A Grip on Sports: The Christmas list for your favorite college football program has to include frankincense, myrrh and, of course, gold

A GRIP ON SPORTS • What do you want from Santa this Christmas? You know, beyond the “peace on Earth, goodwill for men” babble that is all for P.R. You want the newest game system? A four-wheel drive pickup? How about a transfer quarterback with NFL potential for your favorite college football program?

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• That last one seems all the rage these days. Washington fans had their wishes granted. So did Oregon State. Oregon too. The Cougars? Well, there is still time before the wise men arrive. Let’s see if they bring something other than frankincense and myrrh. Ya, the gold is a given.

College athletics have sure changed this year, haven’t they?

Washington State and OSU are headed to the WCC for a two-year stint. Sort of. Their football programs are on their own, though they’ll play mainly Mountain West schools. That will be the way until the future makeup of the Pac-12 comes into focus.

The other two Northwest power schools decided the Big Ten was where they wanted to be, joining the L.A. schools in a reverse-Beverly-Hillbillies move. The four schools that entered the Pac-12 last decided to become the first to leave for the Big 12.

And Stanford and California are headed to a conference – the ACC – that is under as much legal jeopardy as the Pac-12 seemed to be before they left. Maybe the Bears and Cardinal are carriers in that regard.

But that’s not all that’s changing. A sign-stealing scandal fomented in Ann Arbor has jump-started a move too long in coming. Helmet speakers will be used in tonight’s Las Vegas Bowl (and others) as football programs find another way to spend money that some day they’ll argue in court is all used to help student/athletes.

Or in an NLRB hearing.

This year won’t go down as the year college athletics reached its change zenith. Heck, it may end up being a footnote in history. But as we write this morning, 2023 does feel like something of an inflection point. A pivot. When changes on and off the fields of competition merged together to give us chaos.

Ask Florida State. When it decided, twice, to sign grants-of-rights agreements with its ACC brethren, it knew it was tying itself to the conference until – checks calendar – 2036. Really? Now the Seminoles want out. Or at least a sense of what it will cost for their freedom.

Maybe it is because 2036 is so long down the road the NLRB might actually have declared college athletes employees by then. And they’ll all be on strike for better working conditions. Or a bigger share of the myrrh.

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WSU: Yep, it’s official. The Cougars and Oregon State will compete in the WCC in just about every sport except football – those schedules are Mountain West heavy – and baseball – what will happen in this sport is still to be determined. They will still be known to everyone as Pac-12 schools. It feels as if we’re through the looking glass a bit here. Theo Lawson takes a look and offers this story. … Greg Woods offers a more-traditional story, that of another football recruit joining the latest class. … We looked yesterday but were unable to find Colin Mulvany’s photo gallery from the Cougs’ win over Boise State in the Arena. We found it this morning. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has a mailbag in the Mercury News full of interesting stuff. … John Canzano delves deeper into the agreement between the outgoing members and the left-behind two. The bottom line? $255 million. … The NCAA is caving again, this time concerning multiple-time transfers in football. …Utah’s opponent in tonight’s Las Vegas Bowl, Northwestern, may be the most-surprising successful team of the year. … Opt outs and transfers are making a big impact on bowl season. Oregon is dealing with both as it prepares for its meeting with Liberty. … USC is being hit by them as well. … We spoke a little too soon about Colorado’s key recruit, but the Buffs got their lineman yesterday. … Arizona and Arizona State went old-school in their recruiting pitches. … In basketball news, the fourth-ranked Arizona men are playing another top team, this time No. 14 FAU today. … We remember an impactful Sports Illustrated headline from our youth as if it were printed yesterday. “The Bruins are in Ruins.” It seems apropos this morning after they lost at home to Maryland. … The conference season begins after Colorado takes a break. … The Buff women needed a spark in their last game. They got it.

Gonzaga: We logged on to ESPN+ yesterday and watched most of the women’s 67-56 win over visiting New Mexico. Except for the parts where that spinning thing-a-ma-jig interrupted the flow. If you missed it, Greg Lee fills you in with this game story. … Everyone likes it when a local well-known athlete visits with kids, right? It’s not just a Christmas thing but fits right in with the holiday-giving theme. Anton Watson gave of himself yesterday, visiting with the students at Willard Elementary. Liam Bradford and Tyler Tjomsland were there as well and have the story and the photos. … San Diego State is ready for the logistical challenges of a trip to the Northwest during basketball season. Or something like that. (Read to the end of the story.) … Elsewhere in the WCC, Loyola Marymount came close at home against No. 16 Colorado State but fell 76-67.

EWU: The Eagle women routed Wyoming in Las Vegas to end the nonconference portion of their season. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Bobby Hauck has been around Missoula off-and-on for more than two decades. … Montana State has added another assistant coach. … Sacramento State and UC Davis finalized their recruiting classes. … In basketball, Idaho State’s nonconference results were not what the men wanted.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a roundup of Friday’s action.

Seahawks: There is a lot to watch this Sunday, though the most important thing is the final score. … Geno Smith will play. Jamal Adams won’t. We can’t shake the feeling Adams is not just injured but also upset and the Hawks are covering for him. … Their remaining schedule is hard but compares favorably with other playoff contenders.

Kraken: Does Seattle have a new No. 1 goalie?

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• We will return tomorrow morning for a quick update. Then we’ll be off until Tuesday. Just wanted you to know. Until later …