A Grip on Sports: Saturday served up some early tricks and treats from the Cougars’ late rally to a World Series injury

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, right, Getting ready for Halloween. Thank goodness Saturday supplied some treats. A few tricks, too.

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• We start with the treats. A come-from-behind 29-26 Washington State win in San Diego fills that bill. The Cougars looked dead with about 13 minutes left. And, like Dracula, they lifted up the coffin lid and flew.

John Mateer was a big part of it. In the fourth quarter, as WSU rallied from a 12-point deficit, he completed six of seven passes for 114 of his 257. He threw a touchdown pass. Ran for another. Caught a two-point conversion. Had more yards of total offense in the final 13-plus minutes than he had totaled up to that point. He wasn’t alone, however.

Taariq Al-Uqdah grabbed an interception that not only led to the final eight WSU points but also kept San Diego State from adding on. Kyle Thornton knocked down a pass intended for tight end Michael Harrison some 42 yards downfield. (To be honest, though, it included Thornton interfering – but it wasn’t called.) And replay official Dan Antonietti chipped in by correctly overturning a short mark on third down that allowed WSU to basically run the clock out.

• The tricks included the Cougars finding a way to win, again, and running their record to 7-1 for the first time since Minshew-mania in 2018.

But I have a request. Can we all quit speculating about Washington State’s chances to make the college football playoff field?

The Cougars don’t belong. They are not good enough. And the competition they have played recently is second-rate. Texas Tech isn’t. Neither is Boise State. Washington is a bit better than that. But they struggled in Fresno – a pick-six turned the outcome – and struggled in San Diego. Neither team this year belongs in a power conference. Washington State does. Isn’t. Is making due with the schedule it was present with. Winning.

But winning isn’t enough to earn an at-large berth. Even 11-1 won’t be. Too many close calls. Not enough blowouts of mediocre teams.

Enjoy the wins. Enjoy the success. Enjoy the bowl. Just don’t let something that won’t happen ruin your perception of the season.

• With the help of our crack research staff, we delved into the reasons behind the beach-like nature of Snapdragon Stadium’s playing surface and shared our findings in our TV Take. San Diego State’s home field is awful. The footing is poor and the game’s integrity was impacted Saturday by all the slips, falls and leg injuries, which the chewed-up grass may or may not have played a role.

Looking at who uses the stadium besides the Aztec football team, we found pro soccer and rugby teams as prime tenants. No wonder the grass was in such poor shape. It’s under too much stress.

With an MLS team joining the fray next season, one has to wonder if the school will explore installing a high-level artificial turf. Or if it will try to carve out more time for the grass field to rest. Something needs to be done. Last night’s conditions were unacceptable.

• It’s tricky to get Freddie Freeman out. Even if you’re a decent to good left-handed pitcher. Even if Freeman is playing on a bum ankle. Even if the bases are full, as they were Friday night when his grand slam lifted the Dodgers to a Game One win, or they are empty, as his home run helped seal L.A.’s win in Game Two.

Some how, some way, Los Angeles ended up leaving L.A. with two wins. No losses. Though it might have suffered a major injury. Shohei Ohtani left Saturday game with a bum shoulder. Will have an MRI today. May be out. Just another in a long string of scary Dodger injuries. And yet they are two wins from winning the title.

• Idaho’s fans were treated with a 38-28 win over visiting Eastern Washington late Saturday night. Such rivalry wins are always welcome additions to the candy bowl. Taste great. Filling.

But it must be trickery right now to be an Eastern fan. The Eagles seem to be fading from their long-held perch among the Big Sky’s best. This will mark the third consecutive season EWU won’t be in the postseason. Another year that began with high hopes ends up, ultimately, disappointing. The only goal left for the 2-6 Eagles? Win four consecutive games and finish the season at .500.

• By the way, with the World Series on at the same time, we weren’t going to spend the money to watch Gonzaga play last night. We do, however, have a good friend who is a USC season-ticket holder and he went all in, buying the Big Ten+ feed and watching the game.

He got his money’s worth. After all the whistles – the teams combined for 66 free throws – in an exhibition in which no-one was allowed to foul out, he saw almost three hours of college hoop. Gonzaga fans? They had to watch their team lose, 96-93.

