WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7
New coordinator — The Oregon football program officially named Will Stein as its new offensive coordinator.
From the UO:
Oregon football head coach Dan Lanning officially hired Will Stein as the Ducks' new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Wednesday.
"I am thrilled to welcome Will, his wife, Darby, and their newborn son, Joey, to our family here at Oregon," Lanning said. "In our search to find the absolute best fit for the University of Oregon, we committed to a detailed search for the right person to lead our offense. Will is that person. He is a passionate and innovative coach who consistently finds ways to maximize his personnel.
"Will has done a great job developing dynamic quarterbacks in his career, and he is able to see the game through a different lens as a former quarterback himself. He is a tremendous teacher and a tireless worker, and his focus on the student-athlete experience aligns with our philosophy here in Eugene. I am excited to see our team and offense reach new heights under his leadership and direction with our entire offensive staff."
Stein comes to Oregon from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he served as the Roadrunners' co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2022 after spending the previous two seasons as pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach. Prior to joining UTSA in 2020, Stein got his coaching career started at Louisville (2013-14), Texas (2015-17) and Lake Travis High School (2018-19).
"My family and I are extremely grateful to Coach Lanning and the Oregon administration for this incredible opportunity," Stein said. "Oregon has become synonymous with explosive offense and dynamic playmakers, and I am so excited to be a part of such a powerful national brand. Coach Lanning and the rest of the staff are building something really special, and I can't wait to get to work with these student-athletes both on the field and getting to know them as young men."
Jack Colletto — Oregon State senior Jack Colletto has been named winner of the Paul Hornung Award, given to college football's most versatile player.
He's a mainstay on the OSU offense, defense and special teams. He has 23 tackles and one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. On offense, he has rushed for 86 yards and six touchdowns, while also completing two passes for 53 yards and catching three for 46.
"This is just an amazing feeling, not just for me but for the program," Colletto said. "To put in all this work and be recognized for what I've been able to do, it's truly something special. Of course, I couldn't have done it without the support from a lot of people, especially those around the program and my immediate family. I appreciate all the help and support."
On Tuesday, he was named Pac-12 first team as an all-purpose player.
Colletto, who hails from Camas, Wash. and was recruited to OSU as a quarterback, has played in 42 games for the Beavers since joining the program in 2018. During that time, he has rushed for 384 yards and 22 touchdowns, which ties him for 10h in the Oregon State career record books. He has also completed 25 passes — 23 in 2018 — while totaling four receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, he has made 47 tackles with 1 1/2 tackles for loss, an interception, two pass deflections, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
College basketball — Washington State rallied in the second half to beat Portland 69-63 in a nonleague women's game at Chiles Center.
Alex Fowler had 15 points and six rebounds for the Pilots (5-5), and Maisie Burnham added 14 points.
Winterhawks 4, Prince George 2 — Rookie defenseman Rhett Ravndahl scored his first WHL goal 5:05 into the third period to break a 2-2 deadlock and help push the Winterhawks (19-4-2-1) to the win over the visiting Cougars (14-13-0-0) at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Aidan Litke's empty-net goal sealed it.
Josh Zakreski and Gabe Klassen also scored for Portland, which outshot PG 37-20.
The Winterhawks are back in action in front of an expected sellout crowd 5 p.m. Saturday for their annual Teddy Bear Toss game against the Seattle Thunderbirds at the coliseum.
MONDAY, DEC. 5
Vegas kickoff — The kickoff for the Oregon State-Florida matchup in the Las Vegas Bowl, Saturday, Dec. 17, has been moved to 11:30 a.m. PT.
It has been moved earlier to provide crews enough time to prepare Allegiant Stadium for the Las Vegas Raiders' NFL game the next day.
New OC — Oregon has hired Will Stein as its new offensive coordinator, ESPN and several other media outlets reported.
Stein, who served as University of Texas-San Antonio co-offensive coordinator and QB coach for the past season, replaces Kenny Dillingham, who left to become Arizona State head coach.
Stein also served as passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at UTSA.
Hass honored — Former Oregon State receiver Mike Hass will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on Tuesday at the 64th annual National Football Foundation awards dinner in Las Vegas.
College basketball — It's rivalry week for the state's Division I women's basketball programs.
Oregon State visits Oregon at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 for each team's Pac-12 opener. The Beavers are 6-2, their losses both at the Phil Knight tournament to Iowa and to Duke. The Ducks are 6-1, their only loss a narrow one to a top-10 North Carolina team. This is a scheduling change from recent women's basketball seasons when Oregon and Oregon State played twice in one weekend.
On Saturday, Dec. 10, Portland State (4-3) visits Portland (5-4) for that annual women's basketball rivalry game.
In men's basketball, Oregon and Oregon State each split their first two Pac-12 games last weekend. Returning to non-conference play, the Ducks host Nevada on Saturday, Dec. 10 and the Beavers visit Texas A&M on Sunday Dec. 11.
College volleyball — Oregon, which beat Arkansas to make the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tourney, plays Dec. 8 against Nebraska in Louisville, Kentucky.
New player — The Portland Timbers have acquired Brazilian midfielder Evander in a full transfer from Denmark's top-tier league Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland. He's under contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027. He'll occupy a designated player spot and an international spot on the Timbers. He was acquired for a transfer fee.
Winterhawks — Portland (18-4-2-1 39 points) still sits atop the Western Conference standings entering a 7 p.m. puck drop Wednesday, Dec. 7 at home against Prince George. Then Seattle is back town at 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 followed by a 5 p.m. start Sunday, Dec. 11 against visiting Everett.
Seahawks — Seattle (7-5) took down an ailing Los Angeles Rams team to keep pace with San Francisco in the NFC West race, still sitting behind the 8-4 49ers. With five games left in the season, Seattle is back at home to play visiting Carolina at 1:25 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11 before a big Thursday, Dec. 15 showdown with San Francisco.
Kraken — Seattle was 15-6-3 entering a Tuesday, Dec. 6 matchup with Montreal at home. Later this week, the Kraken play at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9 at Washington followed by a trip south to play Florida at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11. The trip continues at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13 at Tampa Bay and ends at 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 at Carolina.