earlier, as he only has 13 days to veto a bill. Ten days had passed by the time Marchuck learned about Lehther’s OxSGA position on Sept. 21 after she emailed him to let him know she would be late to the retreat because she would be at Oxford training. Marchuck would be spending Sept. 23 to Sept. 25 attending a retreat with the rest of SGA, making Sept. 22 the last day he had to resolve the issue.

“I want to make it very clear that if she had checked it with us, this could have been very different,” Marchuck said. “The reason why I chose to veto it was because I had no timeline.” 

Stegall echoed the lack of time Marchuck had to handle the issue.

“At the end of the day, we are students too and expecting SGA to make a decision after the fact rather than giving enough time to speak with everybody is unrealistic and unfair to the people who needed to be a part of that process given how quick of a turnaround there would have needed to be,” Stegall wrote.

According to Lehthner, she will still be a member of Oxford’s First-year Senate and will likely be sworn into office on Wednesday. She noted that confirmation is taking longer than usual due to Oxford First-year Senate Candidate Oscar Li’s (24Ox) disqualification on Sept. 20.

However, Marchuck was not able to confirm Lehther’s standing on OxSGA because the First-year Senate results have not been certified yet. Yang was unable to provide comment before press time.

The SGA Legislature has the power to overturn Marchuck’s veto. In a Sept. 22 email to SGA members, Stegall said any resolutions to override the presidential veto must be submitted to her by noon on Sept. 25. If a resolution is submitted, it will need to receive a two-thirds majority vote of legislators during the next general body meeting on Oct. 17 to pass. 

Lehther noted that Oxford-Atlanta Laiasons Uma Shenai (22Ox) and Ellie Fivas (24Ox) have already reached out to her and expressed interest in submitting a resolution. She said that although she was looking forward to working as an associate justice and would like to still hold the position, she believes there are more important topics that members of SGA should be focusing on, such as sustainability.

Marchuck said he believes it is possible that a resolution will be submitted.

“She’s a freshman, she didn’t understand the timeline, which is totally understandable, but at the same time, there was a list of people that she should have reached out to,” Marchuck said. “As the president of the organization that she was belonging to, she never reached out to me, and with any student organization, the president is usually the one who has the most institutional knowledge and internal knowledge.”

If his veto is not overridden, Marchuck said another associate justice applicant will be selected to replace Lehther. 

“I don’t want to jump the gun,” Marchuck said. “I don’t want to … kick Asmita out when she still has a chance to come back.”

Marchuck explained that it is rare for a president to veto a bill in SGA, especially for a bill they originally sponsored. Stegall agreed, noting that she has not seen a bill be vetoed throughout her four years on SGA.

“It is within my prescribed power, and I’m acting only in reason,” Marchuck said. “I’m being very cordial about it. It’s nothing personal and I really wish that this hadn’t happened.”

The Elections Reform Commission will take Lehther’s situation into consideration while editing SGA’s governing documents this semester, Marchuck added.

“This is an issue that we’ve already been thinking about, and we’ll have a legislative and permanent answer to it within our governing documents by the end of November,” Marchuck said. “We’ve kept this in mind, and now that it’s happening, we understand why the rules are the rules, and we plan to make it clearer in the future.”

Lehther added that she hopes the procedure for participating in both OxSGA and Emory SGA, as well as for handling any issues that arise, will be addressed.

“I hope that in the future, they’ll be able to clarify those things, so that people who are in my situation don’t have to go through this,” Lehther said.

The post Marchuck vetoes associate justice confirmation, alleges lack of communication appeared first on The Emory Wheel.

Tech cross country opened their season with a pair of meets early this September. The Jackets lined up first at the Berry College Watermelon Run on Sept. 1, competing against five smaller schools. Both the men and women emerged first overall from the course with perfect scores. Senior Nick Nyman led the way in the men’s 8k run, finishing first overall with a time of 24:56. Senior Zach Jaeger followed just behind with a time of 24:57. The men completed their perfect top-five sweep with junior Alex Thomas just edging out an unattached runner at the finish line by three-tenths of a second. Tech entered 16 men in the race, who all came in under 28:30 and in the top 26 of 77 runners. 

Senior Liz Galarza came flying in for the women’s 6k race, finishing first overall at 21:24. The Jackets notched a perfect team score of 15 when junior Katy Earwood, at fifth on the team, put a bow on it, coming in at eighth overall with a time of 22:49. Tech entered 15 women who all finished under 26:16 and in the top 22 of 59 runners. 

Tech had a 15-day pause before stepping to the line again, this time against bigger competition at the North Alabama Showcase. Both teams impressed, finishing at third overall. The men rallied in the 8k, having their first five men in the top 30 in a race with 360 people. Junior John Higinbotham led Tech, coming in tenth place with a personal best time of 24:00. Senior James Cragin followed behind Higinbotham, placing 15th with a time of 24:04. The Jackets finished with a score of 109 after the fourth and fifth men, Nyman and senior Joshua Williams, came in together at 29th and 30th place. The men beat out notable programs like Auburn, Eastern Kentucky, Memphis and Georgia, while only falling short to Alabama and Kentucky. 

Tech’s women made waves in the 5k, having two runners in the top 10 overall with Galarza coming in fourth and graduate senior Helena Lindsay at seventh. Both recorded personal best times with Galarza at 16:38 and Lindsay at 16:49. The Jackets wrapped up their top three team performance with the first five being in the top 42 out of 384 runners, cementing a score of 110. The women also took out notable programs like Auburn, Eastern Kentucky, UCF and Georgia, while also falling short to just Alabama and Kentucky. 

Both the men and women look strong just four meets away from the ACC Championships. With several runners already recording personal records in early meets, the Jackets look to keep improving and climbing places. 

