A Grip on Sports: Sports fans are about to get snowed under and not just by the stuff skiers love

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It hasn’t snowed in Spokane just yet, which is unusually nice. The white stuff is staying where it belongs, up in the mountains and on the ski resort’s slopes. After all, sports fans are already beginning to get snowed under by the cornucopia of fall and winter sports dotting the daily schedule.

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• One thing that can be said about this time of year. It’s not boring. Between today and, say, February, football, basketball and hockey’s overlap conspire to sap any and all our free time. Well, other than the time we have to use to shovel snow. As it should be.

Let’s send our gaze west, where the Seattle Seahawks, fresh off a mid-season week of (relative) rest, return to action. Up first? The usual high stakes showdown with the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara. Two teams with Super Bowl aspirations. Stars galore. Prime time? Oh, sorry. I just had a flashback to 10 years ago. My bad.

These days? The Seahawks are 4-5. Last in the NFC West. The 49ers, decimated by injuries – hey, Christian McCaffrey is back – are a middling 5-4. Both are looking up to, get this, the 6-4 Arizona Cardinals in the standings.

What a weird world we live in.

Forget that. There is always college football to keep us sane. The Northwest is the center of that world, what with Oregon undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation. What a gift for the Pac-12. Oh, ya. Right. I sometimes forget mankind’s stupidity. Maybe it’s denial. But how the heck could such smart people be so dumb as to let the nation’s premier West Coast conference explode like that?

At least Washington State and Oregon State were sane enough to keep the flame alive. That has to count for something, right? No, sadly, it doesn’t. When the College Football Playoff committee announces its second set of rankings this evening, the 8-1 Cougars won’t be anywhere near the 12-team cut-off. And even if they run through the rest of their schedule, an 11-1 mark will count less than a 9-3 SEC record.

That’s OK. For the folks in the SEC’s footprint, it just means more. And they run the country. At least the football part of it. Don’t want them to be disappointed. It’s bad enough those folks have to live in Georgia. Or Mississippi. Or Alabama.

At least the Northwest has college hoops to fall back upon. That counts for a lot. The flagship program? Spokane’s very own Gonzaga. The Zags opened the season ranked sixth. Destroyed the eighth-ranked school, who happened to win its next game over 16th-ranked Arkansas. GU followed the Baylor win with another against a solid Arizona State team that will end up being ranked down the road.

Did the Bulldogs ascend into the top two? Uh, no. The No. 1 ranking remained in Kansas, which looked anything but in winning a home game against an undersized North Carolina group. Alabama and UConn, the two-time defending champ, have yet to play anyone of import but stayed second and third, respectively. Heck, Auburn, which made more news for a pouting player and a flight fight than its wins, came close to jumping GU with a five-point victory over a rebuilding Houston squad.

Honestly, I didn’t know basketball meant so much in Alabama. Maybe Crimson Tide’s two football losses, and the fact someone named Kalen DeBoer is now the head coach, has conspired to turn the state’s axis upside down. Hey Tide fans, your team is going to be 10-2 in three weeks. Locked into a playoff berth. Relax.

There is no rest for the good around here. Not with our local Division III school, Whitworth, playing another high-stakes football game in the Pine Bowl on Saturday. The Pirates, 9-0 and ranked (checks the D3.com website), 16th … are you kidding me? The school is 19-1 since the start of last season. If, say, Wisconsin-Oshkosh was 19-1 in the same span, they would be ranked No. 1, feted as one of the greatest teams of all time and about to award the third-string quarterback another “academic” grant.

At least the Pirates can cement its Northwest dominance with a win against No. 17 Linfield – 16 and 17 must be the two predetermined polls spots for the region reserved by the DIII hierarchy – Saturday. And lock in another playoff berth.

