A Grip on Sports: If the Cougars are going to finish strong, the joy OSU displayed in its 10-7 win over the Cougs must reappear on the WSU sideline – and offensive huddle

A GRIP ON SPORTS • If you were like me Saturday and focused all your attention on the tip of the day’s sports pyramid, you were rewarded with a great World Series finale. And doomed to watch an ugly display of offensive football in Corvallis.

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• Not only that, but you might have missed the giant blocks of limestone and granite that made up the rest of Saturday’s massive structure.

For example, the crazy day in the ACC. In the Big 12. And an even crazier day closer to home in the Big Sky. But before I can delve into those wacky, wild results, the capstone has to be addressed.

What has happened to Zevi Eckhaus? And why?

The young man who seemed so full of joy while leading the Cougars in last year’s Holiday Bowl, the veteran quarterback who earned his way back onto the field earlier this season and sparked WSU’s offense in wins and near-misses against outstanding foes, seems to have vanished over the past couple weeks, one of them a win over Toledo and the other … well, the other was last night’s performance against fellow Pac-12 castaway Oregon State. A foul-smelling 10-7 loss to a team with a 1-7 record coming in.

The Zevi Eckhaus who was on the field at Reser Stadium the second half was not someone I recognized.

Instead of the let’s-go-get-‘em quarterback that first appeared in San Diego last December, there was someone who seemed hesitant, almost scared to let loose anything but a pass to a wide-open receiver.

A quartet of interceptions on ill-advised passes against Virginia and Toledo? The two more he threw in the first half? Wanting to please his coaches? Not wanting to let his teammates down? Whatever is behind his second-half performance has to change.

It’s not just he threw only 11 passes (completing six) for 35 yards after halftime. And it’s not just he was asked to throw a few more times but hesitated and ran too often – especially in the last minutes. It’s that Eckhaus, on the closeups shown by CBS, seems to have lost the delight, the pleasure, the happiness he displayed so openly early in his Washington State career.

And that is, if you still believe college athletics is about development and life lessons – call me Pollyanna if you will, but I do – the worst part.

I’m not sure the Eckhaus who flew around, through and above Snapdragon Stadium’s awful turf just before last Christmas would have ever thought the phrase “Don’t need to make a play worse in that situation,” as he said late last evening of a crucial third-down play.

Such negativity leads to failure, right? Instead of seeing his tight end covered and running away from danger, the former-confident version would have attacked the defense with his feet or thrown the ball out of bounds. Either choice was OK. What happened, running toward the sideline and finally being sacked for a loss of four yards, wasn’t.

Trying not to “make a play worse” moved the spot from the center of the field to the right hash. From a simple, kick-it-down-the-middle chip shot to one with an angle. And Jack Stevens, a kicker who had been perfect from short range all season, wasn’t.

Let’s be clear. As someone who adores college football and the energy and enthusiasm displayed during it, the way Eckhaus played taking over for John Mateer last year was enjoyable. As was his early season play this one. The guy who was on the field last night as the Cougar offense became a series of mistakes and missed opportunities? That’s not the person I have come to know, in a observer’s sense.

With three games left in the season, Jimmy Rogers has a task ahead of him. It’s not just to win two more games. That will flow naturally if he finds a way to bring back the joy, the energy, the spark his quarterback once displayed. No matter how that happens. In that regard Eckhaus is just like his teammates. He’s worth the effort. He deserves it. It’s part of what makes WSU what it is.

It’s not just about winning. It’s about the experience. It’s about accepting the pressure, freeing yourself from it and understanding who you are is more important than what you do. And that is what allows success to happen.

• Speaking of success, last night was in one way. After watching the excruciating show that was Pac-12 football, the chance to watch a few innings of one of the best World Series’ finales ever was a joy.

The plays that were made by both teams were examples of meeting the moments, weren’t they? The Dodgers just happened to meet one more. And win.

• Wondering when I’m going to get to the rest of Saturday’s pyramid, as I promised? Read on through the links.

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WSU: Greg Woods was in Corvallis last night and has his thoughts on the game in this analysis. … He also worked with the folks in the office on the recap with highlights. … Colton Clark took care of the difference makers and three instant reactions. … I watched at home and had a TV Take. Trying to keep abreast of the happenings in Toronto took a back seat to all the excitement from the CBS broadcast. And yes, that was sarcasm. … Yes, the offenses struggled. But the Beavers’ defense looked different with the infectious enthusiasm of Robb Akey leading the way from the sidelines. … The Cougars’ cross country teams will go down in the history books as the winners of the first races held on Course Spokane Valley, the venue that may just put Spokane on the national running map. Again. John Blanchette was there and has this coverage. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, here is something I wrote yesterday: “The national schedule today seems a little weak. Which means there will be at least two unexpected upsets. Upsets that will impact the CFP rankings next week.” Hey, move over Nostradamus. Either that or I once again illustrated one of my dad’s favorite sayings: “Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every once in a while.” The latter seems correct. … Jon Wilner has his thoughts in the Mercury News on how those upsets will show up Tuesday night when the CFP committee seeds teams. Preliminarily, of course. … Back to Corvallis for John Canzano’s late-Saturday column. It only touches on the game a bit. … He also had an earlier one. … Oregon has a backup quarterback from a school that produced one of the best WSU ever had.  

