A Grip on Sports: We are asking a lot of the best air freshener in the world to overcome the odor underlying college athletics these days but it comes through

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is a lot of junk involved with college athletics these days. That’s undeniable – and easy to illustrate in just a couple of mouse clicks. But the smell of the refuse has been sprayed over recently by the best of what college sports has to offer. Competition. Upsets. Joy. And just plain fun.

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• The awful odor of the coaching carousel, most-recently the soap opera-like reek emanating from Oxford, Mississippi, and the in-need-of-a-shower three-headed monster that is NIL, transfer portal and litigation, seem to fade every time a football is placed on a tee or a referee steps into the center circle, basketball in hand.

As it should be.

Look, there will always be schools looking to get out of their lease, whether it be with a stadium authority or a conference. And there will always be players looking for greener pastures. But for four hours (or so) on Saturday or for two-plus on just about any night this month, that stuff fades into the background.

It happened the past couple evenings.

Tuesday in New York, Michigan State outmuscled Kentucky in a game even the Spartan players admitted was, by design, more football than basketball. Then last night Arizona and UConn played an old-fashioned, the-home-court-comes-alive rallyfest in Storrs, won by the Wildcats – thanks to their final comeback.

Those are just the examples I was able to watch. There certainly were more.

And there will be a bunch between now and December.

My thoughts on this front immediately gravitate toward friends who are Cougar fans. Talk about taking strays. They were hit by all of college athletics’ shrapnel in the offseason, from the coaching carousel’s explosion to NIL-caused transfers to the on-going litigation and rebuild of the conference that abandoned them.

And yet, in the debris they have found hope. Not just in their football team’s record – the Cougs are 5-5 but still hopeful of becoming bowl eligible – but how it’s been built. WSU’s first-year coach, Jimmy Rogers, has dealt admirably with the challenges, from rebuilding the roster in the offseason to rebuilding the team’s confidence after back-to-back beatdowns from North Texas and Washington.

Tough losses in Oxford and Charlottesville, Virginia, when a play here or there could have lifted the Cougs to a season-defining upset of a highly ranked team? Or an even tougher loss in Corvallis to their lone-remaining rival? Speed bumps.

Heck, I wouldn’t put it past the Cougars to finally get over the hump this week, finding a way to silence the 24,877 in Bridgeforth Stadium and destroy the 9-1 Dukes’ outside playoff chances. After two come-close upsets east of the Mississippi, finally completing one. And clinching a bowl spot.

Just as I wouldn’t put it past Gonzaga winning the best Thanksgiving week basketball tournament. You know, the NIL-fueled Players Era Men’s Championship in Las Vegas, which starts Monday.

No, the Zags aren’t the best team in college hoops right now. That honor one week before Turkey Day is probably held by Mark Few protégé Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats. Nor is No. 13 Gonzaga the most-hyped team in the nation. That trophy permanently resides in Durham, N.C.

But Few’s squad has as much potential as anyone. And what better way to show it than to win the glitziest tourney in the glitziest city? The one that pays out a Scrooge-McDuck-vault of money to the players for the use of their name, image and likeness?

Ya, it would seem perfectly appropriate for Graham Ike’s big smile to dominate the airwaves Wednesday night – just after he dominated second-ranked Houston’s front line. Even with Braden Huff next to him, holding up one of those oversized cardboard checks for the cameras.

Appropriate because the two preceding hours, as always, made it possible for us to forget the stink floating around the periphery of college sports. And allowed us to focus on the fun of the games.

Just as it’s always been.

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WSU: Speaking of the new undercurrents in college sports, Greg Woods has this story from Pullman today. Rogers this week addressed offseason player retention within his football program even as the Cougars prepare for another cross-country trip against one of the nation’s top 25 teams. … On the other side of that coin – literally – Greg covers last night’s 98-74 home win over Southern Utah in men’s basketball. … The women played in Beasley earlier, welcoming in undefeated Oregon. The result wasn’t unexpected, an 86-59 Duck win. The Cougars are 0-5 to start the season.

• 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 Bears are trying to bounce back for about the 100th time this season. … The Wildcats will be missing their starting right tackle. 

– No. 16 USC at No. 6 Oregon (12:30 p.m., CBS): Jon Wilner has a column in the Mercury News today that’s central premise is there is a flaw in the Big Ten’s media deal. This game, being on CBS in the afternoon, illustrates it. CBS at 12:30 p.m. is a bad TV spot? Not for me. … John Canzano also has some thoughts about this Pac-12-tinged matchup. Some over-the-top – on purpose – thoughts. … The CFP rankings were good the Ducks. But will their pass defense hold up? And can the Trojans’ run defense deal with their overpowering ground attack? … USC is short on running backs.

