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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

A Grip on Sports: New Mexico snowed under the Cougar defense and blanketed the offense enough in the second half to end WSU’s CFP hopes

A GRIP ON SPORTS • By the time I got out of bed this morning, the snow that blanketed our home late last night had melted away. Allegory? Metaphor? Symbol? Washington State’s football fans might see it as any of them. Though in what way is up to interpretation.

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• Does the melt symbolize the Cougars lost College Football Playoff hopes? Those certainly vanished in a cloud of New Mexico dust near midnight in Albuquerque, as the Lobos ran past Washington State, ranked 18th by the CFP committee last week, 38-35 on Saturday.

Or did the snow itself symbolize something? As always, it heralds seasonal change. Was it a harbinger of what was ahead when it began falling early in the second half around our home? Did it herald the rest of the game would be a slog, one the Cougars were not up for in Albuquerque’s altitude?

Sure. All those things. And this, too. It was just snow. It’s mid-November. It happens. So do Cougar road losses. They are not related.

Saturday’s loss had more to do with 19th-ranked (by the Associated Press) WSU’s inability to do little things well – run fits, John Mateer’s loose passing fundamentals, outside contain, a lack of faith in the running game, poor time management – added up to one big thing.

When the sun dawned this morning, as it always does, win or lose, Washington State was no longer part of the college football conversation. Not just the playoffs. The entire conversation. Which makes a lot of people outside the Pacific Northwest – and some inside, mainly wearing purple – happy.

The big dudes of the game no longer have to yield any of their all-important media moments to that inconsequential school way out there in the middle of nowhere. Forget the I-95 corridor. There isn’t even an Interstate within 80 miles of Pullman. Good riddance.

That this Cougar team made those folks even have to examine its resume until the snow flew is an accomplishment in itself. One worth praising. A joy the Wazzu faithful will come to appreciate more as the winter wears on. Maybe some time in December as they walk by a Texas river in their short sleeves.

We’ll see.

• Winning on the road is hard. And the way the game was officiated made it even harder. Heck, it almost seemed at times the Mountain West was looking to avenge WSU (and Oregon State) poaching four of its schools by killing the Cougars’ CFP hopes.

But that’s just crazy talk. Conspiracy theories may be mainstream in politics these days, but not in the pristine world of college sports. There’s no way a conference would try to manipulate outcomes to fit any pre-conceived goal, is there? Just because a bunch of money is on the line? Or because of some sense of outrage?

Again, crazy. Just like a couple flags that killed two huge, late WSU plays Saturday night. Though odd in themselves, they weren’t part of some conspiracy. Wrong? Maybe. The result of incompetence? Possibly. But not because of anything else. WSU having its dreams of being in the CFP conversation until early December partially ruined by an inopportune flag ­– or an incorrect one – just seems like icing on the Mountain West’s cake.

For example, as the Cougars’ 14-point halftime lead was melting away in the third quarter, the defense did its job, forcing a punt deep in New Mexico territory. Tony Freeman fielded the line drive at the WSU 32, broke up the middle, veered to the left sideline and finally was run out of bounds at the Lobo 24. At least a field goal seemed a certainty.

Except there was a yellow flag at about the WSU 35. A hold. No momentum-changing return. Ball at WSU’s 26.

Problem was, the call on Jamorri Colson was almost impossible to discern on replay. But what was obvious, right in the middle of the replay FS1 showed, was a New Mexico player (clarified from earlier as the number was obscured on the replay, though the action was clear) grabbing the facemask of the Coug trying to block him, pushing his head back. But it went uncalled.

Add in a hard-to-fathom holding call that killed an early fourth-quarter scoring opportunity and it almost seemed as if the conspiracy folks had a point.

Dan Hellie, doing FS1’s play-by-play from L.A., where it never snows, mentioned one stat as the Lobos were driving late. He said New Mexico came in the most penalized team in the nation, averaging more than 10 a game. In this one? The Lobos were cited for five – for 40 yards.

