A Grip on Sports: Saturday may have lasting consequences in many areas, though how lasting and how consequential is still to be determined

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Nothing really big happened Saturday, did it? Oh, sure, college football returned. There was an upset in Ireland, another FCS win over a bigger-budgeted FBS school and a couple other games. But other than that, not much. The Mariners lost too, but that was to be expected for a .500 team that won the day before. The regional NFL team also played, with the most notable aspect of the non-counting contest probably the loss of a key player. So, all in all, was it an inconsequential day or not?

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• What say you, jury of our peers?

Seems like it a little time in deliberation is needed, right? After all, if Seahawk pass-rusher extraordinaire Uchenna Nwosu is badly injured, and it sure looked as if he was after an illegal (and bush-league) chop block in the 37-33 win over visiting Cleveland, then the verdict might just be the day had huge consequences.

Otherwise, results are mixed.

After all, there hasn’t been many more Mariner-like games this season than the one they had Saturday. The Giants’ best starter, Blake Snell, couldn’t find the plate, walking six hitters in his three innings. That resulted in San Francisco using its much-maligned bullpen for the final two-thirds of the game. And yet Dan Wilson’s ballclub couldn’t push enough runs across and fell 4-3.

The totals: Eight walks, four hits, 12 strike outs and 10 runs left on. Oh, and a chance to pick up another game on the Astros wasted.

That’s 184 minutes of our golden years we will never get back. Then again, the M’s have played 130 games they’ll never get back. The final 32 better be special.

• Speaking of special, the expanded college football playoffs better be just that. If not, what it is doing to the regular season won’t be worth it.

For the record, we believe expanding the playoffs was the right move. An overdo one, actually. And may not have gone far enough.

But we didn’t anticipate the depth of one unintended consequence. The bad-losses-don’t-matter crowd.

Tenth-ranked Florida State not only lost 24-21 to Georgia Tech on Saturday, the Seminoles were pushed around. Consistently. As in 190 yards rushing. And, no, the Yellowjackets don’t run the triple option anymore. They just let their offensive line blast FSU off the ball.

But, hey, the game was in Ireland. Florida State was suffering from jet lag. … Uh, did Georgia Tech just beam over?

OK, but the loss didn’t cost the Seminoles a chance to play for the national title, so we can just dismiss it. That actually may be true. And, in a weird way, be a great thing for college football.

One of the sport’s charms are upsets. Heck, let’s be honest. Upsets might be the only charming part of the sport. It’s a brutal, vicious game – as Georgia Tech illustrated Saturday on the field and FSU’s fans reiterated in quarterback DJ Uiagalelei’s social media mentions afterward.

But with so much money, not to mention employment, on the line each week, if a first-game upset cost a school like Florida State a chance to make the postseason, then they won’t appear on schedules in the future. It may be true that the Seminoles aren’t all that good, that their ranking was, like all preseason rankings, based on nothing more than expectation. But it’s all we had to go on entering the week.

And all we will have to go on next Saturday when top-ranked Georgia and No. 14 Clemson meet in Atlanta. Or seventh-ranked Notre Dame plays at No. 20 Texas A&M. No. 19 Miami at unranked Florida. No. 13 LSU and No. 23 USC facing off in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Those games are needed. These days more than ever, when there are only four conferences that matter to the powers that be in the sport. And four that will take up 11 of the 12 playoffs spots. Seven of those are still picked by a committee. How they will parse early losses in marquee games will determine if football will be boring in future Septembers or, as in college hoops, the nonconference season will continue to feature great intersectional matchups.  

• We linked John Blanchette’s story on Dennis Patchin’s retirement yesterday when it appeared on the S-R website. It was the centerpiece of the sports section today. And we link it once more.

