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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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WSU notes before hitting the road

COUGARS

FROM PULLMAN -- Headed to San Francisco later today for men's basketball media day, which means we won't have our usual live chat today. If you have questions, you can chip them in during our day-long chat tomorrow. On to the notes.

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We'll start with a note about Auburn's 2013 football schedule, which was released Monday. Why, you ask? Because WSU is on it, as the school announced some time ago. And it appears that game will be played on Aug. 31, a date I've seen out there before but hasn't been seen anywhere official until now, as far as I know. The Cougars also have games against BYU and Idaho scheduled for next year. ... We have a Pac-12 notebook in today's newspaper, as well as a blog post last night with some notes from practice and such. ... Bud Withers breaks down some of the incentives in Mike Leach's employment agreement, which was finalized by the school last week. Those incentives were outlined in the letter of agreement signed by Leach back in December, but the contract is now final. ... Here's a brief ESPN.com story (well, maybe it isn't all that brief, but it's an Insider story) about an offensive lineman who committed to WSU recently. ... From Utah: The Utes' defensive focus is changing this week due to WSU's offensive tendencies (hint: they might throw it a bunch). Utah is pretty darn good when its running back reaches the 100-yard mark (keep that statistic in mind on Saturday).

Around the Pac-12 ... The involved parties are downplaying any and all drama surrounding Washington's trip to California this week. The Huskies want to keep Cal's quarterback in the pocket. ... Cal is trying to stay focused after a pair of blowout losses. Brendan Bigelow, the Bears' most explosive running back, is playing more. ... Oregon State's midseason report card. ... A Los Angeles native returns home this weekend with Oregon. Versatility is keeping the Ducks' offensive line together. ... USC coach Lane Kiffin says Oregon is the best team in the country (does that mean he'd vote for them? Hypothetically, of course). ... UCLA is holding tryouts -- within the team -- for punt returner. ... Stanford doesn't have a quarterback controversy, but it does use its backup more and more often. ... This may come as a surprise, but Colorado has some glaring defensive issues to address after giving up 70 points last week. ... Spring practices were key to Arizona's success this season. ... Injuries to Arizona State's defensive line have prompted some shuffling.

Christian Caple can be reached at christianc@spokesman.com. Twitter: @ChristianCaple



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