A Grip on Sports: It’s the unexpected that keeps us tuning in every college football Saturday and boy did we have a lot to watch yesterday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • It is said true intellect comes from understanding it is possible for two diametrically opposite thoughts to be true at the same time. We’re don’t know about the intellect part but we do know a couple of things in college football were true Saturday. Yesterday’s schedule was the worst of the season. And the day was just the best.  

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• How can that be? Because college football is not a paper product, like Kleenex or that stuff that’s always in short supply in your bathroom. It is a living, breathing sport, played by young(ish) men, led by fallible folks and officiated by human beings. Even good teams can play tissue soft, perform at a level only Charmin could love and have parchment-paper-thin focus. In other words, just about anything is possible.

And just about did Saturday.

What happened? Alabama lost at Vanderbilt. Kalen DeBoer’s stock, so high last Sunday, is LifeWallet low this one. Speaking of Miami, the Canes traveled across three time zones – more on that in a moment – and lost in Berk … what? What in the name of Robert Oppenheimer happened? How did the Bears blow that game? Did the band run on the field?

Basically, Cal Beared, if that’s a term. If not, it should be.

No. 8 Miami (and Cam Ward’s Heisman hopes) survived 39-38. But others didn’t.

Tennessee, Missouri, Michigan (in a revenge game for Washington) and USC all lost. With top-ranked Alabama’s shocking display, that is No. 1, 4, 9, 10 and 11 all losing on the same day. A day that should have been boring as waiting in line for Krazy Koaster. Instead, it was like riding Stunt Pilot.

• We were not expecting such a day. In 20/10 hindsight, we should have. Hanging on to win the SEC showdown with Georgia a week before made the Tide vulnerable. Arkansas was desperate. Texas A&M, which tied for 25th in last week’s Associated Press poll (with UNLV, an upset victim Friday), is solid. Washington was due to actually stay onsides for a week. And USC already had lost one Midwest game.

It doesn’t bode well for the Trojans, or anyone else in the new, far-flung conferences, that road teams that have traveled at least two time zones are 1-8 so far in the Big Ten season. And the lone win was courtesy of 23rd-ranked Indiana against UCLA, which may be the 23rd-worst team in the country.

Then again, Vandy and Alabama are in the same time zone, so don’t blame everything on body-sapping travel. It’s just the latest variable coaches have to examine, quantify and learn how to deal with. For the millions of dollars their schools are getting paid to put the athletes through this, not to mention how much college head coaches rake in, they better have the resources available to figure it out.

• Enough of the past. Today is what matters. NFL Sunday. And the region’s NFL team. The Seahawks. They host the time-zone travelers from New York, the Giants. The UCLA of the NFL.

We made excuses for Seattle’s loss Monday night in Detroit. The defense wasn’t all there. Literally. Still not, but better. And no NFL defense is all there after four weeks. Which mean Mike Macdonald, given a pass for the 42-29 loss – Seattle’s first – against the Lions, will have his feet held to the fire if Geno Smith, Leonard Williams and Co. don’t come through this afternoon.

Seattle is a touchdown favorite. New York has Daniel Jones playing quarterback. Yep, this is a game the Hawks better win.

• Before we head into links territory (as opposed to lynx territory, which is most of Canada), we want to send you to this John Blanchette story in the S-R this morning.

John shares the travails and triumphs of North Central High graduate Isaac Morris, a cross country runner at West Point. And John does it the way only he can, with sensitivity, subtlety and substance. Don’t miss it.

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WSU: Bye weeks are about getting healthy, shoring up weaknesses and finding new ways to improve on strengths. We’re guessing John Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle made sure all three happened. Greg Woods delves into one of the Cougar quarterback’s weak links, an inconsistency on deep throws. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner covers it all, as he does, in his Saturday Night Five in the Mercury News. … The day was full of unexpected winners and downcast losers. … Oregon State was missing its two starting cornerbacks last night. Colorado State took advantage. To such an extent the Beavers had to hold off the Rams 39-31 in double overtime. We stayed up for all the noise. Did you? … John Canzano did and wrote a wonderful column from Corvallis. … Washington’s late rally lifted the Huskies past Michigan, though the game didn’t finish all that late. It may have finished off the Wolverines hopes of repeating as national champion, however. … We took a little poetic license above. We stayed awake for all of Miami’s comeback. Didn’t see the last Cal possession, though. Knew there was no more Pac-12 After Dark magic left in the Bears. They used it up before the sun rose, making Berkeley a magical place for ESPN’s Game Day (the city isn’t magical at all). We would be remiss not to point out for the second consecutive week the ACC replay center made a controversial call – last night’s was just plain wrong – that helped the Canes stay unbeaten. We’re not into conspiracies but, man, this is starting to look bad. … Nothing conspiratorial about Stanford’s 31-7 loss to visiting Virginia Tech, which also crossed a bunch of time zones. The Cardinal just got beat down. … USC didn’t get battered. But the Trojans didn’t win either, coughing up a fourth-quarter lead in the 24-17 road loss to Minnesota. …  UCLA, playing a backup quarterback, lost at No. 7 Penn State to start the day. … Colorado is playing better up front on defense. … Where is Utah headed this season? … Despite some odd calls, Arizona State found a way to secure a 35-31 win over Kansas, mainly due to a strong rushing attack and a key catch. And an elevator repair man. … Washington State’s early season win over Texas Tech continues to stand tall as the Red Raiders went into Tucson and handed Arizona a 28-22 loss last night. … In the Mountain West, San Jose State made a quarterback change as it struggled against Nevada. And then a former quarterback-turned-receiver threw the game-winning pass in the 35-31 come-from-behind victory. … Is Air Force headed for a lost season? The Falcons lost to Navy at home. … Boise State had no trouble at all with Utah State, winning 62-30 and only playing its starters a half or so. The Aggies did not put up much of a fight against the Broncos. … San Diego State scored late and held on top visiting Hawaii 27-24 … In basketball news, Washington State is opening WCC play in the Spokane Arena on Dec. 30. The students are not on campus.

