A Grip on Sports: Some things that happened Sunday surprised us, others not so much, but that’s way it is in college sports

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Outrage. Angry. Disappointment. And worry. That’s what we witnessed yesterday. And don’t get us started talking about the College Football Playoff committee’s decision to exclude Florida State.

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• Did you know Alabama has won 18 national titles in football. Scratch that. The school in Tuscaloosa claims 18 national titles. There are a handful of titles the Crimson Tide just allege to own, including 1941, in which they finished 20th in the Associated Press poll.

We add that historical context to give context to yesterday’s decision that sent the Tide to the four-team invitational over an undefeated Florida State. Why? Because we really want the Seminoles, a team we’ve never rooted for before, to win the Orange Bowl over Georgia. To shut out the Bulldogs. To run the ball down their throat. To embarrass those folks who run college football.

You know, the same folks who look at the hinterlands of the Northwest and laugh.

They all laughed at UCF in 2017, after the undefeated Knights were left out of the playoffs, won the Peach Bowl over Auburn and claimed a national title. A team from the AAC claiming the national title? How gauche. No one in their right mind would recognize that, right?

But what if the team that finishes undefeated, with three wins over teams from the conference that Alabama won, you know, happens to be undefeated? And played in the ACC? Will its national title have more legitimacy?

Maybe not, but it will be one more pinprick that helps bleed the hypocritical nature of college football dry.

Wait. Who are we kidding? No matter who is in charge, the supply of blood in that creature is inexhaustible. It will live on no matter who is in charge, whether the players are paid or not, whether there is a super league or not, whether what we now know as “college football” becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of ESPN/Fox/Comcast or not.

• The saddest part of Sunday? The statement on X from injured Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis, whose broken leg was cited by the committee as the sole reason the Seminoles were excluded from the playoffs.

“devastated. Heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!”

What does he have to be sorry for, actually? Hopefully, he won’t carry regret through the rest of his life. The injury wasn’t his fault. Nor was the decision to exclude the Noles. Without ever having even met the man, we know we will be rooting for him from here on out.

• Speaking of rooting, the 6,000 in McCarthey Athletic Center yesterday made their preference known. Loudly at times. Part of that was a sold-out student section, something that rarely happens at women’s games. Part of it was, maybe, student Henry Seward’s national-anthem homage to Jimi Hendrix on the guitar, which was met with a loud chorus of applause (and had us wondering how many season ticket holders actually saw Hendrix’s performance at Woodstock).

Most of it, though, was how dominating the Zags played in a 96-78 victory, especially in the second half. The Cardinal, ranked third in the nation, had to play the final 26 minutes without their best player, Cameron Brink, an All-American not only in description but in title as well. But even if the country’s best 6-foot-3 stretch four was available, we’re not sure it would have mattered concerning the outcome.

This was the Gonzaga team coach Lisa Fortier knew was there – but had yet to see. A veteran squad, playing aggressively and free on both ends. There were splashes of it in their overtime road loss at Washington State – another ranked Pac-12 team – and in their win over Alabama in Katy, Texas, last month.

But nothing like this. Nothing like what they showed in running the third-ranked team in America out of the Kennel. This was the best the Zags have looked in at least a couple seasons. And marked them as a team to be reckoned with until late March at least.

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WSU: The transfer portal is open. Former Cougar quarterback Cam Ward is the No. 1 or No. 2 target out there – if he stays in college. To replace him, to restock the roster overall, Jake Dickert not only has to navigate the NIL waters in a smaller boat than many of his peers, he has to find the right fit. Greg Woods has this story looking at Dickert’s task, especially in the high school ranks. The early signing period opens Dec. 20. … Gardner Minshew won’t be the Colts’ quarterback next season. But he’s making the most of his time as an injury replacement, throwing a game-winning touchdown pass yesterday. That nugget leads off Taylor Newquist’s column covering NFL locals. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, the big news is Washington earning the No. 2 seed in the four-team tournament. But then again, the conference’s first representative in years was devalued a bit. With Michigan at No. 1, it was sent to the Rose Bowl to avoid giving Alabama a home-field advantage. UW has to play in the Sugar Bowl, which is a long days drive from Austin, Texas, sure, but a heck of a lot closer than Seattle. Oh, and there is the Steve Sarkisian angle. … Kalen DeBoer is on top of his world. … By the way, the CFP isn’t built for the chaos of this season. Jon Wilner has thoughts about that. So do many others, from near and far and everywhere in-between. Have fun reading. At least next year there will be 12 teams. … Oregon leads a contingent of six other conference teams headed to bowls. Wilner looks at all of the stops. The Ducks’ Fiesta Bowl opponent, Liberty, isn’t what one would call a well-known foe. But at least Bo Nix has told Dan Lanning he is going to play. … Oregon State heads to El Paso to play Notre Dame, which would have been a great matchup a month ago. Now the Beavers are depleted in many ways. … Utah will face Northwestern in the Las Vegas Bowl. … Cal’s late surge led it to the Independence Bowl. … UCLA and Boise State (with a somewhat new coach in charge) will face off in the L.A. Bowl at SoFi Stadium. … USC, with or without Caleb Williams, is headed to the Holiday Bowl against Louisville. … It looks as if Arizona State has a new offensive coordinator. We missed the fact former EWU coach Beau Baldwin was fired. … Arizona and Oklahoma will meet in the Alamo Bowl. … There will be transfer portal stories from many places starting today. … In basketball news, Pepperdine was no match for Colorado in Boulder. … Arizona State handled USF with ease. … Arizona should be No. 1 today. … The Oregon women were dominated on the boards in a loss to Baylor. … Finally, the Stanford women will play for the NCAA soccer title tonight in North Carolina.

Gonzaga: We linked Greg Lee’s game story from the 96-78 win Sunday above. We do it again here. … If you want, you can also read our column from the game. … There also stories from the Bay Area. … The win over USC in Las Vegas went a long way, for some reason, in defining the men’s team’s identity. Not among the Zags. But nationally. Jim Meehan has more in this rewind of the game.

Idaho: Fifth-seeded Albany will be in Moscow on Saturday for a 7 p.m. FCS quarterfinal game against the fourth-seeded Vandals. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana is gearing up to host Furman. … Northern Arizona has hired a new football coach. … In basketball, the Montana State women fell to Portland. … The Sacramento State men lost to Long Beach State.

Chiefs: Three consecutive home losses have Spokane reeling a bit. Dave Nichols was in the Arena last night and has the coverage.

Mariners: Speaking of reeling, the constant salary dump to start the offseason has done that to M’s fans. Most fanbases would look at Sunday’s trade of starter Marco Gonzales, outfielder Jarred Kelenic and first baseman Evan White to the Braves, along with an earlier trade of third baseman Eugenio Suarez, and see them as precursors of something big to come. Not in Seattle. The default position, bred into the fanbase by years of it being true, is the salary dumps are being made to line the pockets of ownership. We’ll see. … One other, non-trade note. Lou Piniella fell one vote shy of the Hall of Fame again Sunday.

Seahawks: The Hawks are no longer in the NFC playoff field. They will have to win to get back in.  

Kraken: Time is running out for Seattle in many ways.

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• Hope your Monday is going well. At least better than FSU coach Mike Norvell’s. That’s a pretty low bar, admittedly. Until later …