One more week

Eastern Washington kicks off the college football season in just a couple days and we’re only one week away from Cougar football. So what better time to preview the college football season? Are we really starting a new season, however? Or just starting the game-playing portion of a season that never stops? In the paper today our college football preview looks at 24/7/365 enterprise that is college football.

That and more are after the jump.

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My contribution looks at the never-ending efforts of Washington State wide receiver River Cracraft who is always thinking about football, even on a rare week off. … Because it’s a college football preview we also have some WSU storylines to keep an eye on this season. … John Blanchette talked to former WSU coach Jim Walden who says that the increasing demands of college football aren’t necessarily a good thing . … We also included a column from Chris Dufresne of the LA Times who says that conference expansion is propelling some to the top and leaving others in the dust. … Jim Allen’s profile on Eastern Washington’s Dylan Zylstra shows just how hard the Eagles have to stay on top. … Jim also has some EWU storylines. … In his Whitworth Thomas Clouse shows how much of a demand college football can be for coaches, and their wives . … He’s also got some Whitworth storylines . … Josh Wright shows how college football’s demands are just family business for Idaho’s Paul Petrino. … He’s also got Idaho storylines .

Whew. Now that you’re all caught up …

— The Cougars had a closed walk-through yesterday so no practice report. Instead we took a look at what freshmen could play for the Cougars this season in this blog post and story .

— Washington hopes its experienced offensive line will give up fewer sacks this season. … The Huskies have added some big-name opponents to their future schedules.

— Arizona State will need a big year from Edmond Boateng to help offset the loss of so many defensive starters.

— Cal and Colorado’s quarterbacks are flying under the radar .

— Previewing Oregon’s final scrimmage .

— Sean Mannion is learning to use his words .

— UCLA’s Brett Hundley has an unlikely partner for film study.
— No. 99 should be back for USC by the start of the season.
— Utah’s backfield got a much-needed speed injection .