A Grip on Sports: The Cougars didn’t win, on the scoreboard at least, but the Holiday Bowl was one of their finest efforts

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It would have been fun to watch a fully stocked Washington State football team play last night in the Holiday Bowl. One with its head coach, quarterback and most of its defense in place. It didn’t happen. But rest assured, even if that group had been available, had played its best, had won, it wouldn’t have brought the football program more glory than the players who did take the field at Snapdragon Stadium and fell 52-35 to the Orange.

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• Zevi Eckhaus was the star. The quarterback who lost. Not just Friday night’s game but the preseason battle with that other guy, what’s-his-name, for the starting spot this season. The senior redshirted to save his last season of eligibility, but thanks to the quirky – or is convulted better? – NCAA rules, could still play against Syracuse. And play he did, throwing, running, being all sorts of John Mateer – oh, yeah, that’s the name – like. But it was never going to be enough.

Neither were the efforts of soon-to-be-gone senior Kyle Williams, the former Fresno State standout who blossomed in his two years in Pullman. Two years was not enough time, but with his Holiday Bowl-record 172 receiving yards including two touchdowns, he entered WSU’s career lists for scoring catches.

In the end, none of it was enough. To win, anyway. The Orange’s offense is one of the nation’s best and was not missing any key parts. It was that offense that keyed the school’s 10 wins, its upset of Miami, everything. Including ending any doubt about the outcome with about five minutes left.

Except there was one thing remaining. The final margin. As Joel Klatt mentioned on the Fox broadcast, that number is important to a lot of people. By gametime, 21st-ranked Syracuse was favored by as many as 18 points. The S-R’s Greg Woods called Eckhaus’ late touchdown pass to redshirt freshman receiver Branden Ganashamoorthy “a footnote.” Tell that to those Coug alums who visited their local betting parlor and put money on their favorite team.

Funny thing though. That’s about money. Just as Jake Dickert’s departure was. Just as Mateer’s was. Just as about everyone former Cougar in the transfer portal decision was. The bowl game itself? For the guys in Crimson? Nope. It wasn’t. And that’s why the group, losers on the scoreboard, sure, flew back to Pullman with a “W.” And it doesn’t stand for the name of the state they live in.

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WSU: Lots to share here. Greg has his game analysis and helped on the recap and highlights, which appeared on the S-R website right after the final play. … Jacob Thorpe was in San Diego and has a column from the contest. … Theo Lawson was there too and has this story on Williams’ night, which not only included a Holiday Bowl record but also a banged-up knee. … We were at home, dealing with three antsy dogs, which made writing our TV Take all the more interesting. … Tyler Tjomsland was on the field, didn’t have to take any pictures of beat-up grass – the Snapdragon turf was replaced prior to the game, so there was no repeat of the sandbox WSU played in against San Diego State – but did have to document quite a few Syracuse big plays in his photo gallery. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, there were other bowl games Friday, with the one in Las Vegas featuring USC finishing up a disappointing season with a last-second win over the SEC’s Texas A&M. Funny thing. The Trojans began the season with a win over the SEC’s LSU, scoring the game winning touchdown with eight-seconds remaining. They won this one by scoring the game winner with, yep, eight-seconds left. … What will former Purdue coach Ryan Walters bring to Washington as defensive coordinator? … It’s Rose Bowl week. No. 1 Oregon faces Ohio State in a rematch of a one-point Duck win. A win that came despite the UO run defense being gashed by Chip Kelly’s offense. A win that may have cost Oregon defenders some awards. … Colorado plays BYU in an all-Big-12 Alamo Bowl matchup. Though the two teams did not meet in the regular season. The game features the Buff offense vs. the Cougars’ hard-to-crack pass defense. … An Arizona State defender has to sit the first half. The Sun Devils have picked his replacement. … Arizona grabbed a quarterback out of the portal. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, Colorado State meets Miami (Ohio) in Snoop Dogg’s bowl game today in Tucson. … One of Boise State’s offensive linemen is getting an Ashton Jeanty tattoo. … Fresno State has hired a few assistant coaches. … In basketball news, the Husky women are about to start Big Ten play. … The Oregon State men begin West Coast Conference play today. How do they stack up? … Two future Pac-12 members, Utah State and San Diego State, meet in San Diego today in the biggest Mountain West men’s game this season.

Gonzaga: Whenever the Zags and UCLA play, something amazing happens. Most of the time anyway. The two West Coast powers meet again this afternoon (1 p.m., Fox). Jim Meehan will be at the Intuit Dome and has the game preview and the key matchup. … This game is big enough to garner national attention.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana has lost and gained players through the portal. … So has Weber State. … The Idaho State women hope to improve their shooting as Big Sky play begins. … Northern Arizona still has a nonconference game to play today.

Preps: There was a lot of holiday basketball played Friday. More today. We have Dave Nichols’ coverage of the top boys’ game from the West Valley tournament, a game in which the Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter to edge Central Valley 47-45. … Dave also put together a GSL roundup and passes along another roundup of smaller-schools’ games.

Chiefs: Spokane returned to action in Wenatchee, received spectacular goaltending from Dawson Cowan and edged the Wild 2-1. Dave has the coverage.

Seahawks: Playing on a Thursday night doesn’t lead to great football. The Hawks won, though, and Mike Macdonald credits their effort.

Kraken: The stats say, despite a coaching change, this season’s Seattle team is really similar to last season’s Seattle team.

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• Sorry, but we were up last night until early this morning. Family obligations. Fell asleep around 1:30 a.m. and slept right through our usual wake-up time. That’s why there is less than usual. Until later …