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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Grip on Sports: Cougar fans more than happy to open this present a couple months early

The ESPN College GameDay crew of, from left, Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit will make  its first trip to Pullman on Oct. 20 as Washington State hosts Oregon. (Scott Clarke / ESPN Images)

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Christmas in October? Seemed like it last night if you were on social media, following Washington State football fans. Their long wait was over, Santa had delivered and the right present was under the tree. Read on.

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• Not going to delve deeply into this now, as I wrote something last night while sitting in SeaTac. But the announcement on Twitter that ESPN’s College GameDay was headed to Pullman seemed to excite WSU fans about as much as an Apple Cup victory.

(Hey, you over there in the purple sweatshirt. No snide remarks about it happening about as often. This is a day to be nice to Cougars. Just like yesterday, when your football team’s overtime loss in Eugene helped pave the road for this to happen.)

There will be alums walking around campus that haven’t been there in years. There will be former football players trying to squeeze into jerseys that haven’t fit for years. And there will be Cougar flags flying from Spokane to Pullman and from every hill in the latter city.

That’s my guess, anyway.

It’s that big.

• The ESPN announcement, along with another Whitworth win, was about the only good news for area college football fans.

Eastern couldn’t figure out how to score against Weber State – the Eagles had a good excuse, with All-American quarterback Gage Gubrud still sidelined – and lost its first Big Sky game. And Idaho made one mistake too many in a one-point loss at Montana State.

If you are looking for someone to root for, can we suggest the Pirates? Their 55-13 rout of Pacific Lutheran raised their record to 5-0.

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WSU: Ever pick up a phone call on your cell and immediately regret it? Happened to me last night as I sat waiting for our connection back to Spokane. But with Theo Lawson on holiday across the pond, it was up to me to put some perspective on the ESPN news. Either that, or I was the only person dumb enough to pick up my phone. … A cornerback committed to Washington State on Friday. Theo has a story on that. The Cougars’ recruiting has picked up steam lately. … The soccer team lost its third consecutive match, this one 3-2 to second-ranked USC in Pullman.

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, the showdown in Eugene was everything it was supposed to be, even if the conference didn’t do Washington any favors. Oregon won in overtime by pounding the ball at UW’s defense, something the Ducks haven’t done in a few years. And taking advantage of a missed field goal that would have won the game for the Huskies. … The other showdown, late last night in the Coliseum, wasn’t as dramatic. USC beat up and finally beat down Colorado. … UCLA won’t go winless in Chip Kelly’s first year, though California might for the rest of the season, one that started so promising. … Arizona may have trouble finding another win as well. … Utah has put it together and is now a force to be reckoned with in the South. … Finally, the Los Angeles Times’ Nathan Fenno has this detailed story on Kevin Ellison, the former USC football player who once played for the Spokane Shock. Ellison was killed recently while wandering in LA freeway traffic.

Gonzaga: Zag fans received some good news yesterday, courtesy of Jim Meehan. It seems Geno Crandall graduated from North Dakota and is enrolled in school. He’s also already practiced. … There was also some bad news, as former GU star Johnathan Williams was released by the Lakers. Jim has that story as well. … Jim also covered the women’s FanFest scrimmage, along with Dan Pelle, who supplied the photographs.

EWU: Ryan Collingwood made the trip to Ogden, Utah and has this game story as well as a notebook from the Eagles’ 14-6 upset loss to Weber State. I wonder if the NCAA playoff committee will take Gubrud’s injury into account down the road? … Around the Big Sky, UC Davis is alone in first place after its overtime home win against Idaho State. … Montana turned the ball over often and lost to North Dakota. … Northern Colorado still hasn’t won a game, but it wasn’t shut out by Portland State. … Southern Utah ran over Sacramento State.

Idaho: With a chance to tie late, the Vandals missed an extra point and never saw the ball again in the 24-23 loss at Montana State. The Bobcats kept their composure en route to the win.

Whitworth: The Pirates are atop the Northwest League standings after the easy victory in the Pine Bowl. Dan Thompson has the game story and Tyler Tjomsland supplies the photo report.

Preps: Saturdays are all about cross country. And soccer. And volleyball.

Chiefs: Playing in Spokane is not supposed to be about the destination. It’s about a journey. Except when Spokane is also your hometown. For three recent players, the stop here wasn’t a rung on a ladder to success. It was the foundation. Kevin Dudley talked with Tyler Johnson, Derek Ryan and Kailer Yamamoto about their experience. … This year’s version of the Chiefs lost in Swift Current last night.

Seahawks: The location of today’s matchup with the Raiders is just as important as the game, which is kind of odd. Oakland isn’t playoff bound, but if the Raiders win today, more than likely neither will the Hawks. … There was a roster move. … The fans in London are pretty interesting.

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• If you were wondering why I tweeted last night I never thought College GameDay would come to Pullman, it was simple. In my time covering the Cougars and talking with people connected to the show, all I heard about was the difficulty of the logistics. How Pullman’s size and remoteness made it tough to stage the event. Something must have changed. Until later …