A Grip on Sports: There is a chance Sunday’s results could make all of the recent pro sports’ positivity go down the drain with alacrity

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Being a pessimist sucks. Looking at a glass overflowing, seeing a small flaw near the bottom and wondering just when the darn thing is going to crack open, spill its contents to the floor and cut my hand when I reach to save it. It’s especially tough on a day like this one.

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• To say the Seattle-area sports teams have been on a roll is something of an overstatement. Not much of one – thanks Seahawks and your stupid secondary injuries – but one nonetheless.

Which allows the doubting Thomas part of my personality the opening to blurt out a few words I shouldn’t. Words like hangover. And inevitable. And “hey, at least they covered.”

OK, that last one is perfectly acceptable in these rambling, gambling modern times. The Cougars rambled across the country, gave the No. 4 team in college football a welcomed (by coach Lane Kiffin, who has 10th-ranked Georgia on the schedule next) wakeup call and made money for those who showed their support by putting down a quid or two on Wazzu with the local gambling establishment (or app). Made the program much-needed cash too, as in a $400,000 payday.

Jim Walden used to say good coaches win, great coaches cover. And that was back when a one-eyed guy named Louie was Joe Cougarfan’s only recourse in the gambling department. It’s even more important these days as first-year Pullman resident Jimmy Rogers probably knows all too well. If not, then he ignored the roars after the Apple Cup.

No need to screen calls today. The 24-21 loss turned from a will-they-cover exercise into a hey-they-can-win-this one in about an hour Saturday morning. The Cougars didn’t but it wasn’t from effort. Or coaching. A couple of expectedly unfair officiating decisions? Sure, they hurt. Not the reason they lost though. The better team, playing at home, won. Washington State couldn’t afford as many small mistakes as it made. And could have used a little more help from Ole Miss.

• A similar formula is needed this morning in Jacksonville. And not just for the Seahawk fans who traveled across the nation to enjoy a Waffle House breakfast (a quick Google search yielded 40 of the franchise’s restaurants in the city limits) this morning and the NFL game in the afternoon (local time).

We’re sure Trevor Lawrence woke up this morning, anticipating the Jaguars’ raising their record to 5-1 and personally throwing for 400 yards against the Hawks’ M*A*S*H-unit of a secondary.

Will it happen? Smart money says no. Seattle is, for some odd reason, favored (by 1.5 points). Maybe it’s the Hawks’ recent road record – Mike Macdonald is 9-1 in his head coaching career away from the Emerald City. Or maybe it is the betting public isn’t all that smart. Whatever, if Macdonald’s group heads home this evening 4-2, I’ll be surprised. Then again, pessimists like myself are always surprised by positive outcomes.

• That’s the main reason I’m not expecting much from the Mariners today. Though they had more than 24 hours (and a cross-continent flight) to shake off the euphoria-induced hangover of Friday’s 3-2 series win over Detroit, the pitching staff probably needs another day. The bullpen certainly could use a little time to recuperate.

Not going to happen though. The American League Championship Series, the final bridge the Mariners need to cross in their franchise’s history, starts tonight in Toronto. The first pitch, on Fox, is set for 5:03 p.m. PDT. Game two Monday, on the same network, starts at 2:03 p.m. Then the scene shifts back to Seattle.

If only the core of this group of Mariners had some experience playing playoff games in Canada. Against a favored foe.

Wait. They do. It wasn’t yesterday, sure, but the 2022 Wild Card-round upset is as recent a playoff memory as the franchise had heading into the season. And it was a near-perfect one.

Luis Castillo’s best Mariner outing – 7.1 innings, six hits, five strikeouts, no runs – in Game One. The rally from an 8-1 deficit with nine runs in the final four innings the next day.

Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Eugenio Suarez, J.P. Crawford all had a hand in the offense. Castillo, George Kirby, Andres Munoz all appeared in the series.

My inner pessimist says it was a fluke. That this Toronto team is better than that one. That Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is so hot, nothing is going to stop the Jays, not even Bo Bichette being out. That the smart money is on saving the pen today, no matter how well or poorly Bryce Miller throws. Put the emphasis on a split, with Monday’s game the target.

Or, as Raleigh might just be saying in the clubhouse, might as well win them all.

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WSU: We don’t have to write anything more on the Cougars’ loss. We wrote some above and we had some instant analysis Saturday morning, in the form of our TV Take. Plus, we have a bunch of other words to pass along, most of them from Greg Woods. He has his game analysis, which emphasizes the positives from the game. He also has a story on Isaac Terrell’s best game. And worked with the folks in the office on the recap with highlights. … He also had a story on offensive lineman Christian Hilborn’s injury that kept him out. … Colton Clark also chipped in with three instant takeaways and the difference makers. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner’s Saturday Night Five column returns this week in the Mercury News. … This year’s Washington team did something against Rutgers on Friday the 2024 team was unable to do. Gut out a win. … It was an interesting weekend. With some interesting results.

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

– UCLA 38, Michigan State 13: Got a text yesterday from a friend. Wanted the answer to a simple question. Was Deshaun Foster that bad? The answer seems obvious today. Yes. Maybe even worse than thought.

– SMU 34, Stanford 10: The Cardinal defense had no chance. And it didn’t help when cornerback Aaron Morris was injured and had to be stretched off the field. He seems to be OK though.