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WSU: We start with Greg Woods thoughts on the comeback win in San Diego. … He also combined with the folks in the office to put together a quick summary for the S-R as part of the recap with highlights. … Tyler Tjomsland was on the ground at Snapdragon Stadium and he supplies this photo gallery. All we can think of is whether or not he ever slipped while trying to get into position to shoot a play. … We watched from home and have our TV Take. … We have some coverage from San Diego to pass along as well. … Today is the 40th anniversary of Reuben Mayes’ best game of his Cougar Hall of Fame career. The anniversary of the running back’s 357-yard rushing game at Oregon. Dave Boling, who was around the area in those days, has a column on the spectacular effort as well as a story sharing coach Jim Walden’s memories of the game. We have our own memories, including designing the front of an S-R sports page that included a huge picture of Mayes as he ran through the Duck defense. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner looks back at Saturday’s games in the Mercury News, as he always does. He also looked into the former Pac-12 members’ struggles, noting only top-ranked Oregon and soon-to-be-ranked Colorado are winning consistently in their new conferences. … Wilner had his mailbag Friday and we want to pass it along. … John Canzano has columns covering Oregon’s 38-9 dismantling of No. 20 Illinois and Oregon State’s 44-7 beatdown at California. … Speaking of the Beavers, the mood after their third consecutive loss was somber, with coach Trent Bray trying to explain how Cal scored 31 first-half points and how his team could be in such trouble. They need two wins down the stretch to qualify for a bowl. … Oregon is trying to win the Big Ten crown, earn a high CFP seed and maybe win a national title. But, according to quarterback Dillon Gabriel, they aren’t looking that far ahead. … Washington traveled across the country once more. Got up early, got ready as its fans and the nation turned to Bloomington, Indiana’s first visit from College GameDay. Then went out and lost again. No. 13 Indiana, playing without its starting quarterback, ran the ball down the Huskies’ throat in the second half en route to a 31-17 victory. … Colorado hosted Cincinnati, scored in a lot of ways and earned a 34-23 win. The Buffs are about to be ranked, are bowl bound and, more importantly, stayed alive in the Big 12 chase…. Utah hit rock-bottom Saturday. The Utes lost in the last seconds to woeful Houston and their captain alluded to dissension within the team. … Stanford fell at home to Wake Forest 27-24. … Arizona fell at home to West Virginia 31-26. … USC blew out visiting Rutgers on Friday night. … In the Mountain West, Colorado State stayed hot, topped New Mexico and stayed alive in the conference race. … Utah State marched down the field and kicked a field goal to defeat host Wyoming as the clock expired. … Fresno State came up with four interceptions in a home win over San Jose State. … Hawaii picked up its first FBS win, topping visiting Nevada 34-13. … UNLV will have to bounce back from its tough loss Friday night to visiting Boise State. … In basketball news, Arizona State plays an exhibition at Duke today.

Gonzaga: If Saturday’s charity exhibition in Palm Desert against USC was about entertainment, the 96-93 score would indicate those who watched got that. Then again, the whistle-fest and the constant substitutions might have soured it. Jim Meehan covers it all in this game story. … Theo Lawson talked with GU transfer Khalif Battle, who faced his former coach, and put together the difference makers. … Colin Mulvany has an in-depth visual report. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Canzano broke the news Friday the Mountain West is trying to get Grand Canyon to renege on its WCC plans.

Idaho and EWU: Dan Thompson followed the Eagles down to Moscow and has this coverage of the 11th-ranked Vandals’ 38-28 win. With games left with three middle-of-the-pack Big Sky teams left, UI has a golden opportunity to earn an FCS playoff berth. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana had no trouble on the road with Northern Colorado, winning 24-0. … Idaho State had a lot of trouble but overcame it and visiting Sacramento State 30-27 in overtime. … UC Davis stayed busy during its bye week.

Whitworth: The Pirates have built a reputation over the years n Division III football of being a passing team. That may not be as true this season. Nothing illustrates that more than Luis Salgado’s 365-yard rushing day as Whitworth ran past host Pacific 39-32 to stay undefeated and atop the Northwest League standings.

Preps: State trophies in slowpitch were earned Saturday, with Mt. Spokane taking home its second consecutive 4A/3A crown with an 18-3 rout of GSL rival University. … Dave Nichols has his usual look back at the weekend’s football games, focusing on Gonzaga Prep’s title-clinching win at Mead.

Chiefs: Dave spent Saturday night in the Arena, watching as Spokane, which defeated Vancouver on Friday night, built a second-period lead. But Tri-City scored the game’s final four goals in a 5-2 victory.

Velocity: Neither Spokane nor the visitors from Knoxville could score Saturday night at ONE Spokane stadium. The USL League One regular-season finale for both ended in a scoreless draw. In the league’s playoffs, seventh-seeded Spokane will play at No. 2 Northern Colorado next Saturday.

Seahawks: DK Metcalf probably won’t play today as the Hawks host Buffalo (1 p.m., Fox) but a few defensive players who have been missing will.

Mariners: Teoscar Hernandez struggled in his one season with the M’s. He’s blossomed in his one season with the Dodgers. He also led the way with a two-run home run Saturday, helping L.A. to a 4-2 victory and a 2-0 lead in the Series.

Kraken: A Carolina Hurricane blew through Climate Pledge on Saturday, handing the hosts a 4-1 loss.

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• Whether the Cougars won or lost was immaterial to me last night. All I wanted was for the game to move along quickly. And for the outcome to not be in doubt late so I could finish my column and get to bed. Neither happened. The result was a late night and an early morning. I’m sure I will pay for it later today. Until later …