A Grip on Sports: James Madison presents the WSU Cougars with multiple challenges – and vice-versa – as the Dukes hope to impress the CFP committee

A GRIP ON SPORTS • A quick spin around the dial on this Tuesday morning? Sure. Why not?

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• We start in Harrisonburg, Virginia, stopping on a college football game that would never have been available to watch when TV’s still had dials. Kinda isn’t though, what with the showdown between 9-1 James Madison and 5-5 Washington State being relegated to ESPN+, the self-proclaimed WorldWide Leader’s streaming service. That’s kind of odd, though.

Sure, the Dukes are a two-touchdown favorite. And they will hear their name called tonight when the College Football Playoff committee’s second made-for-TV rankings are announced. But they are facing, in WSU, a team already well-versed in playing in tough environments – and exceeding expectations.

The Cougars did it in Oxford, Mississippi. In Charlottesville, Virginia. Both of those opponents in those places, Ole Miss and UVA, will also hear their name called by the committee. In a higher spot than the school named after the nation’s fourth president.

And that’s why the Cougars may be in tough Saturday morning. The Dukes are trying to earn the CFP parking spot reserved for the Group of Five. Their top competitor for that premium place is North Texas, which already owns a win over WSU. A 59-10 home win.

If James Madison, ranked 21st in the A.P. poll, wins the Sun Belt and North Texas does the same in the American, the two will probably finish with the same record. Might the margin of victory over the Cougs end up being a de facto tiebreaker? Could be.

• Washington State could end all this nonsense. Quickly. Score a few touchdowns, hold the Dukes to one or two of them and earn a nice upset.

Become bowl eligible. Do the CFP committee a solid. And allow the faithful to start researching flights to someplace warm for the holidays.

• Speaking of the CFP rankings, it seems like every sports website and its cousin have predictions on just what they will be tonight. Does it really matter? Other than to ESPN and its bottom line, I mean?

Sure. There are tea leaves to read for the rest of the week. Arguments to be had. Laughter. Anger. Resentment. Resignation.

But as Al Davis used to say, “Just win baby,” and it will all work out. Maybe.

• College basketball won’t be getting lost in the swamp that is its playoff committee’s rankings for a couple months yet. For now, all we have is the thoughts and votes of a bunch of sports writers or, cough, cough, college coaches.

How did the Gonzaga Bulldogs fare in those rankings? The coaches, who usually just let their basketball sports information staffer put together their ballot – some even take the time to approve it – have them ranked 12th after their 4-0 start. (A start that became 5-0 quickly Monday night against Southern Utah.)

The writers, voting in the poll we use, the one overseen by the Associated Press, have them 13th.

Where would we slot the Zags? Ninth, right behind BYU and just ahead of Florida. Yes, both of those schools have losses, but the Cougars’ came against No. 3 UConn – in Boston, not much of neutral site – and the defending national champion’s was in Las Vegas – ditto – to fourth-ranked Arizona.

The top 10 team I would drop? Seventh-ranked Louisville. Not sure the Cardinals’ signature win, over No. 12 Kentucky, is going to end up worth that much. I also have questions about Illinois, ranked eighth mainly due to a win over Texas Tech.

• It is really nice the Big Sky Conference issued a public apology Monday.

For what? A crucial officiating error in Idaho’s last-second 23-20 loss at Sacramento State on Saturday night.

With 17 seconds left and the Vandals leading by four, the Hornets’ faced a second-and-2 at the UI 20. Quarterback Cardell Williams tossed a pass toward Jordan Williams near the goal line. It was ruled complete, giving Sac State a first and goal on the 2-yard-line. A play later Cardell Williams was in the end zone and the Vandals were 4-7.

But the conference said the pass was never caught. And should have been overturned by replay. The Hornets should have had 12 seconds left to navigate the 20 yards needed to win. Sort of a big difference, right?

At least Thomas Ford and his team have the apology. Maybe they should turn it into a banner and hang it somewhere in the Kibbie Dome.

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WSU: Greg Woods has his first look at the James Madison game in today’s S-R. … He also spoke with Jimmy Rogers yesterday and has updates on player status, including that of now-departed receiver Devin Ellison. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his usual Big Ten and Big 12 power rankings in the Mercury News today. He also has his bowl projections which examines how the CFP mess could impact the conference. … John Canzano answered questions, as he does every Monday. … It looks as if the Big Ten’s plan to infuse more than a billion dollars into the conference coffers through a deal with the University of California pension planners is on a break. Dead maybe? Well, Miracle Max would probably term it only mostly dead. … Oregon State has a bye this week. But the Beavers’ search for a coach probably isn’t taking a week off. Here’s another name to consider: Utah State’s Bronco Mendenhall. And another: Tosh Lupoi.