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WSU: There is no position on a football field more often in the spotlight than quarterback. He’s the starting pitcher, the point guard and the first-line center all rolled into one package. Which is why whomever is chosen for the role is crucial to a team’s chances. And explains why were so excited to read Greg Woods’ piece on the newest player to fill that role at Washington State, John Mateer. We read it. From start to finish. You should too. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner identifies the biggest weeks of the season in the Mercury News this morning. … There are players in every preseason camp who boost their stock. Oregon State this season is no different. … The lucky number is up in the Oregonian’s stories. Yep, No. 7 for Oregon State and Oregon. … Dillon Gabriel is ready for his star turn in Eugene. … Stanford always seems to be in lockstep with its Bay Area rival, Cal. The Bears haven’t named a starting quarterback? The Cardinal haven’t either. … North Dakota State isn’t the FCS power it was just a few years ago. But it is still really good. Can Colorado, which has such high hopes this season, avoid the upset in Boulder? … Utah has released its depth chart for the opener vs. Southern Utah. … DeShaun Foster will coach UCLA as he played, letting his actions talk for him. … USC has picked its quarterback for this season. And has a successor waiting in the wings. … There are (at least) six things Arizona State must do to win while navigating a difficult schedule. … Has new Arizona coach Brent Brennan already made a huge mistake? … In the Mountain West, two teams began their season. One lost. One won. Neither had it easy. New Mexico was a double-digit underdog to visiting Montana State and led going into the fourth quarter. Then lost 35-31. … Hawaii was a 40-point favorite. Had to score the game’s final 21 points to defeat Delaware State 35-14. … Utah State fired its coach. The move has been contentious. Nate Dreiling was named interim coach. Can he succeed? … San Diego State has a new look helmet, though at practice it is often covered. … Air Force is one of the few college programs to still feature a fullback.

Gonzaga: It’s not often we have a golf story in the GU section. Today is one of those days. And it’s not often Jim Meehan’s golf column focuses on a golfer with local ties and national influence. Today is also one of those days.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, we have this story from Bozeman here – then more on Montana State’s comeback win at New Mexico in the Mountain West section above. … Northern Colorado held a preseason celebration with its fans yesterday. … Weber State hopes to get even more from its defensive ends. … There is a new head coach at UC Davis. Tim Plough has been getting ready for this chance his entire life. … Finally, Idaho State still has a rivalry of sorts with Boise State, especially in women’s soccer.

Indians: Spokane’s offense lay dormant again Saturday. Until the top of the ninth, when an error and a Kyle Karros’ RBI double gave the Indians a 1-0 win in Hillsboro. Dave Nichols has the story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Vancouver edged Everett 3-2 in 11 innings. … Tri-City topped visiting Eugene once more, holding on for a 2-1 victory.

Mariners: The 4-3 loss was just another recent one in which Seattle had more than ample opportunities to score more runs and make it easier on the pitching staff. The offense did no such thing. … Manager Scott Servais was fired and Dan Wilson hired with one goal in mind: Give the M’s a jolt over the final 34 games and make the postseason. Will it happen? … Collin Snider has been a bright spot in a bullpen dulled by injuries and ineffectiveness. … J.P. Crawford is on his rehab assignment with Tacoma. … Lou Piniella is all in with the changes. Then again, he also is all in with senior living. … Baseball is a game of numbers. Lots of numbers. Historic numbers, like those highlighted in Jayson Stark’s Athletic column.

Seahawks: The preseason games are over. The Hawks finished 2-1 but that is immaterial. What is more important, however, are the severity of injuries to Nwosu and defensive back Artie Burns. The NFL season is one of attrition. Injuries in non-counting contests are not ideal. … We are on the cusp of the Mike Macdonald era. For whatever that is worth.

Sounders: Minnesota used the summer transfer window as most of us wish Seattle had. The Loons signed a high-quality scorer from Europe. Kelvin Yeboah did his job Saturday, scoring twice at home. Only problem? The Sounders scored three times, the last by designated player Albert Rusnák, who is having a great season.

Reign: Seattle is on something of a hot streak as the franchise prepares to retire Megan Rapinoe’s jersey today.

Paralympics: Spokane will send quite a few competitors to the upcoming Paris Games, as well as a coach. Madison McCord introduces them all this morning with this preview of the upcoming competitions.  

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• That’s it for us today. We have quite a bit on our to-do list today. One thing that isn’t on it? Playing golf. But we are about ready to get back on the links after taking time off due to our surgery. We’ll be rediscovering our swing on the driving range early in the week, so if you see us muttering bad words under our breath after another bladed 7-iron, don’t hesitate to interrupt us. Such antics are just par for the course. As are such terrible puns. Until later …