Gonzaga: We were offered a couple tickets to yesterday’s Kraziness in the Kennel but turned them down. Had too much on our to-do list. But if we had known Sean Farnham would be there and everyone in attendance got a free night at the Davenport, we would have gone. Wait? What? OK, no free night. But Farnham was there and served as the master of ceremonies. He’s going to be given an honorary PhD soon, isn’t he? Justin Reed has the story. … We linked this story above in the WSU section but the headline concerns GU’s game with Portland on Jan. 2. It will be played in the Arena and benefit the Community Cancer Fund.

Idaho: The eighth-ranked Vandals welcomed back Jack Wagner at quarterback and, not coincidentally, welcomed back winning. They held off No. 25 Northern Arizona 23-17 before a loud Kibbie Dome homecoming crowd. Peter Harriman was there and has this story. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Portland State had visiting UC Davis on the ropes. And then let the Aggies off, finally losing 27-26 on the game’s final play. … In the biggest upset of the day, Weber State went to Missoula and handed eighth-ranked Montana a 55-48 overtime loss. … It has been a long time since Northern Colorado has won a Big Sky game. And a long time since third-ranked Montana State put a 55-17 walloping on an opponent. … Idaho State hit a last-second field goal and topped host Cal Poly 31-28.

Whitworth: The 19th-ranked Pirates opened Northwest Conference play the same way they ended it last season, with a win. They never trailed in topping host Pacific Lutheran 34-23.

Preps: In Dave Nichols’ Friday Night (High)lights column today, he writes about Central Valley running back Beau Butner’s possible record-setting night against Ridgeline. He had Butner for 371 rushing yards. The official stats had him for 360. There will be a review of the game video and we’ll know for sure how many Butner had soon. It’s important. Why? East Valley’s Scott Campbell ran for 366 yards in 2003, in a game we covered. We will vouch for Campbell’s numbers, mainly because they were confirmed via the same process. We’ll see if Butner has knocked the Knight great from the GSL record book. … Dave also passes along a short roundup.

Chiefs: This one was over before most fans had probably made the trek through Riverfront Park from O’Doherty’s. The Chiefs scored the first four goals and breezed to a 7-2 victory over Seattle at the Arena. Dave Nichols was there and has the coverage.  

UFC: Julianna Peña took the women’s bantamweight belt at UFC 307 in Salt Lake City last night, defeating long-time rival Raquel Pennington. The championship bout was a split decision, with Peña earning the title.

Seahawks: Today’s game (1:25 start) is actually on CBS. That’s for you. Kenneth Walker III doesn’t care. He just wants the ball. … It’s a big game for Seattle and its defense. … And for Williams.  … Just what could Drew Lock know? Everything is new.

Mariners: We watched a lot of the Dodgers’ 7-5 win over the Padres last night. If L.A. had not signed Shohei Ohtani, we’re pretty sure they aren’t even in this series.

Storm: Las Vegas’ guards finally stepped up, as the two-time defending WNBA champs defeated New York on Friday.

Kraken: Seattle will post an NHL first during their season opener Tuesday. Jessica Campbell will be one of the coaches behind the bench. … The Kraken expect to win now.  

Sounders: The late-season blossoming continued Saturday night, with Seattle picking up a 1-0 win over Colorado in what could have been a playoff preview.

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• We have another busy day in store. And changed our Seahawk game menu. Oh, onion rings are still on it, to honor the Giants’ New Jersey home and the best TV show ever based in the state. But, for the main event, we switched to New York street-vendor hot dog fare, with foot-longs on foot-long buns with kraut and mustard and whatever. Boy, do we eat healthy on these NFL Sundays. Until later …