A Grip on Sports: C’mon, why do the Zags constantly schedule games in Spokane against inferior opponents like … checks notes … No. 8 Baylor?

A GRIP ON SPORTS • There was a moment in sixth-ranked Gonzaga’s 101-63 season-opening win over Baylor when I started chuckling. As the carnage unfolded at the Spokane Memorial Arena, my thoughts wandered. To friends who are proud owners of season tickets. Their yearly complaints about the Zags’ lackluster home schedule. With way-too-many overmatched foes.

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• Oh sure, there is no way many of the Kennel’s handful of visitors move the needle. The Bucknells and UMass Lowells of the world certainly don’t. But this year’s season opener was supposed to be different – and not just because it was held in the Arena in front of a sellout crowd of 12,000.

Baylor, under coach Scott Drew, is a perennial contender. Not just in the Big 12, the nation’s deepest basketball conference, but also in March, when it really matters. Last season’s disappointment was supposed to be washed clean with a rebuilt roster, which just happened to include a transfer point guard from Duke.

Impressive, right? Poll voters thought so. Both major preseason polls ranked the Bears eighth nationally, two behind Gonzaga in the writers’ poll, one in the coaches’.

Uh, there seems to be a bit bigger gap than that.

Maybe Jay Williams, supplying the analysis on ESPN2, has it right. The former Duke point guard – the building was full of them – planted his flag on the Zags’ hill. Said more than once they had the pieces to win the national title this season.

Heard that before? Sure. But not quite so emphatically. Nor as early.

Part of the latter has to do with the perceived strength of the opponent, with Spokane the home of the only Top 10 matchup on the season’s opening night. Part of the former has to do with Mark Few’s depth. As Jay Bilas likes to say, the Zags have dudes. This year, more than usual. If Few can stomach it (he’s usually an eight-man rotation dude himself), it looks as if the Bulldogs could play 10 guys every night. And suffer little in the way of drop off.

OK, one game. One night. One look. Not enough. Too early. But a couple minutes into the second half, when the Bears were showing signs of life after falling behind by 25 and was finally playing the type of defense Drew (and Williams) felt they should, the Zags’ most-important player took over.

Point guard Ryan Nembhard grabbed the ball, slowed the pace, got his teammates organized and forced everyone to play Gonzaga offensive basketball. A few minutes later the lead had grown from 17 to 30. It was safe to head home.

And ask your buddies why Few rarely invites good teams to town.

• The other openers in the region? The ones that started long before 8:30? Mixed results, as always.

Two coaches made their debuts for their new schools. David Riley scheduled well, hosting Portland State. He also turned Cedric Coward loose against the Vikings – just like he did when he and Coward were at EWU together. The result? Riley is 1-0 with the Cougars after a 100-92 victory.

Riley’s successor in Cheney had a much-tougher task, though for a few minutes in the first half it did not look that way. The Eagles were in Boulder and flying high, opening a 17-point lead. But Don Monson’s group didn’t have the stamina and Colorado stampeded them in the second half, pulling away for a 78-56 win.

Two local teams met earlier in the evening in Pullman, with the WSU women holding on for an 83-82 overtime decision against Eastern.

Across the border in Moscow, the Vandals rode the shoulders of former Lake City High point guard Kolton Mitchell – the Idaho State transfer played a team-high 24 minutes – and rolled overmatched Northwest U. 94-60.

• Today is a big day. The first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed. Wait, did you think I would focus on something else? Pssh. Sports column, remember? Staying in my lane. And that leads me directly to Atlanta. In January.

This afternoon (4, ESPN) we will get the first glimpse at the two teams the CFP selection committee believes will be in its championship game Jan. 20. And whether the group has any respect for the 7-1 Washington State Cougars.

Our guesses? Oregon and Georgia, the presumptive Big Ten and SEC champs. And no. I don’t expect the Cougars to be among the committee’s 25 ranked teams. The reason? The one we will hear will be strength of schedule. The reality is, as an independent, WSU just doesn’t have the juice to break into the old men’s club. It’s that simple.