– No. 7 Indiana 30, No. 3 Oregon 20: The Ducks were manhandled much of the day, with their front lines unable to handle the Hoosiers’ physical play. John Canzano was there and he has this Phil Knight-centric column. … Chuck Culpepper expresses everyone’s thoughts: How did Indiana get this good this fast? … Dan Lanning did everything he could to get the crowd involved. His players? Not so much.

– Colorado 24, No. 22 Iowa State 17: This was a win Deion Sanders and the Buffs really needed. And a loss the Cyclones could not afford. But both happened as Colorado made big plays down the stretch.

– Wake Forest 39, Oregon State 14: Reser Stadium after halftime looked quite a lot like Martin Stadium did after halftime in the first couple seasons of the Paul Wulff era. In other words, the 0-7 Beavers are in a death spiral and major changes must be made to pull them out. … In an update, it seems changes were made. There is a report Trent Bray has been fired this morning.

– USC 31, No. 15 Michigan 13: The host Trojans dominated up front. Ran for more than 200 yards without their starting running back. Held the Wolverines to 109, less than half their average. It was the most-impressive win of Lincoln Riley’s tenure.

– No. 18 BYU 33, Arizona 27 (2 OT): A rain delay blunted the Cougars’ early momentum. The Wildcats blunted their own late, getting too conservative and allowing BYU to rally and force overtime in Tucson. The Cougs took advantage.

– Troy 48, Texas State 41 (OT): For the second consecutive week the Bobcats melted in the second half. This time they lost in overtime to the visiting Trojans.

– Boise State 41, New Mexico 25: The Lobos turned out to be “pesky.” That’s usually not a good thing for the favored team. But it didn’t matter to the Broncos as the pulled away late.

– Utah 42, No. 21 Arizona State 10: Devon Dampier did to the outmanned Sun Devils what he did to WSU last season. He beat them with his arm and his legs. The New Mexico transfer was unstoppable. … It didn’t help ASU that star quarterback Sam Leavitt could not play.

– San Diego State 44, Nevada 10: Could the Aztecs win on the road? Yes. Could they dominate? Yes to that as well.

– Hawaii 44, Utah State 26: So much for the Aggies leaving the Mountain West with an unblemished record vs. the Warriors.

Gonzaga: The women took over the Kennel on Saturday with their annual FanFest celebration. Greg Lee was in attendance and has this coverage. … There is also a series of photographs from James Snook. 

Whitworth: Despite losing their starting quarterback, the Pirates had little trouble with winless George Fox on Saturday in the Pine Bowl. Ethan Myers has all that and more in this coverage of the 40-16 win.

Idaho: The Vandals’ season is slowly going off the rails, with the most recent train wreck happening in the Kibbie Dome on Saturday. In the second half. When Northern Colorado, the homecoming opponent, pulling away for a 49-33 win. Peter Harriman was there and has this game story. … Elsewhere in the (current and future) Big Sky, No. 4 Montana struggled with Cal Poly for three quarters of the Griz’s homecoming game. Then it pulled away with three touchdowns in a 28-9 victory. … The fifth-ranked Montana State Bobcats showed Idaho State why they are ranked that high, dominating in a 48-14 victory. … Sacramento State got back on the winning track, having little trouble with beat-up Weber State in a 55-27 road victory. … Northern Arizona fell to another ranked foe, this time 45-24 to No. 6 UC Davis. On the road. … Utah Tech’s tough schedule continued as the future Big Sky member fell 41-23 to No. 3 Tarleton State.

Preps: It’s Sunday morning, which means Dave Nichols looks back at Friday night’s football games. And that we can pass along Cheryl Nichols’ roundup of Saturday’s action, which includes some playoff games.

Chiefs: Dave returns with his coverage of Spokane’s 2-1 victory over host Seattle. The Saturday night win kicked off a six-game road trip for the Chiefs, who will visit the magnificent fall vistas of Alberta for the next few days.

Velocity: ONE Spokane Stadium isn’t covered. Which means Saturday’s rain had an impact on the Velocity’s home match with South Georgia Tormenta FC. It ended in a draw at one, giving both teams a point as the USL League One regular season winds down.

Mariners: If Friday night’s win could only do one other thing – advancing in the playoffs is the No. 1 result – than its outcome allowing younger Mariner fans their own memories of a winner-take-all game should be it. It’s time to put the past in the past. … Bryan Woo is expected to be on the M’s roster this week. … Both teams have a lot at stake this week. It’s funny they both came into the league the same year (1977) and could play in the World Series against the first Seattle franchise (Milwaukee started as the Seattle Pilots). … The ground shook Friday.

Seahawks: The game kicks at 10 a.m. on Fox today. … We linked this story earlier in the week when it ran in the Times. The Justin-Britt-is-a-runner story ran in the S-R today. … With three starting defensive backs probably not playing, there were a couple more added from the practice squad.

Sounders: Not only did shorthanded Seattle top Real Salt Lake 1-0 at Lumen Field last night, the Sounders broke out the Mariners’ victory dance after.

Kraken: Jared McCann’s overtime goal gave Seattle another win to open the NHL season. … Will he win the team’s new MVP award?

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• Not sure what’s on the menu for today’s Seahawk game. I was advocating for a Waffle House breakfast but Kim refused to lower her cooking standards that much, so we are going in a different direction. Until later …