The Ernie Kent era officially begins tonight

After tonight Ernie Kent will no longer be Washington State’s new basketball coach. He’ll just be the coach.

The season begins tonight in Texas as the Cougars take on UTEP. We’ve got a story advancing the game , which on paper could be a tricky matchup for WSU. The Miners are receiving votes in both major polls, and while KenPom isn’t as high on UTEP, he’s not too high on the Cougars, either.

But it’s a new year with a new (for now) coach and if Kent and the Cougars can pull out a road win in the season-opener then it will be a great sign for the program moving forward.

More links are after the jump.

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— The football team held its first practice of the bye week and we have a report and a story on the Cougars’ Thursday Night Football scrimmages.

— A couple ESPN writers agree that WSU is ASU’s toughest test until the Duel in the Desert.

— Washington is able to put Shaq Thompson back on defense thanks to the emergence of another running back .

— Arizona is reaching into its cornerback depth .

— And ASU’s cornerbacks are just getting better .

— At halftime I was feeling pretty good about picking USC to cover. Then California had to mount a comeback that came up short.

— Colorado’s Markeis Reed is tired of waiting to play.

— Injured Oregon tight end Pharoah Brown is recovering in Cleveland .

— Oregon State suffered from some miscommunication on defense against WSU.

— David Shaw explained why his most explosive player isn’t getting touches on offense.

— UCLA will root for other teams to lose during its bye week.

— USC’s Josh Shaw finally comes clean about how he injured his ankles.

— Stanford’s defense will be a tough test for Utah’s offense.