NCAA football

Welcome to the Hotline’s weekly assessment of the eight teams in the rebuilt Pac-12 that imagines them competing in the conference this season. (We’ll even recognize one lucky team as the regular-season champion.) The power rankings will be published each Sunday throughout the regular season.

PULLMAN – In the days leading up to Washington State’s final game of the season, a road test against a surging James Madison team, it felt fair to wonder about what the next step for Jimmy Rogers’ team was.

Cal fired ninth-year head coach Justin Wilcox on Sunday, a day after the Bears’ stunning 31-10 loss to rival Stanford. Wilcox was 48-55 and had not finished with a winning record since 2019, though the Bears are currently 6-5.

CONWAY, Ark. – Central Arkansas scored the first 14 points and led by double digits the rest of the way in a 92-65 victory over the Eastern Washington men’s basketball team on Sunday at the Farris Center.

PASADENA, Calif. – If a season could be summarized in one single play, it would be this one for UCLA.

PASADENA, Calif. — In the end, the grass didn’t matter.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – In recent practices, Washington State defenders have been working on getting out of their breaks faster. They’ve been working on trusting their eyes, giving themselves permission to go make a play when they see an opportunity.

In a 24-20 loss to No. 21 James Madison on Saturday, you could point to a pair of back-breaking touchdowns the Cougs’ defense surrendered.

A small, informal poll of students who were at Eastern Washington University in the early 1980s reveals this consensus: The young Colin Cowherd was clearly different, and in possession of the stuff to make him a success wherever his life led.

A dispirited, disjointed and increasingly desperate Idaho team found itself at the mercy of Idaho State, which took consistent advantage of a short passing attack plus several long plays and limited the Vandals to a pedestrian 259 yards of offense for the game while amassing 404 of its own. The Bengals put Idaho in a virtually bottomless hole in the first half.

Three drives into Saturday’s game in San Luis Obispo, California, the first start of Kaden Rolfsness’ college football career, wasn’t off to a great beginning.

For the third time this season, Washington State traveled across the country and gave itself a chance to knock off a ranked team. And once again, the Cougars couldn’t find enough plays in the later stages of the game and suffered a heartbreaking defeat, losing narrowly to a heavily favored opponent. WSU gave up the lead in the fourth quarter and got stopped on its final drive, falling 24-20 against No. 21 James Madison on Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Cougs (5-6) need a win next weekend against Oregon State to earn bowl eligibility. The Dukes (10-1) stayed alive in the College Football Playoff conversation.

Caleb Francl

The purple and yellow streamers descended onto the field and scattered near Jimmy Rogers, whose Washington State team prides itself on limiting big plays on defense. The Cougars had done it so well all season, blossoming into one of the nation’s best units, a brick wall at all the right times.

Only a few minutes after his Washington State team fell apart in the fourth quarter of a loss to Virginia, coach Jimmy Rogers sat at a table and discussed the result with reporters. The crowd noise had clearly bothered the Cougars, who committed five penalties in the fourth quarter alone, leading to a late collapse.

Here is what to watch for when Washington State takes on No. 21 James Madison at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Washington (7-3, 4-3 Big Ten) at UCLA (3-7, 3-4)

Eastern Washington head coach Aaron Best likes to point out that a football team’s win-loss record is an imperfect tool in discerning just how well that team has played.

When his Washington State club is looking at another long flight to play a team from another walk of life, Tucker Large doesn’t get too creative. While some teammates might watch movies or listen to music, the veteran safety likes to keep things businesslike.