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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Grip on Sports: A mustache might make the difference in whether Washington State has a legitimate Heisman candidate, but wins are probably a better indicator

Washington State  quarterback Gardner Minshew  was all smiles as the last Saturday’s game against Colorado  in Boulder, Colorado, wound down. WSU won 31-7. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Could a Washington State football player win the Heisman Trophy? In this day and age, it seems nearly impossible, doesn’t it? But thanks to a mustache and victories nearly every week, there is a Cougar this season who is actually in the running. For now. Read on.

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• The Heisman Trophy once actually went to the best player in the country. Heck, a lineman won it back in the day. A running back from a losing team took it home once. And, believe it or not, a player from Oregon State.

None of those things would happen these days – and, to be fair, the first two only happened then because both players, Leon Hart and Paul Hornung, attended Notre Dame. Terry Baker, OSU’s quarterback who won in 1962? That one is more about the competition than anything else. (The runner-up, LSU running back Jerry Stovall, gained all of 368 yards rushing that season, though he also played defense, returned kicks and punted. The third-place finisher in the voting that year was an offensive lineman from Minnesota, which tells you all you need to know about how the voting has changed.)

But the award since Baker’s win has mainly gone to the best player on the best team – with the best PR campaign.

There have been exceptions. Houston’s Andre Ware in 1989, BYU’s Ty Detmer the next season, Wisconsin’s Ron Dayne in 1999, Robert Griffin III in 2011. All of those winners had exceptional statistics that stood out within the crowded landscape.

And played on teams that did better than most thought at the beginning of the season.

Which brings us to Washington State’s newest candidate.

The Cougar hierarchy launched a campaign yesterday designed to garner votes for quarterback Gardner Minshew. Good for them. But a Heisman campaign is a waste of time and money unless the player has attributes that can be sold to the voters.

Minshew does.

The most obvious is his passing statistics. The senior quarterback, playing his one and only year in Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense, leads the nation in passing with 3,852 yards. That is almost 50 yards a game more than anyone else.

He’s also sixth in touchdown passes and first in total offense.

But most importantly the Cougars are 9-1 and ranked eighth in the College Football Playoff rankings. That makes them (and by extension, him) a national story.

Oh, and there is the little patch of hair above his upper lip, too. That’s something, in the public-relations sense, as well.

It’s a hook on which a Heisman campaign can hang.

Will Minshew actually win the trophy? A few things have to happen for the dream of those in Pullman to come true.

Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa either needs to come back to the crowd through poor play – unlikely – or an injury – sadly, more of a possibility recently. Either that or the Crimson Tide could lose a couple games down the stretch. OK, we hear your laughter. That’s probably not happening.

Even if it does, both Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray and West Virginia’s Will Grier would also need to stumble, maybe in back-to-back weeks against each other in the odd Big 12 title chase. The two quarterbacks are firmly entrenched among the oddsmakers right behind Tagovailoa.

But what if all that happens, and Minshew leads WSU to victories over Arizona, over Washington, over the Pac-12 South champ in the title game? Then there is a shot. If the Cougars are 12-1 when voting finishes up, Minshew could easily jump the rest of the candidates in the field.

But a WSU loss, no matter how Minshew plays, will probably eliminate him from contention. After all, unless the Cougars are in the running in the national title chase, even if it’s only on the outside, their most high-profile player won’t be in the Heisman Trophy hunt, campaign or not.

• The Seahawks stayed in the running for the playoffs with last night’s come-from-behind 27-24 win over Green Bay. Russell Wilson’s play down the stretch dominates the headlines this morning, but if not for a defense that stifled Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in the second half, there would be no joy in Mudville today. Or over here on the dry side of the state either.

• Eastern Washington tries to grab a share of the Big Sky Conference football title tonight when it plays Portland State in Hillsboro. An Eagle win would assure them no less than a tie for the crown.

And if Weber State can’t get it done tomorrow in Pocatello – Idaho State is undefeated at home this season – Eastern will earn the conference’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs. No matter what happens tomorrow, an EWU win tonight sends the Eagles into the playoffs again.

