A Grip on Sports: Would it be an upset if WSU upset Washington’s hopes for a CFP berth with a win Saturday? Yes, by every definition

A GRIP ON SPORTS • The word “upset” can mean many things. It can reflect your mood on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving as you try to navigate the Costco parking lot. It can describe what happened to the pumpkin pie, thanks to an inadvertent elbow, as you were trying to put it in your basket. Or it could just mean a Washington State victory in the final Pac-12 Apple Cup on Saturday.

•••••••

• Rivalry games become such not solely because of geography. Or history, though that plays a huge part. Mainly because of upsets.

In this case that word has a specific meaning: When the team that is expected to win, doesn’t.

It doesn’t always have to be the underdog school, if the rivalry has one. The Apple Cup certainly does. Nothing personifies that more as we head into this year’s edition than the two schools’ future path. Washington, which has won 75 of the 114 meetings between the schools, heads off to the Big Ten playing the overdog’s role to perfection, with swaggering walk, condescending tone and everything.

Washington State, still looking for a 2024-and-beyond home, plays its role too, the plucky underdog who rarely wins, rarely quits and way-too-often blows a seemingly insurmountable lead to the big school across the state.

Don’t argue. The last thing has happened often enough there is even a slur for it, though the pejorative’s connotations have metastasized, like any cancer, well beyond the parameters of this game.

The only way to eradicate it? With upsets.

The Cougars have posted a few over the recent years. Enough, probably, to keep your interest alive.

Need proof? Well, when they won in 2008 in what has become known as the “Crapple Cup,” the winless Huskies – 0-10 – were a touchdown favorite over the one-win and hosting Cougars – 1-10. Yes, really. And yet, a WSU team that lost eight Pac-10 games by 25 points or more, won 16-13 in double overtime. The hometown fans stormed the field.

Funny thing about that game. At one of the lowest points in Washington State football history – there are have been enough of them to put together a Mount Rushmore, but that is a task for someone with more of a historical perspective – the Cougars finished off a run of four Apple Cup wins in five seasons.

That’s their best spell ever.

And it came on the heels of a stretch in which WSU won 10 games three consecutive seasons and, somehow, three of its eight losses in that span came in the Apple Cup. If we were allowed to use initials here, we would use three, starting with a W, followed by a T. And the last letter wouldn’t stand for foul, though that rivalry stretch might just be the Cougars’ foulest in some ways.

Yes, even worse than the times Washington won eight consecutive games. Or the current stretch in which WSU has just two wins in the past 12 years, losing in every way imaginable, including upsets. And to think, the Cougars have been pretty good in that stretch.

Heck, there was even that one year in which GameDay came to Pullman, Minshew Mania swept the nation and Pullman was rocking like it was 1997 all over again. Ah, 1997. The first Rose Bowl in a million years, sure, but also a 41-35 Washington State Apple Cup victory in Husky Stadium.

But in 2018 the Huskies upset Mike Leach’s best team, winning 28-15 in a snow-covered Martin Stadium as a field goal underdog. Not really the biggest of upsets, sure, but by the rules of football engagement, an upset in fact.

Saturday the spread will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 or 17 points. Two touchdowns and a field goal. What if Cameron Ward races 47 yards down the left sideline and plants the ball in the end zone as time expires, knocking UW out of the CFP race? Will it be the biggest upset of the series’ 123-year history? Could be. Though we’re pretty sure Phillip Bobo, Gordon Riese and Jeff Tuel would disagree.

•••

WSU: Not a lot else to pass along here, though Greg Woods does have this story on Nakia Watson’s resurgence last week in the win over Colorado. It comes at an opportune time. … Pat Chun spoke with Seattle Times columnist Matt Calkins yesterday. … We also wanted to call attention to this piece by Jeff Nusser on the Apple Cup’s continuation, as it represents the feelings of a few Cougar fans, we’re sure. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, we can pass along Jon Wilner’s power rankings as they appeared in today’s S-R as well as Wilner’s musings in the Mercury News, from the upcoming postseason football awards to bowl projections to last night’s College Football Playoff rankings. … Speaking of the last, Washington leapfrogged Florida State into the top four, though the committee chairman swore it had nothing to do with FSU losing its quarterback to a season-ending injury. It should have played something of a part, right? … Could there be CFP chaos this season? … Oregon State will try to play its part in making that happen this week, when the Beavers head up Interstate 5 (or do they take U.S. 99 West) to play Oregon. Guess who won last season? The Ducks have so much more at stake, which is a key element within any rivalry, even those currently without a name. … Jonathan Smith talked about his Oregon State future yesterday. … Deion Sanders is OK with changing his Colorado roster from top to bottom. He’s also not OK with offering huge chunks of NIL money to do it. … This week the Buffs face Utah, who will be heading to the Big 12 as well next season. … UCLA’s offense seems to be finally clicking. … Doug Haller’s story in The Athletic on the Territorial Cup trophy is our favorite read of the day. Don’t miss it, even if you are not an Arizona or Arizona State fan. … In basketball news, No. 18 Colorado melted down the stretch and lost to Florida State in overtime. … Arizona’s roster has some experience, even within the freshmen ranks. … Overall, the Bay Area is not keeping up in NIL. … The Oregon women bounced back with a road win in Nevada. … A freshman has given Arizona a spark. … USC is back among the nation’s best teams. … So is Stanford.

Gonzaga: As we said yesterday, the Zags needed to defeat Syracuse to set up one more valuable game today. They did, bouncing back from the loss to No. 2 Purdue and romping in the second half. Dave Boling covers all that ground in this column. … Theo Lawson has the story of the 76-57 win as well as the recap. … Jim Meehan has Tuesday’s difference makers and looks at how well GU’s offense runs when it’s not turning the ball over. … Tyler Tjomsland takes care of the visual report in this photo gallery. … Jim also has the duty tonight, covering another game in what’s become an outstanding series of them between the Bulldogs and UCLA. He previews tonight’s battle as well as defining the key matchup. … The Bruins bounced back as well, defeating host school Chaminade on Tuesday in a game that was tougher than Mick Cronin would have liked.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, the Big Sky football awards were handed out yesterday. Most of them ended up at Montana, but we also can pass along award stories from Montana State, Northern Colorado, Portland State, Weber State and Idaho State. … UC Davis being omitted from the FCS playoffs is still not going over well in Davis. … In basketball news, Northern Colorado won in overtime in Cancun.

Seahawks: The Hawks were a little shorthanded at running back last week and it showed. … Geno Smith is limited at practice. Will he be limited on Thursday night? … Brock Purdy is all healed up. Which has been bad news for the 49ers’ opponents. When healthy, San Francisco has so many offensive weapons. … In 2013, this week meant the Vikings.

Kraken: Seattle is down a goaltender due to injury.

Mariners: What should we expect from Julio Rodriguez in 2024?

•••       

• We know what we are getting our older sister for Christmas this year. We’re taking here to see the one 1960s’ icon band she’s seen less than any of them. Don’t any of you tell her. Until later …