– Kansas State at No. 13 Utah (1, ESPN2): The poor Utes seem well positioned to make a CFP run. But they really aren’t, as Wilner explains in the Mercury News today. … Two quarterbacks. Two big paychecks. That’s the new math.

– UL Monroe at Texas State (2, ESPN+)

– Colorado State at Boise State (4, FS1): There will be new blue turf in Boise soon. … Hey, the Rams’ center can snap with either hand.

– California at Stanford (4:30, ACCN): The Bears have found their quarterback. After losing one to the portal in the offseason. Could the exodus happen again?

– Arizona State at Colorado (5, ESPN2): The Buffs are dealing with injuries. So are the Sun Devils, though there is more optimism that former CU receiver Jordyn Tyson will be able to play. … As for injured quarterback Sam Leavitt playing in Tempe next season, there is some doubt creeping in.

– Washington at UCLA (7:30, NBC): It’s possible the Bruins have just the right quarterback to deal with a Husky defense at the top of its game. … The Bruins’ attorneys will have to be as well to keep the SoFi dream from turning into a nightmare. Wait, it already has in the battle for public acceptance.

– Utah State at Fresno State (7:30, CBS Sports): It’s been a long time playing football together for a couple Aggies.

– San Jose State at San Diego State (7:30, FS1): The Aztecs have lost a playmaking receiver for the rest of the season.

• In basketball news, the San Diego State men’s NCAA resume took a huge hit with the double overtime home loss to Troy. … Utah State starts its holiday tournament on Friday against UTEP. …The UW women rolled past visiting Fresno State, 61-43. … San Diego State was ice cold in a loss to Santa Clara.

Gonzaga: German combo guard Jack Kayil, who may or may not enter the NBA draft in the spring, made his commitment to the Zags official Wednesday, signing with GU. Theo Lawson has more on the Bulldogs’ third addition to next season’s roster. … Michael Ajayi didn’t have the impact with Gonzaga he hoped last season. But even after transferring to Butler, he’s still a Bulldog. In more than one way.

EWU: Saturday’s game with visiting Cal Poly will be the final time seniors, and childhood friends Malik Dotson and Jared Taylor, play together. Dan Thompson has their story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, we start with this story on West Valley High graduate Ty Gregorak, who has deep ties to both Montana and Montana State coaching staffs. … Billings players dot both teams’ rosters. … There is one Griz player with deep family sports roots. … The winner of the Causeway Classic between UC Davis and Sacramento State can still harbor FCS playoff dreams. The loser will stay home. … Southern Utah is on the road this week. … In basketball news, Montana State’s women shot down UNLV. … Montana came within a point of doing the same to BYU.

Idaho: We wrote this yesterday morning: “One day after issuing an apology over the officiating mistake late in the Vandals loss at Sacramento State, the Big Sky office issued something else. A fine for UI football coach Thomas Ford Jr. for, what else, talking about the play. You know, saying the call was wrong. The same the office did. Is there going to be a fine of whomever crafted the apology press release? Or the person who decided to issue one in the first place? Just trolling, sure, but it is ironic in a sad sort of way.” We were not alone in those thoughts, as Liam Bradford shares in this story. A GoFundMe page has been started by Vandal fans to help pay Ford’s fine.

Chiefs: Spokane was home in the Arena last night, hosting the Regina Pats. The Chiefs built a big-enough lead that a late Regina goal did not matter in the 3-2 victory.

Seahawks: This is somewhat scary. The Hawks have never been a bigger favorite in a road game. Most of us probably don’t care if they cover the 13.5-point spread. A one-point win would suffice. … The trip to Nashville last season helped Seattle bond.  … Once again, the Hawks have to plug an injury-caused hole in the offensive line.

Mariners: The work isn’t done. Or at least it shouldn’t be. With the M’s you never know for sure. We do know, though, there are still rosters gaps that can be closed. … The ESPN/MLB war is over. ESPN won. That’s the bottom line of the new media deals MLB announced yesterday. Starting in the spring, NBC/Peacock, Netflix and, yes, ESPN, will broadcast all games. And MLB will get at least $650 million less than if ESPN had not opted out of the final three years of its deal. … This deal will impact those of us interested in Seattle’s games.

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• I understand professional athletes are so much more polished. But that’s part of the allure to the college games for me. That and all the history and pageantry and passion that is involved with them. Until later …