A trickle of WSU news this Tuesday

As dry as Tuesday morning’s usually are – and today is no exception – that’s how wet Wednesday’s are. So be patient. News always happens on Tuesdays. But to tide you through, we have links. Read on.

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• Washington State: As always, we have our first look at Saturday’s opponent, in this case the Arizona Wildcats. And that’s about it for WSU coverage this morning. … Just wanted to pass on this bit of news, though it’s not WSU related – other than I was talking about this man last Friday in the Seattle airport with a fan on the way to the game in San Antonio. O’Dea High longtime basketball coach Phil Lumpkin died sometime over the weekend in Seattle. Lumpkin was one of the better high school hoops coaches I saw in my tenure as a prep writer, gruff but fair in the way he treated his players as far as I could tell. He was 57 years old.

• Around the Pac-10: Buster Sports’ Nick Daschel has his Pac-10 rankings. WSU has dropped to 11th. And yes, you’ll have to read it to understand why. I’m not telling. … Washington: The Huskies head to Pasadena to play UCLA this week and they may - may – have to do it without Jake Locker. … Oregon State: Looking back at the Beavers’ huge upset of Cal in 2007. … Oregon: Talk about contrasting styles in the running games this weekend in the Bay Area. Cal: Nothing, nada. … Stanford: The Cardinal have quite a few shots at getting bowl eligible. Remember, six wins really doesn’t make you bowl eligible. That only counts if there are not enough seven-win teams to take the available spots. … USC: Was the Trojans’ defensive game plan against Oregon too complicated? Pete Carroll thinks it was. …UCLA: Nelson Rosario is a big guy who makes big catches. … Arizona State: Poor ASU. The Sun Devils get USC after a loss. That’s never a good thing. … Arizona: The Wildcats’ No. 23 ranking is not the culmination of their goals.

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• That’s all for this morning. We’ll be back after practice with notes and a look around the Pac-10. Until then …