Grip on Sports: Tonight’s game is a big deal, but it may be only the beginning

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It’s going to be a big night in the Palouse. We all understand that. But, remember, if it goes according to (Washington State’s) plan, there will be other big nights this fall. Read on.

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• Yes, tonight’s game with fifth-ranked USC is crucial to Washington State’s hopes to win the Pac-12 North and get into the championship game. But not overpowering.

The truth is, win tonight and the Cougars take a step toward a North title. Lose tonight – USC is now a five-point road favorite – and that goal is still available for them.

On the positive side, a WSU win makes them 5-0 and perfect on their season-opening homestand. It gives them an edge on Stanford, which lost to the Trojans, and keeps them even with the Huskies, who don’t face USC in the regular season.

Continue to win, or with only one stumble, and the Apple Cup could easily mean the same thing it meant last year: winner to the conference title game, the loser to a decent bowl.

But even if the Cougars lose this one, the Apple Cup could still fill that role again. Didn’t Washington lose to USC at home last year and still win the North? (That’s a rhetorical question. Of course that happened. I wouldn’t have written it otherwise.)

Besides, no matter what happens this week the rest of the WSU schedule looks pretty daunting. And a lot tougher than it did just five weeks ago.

The Cougars will play at Oregon next Saturday night. The Ducks are better than people expected.

They will turn around and travel to Berkeley for a Friday night game. The Bears are better than people expected.

Colorado visits. The Buffs are pretty good.

There is a trip to Arizona – OK, that’s not all that tough but it is on the road – then the final home game against Stanford in early November. The season ends with road games at Utah and Washington. Those two stops haven’t been kind to Washington State in the recent past – or ever.

So, yes, tonight is big. Huge maybe. But it also is just a step. Climb over it, or trip over it, the future still holds promise – and potholes.

• If you are a Spokane Chiefs fan, you are probably pretty excited for tonight as well. Your hockey team, 2-0 after a season-opening road trip to beautiful Prince George, holds its home opener.

It seems as if the powers that be in the S-R sports department share your enthusiasm. There is as in-depth of coverage of a Chiefs’ season opener as I can remember.

And, after talking with Jaret Anderson-Dolan yesterday, it’s easy to understand. He’s an impressive young man who sounds ready to lead Spokane to greater heights this season. Or next.

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WSU: This is Theo Lawson’s first USC game as the Cougar beat writer and he’s picking Washington State in an upset. His preview of the game gives you some inkling why, as does his keys to victory. … There is one room at Martin Stadium you never really want to visit. … The women’s soccer team dropped its second consecutive match. … Most in the national media are picking tonight’s favorite to win. … According to the Times’ Stefanie Loh, the Cougars are well aware of what’s at stake tonight. … The quarterbacks will be the focus, at least it seems that way to USC, which is dealing with injuries.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the college football playoffs are important to the conference. But picking four teams to play in the semifinals is tough with five major conferences. … Washington coach Chris Petersen doesn’t seem to be a stats guy. … The Huskies hope they don’t have to punt often to the Beavers, who have endured a tough first quarter of the season. OSU is coming off a bye week. … Oregon hopes its defense stands up. The Ducks have to deal with California’s improved special teams. … It’s been a bad week for Arizona. … Colorado’s defense knows it will have its hands full with Josh Rosen and the UCLA offense. … If Stanford has to punt against Arizona State, it feels confident. … The basketball scandal is becoming a bigger deal each day, with Arizona and USC in the spotlight right now. When will head coaches Sean Miller and Andy Enfeld talk about it?

Gonzaga: The season is getting closer, with the Zags releasing the schedule for their Craziness event in a little more than a week, as well as the times for the games being announced. Jim Meehan has the latter covered in this story.

EWU: There is no way around this. The Big Sky Conference is screwing up. With the addition of Idaho, and the upcoming loss of North Dakota, the conference football schedule is going to change. Jim Allen broke the news yesterday Eastern will lose Montana as a rival – gaining Idaho and keeping, for some reason, Portland State – next season. What that means is the Eagles and the Griz, the best game in the conference year after year, won’t necessarily play each season. This is really dumb. … Jim also held a live chat yesterday. … The Eastern volleyball team lost at Northern Colorado. … Around the Big Sky, the future football schedules are also important to Montana. Portland State is more worried about this Saturday. … Montana State’s offense has improved.

Chiefs: The season preview stories include a John Blanchette column on what’s ahead, Whitney Ogden’s story on new coach Dan Lambert and others on the Arena’s remodeling project (pictured) and promotion nights. … Whitney also compiled a list on Chiefs in the NHL while Kevin Dudley took a quick look at the season. There is also a look at who is returning this season and who isn’t. … Elsewhere in the WHL, Everett is ready to hit the road.

Preps: It was another crowded evening in prep sports, with roundups available for boys’ soccer, girls’ soccer, slowpitch softball and volleyball. … There was also a Thursday night GSL football game, with Mt. Spokane defeating Lewis and Clark, 38-17.

Mariners: The M’s missed the postseason again. To ensure their fans care about next season, they have to make a splash between now and then. … I’ve lived here since 1983. The only engineer I’ve heard on the M’s radio broadcasts is Kevin Cremins.

Seahawks: We aren’t supposed to worry about the Hawks’ defense. So why are we? Could it be Earl Thomas’ injury? Or something else? … Michael Bennett thinks there is never a bad time to do the right thing. And Russell Wilson took into account future generations when he was deciding what to do. … It’s tough to “fire” an NFL player. … The running game could use some power. … The change on the offensive line was about communication.

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• A busy day looms. And it will continue long into the night. If you are looking for something to listen to before the Cougar game, I will be helping out Dennis Patchin for a while after I arrive in Pullman this afternoon. That’s available on 700 ESPN and here. After the game, of course, I will have an column here on the S-R’s sports website and will be available for questions on the postgame show. The TuneIn radio app is your best choice if you are not on the east side of the mountains. As I said, it’s a busy day. And, if the game continues long into the next morning, we may not get up early enough tomorrow to do much here. We’ll see. Until later …