A Grip on Sports: Finally, we get to immerse ourselves in college football – after almost drowning in another bad Mariner loss in Cleveland

A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you are reading this instead of watching ESPN’s farewell to Lee Corso this morning, I have two questions. Why? And why can’t you do both? I’m guessing you’ll be able to keep track of six football games, the M’s latest heartbreaking road loss and the latest news from the U.S. Open tennis all at the same time at some point today. If you can’t, you have no right to call yourself a ’Merican

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• I’m not one to judge, though. I’m missing the live coverage of Jimmy Rogers’ Washington State era tonight because I’m officiating a wedding. No, not really. But II’m attending one. And I’m sure there are many of you out there scoffing and throwing your hands up in disgust.

What, no TV Take on the CW’s coverage of the historic event? No biting criticism of the homerism? No d’ohs if the Vandals upset their FBS counterparts from down 270? No hosanas if the Cougars roll to a 40-point victory?

Well, maybe. Just not in print Sunday morning. And whether any of those happen here tomorrow will depend on whether Kim wants to dance the night away. I’m her ride. Her dance partner? No way. The last time I did that was 46 years and 19 days ago. At our own nuptials.

If we get home early enough to watch tape, I’ll delve into all that Sunday. If not, I’ll delve into the game itself anyway.

• I wouldn’t be missing the WSU game if not for the young man getting married. One of my former basketball players. And a Coug, which makes me certain he and his fiancé set the date before the football schedule was announced.

• Our plans tonight also mean missing a handful of games I wouldn’t miss otherwise. One of which I believe is crucial for Washington State, even if it is in Corvallis and not Pullman.

WSU and Oregon State are joined at the hip. Leaning on each other. Holding not just Ol’ Crimson high, but whatever OSU calls its flag. And the Pac-12’s banner too.

That last one is the most-important. At least in the long view. The duo was forced to put together a hodge-podge schedule this season. Next year, they will be the standard bearers for the reborn league. And that standard will look less frayed if the two win a few games over the next couple months.

Combined, they have 20 games against nonconference foes. A 15-5 mark should be the goal, with at least four of the wins – in seven chances – against Power Four schools. If they want to bolster their argument the new Pac-12 remains the fifth power conference.

The Cougs will be hard-pressed to hold up their end, with a home game against Washington and road games at Virginia and Mississippi. WSU needs to find a way to win at least once so the Beavers don’t need to be perfect.

After watching Jake Dickert’s Wake Forest team last night – how many of you were disappointed the Demon Deacons held on for a 10-9 win? – Oregon State should win that home game. Seventh-ranked Oregon in Eugene will be a challenge. So will Texas Tech in Lubbock.

Which makes tonight’s battle with Cal crucial for the Beavs and the conference.

• There is a Simpson meme that makes the rounds after Mariner games like last night’s 5-4 loss in Cleveland. You’ve probably seen it. Homer and Bart in M’s hats? Bart saying something about the worst loss of the season? Homer correcting him, saying “so far”? Sound familiar?

M’s fans better hope it’s not right with only a month left. The only way a loss could be worse between now and the end of September is if the season came down to the final game at home against the Dodgers. And the Mariners lost in a manner similar to Friday night.

Little League-like. Bad decisions – from the manager and players. Bad luck. Bad umpiring. Just plain bad.  

At least it wasn’t the worst loss ever in Cleveland. Nope. Sunday, Aug. 5, 2001. That will never be topped.

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WSU: It’s a Saturday morning in football season. With the Cougars playing at home. Of course we have a lot to pass along. Greg Woods has a preview of the game with the Vandals. And he has his 2-minute drill. And his prediction. …Greg also has some other news. He and Cougfan.com’s Jamey Vinnick have combined on the Cougar Prowl podcast, joining 327 million other Americans with podcasts. Just kidding but even if it were true, there can’t be more than a handful of Cougar football-centric podcasts and none feature two observers who are focus more of their time and energy on WSU football. You can listen here. … Scott Hanson has more on WSU in the Times today. … We also want to link the S-R’s college football preview section one more time in case you missed it. Or still had not had time to get through it. You can read while watching the Corso tribute. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, who and what should you be watching this season? And this weekend? … Jon Wilner’s writing is certainly on any list connected to college football. He has a mailbag in the Mercury News this morning. … John Canzano’s words are worth time too, as he has notes on a lot of subjects on his website today. … San Diego State began 1-0 Thursday night for three reasons. … Here is the rest of the schedule, listed chronologically. It also includes any game in which mining news about turned out to be impossible.

