Is nothing sacred any more?
PIRATES, VANDALS, EAGLES, HUSKIES FOOTBALL
When I first moved to Spokane more than two decades ago, one thing I knew about the town was it's the home of Whitworth College. A high school friend had attended the North Side school, so I took to following the Pirates' football.
Following was right, because I only rarely got out to the Pine Bowl for a game. But there was one thing I learned quickly: the Pirates were remarkably consistent. Every year they lost to Linfield.
It become a tradition, you know, like the slick pumpkins crushed after their rolls down Freya hill. You didn't like it, but you knew it was coming and you kind of looked forward to it.
Comfort football, if you will.
So what do those darn Pirates do Saturday? They go and win in McMinnville. Oh, they tried to keep the tradition alive. They even left the offense in Spokane to give Linfield a chance.
But no, those liberal Oregonians wanted change, and they were willing to just give the game away (just like a bunch of tree huggers). Seventy-three turnovers later, Whitworth had the 17-13 win and quite probably the Northwest Conference title.
Another tradition all shot to heck. What's next? Sell the school to Methodists?
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Dennis Erickson would take someone giving his team a game right now. In the past two weeks, Idaho has been outscored 113-17, culminated in Saturday's 45-7 home loss to Nevada.
For more, check Jim Meehan's blog.
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Eastern would also love a win, any win, after Saturday's 19-17loss at coach-less Weber State. The Eagles fell victim to a couple of trick plays in the defeat, and coach Paul Wulff sounded a little miffed.
"It's frustrating when you do bone-headed things and don't give yourself a chance. It gets a little tiresome when you don't execute very well," he said.
As always, check Dave Trimmer's blog for more information.
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The season is running out on the Washington Huskies, as Oregon returned to form by running over UW in an easy 34-14 victory, the Dawgs' fifth consecutive loss.
There are lot's of stories in the Seattle-area papers, including this game story from the Times, one from the News Tribune, a Steve Kelley column, a John Sleeper column and this sidebar on Jonathan Stewart.