• Here are the rest of the (current, old and future) Pac-12 games this week, with the latest Associated Press rankings and listed chronologically. All are on Saturday. The schedule below also includes any game in which finding news turned out to be nearly impossible.

– Baylor at Arizona (10 a.m., TNT): The Wildcat administration sold naming rights to the school’s football stadium. For a lot of money.

– No. 16 USC at No. 6 Oregon (12:30 p.m., CBS): This may just be a CFP elimination game. It is certainly one for the Trojans. And may be for the Ducks as well, despite their gaudy record and high ranking.

– Kansas State at No. 13 Utah (1, ESPN2): The Utes have two quarterbacks who can return next season. It will take some money to keep them both around.

– UL Monroe at Texas State (2, ESPN+)

– Colorado State at Boise State (4, FS1): The Broncos’ in-game adjustments haven’t gone well lately.

– California at Stanford (4:30, ACCN): It such a big game I could not find a story to share today. Again, the two should have stayed home.

– Arizona State at Colorado (5, ESPN2): The Buffs’ roster isn’t any good. There are reasons for that. … What’s a better job at CU, head coach or athletic director? One of them is open. … Money is a common theme today. Kenny Dillingham is hoping local businesses will supply more of it to his players.

– Washington at UCLA (7:30, NBC): We linked Mike Vorel’s column in the Times yesterday. It is on the S-R site today. … Jedd Fisch held court yesterday and mentioned running back Jonah Coleman might be back this week.

– Utah State at Fresno State (7:30, CBS Sports): The Aggies did something in their last game that impressed even their head coach.

– San Jose State at San Diego State (7:30, FS1): A win against a Spartan team in chaos is the first piece of a weekend equation for the Aztecs. If things break right, they clinch a Mountain West championship game berth.

• In basketball news, the Oregon and Oregon State men met in their rivalry game Monday night. That the Ducks won was not a surprise. They are undefeated and have topped OSU nine consecutive times. That the game was on a Monday? That’s just another example of realignment’s fallout. … Arizona State bounced back from its Gonzaga loss to rout Georgia State. … Arizona and UConn, both ranked in the top five, meet Wednesday night. … Boise State hosts undefeated Wichita State tomorrow night then heads to Hawaii. … Utah State’s defense carried it in the latest win. … San Diego State is welcoming back a key player from injury. … Sabrina Ionescu had fun at the Oregon women’s game the other night. She wore a disguise just to pull a surprise.

Gonzaga: Talk about a walkover. One that included quite a few fastbreak baskets. The Zags rolled through visiting Southern Utah 122-50, GU’s widest margin of victory over a Division I opponent ever. Theo Lawson was in McCarthey to witness the carnage and write the game analysis. … Theo also has a story on the death of Mark Few’s mother Barbara on Friday. … The Bulldogs changed up the starting lineup after a series of slow starts. Mario Saint-Supery and Tyon Grant-Foster moved in, Braeden Smith and Emmanuel Innocenti moved out. Jim Meehan has that story. … Jim also has three takeaways from the contest as well as a story on the Zags’ surge in the polls. … Colin Mulvany has this photo report from the rout. … Graham Ike was named the WCC player of the week.

EWU: It was a good night in Cheney, with the women’s and men’s teams each winning by double digits. Dan Thompson was at Reece Court and has this coverage of both. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, are the two schools meeting in the Brawl of the Wild this week actually be the two best in the FCS? Undefeated, and top-ranked, North Dakota State might not think so. Montana is ranked second and Montana State third. … It’s not as if Cal Poly isn’t trying everything to halt its six-game losing streak. … Basketball recruiting never stops at Montana, regardless of gender. … The Portland State men eased past visiting Cal State Bakersfield. … Sacramento State is at No. 19 UCLA tonight. … Idaho State’s women dealt with foul trouble at home and it cost them, as they suffered their first loss on a last-second shot.

Seahawks: Need some good news after the Hawks tossed-away loss at the Rams on Sunday? Here it is. Mike Macdonald says guard Grey Zabel’s knee injury isn’t season ending. He will be back, maybe even this week. … Macdonald also hinted there may be more carries for Kenneth Walker in the future. … Yes, the defense is good enough to get the Hawks where they want to go.

Sounders: Veteran midfielder Joao Paulo will not be back next season. 

Mariners: What does the long-term contract with Josh Naylor mean for the M’s offseason plans? How does it impact their talks with Jorge Polanco and other free agents?

Bloomsday: There have been more of Nina Culver’s stories on perennial race finishers I’m sure. This one, on Roger Aldrich, is special for a couple reasons. The Air Force veteran almost two races due to issues with cross country flights – ironic, huh? – and his son Chris played baseball for me some 25 years ago.

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• I can set my clock by when the neighborhood kids head off to elementary school in the morning. Brings back memories. Not all of them of the good variety. I had to deal with two boys who were slow risers. And my own failings in the “morning person” category. Until later …