Up next, both the men and women will be traveling to the Lehigh Paul Short Run on Sept. 30, where the men will run an 8k and the women a 6k. The Lehigh race will feature big matchups for Tech as over 40 teams raced last year, including multiple nationally ranked teams.

In their fourth and final non-conference game of the 2022 season, Colorado State University football hosted California State University, Sacramento in Canvas Stadium Sept. 24 for the program’s annual Ag Day game. The Hornets dominated the Rams, winning 41-10.

Horton continued his stellar season with another outstanding performance, recording three catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. He has consistently been a bright spot in an otherwise struggling offense.

Sacramento State came into the game ranked as the sixth best team in the Football Championship Subdivision by the FCS Coaches Poll. The Hornets last beat a Football Bowl Subdivision team in 2012 when they defeated a University of Colorado Boulder team that finished the season 1-11.

Colorado State remains winless on the season, beaten badly in all four non-conference games. The Rams have now lost 10 straight games, a streak dating back to week seven of the 2021 season.

Sacramento State scored to take an early 7-0 lead before CSU kicker Michael Boyle cut the lead to 7-3 on a short field goal. The 24-yard field goal was the Rams’ first first-half score this season.

Sacramento State increased their lead to 21-3 before CSU quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi found receiver Tory Horton for a deep touchdown late in the second quarter that cut the Hornets’ lead to 21-10. 

Fowler-Nicolosi replaced quarterback Clay Millen, who left the game midway through the second quarter with an injury.

Horton continued his stellar season with another outstanding performance, recording three catches for 127 yards and a touchdown. He has consistently been a bright spot in an otherwise struggling offense.

While they were able to score in the first half, the Rams’ scoring woes transferred to the second half this game. CSU was shut out 17-0 in the second half, losing the game 41-10.

Colorado State now heads into conference play trying to shake off the results of a difficult non-conference slate. The Rams will take next weekend off before looking for their first win Oct. 7 on the road against the University of Nevada, Reno — Jay Norvell’s former team.

Reach Kaden Porter at sports@collegian.com or on Twitter @kqporter5.

Protesters formed a picket line outside the 874 Commonwealth Ave Starbucks on Sept. 15 in response to Corporate Starbucks attorneys ordering them to move off the store premises by noon that day.

A research center led by University of Utah Health that studies the inner workings and vulnerabilities of HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS, was recently awarded $28 million from the National Institutes of Health.

The CHEETAH Center for Structural Biology of HIV Infection Restriction and Viral Dynamics has been researching HIV and its potential treatments since its founding in 2007, publishing more than 300 research papers.

Wes Sundquist, director of CHEETAH and chair of the department of biochemistry at the U, said that the goal of their research is to understand the machinery of HIV in molecular detail and learn more about how to target the virus.

“Viruses can teach us a lot of cell biology,” Sundquist said. “They’ve been moving around in our bodies for a long time. They’ve figured out what pathways work well for them, but also then these become drug targets, especially if we understand them at the molecular level.”

Mark Ladinsky, an electron microscopy scientist at CalTech and scientist at CHEETAH, said that a large amount of his research revolves around studying the interactions of infected HIV cells and identifying which cells are the most susceptible to infection.

“I’m looking to see where the virus is, what cells that it associates with in these different tissues, how the cells that are infected are interacting with one another and how those cells are transmitting the virus and where they go from there,” Ladinsky said. 

According to Ladinsky, the research at CHEETAH also includes studying the pathways HIV takes within cells, which could help to create more effective treatments for the virus.

“We can see that there’s not just one way in which the virus can propagate within these cells, but multiple ways, which means that there are possibly multiple ways in which we can try to block or inhibit the budding and replication of the virus,” Ladinsky said.

Sundquist said another big area of study at CHEETAH involves the HIV capsid protein, which is the shell around the HIV virus’ genetic material. This examination of the capsid, said Sundquist, has led to the development of an effective treatment for HIV from Gilead Sciences.

“It lasts for months in patients, and that gives the possibility of treating people quarterly instead of every day, which has pretty big implications for drug resistance and compliance and sort of also just ease of being treated as an HIV positive patient,” Sundquist said.

While the research on HIV by CHEETAH has helped scientists gain a better understanding of the virus, the goal, said Sundquist, is to find a cure. 

“Going forward, the focus is more on how do you cure someone of HIV and also how do you develop a vaccine that would prevent transmission?” Sundquist said. “Both of those are unsolved problems. We’re trying to pivot to understand basic research that would help us to think about how … to do those things.”

HIV Testing at the U

Besides researching the virus, the Center for Student Wellness offers free STI and HIV testing for all students throughout the fall and spring semesters, said TeMerae Blackwater, health educator at the U.

“For HIV testing, we do a rapid test with the oral clinic,” Blackwater said. “We just swab the mouth and students are able to get the results within 20 minutes. We [also] test for gonorrhea and chlamydia through urine samples.”

According to Blackwater, this test isn’t entirely confirmatory, so those who test positive for HIV will be given a blood test to confirm the presence of the virus. 

“If somebody has a positive reactive test, we pay for a confirmatory blood draw with them at the Student Health Center,” Blackwater said.

The approach taken at the Center for Student Wellness is a gentle and understanding one, Blackwater said, with the goal being to educate people and normalize conversations about STIs.

“Everybody is going to get an STI throughout their lives,” Blackwater said. “We normalize the conversation about sex. We just make the language gender-neutral. We don’t blame on behavior. We see people as human.”

The HIV and STI testing clinics will be taking place several times over the course of this semester at the Center for Student Wellness and the Women’s Resource Center. More details can be found on the Center for Student Wellness website.

s.shaughnessey@dailyutahchronicle.com

@steviechrony