A Grip on Sports: The Cougars will have their final conference visit to Pasadena today as college football takes a deep breath

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We’re getting in and out of here quick today, mainly due to Washington State’s noon start time against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. One thing the Cougars’ bus driver won’t miss in the future is fighting the L.A. traffic. Leaving early is always a must – no matter how short the trip.

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• The final Pac-12 visit – as we know it – to the Rose Bowl for the Cougs? How can that be? No matter how much we lament it, and lament the end of so many college football and basketball and baseball and whatever traditions, they are going away. Those of us who just follow college sports had no say in the matter, even if some nameless TV executive somewhere alleges we should have watched more of “our” team’s games. Didn’t work for WSU, did it?

But we’re not going to flail that dying horse today. It isn’t winning that race no matter what. We’ll let it rest.

Instead we’re going to apologize for something we did earlier this week and didn’t even notice we messed up until this morning.

We made a reference to an Eastern Washington road game this week. When, of course, it is next week. Yep, we misread the schedule and didn’t notice the Eagles had a bye this week. Pretty silly of us. If it ruined anyone’s Saturday planning we’re sorry. But just think of it as you’ve received the gift of free time. And if you have the Pac-12 Networks, you can watch the Cougars and the Bruins play at noon.

Or wait until later this afternoon when you can watch Colorado face Arizona State in Tempe. All those newly minted Buffalo fans – or should we say Deion Sanders’ old fans? ­– may have trouble today finding the game, if they live in Texas or Georgia or have DirecTV in their house. It is also on the Pac-12 Networks.

Whatever, you’re Saturday is free. Unlike ours. We’ll be braving the 90-plus heat of Southern California’s early October to sit in the middle of a bunch of former UCLA athletes and watch a game with 30,000 – if that many – of our closest friends.

After it’s over, we’ll race back to our base for the week – our sister’s home – and write a different type of TV Take, one that’s only mention of a TV is that we didn’t use one. (One caveat: Our fairly new MacBook Pro’s hard drive began making a noise this morning. That is never good. We could be on the shelf soon.) Between now and then? We’ll share links.

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WSU: Greg Woods was confronted with Friday afternoon L.A. traffic yesterday and seemed a bit surprised by its intensity. Nothing like that in Pocatello or Pullman, hey Greg? And nothing like watching a college football game in the most-storied place in the game, a place that’s held for more than 100 years what WSU alum Keith Jackson eloquently termed “the granddaddy of them all.” Greg has a preview of the final Pac-12 game between the Bruins and Cougars as well as his two-minute drill and his pick. We agree with Greg that Washington State will win, and we’re guessing it will come down to the final possession. … UCLA knows it has to control Cameron Ward. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, before we get to the day’s three other matchups, we want to pass along this Jon Wilner mailbag in the Mercury News as well as a recruiting roundup he shares. … If you were wondering which conference CEO put forward the idea of asking ESPN for $50 million a year, it was Utah’s Taylor Randall. And he never thought it would do any more than serve as a starting point. John Canzano has that news. … Christian Caple has some thoughts on Washington’s Big Ten schedules. But then again, the school still hasn’t given the Pac-12 formal notice it is leaving. Just saying. And being sarcastic. … The Big Ten decided not to have the West Coast teams play a round-robin each year. … In basketball news, UCLA is building a new identity one practice at a time. … Now on to the other games on this fine Saturday:

• Colorado at Arizona State (3:30 p.m., Pac-12 Networks): As we mentioned, the hype shall be muted. Thanks to Larry Scott’s handiwork. Oh, well. The Buffs need to show they can win as a big favorite. And Arizona State? The reeling Sun Devils may treat this game as their bowl. It could be a tough one for Colorado on ASU’s Hall of Fame weekend.

• No. 15 Oregon State at California (7 p.m., Pac-12 Networks): The Beavers’ defense is more than capable of pitching a shutout, but the Bears aren’t weak on that side of the ball either. It should be a defensive battle in Berkeley. Which means, of course, the smart money is probably on the over.

• Arizona at No. 9 USC (7:30 p.m., ESPN): A few Arizona Wildcats transferred over the winter. As happened to every school. But some key ones left Tucson and ended up at USC. Today is kind of a reunion for them. We’ll see what happens. Maybe an upset?

Idaho: The Vandals should roll today. After all, host Cal Poly hasn’t been good for a while, Paul Wulff hasn’t had a lot of time to turn the Mustangs around and, well, third-ranked Idaho is one of the best teams in the nation. Colton Clark has a preview of the game. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, former EWU star Cooper Kupp should finally be playing again for the Rams tomorrow. … There is just one conference game today featuring two ranked teams, No. 20 UC Davis hosting No. 17 Montana. … Northern Colorado has a bye, its first under the new coaching staff. … The same is true at Idaho State. … Weber State has Northern Arizona visiting in what’s now a rivalry game.

Preps: It was a busy Friday, with Dave Nichols kicking off the S-R’s coverage with a game story from Central Valley. He watched Mt. Spokane pull away from the Bears in a 23-13 victory. Colin Mulvany was also there and has this photo gallery. … Clarkston made themselves at home at ONE Spokane Stadium with a 39-12 win over Rogers. Steve Christilaw has the coverage. … Dave returns with a roundup of the rest of the local action.

Chiefs: Spokane fell 4-2 last night to the Seattle Thunderbirds at the Arena, but that is just part of Dave’s story. The main point? The Chiefs scored twice in a minute. And never again.

Seahawks: Jamal Adams avoided any punishment from his outburst last Monday aimed toward the NFL’s concussion doctor. His public apologize played a big role. … Hey, we have more on Devon Witherspoon and the rest of the Hawks’ rookies. … A bye this early? The Seahawks needed it.

Reign: Megan Rapinoe played her final NWSL home match last night before a huge Lumen Field crowd. It ended scoreless but that wasn’t the most important thing. The long goodbyes were. Even though Rapinoe says it is just the beginning.

Sounders: Seattle welcomes in Vancouver today, hoping to keep its momentum going.

Kraken: The exhibition season is over. Roster cuts are coming. Then the regular season.

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• As we said, we’re hoping our computer hangs in there. Not just for today, but for as long as we are on the road. If it does, we will be back this evening. And tomorrow, even if it is our birthday. Until then …