A Grip On Sports: College football is never going to be what it was but New Year’s Day showed us once again it can still be special – in a different way

A GRIP ON SPORTS • A New Year’s Day of dominating defense, guard-changing and a wild, wacky, “the-stage-is-on-the-field” ending finally is done. Though I’m pretty sure in an alternative dimension somewhere the Upside Down still exists and Georgia is still lateraling the football.

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• Is Eleven still alive? Is college football? Yes and yes, though after all the stranger things I witnessed Thursday, I’m more confident of the latter than the former. But as the answer to all your questions is money, I’m guessing Netflix and the Duffer Brothers will offer a sequel series about her continuing battle with evil sometime before the end of the decade.

Probably right around the time the streaming service earns the right to present the CFP National Championship Presented by State Farm. Or Dr. Pepper. Or the Hawkins National Laboratory.

It may just pit WSU vs. Mississippi State, the way college football is going. It all depends, of course, if some billionaire with a fondness for Mike Leach’s legacy steps up for the Cougars and the Bulldogs. Heck, one already has in Lubbock. Cody Campbell may have lost a little focus and just forgot to invest in the key piece: a quarterback.

Money can’t buy bliss, sure, but it certainly can give your alma mater some purchase in the college football postseason these days. Even if that school is named Indiana. Or Mississippi. Heck, even non-participant Ferris State, who earned more national media mention during last night’s Sugar Bowl than it did while winning a second consecutive Division II NCAA title.

Almost as much as those poor chaps pushing the postgame stage around the field in a Sisyphus-like move.

But did you notice a couple salient facts about the semifinal field? The four schools that successfully pushed the rock to the top of the quarterfinal hill all have one thing in common. They haven’t won a national title in a long time. Or ever.

And they represent the four corners of the nation. Sort of.

The West? Sure. Never-champion University of Oregon, a school that plays its conference games in the Midwest. The North? Never-champion Indiana, with its ancient coach and even more ancient penchant for football mediocrity. The South? The 1960 champ (maybe) Ole Miss. Nothing screams “South” more than Ole Miss and its grove of traditions. And the East? Well, we’re stretching it a bit but 2001 titlist Miami is on the East Coast. And its area is probably home to more Northeast retirees than Fort Myers.

The players? They are from all over. Literally.

One thing yesterday’s Rose Bowl illustrated clearly – besides Indiana’s resurgence and dominance – was pretty much every nouveau-rich college football team is made up of players from elsewhere. The old guard too, though theirs didn’t perform quite as well.

Money and freedom have changed college sports forever. For worse in some ways. Better in others. Like all change. The better part was highlighted by Fernando Mendoza’s smile, grown in Miami, polished in Berkeley and now on full display for a school in Bloomington, Indiana. It was on full display after the Hoosiers rolled over Alabama 38-3. 

Were Thursday’s New Year’s Day games diminished some? For those of us with long memories, sure. And is Exhibit One for an argument the change has been worse.

But even old folks’ memories began sometime, right? Mine may have been built on such things as the program my dad brought back from the last time the Hoosiers played in the Rose Bowl, but it took time for them to take hold. To build upon each other. And for my consciousness to finally realize they were important.

Whatever we have now? Whatever we will have when the SEC and the Big Ten finally decide the CFP’s future? Whatever ESPN’s bankroll can provide? They will become someone else’s memories. Their nostalgia. Their inviolate, never-should-be-changed traditions.

Unless the one undefeated aspect of college sports, circa the 21st Century, continues to post victory after victory.

Did you watch those frantic final few Sugar Bowl seconds? They were pure chaos. And a way-too-perfect metaphor for the sport itself in 2026.

