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Steve Sarkisian, David Shaw say they’re beyond last year’s dispute

"We had a disagreement in the heat of the moment," Steve Sarkisian said of his dispute last year with Stanford Coach David Shaw.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
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Stanford Coach David Shaw said Tuesday there is “no animosity whatsoever” between he and now-USC Coach Steve Sarkisian.

Last season Sarkisian, then at Washington, accused Stanford of faking injuries to slow down his team’s up-tempo offense.

Stanford won the game, 31-28.

“We never talked about it again,” Shaw said on the Pac-12 coaches’ weekly teleconference. “It was over. It was in the past.”

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Shaw said he and Sarkisian have spoken at various Pac-12 functions during the off-season without broaching the sensitive topic.

“We had a disagreement in the heat of the moment,” Sarkisian said on the Pac-12 coaches’ call. “Both of us have moved on.... We haven’t spoken on it, I think our relationship is fine. We’ve moved on.”

Last year, Shaw took offense to Sarkisian’s allegations, saying “we don’t fake injuries, we never have and we never will. I don’t condone it. I don’t teach it. I don’t allow it.”

It’s an issue this week because USC is taking its new up-tempo scheme to Stanford for a critical game on the Pac-12 schedule.

USC ran a Pac-12 record 105 plays last week in its opening win against Fresno State.

Twitter: @LATimesklein

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