Grip on Sports: Hour after hour each Saturday, college football holds our attention

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Saturday night was slowing down. It was late after a long day of basketball, football and running around. The television was still on though, and the sounds wafted through the house. College football after 10 p.m. It is November. And life is good. Read on.

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• It was getting late on a long day. There had been some basketball in the morning, the Cougar game in the afternoon and big-time upsets throughout. So I gave Kim the remote and lied to her.

“I’m going to bed.”

Instead I went up stairs and decided to walk for 10 minutes. It turned into 30. Partly because I was mesmerized from the sound wafting up the stairs.

See, when I had passed the remote, I expected the television to switch from Arizona State’s soon-to-be-loss at the Rose Bowl to The Voice. Or Survivor. Or a handful of other shows Kim saves for the weekend.

Instead, the sounds of the football game continued to hit my ears every time I walked past the stairwell. It was UCLA, ASU and a meaningless Pac-12 football game. But it held her interest.

Look, I know my wife is a football fan. A sports fan, really. There is no way we could have stayed married for nearly 40 years if she wasn’t. But the depth of her interest in college football continues to surprise me.

Though it shouldn’t.

I should have gotten the message the one time she showed up in the Washington State press box to wait for me to finish the postgame show looking like Fievel Mousekewitz after he fell in the water barrel. She had set through an entire WSU game in a pouring rain. Just because, well, that’s what you do.

Or on any of the countless Saturdays she’s set next to me hour after hour as I flip from game to game, trying fruitlessly to see every great play, every touchdown, every replay review. She may get up to fiddle with the laundry, occasionally flipping me a T-shirt to fold, but her attention is on the games.

So when I left last night as the game entered the fourth quarter, ostensibly to go to sleep but ultimately putting 30 minutes of pressure on my knees and cardiovascular system, she continued to watch. To pull for the Bruins or Sun Devils, whichever team she decided to root for this day. And to enjoy college football.

Then again, she may have just fallen asleep in her chair.

• She, along with Cougar fans everywhere, enjoyed the outcome of WSU’s game at Utah yesterday. But the way the Cougars got to the finish line was, at times, tough to take.

It was a blowout just waiting for someone to light the fuse. But every time the defense would hand over a lit match, the offense would huff and puff and let it go out. Not on purpose mind you, but by inattention.

The defense forced seven turnovers. The offense, which had chances to score after six of them, only took advantage of about half of the opportunities, scoring 23 points out of a possible 42. It was enough for the Cougars to win their ninth game, but it didn’t do much for their fans’ stomach-acid levels.

At least there is nothing to worry about next Saturday. After 11 long weeks, Washington State has a bye. It’s a chance for the players and coaches to recuperate, to heal, to become refreshed.

For Cougar fans it’s an extra week to worry about the Apple Cup. An Apple Cup with the Pac-12 North title on the line – again. An Apple Cup in Seattle, where Washington State has won only 10 times since World War II and not at all since 2007. An Apple Cup that is the biggest deal since, well, last season.

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WSU: Before we go any further, I want to announce my campaign to get Hercules Mata’afa named Pac-12 defensive player of the year. It should be as tough a task as getting Ronald Reagan re-elected in 1984, but you never know. We began the campaign with a slightly understated manifesto among our Three Takes following the 33-25 win in Salt Lake City. … We watched on television, but Theo Lawson was there and he had a handful of items, including a game story, an analysis, the difference makers, a couple of different news stories and some thoughts about Luke Falk’s return to his home state. … John Blanchette was also there and he has a column while Tyler Tjomsland has the photo report. … The soccer team won its opening-round NCAA tournament match in Florida, 1-0. … Stefanie Loh was also in Utah and has some thoughts on the game, on Falk’s homecoming and the defensive resurgence. … The same could be said of the coverage from Salt Lake City, though the emphasis is on Utah’s problems, not WSU’s success. There is always a flipside when one team turns the ball over seven times.

Elsewhere in Pac-12, it was another tough PR weekend for Larry Scott and the conference. … On the field, USC clinched the South title by running over Colorado in Boulder, 38-24. … In the late game, UCLA outscored Arizona State 44-37 as Josh Rosen returned to the Bruin lineup. … Arizona set a school rushing record in rolling over Oregon State 49-28. The OSU defense came under fire. … Washington’s loss to Stanford seemed even worse after the upsets around college football Saturday. The door was opened for the Huskies but they had already stumbled coming up the steps. … California got ready for the Big Game during its bye week.

Gonzaga: The Zags won their opener Friday night and there was a large contingent of media documenting it. Many of those in attendance hailed from Japan. Jim Meehan takes time this morning to acquaint us with the Rui Hachimura media frenzy. … BYU won its season opener over Mississippi Valley State without Nick Emery. … Saint Mary’s also began the season with a win. … Portland blew a lead and lost to Portland State and GU transfer Ryan Edwards.

EWU: Facing a must-win scenario, the Eagles won. They traveled to North Dakota and defeated the Fighting Hawks 21-14. Jim Allen was in Grand Forks and he has the game story and a sidebar on starting quarterback Eric Barriere. … There were enough photographs from the game for a photo gallery and we have stories from North Dakota. … Around the Big Sky, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona will play for the conference title next week after they got past UC Davis, in a rout, and Montana State, in a squeaker, respectively. … Weber State routed winless Portland State 63-17. … Montana had little trouble with Northern Colorado. … Sacramento State pounded Cal Poly, 49-14.

Idaho: The volleyball team closed out the regular season with another win.

Whitworth: The Pirates finished their football season with an easy win over Willamette.

Chiefs: Spokane rallied on the road and skated past Kootenay, 5-4. … Around the WHL, Portland and Tri-City played for the first time this season with the Winterhawks winning 5-2. … Everett also picked up a win.

Preps: Fall sports are slowly winding down, with state championships up for grabs. Mead was in the 4A volleyball title match again last night but fell to Auburn-Riverside. … Central Valley moved on to the state soccer semifinals at U-Hi’s expense. … Of course, the football playoffs are going on, with host West Valley pounding Franklin Pierce 46-13.

Seahawks: With Richard Sherman out, the Hawks are in the market for a corner. Where will they turn? … If Seattle is to win the West, they will have to outplay Los Angeles down the stretch. Their schedule seems a bit easier.

Sounders: Will Bruin wants a MLS title.

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• Saturday was filled with local football action. Today is different. The Seahawks don’t play until next Monday, so there is a gap that needs to be filled. Leaf-raking? A long walk? The RedZone? Guess which one I will pick. Until later …