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WSU: Chaos was expected to reign in Pullman as the transfer portal officially opened today. But new coach Kirby Moore has been doing some standout recruiting, seemingly prioritizing the same unit Leach always prioritized: the offensive line. Greg Woods has this story covering the portal’s impact on the Cougs. … One surprising returnee is running back Kirby Vorhees, who skipped Washington State’s recent Famous Idaho Potato Bowl win. Greg has a story about Vorhees’ decision as well. … And Greg has his portal tracker available each day on the S-R website. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, I wanted to pass along this L.A. Times story on Keith Jackson’s family. Though I was surprised to find it had no mention of his WSU heritage. … Oregon’s Orange Bowl (I think) win was built by its defense. And was made tougher by some of Dan Lanning’s still-hard-to-fathom fourth-down decisions. Ditto with some of quarterback Dante Moore’s. But they had too much for a Texas Tech team whose quarterback looked lost when pressured by the Duck defenders. … John Canzano has his postgame thoughts. … Oregon State’s quarterback is in the portal. … The new athletic director at Colorado has some discussions ahead. … The Buffs’ portal losses are growing. … Most of Utah’s offensive coaching staff is headed to Michigan with Kyle Whittingham. So is BYU’s defensive coordinator. … The Rose Bowl is college football’s traditional crown jewel. Maybe not in the future though. … Despite the bowl loss, some Arizona State players improved their standing. … Arizona is finally going to play its bowl game. The Holiday Bowl is late this season. … San Diego State’s roster reconstruction begins today as the Aztecs attack the portal. Transfers have long had a place at the school. … The portal is front and center for Colorado State too.

• In basketball news, the Washington men are waiting to find out the extent of Wesley Yates’ injury. … Oregon plays at Maryland. … Colorado and Arizona State meet today to begin Big 12 play. … The Washington women upset No. 6 Michigan in Seattle. … Oregon routed Northwestern. … California lost at North Carolina yesterday. … Stanford was wiped out by North Carolina State. … Finally, Caitlin Clark’s signature Nike shoe is finally available. Or will be in the spring.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs became members of the WCC in 1979, the second consecutive year of conference realignment in West Coast college athletics. Though, to the best of my memory, that term wasn’t used when schools like Arizona State, Arizona, USD, San Diego State and Hawaii started moving around. John Blanchette took a look back at how current WCC newcomer Seattle University was a WCC stalwart back then, though the conference was known as the WCAC in those days. And the Chieftains’ WCC stay (and nickname) didn’t last. … Back to the now. And tonight’s Kennel contest. Theo Lawson has a preview, the key matchup and a story on former Zag Junseok Yeo, a standout for the Redhawks.

EWU and Idaho: The Big Sky basketball schedule began Thursday for everyone except the Vandals and the Eagles. Those two meet Saturday at 2 p.m., with the men in Moscow and the women in Cheney. Dan Thompson has a preview. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State began conference with both basketball teams winning against Northern Colorado. … Montana’s men won but the women lost to Northern Arizona. … The Portland State men won at Weber State. … Idaho State defeated Sacramento State in both men’s and women’s play. … In football news, the Bobcats’ quarterback has a family legacy. With the Griz.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup of Thursday’s basketball action, though it leads with some news on the football front.

Seahawks: The story of Seattle’s history in big games appeared in the Times’ yesterday. And we linked it. It is on the S-R site today. We link it again. … The game in Santa Clara is for all the NFC marbles. The 49ers have some keys. So do the Seahawks. … Sam Darnold’s career was given a kick start by his year in a 49er uniform. … The Hawks will be missing their starting left tackle. It seems so will San Francisco. … Seattle has some key players back though. … Byron Murphy II has been a game-changer all season. … George Kittle is expected to play.

Kraken: Seattle, sparked by a number change, may have turned a corner with their six-game streak of earning points.

Bloomsday: We pass along another of Nina Culver’s stories in her Bloomsday Perennials series. Mike Fleming’s story is another one of perseverance.  

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• Fridays are usually reserved for an in-depth look at the weekend’s sports TV offerings. But as this is the second day of a four-day stretch, I shifted gears a bit. And there is only one really important NFL game this weekend, right? Saturday night. At 5 p.m. On ABC and ESPN. The Hawks at the 49ers. Now you are covered. Until later …