Fall football always finds a way to entertain
A GRIP ON SPORTS
The yard is ready for winter. Well, the lawn is. Now if the darn leaves would just fall, I could settle in for a couple months of football watching before having to shovel snow. Read on.
• I don't know what it is, but watching college football is enjoyable. Relaxing even, if you don't have a dog in the hunt. Take last night for instance. Who really cared – in my house, anyway – if Utah or Oregon State emerged victorious in their ugly battle in Corvallis? But it sure was fun to watch, especially down the stretch. By then Sean Mannion realized the Beavers were wearing orange and Devontae Booker (pictured) had worn down the OSU defenders. Which meant both teams would actually score. It may have taken Booker and the Utes until fourth down to get in from inside the 5 late in the game, but they didn't care. They had a 16-13 lead. It may have taken a 49-yard field goal from Trevor Romaine for the Beavers to tie it as time expired, but they didn't care. They actually seemed to like it, maybe a little too much. After all, there was still overtime to play. Booker, who looks like one of the top two running backs in the Pac-12 right now, powered into the endzone to give the Utes a lead – then bowed to the stands. Shades of Oregon vs. Arizona. With one notable exception. There was no game-changing flag. I wonder if Mike Riley will complain to the league office? No matter. The Beavers scored too, setting up the second OT. This time Romaine missed a shorter field goal, Booker didn't miss the gaping hole in the Beaver line and Utah had escaped with a 29-23 victory. Now both teams have an expensive defeat on their sheet. The Utes? It came to Washington State a few weeks ago. The Beavers? It came last night.
• If there was anything depressing about last night's game (other than the early offensive ineptitude), it was watching Booker gash the Beavers. It's part of the "what-if" game. "What-if" Booker had been a bit better student in high school? Say what you will about Paul Wulff's recruiting, but his staff identified some talent. It's just they couldn't lure much of it to Pullman. Booker was the exception. They sold the little out-of-the-way town in Eastern Washington to the Sacramento kid and had him signed, sealed and, well, undeliverable. Wulff raved about Booker, how he was a difference maker, when he signed his letter of intent in 2009. He is. Only problem, he's a difference maker for Utah after a long, torturous journey through the junior college system. Booker (then known as Butler-Booker) didn't qualify academically out of Grant High, so instead of helping Wulff keep his job, he watched from afar as Wulff was let go after the 2011 season – a loss to Utah helping to seal his fate – and Mike Leach hired. Booker decided to go elsewhere when his JC career was over. But he wasn't alone in that decision. Also in that 2010 class was junior college defensive lineman Al Lapuaho (pictured), who signed an LOI, came to Pullman, decided not to stay, returned to Utah, enrolled at Utah State, ending up starting for the Aggies and has spent some time in NFL camps. Throw those two players into the mix at WSU – with others of that class including Deone Bucannon, Connor Halliday, Marquess Wilson, Toni Pole, John Fullington and, yes, C.J. Mizell – and there might have been another win or two in those dark years.
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• WSU: Speaking of dark, the schedule is this weekend so the Cougars have returned to the basics, according to Jacob Thorpe's story in today's S-R. You know how coaches always say a bye comes at the right time? This one certainly did for the Cougar faithful. After the ups and downs of the 2-5 start, it was time to cleanse the palate. ... Jacob also has a practice report from last night and a morning post today with links. ... There are some questions that need to be answered this week in the Pac-12. ... You like picks? We have a couple, though both guys missed last night's game.
• Gonzaga: There are high expectations over at GU with Mark Few's basketball team this season and a near-record high preseason ranking. ... The volleyball team's win streak was snapped last night.
• EWU: The Eagles' passing game seems to always be in the limelight, but the running game is what keeps the offense moving. And right now, it's Mario Brown, a fifth-year senior, who is keeping the running game moving. Jim Allen has this feature about Brown (pictured), the final link to the Eagles' NCAA championship season. ... Jim also held a live chat yesterday and has a morning post with links.
• Idaho: John Blanchette has a column and blog post concerning Tom Hennessey, a walk-on who earned his scholarship at Idaho the ancient way: keeping his head down and working hard.
• Chiefs: Everett is scoring at a record pace due to a balanced offense. ... Tri-City's goalie has been picked for the Subway Series with Russia again.
• Preps: Central Valley remained undefeated in volleyball action with a five-set win over Gonzaga Prep. Chris Derrick was at CV and has the story. ... We also can offer a roundup of other prep action last night.
• Seahawks: If anything will derail the Hawks drive to repeat as Super Bowl champions, it will be injuries. (Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network is reporting this morning rookie defensive end Cassius Marsh broke his foot and will be out at least four weeks.) ... Or it could be the inability of the offense to get Percy Harvin more involved. ... Maybe it's the fact they have become a bit stale at home. ... This week, a derailment may happen just because the Rams seem to have Russell Wilson's number.
• Mariners: We played the "what-if" game up above. Now play it with the M's, putting them into the playoffs. Could they have duplicated what Kansas City has done? Maybe next year?
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• That's it. We've got a busy day. We are joining Dennis Patchin and Rick Lukens for three hours of radio sports talk starting at 3 p.m. – you can listen here – and then we are covering the Mead/Ferris game from Albi for the S-R this evening. Until later ...