• Here are the results of the (current, old and future) Pac-12 games from Saturday, listed chronologically.

– Arizona State 24, Iowa State 19: This has to be one of the best wins in the Kenny Dillingham era at ASU. The Sun Devils were beat up on offense but came through on the road.

– Pittsburgh 35, Stanford 20: This one could have been a lot worse. The Panthers had enough miscues to lose but the Cardinal just isn’t good enough to take advantage.

– Fresno State 30, Boise State 7: The Broncos lost their quarterback, their home winning streak and their undefeated MWC season. The Bulldogs earned respect.

– No. 15 Virginia 31, California 21: Two chances to become bowl eligible, two failures. The Bears probably should still do it but is that enough?

– Arizona 52, Colorado 17: The Buffs have hit bottom. More than likely. Will Deion Sanders stick around to rebuild the mess? … The Wildcats put together a complete game.

– San Diego State 24, Wyoming 7: Ever since their loss in Pullman, the Aztecs have won every game. The Cowboys had no chance on the road.

– No. 23 USC 21, Nebraska 17: The Trojans surged late and earned a must-have win over a can’t-beat-a-ranked-team program.

– No. 24 Utah 45, No. 17 Cincinnati 14: College GameDay was a success in the morning. The Utes were a bigger success in the afternoon.

• In basketball news, Washington’s men believe this is the season they change the program’s narrative. Or something like that. … Utah hopes to take strides this season. … This is a big year for the Arizona State men and a new era for the women.

Gonzaga: With college hoop beginning tomorrow, the S-R has a story to get you revved up. Or not. It’s from The Athletic and it addresses the nation’s most tortured men’s fanbases. … We also enjoyed this column from the Washington Post about a bygone era.

EWU: The Eagles hosted Sacramento State on Saturday in the rain. And got run over by the Hornets. The final score was 35-13 which may not have illustrated perfectly how poorly the game went for Eastern. Dan Thompson tries to do that in his game story and notebook. … I would like to remind everyone Sac State has been plagued by penalties all season, culminating in last week’s 10-1 edge (and 80-to-5 yards) in that stat against visiting Montana. After, Hornets’ head coach Brennan Marion criticized the FCS officiating, saying he felt his president’s negative comments about a level and a conference the school was leaving led to a season in which his team had received more penalties than their opponents in every game. The result? The Big Sky office fined Marion $10,000. Maybe it was a good investment. Yesterday Sac State was penalized three times for 25 yards, both season lows by quite a bit. The Eagles? Four for 26. I wonder if the conference will try to fine me for pointing that out? … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, third-ranked Montana exorcised some demons in pounding Weber State from the start. … Fourth-ranked Montana State had no trouble against Northern Colorado in Greeley. … Sixth-ranked UC Davis could not stop Idaho State as the Bengals won on the road against a ranked team for the first time in a while. … Portland State picked up its first win of the year in San Luis Obispo over Cal Poly. … In basketball news, Weber State’s men need a bounce-back season. … Northern Colorado begins its season Monday. … Northern Arizona lost a lot of talent. … The Mike Bibby era begins at Sacramento State. … The women in Flagstaff are also rebuilding.

Idaho: The weirdest thing that happened Friday night? The lights going out in NAU’s dome in the middle of a two-point conversion. It almost seemed as if someone bumped into a light switch. The play was redone.

Whitworth: The weather may have played a role in the score Saturday in the Pine Bowl. But the Pirates didn’t let it impact the outcome, as they stayed in first place with a 10-6 win over Pacific Lutheran. Ethan Myers has the coverage.  

Preps: Dave Nichols had his usual busy Saturday. He starts with his look back at Friday night, a column in which, this week at least, he also looks forward to the upcoming football playoffs. … Greg Lee was tasked with covering the District races in cross country on a rainy day. … Cheryl Nichols takes care of the roundup of other action.

Chiefs: Everett is just better right now than Spokane. The Silvertips proved it with their second win in a week, this one 7-2 at the Arena last night. Dave has the coverage.

Mariners: Epic is the right word. The 5-4, 11-inning win was just that. Unless you are a Blue Jay fan. … A game like that demands great coverage. We found some. Including a look at the Dodgers and their back-to-back titles. Is it a dynasty? … The MVP this year was a pitcher who pitched in both of the final two wins. No, Not Randy Johnson. His opposite, maybe.

Seahawks: No worries about getting up early and prepping for a 10 a.m. game from the East Coast. The Hawks and Commanders meet at 5 p.m. on NBC. … Washington will have their key player, quarterback Jayden Daniels, back tonight. That makes the Commanders better. …The Hawks would be better if they were healthy.

Kraken: Seattle’s point streak continued, though the single one came on a home overtime loss.

Reign: The regular season ends today for Seattle. The postseason awaits.

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• I know every college football fan lives and dies with each game. I get it. But my experience has taught me some empathy for what the players go through each day. It’s not easy to do what they do. They need to have some happiness while sacrificing so much of their well-being for all of us to enjoy. I hope Eckhaus can rediscover his as the season winds down. Until later …