A Grip on Sports: One play was all it took to realize the Seahawks were going to roll San Francisco on Saturday and even 49er fans knew it

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Thirteen seconds into Saturday night’s NFL playoff game between rivals, the two San Francisco fans sitting near us knew it was over. Their beloved 49ers were finished. All that was left was naming the final score. The Seahawks decide to name it after their most-lopsided win ever.

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• Sitting in a Portland pub last night a little after 5, Kim and I were eating dinner and catching the final frantic minutes of Denver’s AFC win over Buffalo, a Pyrrhic victory of the highest order. Just before kickoff in Seattle, and right about the time Bo Nix broke his ankle (and the Broncos’ Super Bowl dreams), the two 49er fans plopped down between us and the TV.

And began talking about what their team had to do to win in hostile territory. Funny, neither of them mentioned tackling Rasheed Shaheed. An oversight by them. And the 49ers’ special teams’ coach. Or former special teams’ coach. Not sure which. It was a costly mistake for everyone in scarlet and gold.

Shaheed’s 95-yard return was either foreshadowing or tone-setting. Or both.

All I know is the two heads in front of Kim and I fell faster than San Francisco’s fortunes, and they proved to be supersonic.

The opening crescendo of the 41-6 victory reminded me of the best concert the Hawks had ever put on. The Super Bowl win over Denver. That 43-8 blowout not only stood alone as Seattle’s widest margin of victory, playoff version, for 12 years. It began with a similar bang. The Peyton Manning/bad snap safety.

Shaheed’s bang was bigger. Quite a bit longer, though it came a second later in game time. And happened in Lumen, which led to an even-louder sonic boom.

Both destroyed hopes.

Though the two Seattle defenses on the field both times were going to do that anyway. The Legion of Boom was already legendary. The current group? It has two more games to cement such status.

Though, as the game wore on, I’m guessing those two 49er fans were already on board with conceding such standing.

• Yes, the 49ers were beat up. They have been all season. But that’s an NFL condition as common as a rash or hangnail. Every team in the playoffs is missing a key piece or two.

Now, college hoops, that’s where such injuries are not as common. Though the Gonzaga Bulldogs are going through an NFL-like hospital stay now.

Everyone knew they would not have Braden Huff available Saturday night at Seattle U. His knee injury, revealed just minutes before the Zags’ win at Washington State, seemed a big blow for a team that relies on its bigs for consistent scoring. But last Thursday night Huff’s absence was more of a speed bump than a roadblock.

Against the Redhawks, in Seattle, it felt as if it would loom larger, considering it took his near-perfect 28-point performance to get GU past Seattle 80-72 at home recently.

But the other boot dropped before last night’s game as Huff’s partner in Gonzaga’s usual inside jobs, Graham Ike, wandered out to the Climate Pledge Arena court in a protective boot, courtesy of a nagging ankle injury. He wasn’t playing either.

Two players capable of combining for 50 points in any game instead sitting on the bench, watching and cheering.

How would Gonzaga win? By holding the Redhawks to 50 points. Small ball? How about 40 minutes of hell? Or heck at least, as in “where the heck did that guy come from” emanating from the home team every time a Zag disrupted the flow of its offense.

The numbers tell the story. Gonzaga had 14 steals. Harassed the Hawks into shooting 36 percent. And, in a statistic that explains the defensive energy, gave up just six offensive rebounds while grabbing the other 31 available on that end.

Is it sustainable?

Maybe not when it comes to the ninth-ranked Zags ultimate goal, winning the school’s first NCAA title. But this season’s vaunted depth should be able to carry them at least until Ike gets back (he’s listed as day-to-day). Will Santa Clara on the road be winnable? It wasn’t for a full-strength Saint Mary’s squad last night. And the Gaels will poise their own challenge. So will USF, up-and-down Oregon State and just about everyone else.  

