Grip on Sports: Those folks who doubted Washington State before the season – who would have done such a thing? – are now kicking themselves

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is a long-running joke on ESPN’s PTI show that Michael Wilbon is not surprised by anything. Well, here’s something even Wilbon would be surprised about if he is aware it’s true: Washington State is the Pac-12’s best football team right now. Read on.

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• Yes, it’s true. The Cougars are the conference’s premier team as October winds down.

And, yes, unlike Wilbon, I am surprised. Flabbergasted might be a better term.

Let’s cover what the Cougars had to replace over the offseason:

– The Pac-12’s all-time leading passer in just about every statistical category;

– Their two leading receivers;

– Three offensive linemen, one a two-time All-American, another an NFL pick;

– The Pac-12’s best defensive lineman and other key contributors;

– Their defensive coordinator and a handful of other assistants.

That’s a lot for anyone to absorb in one offseason. And the list doesn’t even include the biggest blow, the loss of Tyler Hilinski in one of the saddest occurrences in school history.

And yet, here we are, after the last weekend of October games, and the Cougars are 7-1 overall, 4-1 in Pac-12 play. Atop the Pac-12 North standings. Only a controversial ending to the USC game keeps them from being undefeated.

What the heck happened?

The easy response is Gardner Minshew happened and that would have some validity. His presence solidified the most important position in Mike Leach’s program. And, with his competitive, devil-may-care attitude, helped the team put the ugly offseason behind it.

But easy responses are usually incomplete. They are in this case.

The most important answer is Leach has built historic depth in Pullman. It started with the offensive line, in which he took a razor-thin group – in numbers – and bulked it up with the addition of many Sasquatch-like players – to use line coach Mason Miller’s term.

It didn’t stop there, though. The defensive side of the ball seems to plug and play linemen each season. Over the past few seasons, WSU has turned out player after player who, at the least, got a chance in the NFL. This year’s group, anchored by a walk-on in the middle who recovered a key fumble yesterday (in a three-point win, everything is key), is getting the job done against the Pac-12 best offensive lines.

And though new coordinator Tracy Claeys hasn’t changed the basic defensive philosophy, he’s changed two things: The Cougars seem to blitz more often (taking advantage of the speed and savvy of their inside linebackers) and they are much more physical in pass coverage. That latter point plays well at home but doesn’t travel as easily on the road – in the loss at USC and yesterday, WSU was flagged at least eight times combined for pass interference or defensive holding. It does, however, help an undersized group compete.

Add it all up and it equates to seven wins in eight games. At least a couple more than I expected – in total – when the season began.

Put me in the surprised category. Or, if you have one, the flabbergasted category.

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WSU: Theo Lawson was in his old stomping grounds, the Bay Area, and has the coverage, including a game story, his analysis of the game, the difference makers and a short injury update. … John Blanchette was also in attendance – maybe he needed an In-n-Out fix? – and has his usual insightful column. … I watched from home and put together a postgame look at the TV coverage. I will say it again here, Yogi Roth is darn good at his job. I’m not a huge fan of his hair stylist, though. (That’s a joke, if you didn’t know; I’m not that shallow. A guy with seven surviving hairs can’t afford to be.) … Tyler Tjomsland took his camera equipment on the plane and produced an in-depth photo report. … Two local area women’s basketball players, including a Cougar, were named to national watch lists this week. … Back to football, Stanford decided after last season’s loss in Pullman to throw the ball often against Washington State. It could have been another case of David Shaw outsmarting himself. The Cardinal may have scored often but its defense, asked to play more than usual, couldn’t keep up in the second half.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, every underdog won yesterday, either underscoring Leach’s statement this week about how good the bottom of the conference is or hammering home the weakness of the top tier. Take your pick. … California didn’t score an offensive touchdown and still won 12-10 against 15th-ranked Washington. The beat-up Huskies benched their senior quarterback and it cost them with a pick-six, delivered by Spokane’s Evan Weaver. … USC struggled in the second half and Arizona State took advantage for a 38-35 win in the Coliseum. … Speaking of collapsing in the second half, we give you Colorado. The Buffs melted away against Oregon State – maybe the altitude got to CU? – leading to the Beavers first road win, 41-34 in overtime, in 22 games. … Oregon didn’t show up again, this time in Tucson as Arizona posted a big upset, 44-15.

Gonzaga: Thank goodness these scrimmages between big-time programs are secret. No one should ever be able to know GU and Michigan State met in Minneapolis yesterday. And that the Zags scored 100 points in the segments in which the score was kept. Jim Meehan has a story on what went on – in secret, of course – as does the Detroit News.

EWU and Idaho: Eagle fans received some good news yesterday and some sad news. The good news was their team’s performance in a 38-14 rout of erstwhile rival Idaho on the red turf. Ryan Collingwood was there and has this game story. Dan Pelle covers the visual side of things with this photo report. … And the bad news? Gage Gubrud, one of the most productive Eastern quarterbacks ever, has had his career cut short by a toe injury. Ryan has all the details in this notebook. … Dave Nichols was in Cheney as well and he covered the Idaho stories with this notebook. … Around the Big Sky, it wasn’t a good day in the state of Montana. The Griz collapsed in the second half and UC Davis ran away with a 49-21 victory. … The new-look Montana State Bobcats rallied but still lost at Idaho State. … Weber State went to North Dakota and picked up a win. … Northern Colorado cemented Southern Utah spot in the conference cellar. … Cal Poly traveled to Northern Arizona and won. … Portland State is playing better and defeated host Sacramento State.

Whitworth: The Pirates turned it on in the second half and routed Pacific, 37-19 to take control of the Northwest Conference football race. Dan Thompson has the coverage.

Chiefs: In a second night of back-to-back home games, Spokane was sloppy and gave away a 5-3 decision to Tri-City. Kevin Dudley was in the Arena and has this game coverage.

Preps: The fall seasons are winding down – as is the nice weather – which means we have playoffs covered in the roundups from slowpitch, cross country, soccer and volleyball.

Seahawks: The Hawks will receive some reinforcements today against Detroit. One of them is tight end Ed Dickson. … The next few weeks are key.

Mariners: Edwin Diaz was named the American League reliever of the year. He deserved the award.

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• Sorry this is so late this morning. My cat must be a Dodger fan. She was gagging things up all night and I really didn’t fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning. Then slept right through my usual wakeup time. Until later …