– Georgia Tech 27, Colorado 20: The latest Ralphie recently retired because, according to the school, she had grown “indifferent to running.” So were the post-Travis-Hunter Buffs on Friday night. They seemed indifferent to just about everything, including tackling and using timeouts down the stretch. … Deion Sanders was not happy. Why should he be? … The offense was putrid under the old coordinator and new quarterback.  

– Montana State at No. 7 Oregon (today, 1 p.m., Big Ten Network): It is hard to believe Dan Lanning has been in Eugene for four years. That’s unusual for the place recently. … A future UO opponent lost their quarterback to injury. … Second-ranked Montana State isn’t the same team that got to the FCS championship game last season.

– UTEP at Utah State (4:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network): The Aggies are ready to get started.

– Missouri State at USC (4:30 p.m., Big Ten Network): The Trojans are awash in uncertainty. From quarterback to linemen to Lincoln Riley’s future. Not sure that will be different tomorrow after playing Missouri State. Unless they lose of course.

– Georgia Southern at Fresno State (6 p.m., FS1): With little available to pass along, I’ll throw this link about the game to a preview I’ve linked before. Just in case you missed it.

– Northern Arizona at No. 11 Arizona State (7 p.m., ESPN+): This seems like a pick-your-score game for the Sun Devils. Maybe even a set-records game. … The Lumberjacks will be paid. And hope to head back to Flagstaff with their health and an upset win.

– California at Oregon State (7:30 p.m., ESPN): … Ron Rivera returned to Berkeley after a long NFL career for one reason. To make the Bears relevant again. … The Beavers are relevant, at least to the Pac-12’s future.

– Hawaii at Arizona (7:30 p.m., TNT): The neat part of this matchup is it honors Dick Tomey, who excelled at both schools as head coach. … The Wildcats need a win for their current coach, that’s for sure. And the quarterback could use a bounce-back season. … The Rainbow Warriors have a lot of support in Tucson.

– Colorado State at Washington (8 p.m., Big Ten Network): Year Two of the Jedd Fisch Era kicks off this evening. … Jonah Coleman was around for the first one. And he’s all-in with the second. … The Huskies have a safety who can make an impact in different ways. … A Ram linebacker is playing for some pretty important reasons this season. … The team is playing tonight to also help the CSU budget.

– Utah at UCLA (8 p.m., Fox): The last game of the night might be the most fun. The Utes have revenge on their mind. And earning national respect as well. … They also have a new quarterback who may just recharge their offense. Though Kyle Whittingham has been risk-adverse in the past. …  The Bruins need to show they can break out of their mediocre recent past.

EWU: This is a key season for the Eagles. For coach Aaron Best. For the players. The Eastern faithful. And it is also key for today’s host, Incarnate Word, the FCS’ preseason fifth-ranked team but 0-1 after losing to conference foe Nicholls 20-6 last week. Dan Thompson, who is in San Antonio, has three things to watch. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, Idaho State is on the road for the second consecutive week, though future conference foe Southern Utah shouldn’t be as tough as UNLV. … Sacramento State is not only trying to win this season but lay a foundation for the future. … Cal Poly is still uncertain about its quarterback position. … Weber State has a tough assignment at James Madison. … Finally, 10th-ranked Tarleton State routed Portland State 42-0 last week. The Texans are 2-0 today, though it took them double overtime to get the second win. It was at Army, though, so that makes the 30-27 decision impressive. The first FCS-over-FBS win of the season. And the Vikings? They are facing another blowout. At sold-out BYU.

Idaho: Peter Harriman, who will probably make the long trip to Pullman tonight, has three things to watch about the game with Washington State. He has a Vandal emphasis, of course.

Indians: Spokane’s long winning streak ended Friday night at Avista, victim of a 3-0 shutout, despite a solid performance from Josh Grosz. Dave Nichols has more in this story.

Mariners: We linked the game story above. We do it again here. … Like most players, Eugenio Suárez has a favorite glove. And a favorite relationship with a member of the coaching staff. … Victor Robles began serving his suspension after it was reduced to seven games. 

Seahawks: We linked Matt Calkins’ column about the receiving corps yesterday when it ran in the Times. It is on the S-R site today. We link it again. … Hawaii’s kicker, who will be in Tucson tonight as the Warriors face Arizona, has a connection to Seahawks’ kicker Jason Myers. Tim Booth explains it. … The offseason buy-in is helping.

Reign: Seattle can’t seem to find a way to win. At least the Reign know how to draw.

Storm: The next four games will determine a lot about Seattle’s playoff future.

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• Have a great Saturday. We’ll be back here tomorrow with a look at the Cougars, Vandals, Eagles, Huskies, Pirates, heck, everything that happened in college football’s first full Saturday. As well as everything else. Until later …