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WSU: David Riley’s first couple weeks as the Cougars’ basketball coach has started out well. His team is 3-0 after last night’s 90-67 win over cross-border rival Idaho in Beasley. Greg Woods was in the venerable building and has this game story. … Greg is also locked into football – hey, it’s a busy time for everyone – and has his first look at Saturday’s road opponent, the improving New Mexico Lobos. … He also has a notebook built from Jake Dickert’s Monday press conference. Funny note: My son and I had a long discussion last Friday about fake punts. Even looked up the rule about passing from punt formation. Saw that pass interference was not in play. And then I watched as it was called against WSU against Utah State. I just had to hit my web history to find the rule. Started to write something and then the Cougars held, so I threw it away to save space for other more important items. Maybe I should have saved it. … Recruiting never stops. Ask the Cougars. And, for that matter, Eastern Washington. … Former WSU star Klay Thompson is back in the Bay Area tonight for the first time since he left the Golden State Warriors. That should be interesting. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, the CFP rankings tonight interests Jon Wilner, John Canzano and a bunch of national writers. … Washington is going back to Will Rogers at quarterback. Discuss among yourselves. Wonder how that decision plays into this Jedd Fisch comment. Maybe the black uniforms have more of an impact. … Oregon State is not making another change at quarterback despite all the same issues in the Beavers’ most-recent loss. … The Ducks are getting healthier as they prepare for the game at Wisconsin. … Shilo Sanders is a smart player and the Colorado faithful know it. … Utah’s roster is starting to take hits but, hey, Cam Rising might be around next season. A bunch of Ute fans shouldn’t be. … The first ACC-based Big Game Nov. 23 between Bay Area rivals Cal and Stanford, has a kick time. Middle of the day. … John Robinson was a joy to cover. To just talk with. We had chances to do both back in the day when and after Robinson was coaching USC to a national title. The true measure of a football coach? His players loved him. One other note on his passing at age 89: He and John Madden grew up together. Lifelong friends. And championship-winning coaches. … Can the Trojans even reach a bowl game this season? … When Arizona State plays No. 19 Kansas State this week, the Sun Devils may still be without their best running back. … The seniors want to lead Arizona to a good finish. … In the Mountain West, New Mexico sees WSU coming to town as a huge opportunity. … The way Utah State’s defensive line played against the Cougars was a plus for the Aggies’ coach. … UNLV looked lost when its quarterback walked away. But Hajj-Malik Williams made sure that did not happen. … Frustration is real for everyone at San Diego State. … Boise State knows San Jose State has one incredible offensive weapon. … It is a big week for Wyoming. … In basketball news, I mentioned Oregon’s win over Baylor on Sunday was a big deal. Enough of one to get the women ranked. That’s a big deal for Kelly Graves.

Gonzaga: The Zags’ 88-80 win Sunday was powered in part by Braden Huff’s second-consecutive boost off the bench. Theo Lawson covers that part of the story as he looks back. … The guy Huff play in front of, Graham Ike, was named a second-team preseason All-American by The Sporting News. Theo has that as well. … Jim Meehan covered the A.P. poll release. … Stanford’s win over Gonzaga’s women helped boost the Cardinal into the rankings. … Former GU star Chet Holmgren is going to miss some time with a broken pelvis.

EWU: The Eagles’ traveled halfway across the country – no, they aren’t a member of the Big 12 these days but just wait – for their third game of the season. Dan Monson’s squad fell behind but rallied in the second half before being handed an 84-77 defeat by the SEC’s Missouri. … Dave Nichols has taken on another duty. He’s hosting the revitalized Press Box podcast. His latest guest? EWU play-by-play voice Larry Weir. You can listen to it, and the other two podcasts Dave has done, here. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, every school seems to have at least one player with a career-best season. Montana is no different. … No. 4 UC Davis hosting No. 2 Montana State? Yes please. … In basketball news, the Montana State men won their home opener handily. … So did the Northern Arizona women.

Idaho: It’s been almost 30 years since the Vandals have gone through a football season without a home loss. They could duplicate 1996’s feat Saturday, when they host Weber State. Peter Harriman has his first look at that matchup.

Seahawks: It’s midseason and some players have not done well. Maybe that’s why the Hawks are making changes, though they come inappropriately enough, after the trade deadline. … The offensive line should be better this week. … Russell Wilson has helped the Steelers. Made them better. Does that make you happy or sad?

Mariners: The M’s were excellent defensively at third base. But Josh Rojas is not a prototypical third baseman. Will they make a change?

Kraken: The NCAA allowing CHL players college eligibility may mean big changes for NHL prospects.

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• Yes, I know we live in the upper-left corner of the nation. And most of what happens here is of no importance to the rest of the country. But come on. The entire football world doesn’t revolve around the New York Jets or the Tennessee Volunteers. And college hoops isn’t the sole property of longtime Blue Bloods. Until later …