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WSU: Arizona head coach Kevin Sumlin began his coaching career in the city he’ll be in Saturday night: Pullman. Theo Lawson relates that story today and I’ll add one more nugget: When Bill Doba was fired as head coach in 2007, he pushed for Sumlin, then Oklahoma’s co-offensive coordinator, as his replacement. Paul Wulff was hired instead. … Mike Leach’s Twitter brouhaha last summer cost Washington State some donations. … The Cougars picked up a commitment from a California defensive back. … The soccer team is in D.C. today for an NCAA tournament match with Georgetown. … The Mercury News’ Jon Wilner spoke with WSU athletic director Pat Chun about the Cougars’ financial past and the future. It’s interesting reading.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, there are a few rivalry games this weekend and the rest next weekend. Atop this week’s list is USC at UCLA. The battle for Los Angeles has always included pranks and, usually, good football. Oh, and questions about at least one coach’s future. … The Big Game is in the Bay Area, with Stanford and California squaring off. Bryce Love came back for one more year and it didn’t work out for him in some ways. The smoke may cause havoc tomorrow. … Finally, there is the rivalry that is Utah and Colorado. It’s new. … Washington doesn’t really have a rivalry with Oregon State but there are connections. … Oregon doesn’t have much to connect it to Arizona State. … In basketball news, the biggest news was a game that wasn’t played. Indoor events rarely get canceled by outside conditions. … Oregon got flattened on national TV. … Speaking of getting flattened, that seems to be the fate of the conference in the football landscape.

Gonzaga: Texas A&M stayed with the Zags for a half last night and then GU’s shots finally started to fall. From then on, the Bulldogs pulled away for a 94-71 victory. Jim Meehan has the game analysis and the keys to the win. … Dan Pelle has the visual reporting with these photographs. … Justin Reed has a story on Josh Perkins reaching a milestone and a look at Texas A&M’s depleted roster. … The guys in the office put together a game recap with highlights. … I watched at home and had some observations. … The women’s team announced the signing of two twin sisters from Houston and a 6-2 forward from Australia. … Around the WCC, San Diego played a local Christian school and won easily. … BYU played a nationally known Christian school and won easily. … Pacific won at Idaho State. … Missed this from the other night but Pepperdine lost at Northern Colorado.

EWU: Tonight’s game will feature one of the Big Sky’s better defenses against an Eastern offense that is always among the nation’s best. Ryan Collingwood has this game preview. … Ryan also has a preview of today’s home basketball game, the Eagles’ first in Cheney this season. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, there is still some question, due to smoke issues, if Sacramento State and UC Davis will play tomorrow. … Weber State has a lot on the line this week. … The history of the Brawl in the Wild will add another chapter this Saturday. Will it be a Montana one or a Montana State one?… In basketball, Weber State picked up a win.

Idaho: Linebacker Ed Hall pays attention to the details on the field and in the classroom. Peter Harriman has a feature on the Vandals’ senior leader.

Whitworth: Dan Thompson does a good job this morning explaining the logistics of the NCAA Division III playoffs. West Coast teams are always stuck because of the few schools at the level west of the Rockies. … Larry Weir’s latest Press Box pod includes a conversation with Whitworth play-by-play voice Bud Nameck.

CCS: The undefeated volleyball team won its first match at the NWAC Championships in Tacoma.

Seahawks: Doug Baldwin scored his first touchdown of the season last night. … The new catch rule helped the Hawks. … So did their running game. … Justin Britt is unhappy.

Mariners: The new name for the field is nearly done, but there are some things to work out with T-Mobile. Like headlines. Does “Bad Servais at T-Mobile” sound good to you? … The M’s made a roster move.

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• If you are planning on sneaking out of work early this afternoon, I know just what you should listen to on your way home. Yep, I’ll be on the radio this afternoon from 3 to 6 p.m., joining Rick Lukens on 700 ESPN. If you are outside the area or stuck in the office, you can listen here. Until later …