A Grip on Sports: No, the bowls aren’t all dead just yet but they are, as Miracle Max would say, mostly dead

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is somewhat of a lull this week. Before a storm? Sure. Always happens, even in the sports schedule. But this week seems different.

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• We’ve thought about this a lot and have come to a conclusion: The expanded playoffs won’t kill the bowls. They are already dead. At least zombie-dead.

They stumble around ESPN and its stations, looking to eat your brain but are way to slow anymore to have an impact. It’s because they have been starved of the things that once made them somewhat relevant.

Stars. Rare intersectional matchups. School spirit. National significance.

It is way too easy these days to escape their clutches on your time and attention. Maybe old habits will die hard. The ratings may not reflect the zombie-nature just yet. But it will.

Opt-outs and transfers and realignment have, and will, sap the bowls of their fading interest. Not their life-blood, certainly. That – read, money – comes from the self-proclaimed WorldWide Leader. As long as the suits in Bristol see a profit from televising the bowls, they will continue. Live on in their desultory state, somewhat interesting to fans of the schools but losing touch with the rest of the sporting community, as the NBA and college hoops and the NHL and the newest hot Apple+ series eats into the audience.

Take tonight’s Holiday Bowl, for instance.

Anyone who watched USC play this season knows there was one reason to tune in. Caleb Williams. OK, maybe there were two. The Trojans’ excuse-me-as-I-get-out-of-your-way defense. One was spectacular, the other laughable.

Now only one draw remains. The NFL’s most coveted quarterback isn’t playing, despite being healthy. You can’t blame him. USC’s offensive line is offensive, in the bad way, and every snap Williams took down the stretch put his future livelihood at risk.

The defense’s woes certainly tugged the rug out from under Alex Grinch’s livelihood (fixed from earlier). The former Washington State defensive coordinator lost his most-recent job late in the season, though the change didn’t change anything.

Heck, Louisville, USC’s opponent tonight in San Diego, couldn’t score its last time out against Florida State, despite the Seminoles playing a third-string quarterback and constantly presenting Louisville with great field position. But the Cardinals will probably put up 35 points without breaking a sweat, even though they start a former Cal quarterback. And every Pac-12 fan knows the Bears aren’t a quarterback factory these days.

Why watch? Unless you are a slow-down-for-accidents type of person (or someone who ties their white USC sweater around their neck when the temperature falls to 68 degrees), there really isn’t a reason. Just like there are even fewer reasons to watch any bowl these days.

We mentioned Florida State above. The 13-0 ACC-champ Seminoles where axed out of the playoff picture. It seemed unfair. Wrong. But the committee that made the decision gave them a chance to show everyone how bad the choice was. It matched them with 12-1 Georgia, quite possibly the best team in the nation despite its loss in the SEC title game to Alabama.

All FSU had to do was win Saturday’s Orange Bowl and the Seminoles could put up a national championship banner. Heck, claiming a title out of the blue is something Alabama has done a few times over the years.

But just about everyone on the Florida State defense, the best unit in the country, has decided to skip the “meaningless” New Year’s Six bowl game, one with as rich a history as any east of Pasadena. The defections, which also cost FSU its only healthy (and competent) quarterback, makes a game with what could have been an incredible backstory, irrelevant. Or even-more irrelevant, if you prefer.

Unless you are a fan of zombie movies. Then you will feel right at home.

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WSU: Around the Pac-12 and the nation, nothing irrelevant about the game Washington is playing on Monday. Nor any opt-outs. The Huskies face Texas on the road – the Sugar Bowl is about a 500-mile drive from Austin and a 38-hour one from UW – in the semifinals. … Washington State’s and Oregon State’s future is always forefront on John Canzano’s mind these days. … Oregon has lost some opt-outs like everyone else but the Ducks have some key players still playing in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix. And some new additions for next season. … Arizona’s bowl game happens in San Antonio on Thursday. The Wildcats face Oklahoma. … Stanford is trying to rebuild. As is Colorado. Honestly, though, we have trouble caring. … Utah felt disappointment carrying the Pac-12 banner for the final time. … In basketball news, the women’s race should be a tight one. … Oregon State isn’t ranked but it should be a part of it. … The men’s standings should feature Arizona on top and then everyone else. … UCLA is suffering a crisis of confidence.

Gonzaga: It’s Christmas-time. A good time to check in with how former GU players are doing overseas. Jim Meehan does exactly that this morning. … Braden Huff might be part of that roundup someday, but, as Theo Lawson tells us, he’s currently the WCC’s freshman of the week a second time. … Former Gonzaga player Oumar Ballo has found a home away from his Mali home at Arizona. … Elsewhere in the WCC, a former Santa Clara player is hitting the floor often for the Warriors.

Idaho: The Vandals begin their first Big Sky schedule under new coach Alex Pribble on Thursday. They host Sacramento State. Peter Harriman has a conference preview focused on UI’s defense. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Lake City High grad Kolton Mitchell is out for the season with an injury at Idaho State. … Montana enters the conference basketball season on a roll. … Portland State opens at Eastern in what is the best matchup opening night. … Finally, the second-seeded Grizzlies have a couple weeks to get ready for the FCS title game against No. 1 South Dakota State. … Oh, wait. We also have a Montana State football story to pass along as well.

Preps: No story to link here but we wanted to call your attention to the holiday break’s biggest basketball tournament. The Eagle Classic starts this morning early at West Valley High and continues to late at night. The three-day tourney mainly features the area’s smaller schools but there are great matchups. If high school hoops interests you, there are other tournaments on the schedule this week as well.

Seahawks: Russell Wilson may be gone but the Hawks seem to have kept his late-game magic when he departed for Denver. … Pittsburgh comes to Seattle on Sunday. … In 2013, the opponent was Arizona. … Injuries may keep some key players out this week.

Mariners: Mitch Garver is a good start. But Ryan Divish echoes everyone when he writes there is more roster work to be done this offseason.

Kraken: There is a father-son connection for the Winter Classic.

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• We tried to watch bowl games yesterday. But “tried” was the operative word. The Kansas/UNLV game reminded us of a spring scrimmage. Flags everywhere. Mistakes every play or two. Not as warm as one would like. And completely irrelevant. Until later …