A Grip on Sports: While we were hitting the West Coast roads, the Pac-12 decided to add to its future roster

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? And what did we miss? The answer to the first question is simple. Traversing the West Coast. The second? Only the first step in the Pac-12’s rebuild. Is that enough?

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• Sure it is. The Pac-12 announced at 6 a.m. Thursday the newest members to a conference that has been around since before our nation joined the War to End All Wars. Founded in Portland’s Imperial Hotel.

Ironically, of the four additions, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State, none are from the founding state of Oregon. Or Washington.  That’s OK. The two schools that recruited that quartet, Washington State and Oregon State, already had that territory covered.

Colorado, nearer to the middle part of the nation, where the conference could turn next? Check? Idaho, still growing and hungry? Check. California, the state that is more populous than most countries in that long ago war? Check and check.

Now all the Six-Pack, the unofficial nickname we are giving them for the moment, has to do is figure out which two other schools are going to join before 2026. That’s needed to reach the NCAA-mandated minimum for a recognized – and, in the Pac-12’s case, rebuilt – conference.

Anyone not think that will happen? Don’t look at us. We’re in. We figure OSU and WSU has made pretty much every right move they could since the USC/UCLA-triggered Great Exodus, including showing George Kliavkoff the door and hiring his assistant, Teresa Gould, to head the conference office.

None of the so-called Power Four – more of a Big Two and the rest if you ask us – wanted the Northwest remainders.

Maybe they were just expected to accept their fate meekly and sneak away. As if the Cougars and Beavers have ever done that. First they took what was rightfully theirs as the Pac-12’s lone members, the conference’s bankroll. Now they’ve used that money to lay the foundation for their new house.

It won’t be a mansion. The four schools announced Thursday, while we were somewhere outside of Klamath Falls, don’t look anything like blue bloods – unless you count the Broncos’ football field. They too have chips the size of Pike’s Peak on their shoulders, consistently treated as second-class citizens by the former members of the Pac-12’s cool clique.

For the record, WSU and Oregon State may have been part of the club but they certainly weren’t part of the in-crowd, and we’re always treated as outsiders. And then they were tossed aside like a couple of Pendleton flannel shirts in mid-July.

Seems a bit like the plot of that older-than-old movie, “Revenge of the Nerds,” doesn’t it?

Lewis and Gilbert – you decide which school is which – have found their Poindexter, Booger, Lamar and Wormser. Two more and Lambda Lambda Lambda will be at full strength. Let the games begin.

• Speaking of games, there are two big college football ones featuring the current Pac-12 on Saturday. The Apple Cup. The game formerly referred to as the Civil War. How do you watch? Well, you can’t watch both, really. At least easily.

The Big Ten sent UW to its Network for its first two games, basically acing out any Comcast customers in this area from watching. Now the conference is once again showing its love of the Huskies by putting its rivalry contest on Peacock with a 12:30 p.m. start time. (OK, we know it’s not the conference’s decision – the TV networks decide – but we like the irony of it all.) With Peacock’s odd interface, those of us who watch via its owner Comcast can kiss any chance of channel flipping goodbye. It takes way too long. The Ducks and Beavers are on Fox, starting at the same time.

If you are interested in the to-soon-be Pac-12 members, the best game of the bunch is at 4:30 p.m. on CBS. Colorado at Colorado State. Big-time rivalry. Big-time network. And there is some future Pac-12 AfterDark vibes possible, with San Diego State at Cal (7:30, ESPN) and New Mexico State at Fresno (7:30, TruTV).

The Seahawks have one of those dreaded 10 a.m. body clock games at New England this week – lobster mac and cheese is on our lunch menu – with the game on Fox 28 as well.

Other than that, there isn’t much else. Unless you want to watch the Mariners flail around against the Rangers. All are on Root.

