A Grip on Sports: There is a sports-related feast every year during Thanksgiving week but this one is different

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Thanksgiving week starts today. Our first thought: Why aren’t we having pumpkin pie for breakfast? Our second thought: There are a whole bunch of athletic events coming up that mean a lot.

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• If we told you in early October, say, Washington State’s football team would enter the Apple Cup with a decent chance to play in the Pac-12 championship game, would you have believed us? No, we’re really asking. You would have laughed, right? After all, the Cougars’ were still trying to figure out what was up with Nick Rolovich, they were just starting to play better and, more importantly, Oregon was rolling.

But after the Ducks were shot down by Utah 38-7 last night in Salt Lake City, WSU still has an outside shot at playing the Utes for the conference title.

The Cougars have to win the Apple Cup first. Which has been a chore for eternity – the Huskies have won nearly 7 out of every 10 meetings – and recently – UW has won the last seven, its longest streak since the mid-1970s.

If Washington State can win in Seattle on Friday for the first time since 2007, then the Cougars will sit back Saturday and watch Oregon State and Oregon play. A Duck win, no matter what happens at Husky Stadium, ensures them a rematch with the Utes. But an Oregon State win on the heels of a WSU victory would send the Cougars to Las Vegas as the North’s representative. Though the two Oregon schools and Washington State would be tied in the conference standings if that all happens, the tiebreaker that comes into play would be the three teams’ record against the North. The Cougs would be 4-1, the others 3-2.

Wouldn’t that be wacky? Or wonderful. Or just plain consistent with what the Pac-12 has become?

• Thanksgiving week is always full of great college basketball matchups. Always. This year, Gonzaga plays an oversize role in them. Heck, it starts today in the Kennel, where the Bulldog women will try to upset seventh-ranked Stanford once again.

But that’s just an appetizer. Believe it or not, the men’s game with UCLA on Tuesday in Las Vegas will be the first time in history two West Coast teams have met while ranked No. 1 and No. 2, something Jim Meehan explores here.

(In 1971, USC, with Paul Westphal, was 16-0 when they met UCLA, defending national champion and 16-1. Yet somehow the Trojans were ranked second and UCLA third. Marquette was on top the poll. The second time the teams met – when both were 24-1 – UCLA was No. 1 and USC No. 3.)

And the Zags won’t be done. They face seventh-ranked Duke on Friday, also in Vegas.

• We should find out this afternoon if our Sundays are free the next month or so.

Seattle hosts a beat-up Cardinals team. If the 3-6 Seahawks can’t defeat Arizona, which will be playing without quarterback Kyler Murray and receiver DeAndre Hopkins, then we know a last-place finish in the NFC West is probably likely. Playoffs? Even Jim Mora wouldn’t believe that possible.

But a win today gives everyone a sliver of hope, especially considering the Hawks’ remaining schedule. The Football Team. The 49ers. The Texans. Heck, win today and Seattle could conceivably be 7-6 when they travel to the Rams on Dec. 19. Lose today and it’s hard to see the Hawks winning again.

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Gonzaga: We’ll be in the Kennel today (with our computer) for the matchup with Stanford. Though we leave it up to Jim Allen to get you ready. He has a preview of the game as well as a feature on Tara VanDeveer that traces her history, a history that parallels that of women’s basketball in general. … Jim Meehan is already getting you ready for Tuesday’s game with the history lesson we linked above. Don’t forget, though, GU has a game Monday night against Central Michigan, also in Las Vegas. … Though Gonzaga wasn’t a factor in the team races (Northern Arizona won the men’s, North Carolina State the women’s), James Mwaura set a school record. Chuck Stewart has more in this story. … Around the WCC, BYU won again.

WSU: To kick off Apple Cup week, Colton Clark takes us through the long Pullman journey of linebackers Jahad Woods and Justus Rogers. Don’t miss it. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and college football, Jon Wilner summarizes in the Mercury News what happened over the weekend. … The fact Washington lost at Colorado, despite dominating the statistics, did some weird things with its quarterbacks, and can’t go bowling this year probably has been met with sadness by the WSU faithful. (Just kidding.) The Buffs’ fans, however, are ecstatic. … The Big Game was a matchup of two teams with small win totals. But California came up big with a 41-11 rout of Stanford. … The biggest rout, however, came in the Coliseum where UCLA scored more points against USC than it ever had, winning 62-33. That still isn’t enough for some Chip Kelly critics. … Oregon State earned a shot at winning the North by handling Arizona State 24-10 in Corvallis. The Beavers must defeat Oregon and hope WSU loses. … Of course, Oregon’s loss at Utah was a blow to the Pac-12 (and the Ducks), as the conference won’t have anyone in the playoffs again. But it was a big deal for the Utes, who would like to play in the Rose Bowl someday. Win out and that becomes a reality. … Arizona’s reality is the Wildcats will be hurting when they face Arizona State this weekend and may lose their defensive coordinator after. … In basketball news, Colorado bounced back with a win. … Utah handled Boston College and is 4-0. … Arizona will face fourth-ranked Michigan in the first early test for new coach Tommy Lloyd.

EWU: The sixth-ranked Eagles will find out their playoff fate sometime after 9:30 this morning, when the field is announced on ESPNU. Their 42-38 victory yesterday at Portland State probably ensured they will earn a bye as well. Dan Thompson has the story on the win as well as a notebook. … Around the Big Sky, by winning the Brawl, Montana assured itself of an at-large berth in the FCS playoffs and ruined Montana State’s chance for a conference title. At the same time. … Sacramento State won the championship by dominating UC Davis. The Hornets played the easiest schedule among all Big Sky contenders. … Northern Arizona walloped Cal Poly to end the season. … Weber State got hot in the second half to roll over Northern Colorado, which lost its quarterback.

Idaho: Playing their final game under coach Paul Petrino, the Vandals outlasted host Idaho State 14-0 to earn the win. … Idaho State coach Rob Phencie also was fired this week.

Preps: There was a state title won Saturday, with Deer Park’s girls soccer defeating Seattle Academy for the 1A crown. Joshua Hart has this story. … It was a bad day for local football teams, with Gonzaga Prep’s undefeated season ending in the 4A quarterfinals at Lake Stevens, Mt. Spokane falling to Eastside Catholic in the 3A quarters and Lakeside and Riverside losing in the 1As. Dave Nichols was in attendance at G-Prep’s defeat as well as Mt. Spokane’s. Taylor Newquist put together a roundup of the rest of the football action.

Chiefs: Spokane traveled to Everett, fell behind by three goals early and lost 4-1. Jason Shoot has more in this story.

Seahawks: What will be the keys today?

Kraken: It’s gotten bad for Seattle. It can get worse.

Sounders: With the playoffs beginning Tuesday, Seattle seems to be getting healthier.

Mariners: You have questions? Ryan Divish has answers.

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• We are writing a column today from the Stanford/Gonzaga game. The only thing we can promise is it will contain some outdated references to the 1970s. It’s what we do. … By the way, sorry this was late this morning. We had some issues. Until later …