Grip on Sports: When Washington State made mistakes against Arizona, they were huge ones

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Let’s see if we have this right. Washington State loses on the road again. The Cougars are really good on defense – except for eight snaps. And they have a budding quarterback controversy. Is that it? Read on.

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• A three-touchdown defeat is not good by any measure. On the road, at home, whatever. But the way 7-2 Washington State lost 58-37 last night in Tucson opened a can of snakes.

You know the kind I mean. The type of can that blows up in your face. It’s meant to surprise and entertain. And make you laugh.

Though it’s not real funny when it shoots all over the place while still in your hand.

Look, the Cougars’ defense has been really good this year. It was ranked seventh nationally coming into Saturday’s game. But Arizona has found something the last four games and his name is Kahlil Tate. The quarterback adds a dimension to the Wildcats’ offense that is rare in college football. Think a larger, faster Russell Wilson.

For 43 snaps last night, the Cougars were nearly perfect. Arizona gained 113 yards on those snaps, an average of 2.6 yards per attempt. It’s exactly what Alex Grinch wanted.

But on the other eight snaps, UA gained 472 yards – 272 on the ground and 200 through the air. That’s 59 yards per attempt. Those eight plays, four passes, four runs, were the difference.

That and Mike Leach seems to have lost faith in the most prolific passer in Washington State history. And, lest we forget, celebrated last week as WSU’s all-time winningest quarterback. Could Luke Falk have rallied the Cougars and won No. 26 last night? We will never know.

At 13-of-23 passing – for 93 yards – late in the second quarter, plagued by indecision and betrayed by three drops (including a certain touchdown), Falk was benched. Tyler Hilinksi, who is 25 wins behind Falk on Jim Mastro’s whiteboard, was given the task of leading a comeback from a 20-7 deficit. Against the hottest team in the Pac-12. On the road.

He couldn’t, with his inability to do it more self-induced. Though he ran for two touchdowns – the last quarterback in Crimson to do that was Kevin Lopina in 2008 – and threw for two more, Hilinski also tossed four killer interceptions. That’s probably why Leach described him as “reckless” afterward.

But Leach also stuck with his sophomore in the second half instead of going back to a senior who, only four weeks ago seemed a lock to hold every Pac-12 passing record before October was over.

Since then, though, Falk has not thrown for more than 300 yards in a game and isn’t even a lock to start next Saturday against Stanford. On Senior Day.

Leach wouldn’t commit to it after the whoopee-cushion of a game in Tucson, relying on the age-old adage of having to see the film.

Whatever the decision, it’s not going to make everyone happy, which is why coaches hate quarterback controversies and do everything they can to defuse them before they get started. At least most coaches do.

• There is a caveat here. We don’t know how healthy Falk is and we may never know. That’s not something Leach believes we are privy to and he has the keys to the program, so he gets to decide that.

We do know Falk has been dealing with some family issues, as his grandfather died last week. He also has been banged up most of the year, a byproduct of some 30 sacks and a few runs.

And we know he was nailed in the shin early on Saturday, causing him to limp noticeably for a while. But if that lower body ache had anything to do with Leach’s decision, we probably will not know until we read it in Leach’s autobiography.

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WSU: Theo Lawson was on his own Saturday night in Tucson, though I tried to help out with three thoughts built by watching on TV. Theo has a couple versions of the game story online as well as the difference makers and a short story on the return of an injured cornerback. …The guys in the office put together the highlights from the game and there are a lot of them. … All of the report can be found on our WSU football page. … Stefanie Loh wasn’t in Tucson either and, like me, watched on TV and then wrote up an analysis. … The win gives the Wildcats higher aspirations in a year that began as a referendum on whether Arizona should keep coach Rich Rodriguez. I’m guessing he’s not getting fired.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, Saturday’s results give us a lot to chew on, some of which we may want to spit out. … Washington beat up on UCLA, knocking the Bruins around with its ground game and knocking out quarterback Josh Rosen with a defense that is among the nation’s best. UW won 44-23 before more than 70,000 on a near-perfect day at Husky Stadium. … Darren Carrington returned to Eugene but it wasn’t his, or his Utah Utes’, day. Oregon scored at will, rolling over Utah 41-20 and ensure the Utes had a winless October. … As bad as Colorado looked offensively in Pullman last week, who would have thought they would thrash California 44-28 seven days later? That’s college football I guess. … Speaking of awful one week – we’re looking at you USC – and great the next – again, you USC . The Trojans went into Tempe and rolled Arizona State 48-17, showing the Sun Devils what a conference contender really looks like.

EWU: With the Eagles’ bye this weekend, we once again start with a tour around the Big Sky. Northern Arizona remained perfect in the conference standings (5-0) with a 37-17 home win over Sacramento State. … Weber State and Southern Utah tied Eastern at 4-1. The Wildcats topped Montana 41-27 and the Thunderbirds defeated Northern Colorado 27-14. … Montana State is at 4-2 in conference after a 28-14 win over visiting Idaho State. … UC Davis kept Cal Poly winless with a 31-28 Homecoming win. … North Dakota won on the road for the first time this season, 48-21 over winless Portland State.

Idaho: One win a week over the next month will earn a bowl berth again. The Vandals began that trek yesterday with a 31-23 win over Louisiana-Monroe, raising their record to 3-5. Peter Harriman has the game story from Moscow and Tyler Tjomsland adds a photo report. … The basketball team took advantage of an NCAA waiver and played a charity exhibition game at Oregon last night. The Vandals lost, 81-57.

Whitworth: The Pirates went on the road and picked up a 30-20 win over Pacific.

Preps: It was a crowded Saturday in the high school ranks and we can over roundups in volleyball and girls’ soccer as well as Whitney Ogden’s coverage of the Idaho state volleyball tournament and Justin Reed’s of cross country. … Former Central Valley basketball player Madison Hovren was named Patriot League preseason player of the year.

Seahawks: When the Hawks host – boy did I blow that yesterday; no excuse, I just screwed up, though I fixed it when the mistake was pointed out to me on Twitter ­– Houston today, they hope to be as inhospitable to Deshaun Watson as they usually are to rookie quarterbacks. … The Seattle defense is back to where its been most recent years, one of the NFL’s best.

Mariners: The Dodgers scored five times in the ninth, defeated host Houston 6-2 and tied the World Series at two. It’s now a best of three, with two of those games in Los Angeles.

Sounders: Seattle’s roster depth has been built with the postseason in mind. That begins today in Vancouver.

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• Seahawks this afternoon, the World Series tonight. Sorry, ma, I’m not getting my chores done. Until later …