NCAA football

Granted, the rebuilt Pac-12 doesn't officially exist until next summer.

PULLMAN – Washington State may be experiencing a rash of injuries this fall, but the Cougars’ defensive front may be in good shape next season.

PULLMAN – Here is a first look at Washington State’s home game against Louisiana Tech on Saturday.

The new Pac-12 is beginning to resemble the old Pac-12 in one unflattering fashion. It’s early November, and the conference is effectively (but not officially) eliminated from the College Football Playoff race.

MOSCOW, Idaho – At 4-5, with three games remaining, all of them were do-or-die as Idaho sought to qualify for the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the fourth straight year. Facing 11th-ranked University of California Davis, the Vandals made it clear they understood the magnitude of the stakes. They gambled throughout like they had found a pot of house money.

MISSOULA – A full game with redshirt freshman Jake Schakel at quarterback led to big games for Eastern Washington’s receivers.

MISSOULA – The moment didn’t seem just, watching Jake Schakel hold his hands to his helmet at the Montana 13-yard line.

MADISON, Wis – Demond Williams Jr. didn’t have many options.

Welcome to a bye week, the only type of weekend this football season where you can be fairly certain how it will go for Washington State.

For the second straight week, Idaho is facing a make-or-break game against a ranked opponent.

SEATTLE – Here are some things to watch when the No. 24 Washington Huskies (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) travel to face the Wisconsin Badgers (2-6, 0-5) on Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m. on Big Ten Network and the Huskies are favored by 10½ points.

Plus, UCLA and the Rose Bowl tangle, counting UW's ranked wins, TV selections and more.

MISSOULA – If there is one Big Sky football team outside of Montana that knows Michael Wortham well, it is the Eastern Washington Eagles.

PULLMAN – Around the Washington State athletics orbit, there may be fewer cosigns more credible than that from Jack Thompson, the former WSU quarterback who lit up the Pac-10 in the mid-1970s. He did not just help put the Cougars on the map back then. He remains passionate about continuing to do so today.

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Idaho and UC Davis football teams started the season ranked in the top 10 of FCS polls. But they are coming down to the final few games uncomfortably perched on the bubble as they seek to qualify for the FCS playoffs.

For the final time this season, Washington and Oregon are heading across the Rockies for Big Ten affairs that will shape their postseason fate. They aren't traveling together, but they could have shared a chartered flight. The Ducks play Iowa at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, while the Huskies face Wisconsin an hour later. Rain and wind are expected in both locales.

Like most of his Eastern Washington teammates, defensive end Tariq May has never played at Washington-Grizzly Stadium in Missoula. So, Saturday’s game there will be his first.

SEATTLE – Rylon Dillard-Allen was around six or seven years old the first time someone called him Batman.

As early as when he was in fourth grade, it was clear to those around him that Jake Schakel was going to be a quarterback.