Jacob Thorpe

Don’t forget: Today is Wednesday and that means it's time to chat.

PULLMAN – After the first weekend of games, it appears that the Sunshine State has the best teams, the best quarterbacks and the most interesting players in the Pac-12. UCLA’s players told us that quarterback Josh Rosen was the real deal, and all he did was have the most impressive debut of any freshman quarterback since Jameis Winston, who later won the Heisman (and Winston redshirted!). The presence of Oregon in the Pac-12 North means an interstate matchup in the Pac-12 championship game is unlikely. But the winner of the annual rivalry game between UCLA and USC seems likely to get a spot in Santa Clara, and maybe the playoffs, if both teams keep playing like they did on Saturday.

Quarterback Luke Falk looked sharp in Washington State's first full practice since last weekend's loss to Portland State.

Last night the Pac-12 Networks aired a beautiful special honoring the life of late WSU president Elson Floyd. Today the Pac-12 made the special available online.

Mondays are always kind of nebulous.

PULLMAN – Too much miscommunication and not enough second-half energy were the results of Washington State’s Monday post-mortem, when the Cougars hoped to look ahead to the upcoming football game at Rutgers but were first asked to deconstruct Saturday’s season-opening loss to Portland State. Just like every action a human takes is the result of an instruction fired through a system of synapses, each snap during a football game is preceded by the rapid transference of bits of information vital to the successful execution of the ensuing play.

Too much miscommunication and not enough second-half energy were the results of Washington State’s Monday post-mortem, when the Cougars hoped to look ahead to the upcoming football game at Rutgers but were first asked to deconstruct Saturday’s season-opening loss to Portland State.

Game notes and depth charts for Washington State's game at Rutgers on Saturday.

The "Pac-12 Sports Report" airs tonight at 9 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks national station and at 10 p.m. on Pac-12 Washington.

Mike Leach addressed the media on Monday to talk about Saturday's loss and the upcoming game at Rutgers.

The Cougars have a short week of practice coming up, because they travel to New Jersey on Thursday. On Sunday, they returned to the practice field.

PULLMAN – Wide receiver Gabe Marks was defiant as he addressed the media members who pressed him about what the Cougars would fix after Washington State’s calamitous loss to Portland State, challenging the idea the Cougars need to change weekday preparations at all. “We came out, we had a bad game. The weather conditions were poor … guys weren’t making plays. It’s not the practice, it’s the day,” Marks said. “You’ve been at our practices, you’ve seen how we practice, right?”

Luke Falk participated in Washington State's practice Sunday night. He was limited but not entirely so, throwing and shadowing Peyton Bender in drills.

Gabe Marks was defiant as he addressed the media members who pressed him about what the Cougars would fix after Washington State’s calamitous loss to Portland State, challenging the idea the Cougars need to change weekday preparations at all.

Plenty of ink was spilled because of yesterday's stunning loss. Let's get to the links.

Final stats and play-by-play from WSU's 24-17 loss to PSU, courtesy of WSU Athletics.

Gabe Marks and Peyton Bender answer questions from the media.

Jeremiah Allison speaks to the media.

Gerard Wicks and Gunnar Eklund answer questions from the media after WSU's 24-17 loss to Portland State.

Mike Leach's postgame press conference.

Notes from WSU's 24-17 loss to Portland State, courtesy of WSU Athletics.