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WSU: Four more transfers are headed to the football program. Greg Woods has this story on the newest members of Washington State’s transfer class. … The Cougars women hosted USF last night in Pullman and the Dons got hot at the right time. Their fourth-quarter surge lifted them to an 85-72 win. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner waited two seasons to see if the attendance for Pac-12 legacy schools was helped or hurt by realignment. The verdict? Some it helped, some, like WSU, it hurt. Winning or losing was a bigger indicator. … The California men handed No. 14 North Carolina its second consecutive loss. … The other was at Stanford but the Cardinal faltered in the encore, losing handily to visiting Duke. … No. 12 Michigan State’s defense shut down Washington. … Oregon State collapsed down the stretch and lost to visiting Pacific. … Oregon lost its point guard for the season and the game last night to fourth-ranked Michigan. … Colorado never gives up on the road but the Buffs never seem to rally for a win either. … Utah finally won a Big 12 game. … USC came really close against No. 5 Purdue but suffered a frustrating loss. … UCLA just lost. At Ohio State. … Arizona had little trouble at UCF. … Fresno State is playing better. … Utah State lost last night at Grand Canyon, which should drop the Aggies from the rankings. … Colorado State is struggling. … San Diego State defeated New Mexico and stands alone atop the MWC standings. … The Oregon State women earned a victory at Pepperdine with late free throws. … Kiki Rice has stepped up even more at UCLA.

• In football news, Christian Caple answered Washington questions on his Substack. … John Canzano had a question of his own about former Oregon coach Mario Cristobal. … What does Oregon have to do to make the playoffs again next season?

Gonzaga: Theo Lawson, a noted 49ers fan, was probably happy to be in the Climate Pledge Arena cocoon last night, as we’re sure there was little mention of the football score during the Zags’ win. Despite his heartache, Theo has a game analysis for you, along with a pregame story on Ike’s injury and working with the office folks on the recap with highlights. … Jim Meehan has his three takeaways and a story on the defense. … There are plenty of Tyler Tjomsland photos on the stories, though the link to the photo gallery is not working. … Greg Lee was in the Kennel yesterday afternoon and witnessed the women play their most-complete game of the season in a rout of San Diego. … Elsewhere in the WCC, the Bulldogs stand alone atop the men’s standings after Santa Clara defended its home court and Saint Mary’s, winning 62-54.

EWU: It had been almost a year since the Eagle men had won a conference road game. They got one last night in Pocatello, topping Idaho State 84-66. … The Eagle women lost to the Bengals in Cheney. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, it might have been the best day ever for Montana State. The Bobcats held an FCS championship parade and then both basketball programs earned wins over rival Montana. … Portland State got past Northern Arizona at home. … The MSU men will travel to Northern Colorado tomorrow. The Bears lost at Sacramento State in overtime last night.

Idaho: Both Vandal teams picked up wins over Weber State, with the women rolling at home and the men holding off the Wildcats in Ogden.

Whitworth: The Pirates swept their Oregon road trip, winning Saturday’s back half 82-62 at Lewis & Clark.  

Chiefs: After an impressive Friday night win in Everett, Spokane was finally home after a five-game road trip. And looked for two periods as if it would begin the homestand on a high note. Not so. Moose Jaw rallied in the third and won in overtime 5-4. Dave Nichols was in the Arena and has the coverage.

Kraken: The long road trip ended with a tough loss in Utah.  

Seahawks: We have a bunch of stories to pass along of course. We start with Dave Boling’s S-R column from Lumen. Dave focuses on Sam Darnold’s performance and what it might portend. … Also on the S-R website there is Bob Condotta’s Seattle Times game story and Tim Booth’s three takeaways. … The Times had a lot more too, including on Darnold. … Other Seattle-area outlets have coverage for us to pass along. … There are always grades. And injury news. … The Athletic covered the game as per usual, with the added attraction of new-to-the-site columnist Jerry Brewer posting a column. … Nationally, the blowout win was over shadowed a bit by Denver’s costly overtime victory. But the Bay Area media didn’t skimp on stories and columns and such.

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• Who will the Seahawks play in the NFC title game? If it’s the Rams, they will be coming off a confidence-inducing freezing-weather win. If it’s the Bears, they will be coming into Seattle feeling as if nothing can stop them. Just another tough game, right, no matter who it is. … By the way, we will not be here tomorrow. Have to take the day. See you Tuesday. Until later …