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WSU: Greg Woods, who echoed former Cougar quarterback Ryan Leaf on The CW last week and picked New Mexico to pull the upset, was in Albuquerque and has his game analysis. … He also teamed with the folks in the office for a recap with highlights. … And he covered Jake Dickert’s odd defense of his late time-out non-usage by basically saying he went by “the book.” … Tyler Tjomsland was also in the “other” mile-high city and has this photo gallery from the sidelines. … We watched among the warmth of hearths and hearts of home and wrote our TV Take, one that was re-written about seven times before the final horn. … We can also pass along a trio of stories from Albuquerque as the Lobos upset a top-25 opponent for the first time since 2003. … The Times’ Scott Hanson has this story on the Cougars’ NIL efforts. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner has his usual Saturday Night Five column in the Mercury News, with playoff implications front of his mind. … Oregon’s 16-13 tough-it-out win in Madison, Wis., last night is part of it, and the main part of this John Canzano column. … The Ducks are also part of most every national story I could find. Though the SEC and its weekly showdown takes a back seat to no one. … As great as Oregon’s season is, it only makes Oregon State’s fall from grace seem even deeper. The Beavers hit rock bottommaybe? – after a 28-0 shellacking at Air Force against a team that was 2-7 coming in. Former Idaho quarterback Gevani McCoy returned to the starting lineup and did not have success. … Did Washington finds its future starting quarterback in the second-half of its Friday night win over visiting UCLA? Wilner examines the Huskies entire outlook in the Mercury News this morning. … What an odd ending. Read how Stanford defeated No. 22 Louisville 38-35 yesterday at home. The final 10 seconds were wild. … California fans were wildly disappointed as the Bears kicked away their first chance to clinch a bowl berth, losing at home to Syracuse 33-25. … Not only does Colorado have a Heisman favorite in Travis Hunter, the Buffs have a clear path to the Big 12 title game – and the automatic CFP berth. Not bad for an under-.500 team last season. … Arizona State has the same thing, with now-one-loss BYU headed to Tempe next week. Not bad for a team that won just three games last season. … Utah has gone the other way, losing six consecutive games (the latest 49-24 in Boulder), prompting coach Kyle Whittingham to liken his season to “The Twilight Zone.”New starting quarterback Jayden Maiava did just enough to lift USC to a 28-20 win over visiting Nebraska. The Trojans still have a shot at a bowl, but is that enough? … Arizona is still basking in its 27-3 win over Houston. … In the Mountain West, Ashton Jeanty is not only a bona fide Heisman candidate, he is also Boise State’s savior. The Broncos motor. And he was even more Saturday, leading them to a come-from-way-back 42-21 win at San Jose State. … Utah State had its way with host Hawaii, which lost its starting quarterback to an injury. The result was a 55-10 Aggie win. … UNLV stayed alive for the conference title game and officially ended San Diego State’s hope for bowl eligibility with a 41-20 win. … In basketball news, the Oregon State women’s roster, and a few other things, is all new this season.

Gonzaga: Khalif Battle seems to be fitting in well with his new team, the fourth-ranked – destined to be a bit higher today – Bulldogs. Jim Meehan spoke with the Arkansas transfer after the Zags’ blowout win over UMass Lowell and has Battle’s thoughts about how he is doing at his fifth college in six years. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Santa Clara lost handily at Nevada.

EWU: Let’s see. Eleven possessions. Eleven touchdowns. That sounds good. Is it good? It most certainly is, and most certainly unexpected as the 4-7 Eagles blew out visiting Idaho State 77-42 on Senior Day in Cheney. Unexpected doesn’t mean unappreciated, however, as Dan Thompson shares in his game story. Eastern did most of its damage on the ground, meaning not only did it win big but considering there were 17 touchdowns in the game, it rolled past relatively quickly. And everyone was able to beat the snow home. … Dan needed to add a notebook to cover all the records set. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, 10th-ranked Montana got past Portland State in Missoula. Next up for the Griz? A trip to No. 2 Montana State, which won the conference title with a 30-28 win at No. 4 UC Davis last night, despite giving up 20 fourth-quarter points. … Northern Colorado’s tough season continued with a 44-3 Senior Day loss to visiting Northern Arizona. … Cal Poly held on for a 26-23 win over Sacramento State as the Hornets fumbled the ball away late at the Mustangs goal line. … Finally, there was a power outage in Missoula, which caused some scrambling.

Idaho: It was not easy for the Vandals. Weber State, which has won just three games this season, led early and had a chance to tie last on eighth-ranked UI’s Senior Day. But Jason Eck’s team held on 31-24 to keep their chances alive for an FCS playoff first-round bye. Peter Harriman has the coverage. … In basketball news, the Vandal men lost at BYU 95-71.

Whitworth: If any of the Pirates have a calendar on their wall, Saturday’s game with Linfield was certainly circled. In red. It’s that important. And it was important for Whitworth to play well, as both teams entered the Pine Bowl undefeated in Northwest Conference play. But only the Wildcats left it that way, dominating 9-1 Whitworth 34-7 and forcing the Pirates to hope for an NCAA Division III at-large playoff berth. Greg Lee was at the sold-out Pine Bowl and has this story.

Preps: The official first round of the State football playoffs finished up Saturday, with Gonzaga Prep carrying the large school banner for the GSL into next weekend’s quarterfinals. Colton Clark tells us the Bullpups dominated visiting Emerald Ridge 31-0. … Dave Nichols takes care of the rest of the football results in this roundup.

Chiefs: Due to his high school football commitments, Dave missed a loud house in the Arena last night, with more than 10,000 folks in attendance to watch Spokane roll past Red Deer 3-0.

Velocity: It’s never happened before. No USL League One expansion team has ever won the title. Heck, before Spokane did it a couple weeks ago, no USL League One expansion team had won a playoff match before. Today the Velocity has a shot at the league’s trophy, facing top-seeded Union Omaha in Nebraska. Justin Reed has a preview of the title match.

Seahawks: A 1:05 p.m. (on Fox) meeting with San Francisco in Santa Clara – that still seems weird to me but political machinations being what they are, the 49ers not playing in San Francisco proper shouldn’t be a surprise – could mark a turning point in the Hawks season. Good or bad. … The starting center spot is up in the air.

Kraken: Four consecutive wins. The last of which was made possible, in large part, to Seattle’s fourth line, which got the scoring started in an afternoon game with the visiting New York Islanders.

Sounders: Seattle travels to its MLS Western Conference semifinal with nemesis LAFC next Saturday. Could that actually be a good thing for the Sounders?

Mariners: Second base is a conundrum alright. How can Seattle solve it this offseason after failing in about the last, I don’t know, 30?

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• We will be back today with a game story from Gonzaga’s home game against Wyoming. The GU women will be trying to avoid their first three-game losing streak since coach Lisa Fortier’s first season. Until later …