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WSU: Before we get into the links, we wanted to take a moment and explain how we will cover college basketball this season. The Cougars (and Oregon State) are playing in the West Coast Conference, which means there is little crossover with the old Pac-12 schools. A bit in nonconference and that’s it. We’re not going to waste our time worrying about UCLA or Arizona or, certainly, Cal. We will rarely link their stories. Washington and Oregon will get more, as there is more of a PNW tie. And we will do what we can to find news about WCC schools, though that has always been an issue. When we do, we will link them in the Gonzaga section, as always. … OK, on to football. It’s Tuesday, so we can pass along Greg Woods’ first look at this Saturday’s opponent. It’s 2-6 Utah State, and the game will be at 7:30 in Pullman. You can watch on The CW. Oh, by the way, the Cougars are favored by almost three touchdowns against a battered Aggies group. … With four regular season games left, punter Nick Haberer will make his season debut. The senior is finally healthy. And he can play four games without using a year of eligibility. Greg has that story as well. … Now, basketball. Greg covered the later men’s game, one that featured a lot of whistles, a lot of offense and little in the way of defense. … Greg Lee drove down to Pullman and covered the women’s matchup featuring local schools. Behind senior Tara Wallack’s team-high 21 points, the Cougars held off Peyton Howard (25 points) and EWU in overtime. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner took some time in the Mercury News to explain the CFP process (again) and to predict the final outcome (again). … No matter who is where, there will be howls of protest. … John Canzano covers tonight’s festivities (and a lot more) in his weekly mailbag. … Oregon State has a quarterback decision to make before it hosts San Jose State this weekend. … Washington’s pass rush excelled against USC, though the Trojans aren’t known for a stout offensive line this season. … Maryland isn’t a Big Ten power, unlike Oregon. The Ducks hope to continue their march to a conference title despite losing their best receiver, Tez Johnson, for an indetermined amount of time. But it won’t be short. … The Colorado offense is clicking. … With Utah down and BYU flying, this week’s rivalry game seems to have an interesting subplot. Will Ute fans sell their tickets to Cougars? … If Arizona State’s best offensive threat is out this week, it will hurt. … Arizona is just down and out. … In the Mountain West, Boise State opened the season with questions about the quarterback position. They are gone. … Hawaii has a new co-captain. … San Diego State’s coach, Sean Lewis, does not want to get involved with the Snapdragon Stadium turf issue. He is more focused on New Mexico. … In basketball news, Oregon State’s men took control late an won its opener at home. … Washington’s women opened the season by rolling over Seattle U. … The Husky men begin tonight, hosting UC Davis. It’s the start of the Danny Sprinkle era. … For the Kelly Graves era to continue, the Oregon women may need to have about 20 more wins like they picked up Monday night. … The Duck men rolled. … Kyle Smith won his first game as Stanford’s coach.  

Gonzaga: Baylor’s Drew was impressed. “As far as Gonzaga goes, I think they’re going to have a special year,” he told the S-R’s Jim Meehan. That quote, and a lot more, make up Jim’s game story. … Jim also worked with the folks in the office for this recap with highlights. … Theo Lawson has a breakdown of the key aspects of the Zags’ rout. … Colin Mulvany has all the images you will need in this photo gallery. … The Zags Basketball Insiders Podcast, with Jim joined by TV analyst Richard Fox, began yesterday as well. Before the game. … There was a little national coverage of the game, though the late start – 11:30 on the I-95 corridor – probably limited that some. … OK, there might be a social media meme resulting from the game, though it had nothing to do with the outcome. … Elsewhere in the WCC, Santa Clara got past St. Louis.

EWU: The Eagles poor second-half showing not only informed the S-R story but was the main focus of the coverage from Boulder. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, the best football game of the week will be in Missoula, between No. 7 Montana and fourth-ranked UC Davis. Both are in the FCS top 10. … Montana State wants to fix some defensive issues against Sacramento State. … Cal Poly is back at home, hosting Northern Arizona. … The Montana State women opened the basketball season with a victory. … The Weber State men had no trouble at all. … Sacramento State has a new look this season.

Idaho: Yes, there was a basketball game in Moscow. But with the ninth-ranked Vandals still holding playoff hopes (and FCS title dreams) this Saturday’s football game at Portland State takes centerstage. Peter Harriman looks at the matchup with the Vikings, a team playing better lately.

Preps: Madison McCord puts the spotlight on GSL volleyball, previewing the District playoffs that kick off tonight.

Seahawks: All eyes are on Geno Smith right now. That’s part of the burden an NFL quarterback bears. But should we be looking elsewhere to identify the Hawks’ main problems? … One national writer agreed with Mike Macdonald’s decision to forgo an overtime field goal and try for a game-winning touchdown instead. … The loss may have cost the Seahawks a playoff shot. Maybe it’s time to shake things up?

Mariners: Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore could not be prouder than they are today. Winning a Gold Glove will do that to guys who take pride in their defense.

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• Yesterday was a long, tough day. We said goodbye to our good boy, Junior, after 12 great years. It’s part of why I didn’t write a TV Take on the Zags’ game, though turns out it would have pretty much written itself. Williams’ early declaration. The blowout. The tribute to Bill Walton. Not sure I’m going to get such an easy day again. By the way, has anyone else noticed that besides the CFP committee revealing its rankings on Election Day, the national title game will be held on the same night as the presidential inauguration? The powers that be in college football are conducting an interesting societal experiment, vis-à-vis the importance of the sport vs. political milestones. Wonder how that will show up in the ratings? Until later …