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WSU: We have two main areas to cover. The first is Saturday’s game. Big one for the Cougs. Big one for the Huskies. Not just rivalry but bowl math as well as other forms of future revenue. Greg Woods lets us into the Cougar locker room and how the players – and head coach – became indoctrinated into the importance their rivalry game. … Jacob Thorpe, who covered a couple of the games, has a message to those WSU fans who are still angry and boycotting the game. Don’t do it. Turn out, turn up the volume in Lumen Field and support the players. … OK, now on to the Pac-12 expansion. Athletic director Anne McCoy, who hasn’t been in that position all that long, who shared her thoughts about the additions with Greg. … Jon Wilner, who has his finger on the pulse of West Coast football, has a few columns, from the news to how much money could be on the media table to who may be the next two partners. The butterfly effect could blow all the way into the Big Sky. … John Canzano had a heads up on yesterday’s early morning announcement. And he has thoughts on what was announced. He also talked with Gould. … There is an interesting perspective on the move from Mike Vorel in the Times. … Yes, there are a lot of thoughts from around the nation on the additions. We picked a few stories to pass along. … Oregon State is not happy to have taken a bite out of the Mountain West but there was little choice. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the (decimated) Mountain West and the nation, it will be hot in Seattle (and probably rainy) but despite the early-in-the-season date, it will not be the warmest Apple Cup. … Canzano has his game picks. … Washington is excited the game is at Lumen Field. … A somewhat neutral site game has happened before. … Oregon remembers its 2022 loss to Oregon State and vows it will not happen again. … Here is what to expect from the early season rivalry game. And how to bet, if that matters to you. … It is a showdown all right. … So is the game between Colorado and Colorado State. … Utah State, left out of the Pac-12  expansion and dealing with even more issues, plays a former Pac-12 school, Utah.  Arizona State played last night. The game, at Texas State, ended weirdly. But the Sun Devils won. … Arizona travels to Kansas State this week. … UCLA has its first Big Ten game Saturday, as Indiana visits the Rose Bowl for the first time in decades. … What a makeover the USC defense has undergone. … In the Mountain West, we start with the defection news and how it was covered at the schools headed into the Pac-12. In alphabetical order, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State, the school with the most value. … After that, how did the schools that were not asked react? We start with Air Force and move on to New Mexico, UNLV, Utah State and Wyoming. … There are also games this weekend, like BYU visiting Wyoming. … Hawaii travels to Texas to play Sam Houston State. … UNLV has a freshman making an impact. … It will be hot when Baylor and Air Force meet. … In basketball, Nevada announced its schedule this week. … Air Force took a trip to Canada this summer.

Gonzaga: The Bulldogs wanted Isiah Harwell. The 2025 shooting guard seemed receptive. But he’ll attend Houston. It seems the Zags came in second. Which is not a terrible spot these days, with the freedom of movement available. If things don’t work out in Texas, the grass may just look greener in Spokane. Theo Lawson has this roundup of the recruiting news from yesterday, including updates on two other top prospects. … Theo also shares one more nonconference game that is on the GU men’s schedule – the America East’s UMass Lowell. The River Hawks will visit McCarthy on Nov. 15.

EWU: The Eagles are headed to Southeastern Louisiana, trying to bounce back after last week’s tough overtime home loss to Drake. Dan Thompson has a preview of Saturday’s contest. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Morehead State will visit Montana this weekend. … Northern Colorado really needs a win. … Getting one will not be easy for Idaho State. … UC Davis is leaving California to play for the first time this season. … Northern Arizona is up the road at Utah Tech.

Idaho: No, the Vandals are not out to avenge their FCS playoff loss to visiting Albany, ending last season. That’s not possible. But as Peter Harriman tells us in this preview, Saturday’s game is important in its own right. To this group of Vandals.

Preps: There are way too many fall-sports preview stories in the S-R this week to link each individually here. Instead, we pass along this one link that contains them all. Just use it to read whatever you want, when you want. … Shadle Park’s football team seems to like playing at the 3A level after a few years in the 2A ranks. It traveled to play recent 3A power Mt. Spokane last night at Union Stadium and came away with a 20-16 victory. Dave Nichols has the game story. … We can also pass along this roundup from Dave. It covers Thursday night’s action.

Indians: Spokane fell 4-3 in Vancouver on Wednesday night. Both teams traveled Thursday and will meet tonight at Gonzaga (6:35 first pitch).

Kraken: The Chiefs’ Berkly Catton is in camp and meeting his future teammates, including Shane Wright.

Sounders: Joao Paulo will miss a while with an injury.

Seahawks: Is there a new Legion of Boom in place? The defense is certainly flying around. … Will Kenneth Walker III be available?

Mariners: Talk about flailing. And failing. The M’s had a three-run lead late in the series opener against the Rangers, the bullpen fell apart and, poof, that was that in a 5-4 loss. Add in Houston’s win earlier in the day the A.L. West deficit is 4.5 games. Same with the wild card. … The eighth-inning has been their downfall recently, something Logan Gilbert has no control over. Except his last time on the mound. … Dan Wilson is part of a group that stepped up for a WSU football player. This is a pretty cool story.

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• We’re sorry we weren’t here yesterday. Not just for you, which is of paramount importance, but ourselves as well. We love days like Thursday, with lots to link, much to read and wild thoughts to put into legible words. Instead, we were trying to make sure we safely traversed U.S. Highway 97 through Oregon. This trip taught us one thing. Whenever you pass a truck on any highway, there is always another truck in the way just down the road. It’s never ending. Until later …