A Grip on Sports: This isn’t your typical weekend, not with the Cougar game tonight allowing for some free time Saturday

A GRIP ON SPORTS • Fridays are supposed to be about other things. Clearing off the desk or getting the warehouse straightened out. An end-of-the-work-week get-together with friends. Maybe, this time of year, a high school football game. A chance to relax and get ready for the weekend. Today is different. Way different.

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• The differences manifest themselves in many ways. The most obvious? Washington State is playing its weekly football game tonight (kickoff at 7), not on Saturday. An unanticipated matchup of unbeaten teams. A Friday night game available for everyone to watch all of the country, though on The CW Network (KSKN-22 in Spokane), not ESPN or Fox or one of the multitudes of streaming entities pumping out sports these days.

When the Cougars’ football schedule was announced, tonight’s game, with San Jose State coming to Pullman on the first really cool night of the pre-autumn, seemed like just the right breather during the Cougs’ schedule.

After all, the Spartans, while highly successful last season, had lost their head coach, Brent Brennan, to Arizona and, as is the case throughout the college football world, quite a few of their best players to the transfer portal.

Sandwiched between the Apple Cup and the expected toughest road game vs. a Mountain West school, Boise State next Saturday, no one expected a trap game of this magnitude. That was, of course, before Ken Niumatalolo began to work his magic.

One of the rabbits the former Navy coach pulled from the portal? Quarterback Emmett Brown who just happened to play last season – wait for it – at Washington State.  Add in Niumatalolo deciding to abandon his trademark triple option offense for a more wide-open one – with former WSU assistant Craig Stutzmann as coordinator – as well as featuring 6-foot-3 Nick Nash, a former QB, at wide receiver, and there is a good chance tonight’s contest could blow past the expected over of 55.5 points. Nash has 34 receptions for 485 yards and six touchdowns, all best among FBS receivers.

A breather? More like a Cougar trap.

• Stutzmann’s return adds another layer of interest to tonight’s intriguing contest. He was one of four coaches, including head coach Nick Rolovich, fired in 2021 for failing to comply with the state’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

He’s found a home in San Jose, helping the Spartans to their 3-0 record and helping Brown blossom at quarterback.

Brown, a former WSU walk-on who appeared in one game last season, is hitting his stride. Last week, against Kennesaw State, Brown reached new heights. He threw for a career-high 355 yards and four touchdowns, hitting 26 of 38 attempts.

• One nice thing about having the Cougar game Friday night? Your Saturday has a free four hours or so. It’s our plan to take advantage.

That laughing you hear is from college football’s programming folks. Almost all the games we want to watch – No. 11 USC at No. 18 Michigan (CBS), Arizona State at Texas Tech (FS1), UCLA at 16th-ranked LSU (ABC) and No. 12 Utah at 14th-ranked Oklahoma State (Fox) – start at between 12:30 p.m. and 1 PDT. Thanks a lot.

Add in there are two intriguing contests starting at the same time (4) in the late afternoon window as well. Washington hosts Northwestern (FS1) and surprising California (3-0) is at surprising Florida State (0-3) on ESPN2. Oh, we almost forgot. Sixth-ranked Tennessee and No. 15 Oklahoma kick at 4:30 on ABC.

For those Cougs who like to scout, Boise State hosts outmanned Portland State at 6:45 (FS1), overlapping some with fellow Pac-12 member Oregon State welcoming the Big Ten’s Purdue to Corvallis for the first time (5:30, CW).

• What else is there? The NFL, of course. The undefeated Seahawks host Miami, which is missing its starting quarterback, Sunday at 1:05 p.m. (CBS), which means you may have to miss a desperate Baltimore team visiting a disappointed Dallas squad (1:25, FOX).  

The WNBA playoffs also start this Sunday. The matchup that will earn the best ratings? We put our money on the meeting between Caitlin Clark, Lexie Hull and the Indiana Fever against host Connecticut. The series’ first game tips at noon on ABC. The Storm face two-time defending champs Las Vegas (7 p.m., ESPN).

If you are really bored, you can watch the M’s season slowly spiral to an end, as they are in Texas all weekend. All three games are on Root.  

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WSU: While you finish up your work this Friday, don’t forget to take some time and read Greg Woods’ game preview, his keys to the game and his pick. … We also can pass along a preview from the San Jose perspective. … We linked Matt Calkins’ thoughts on the Cougars CFP chances yesterday when they ran in the Times. They are on the S-R site today. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, Jon Wilner has two columns in today’s Mercury News. He re-ranks the Big Ten and the Big 12. … John Canzano posted his picks yesterday. He also including some interesting factoids about the folks who pick games for a living on TV and elsewhere. … Oregon State’s defense needs to get going again against the Boilermakers in Corvallis. … What did the nonconference schedule reveal about the Huskies? Their linebackers came out of the trio of games beat up, that’s for sure. … A Colorado defensive back was given an opportunity. He has taken advantage of it. … The Utah and Oklahoma State head coaches have something in common. No, only one of them ever sported a mullet. … Want another example of what realignment has cost us? Stanford and California are leaving their bands at home on the long ACC road trips. The Cardinal are at Syracuse tonight. … Eric Bieniemy knows who to blame for UCLA’s slow starts. Himself. He wants to do better at LSU. … USC has found another leader on offense. They may need all of them against Michigan. … Arizona State has its hands full with Texas Tech. … Last week’s loss did not cost Arizona in the Big 12 standings, only in how people perceive the Wildcats. … In the Mountain West, Utah State faces Temple it what looks to be a must-win game. … A Wyoming tight end is about ready to return from injury. … Fresno State is at New Mexico in the conference opener for both. … Hawaii has another nonconference matchup against Northern Iowa. Interesting note: Luke Falk is NIU’s offensive coordinator. … Colorado State faces UTEP. … Recruiting never stops. Ask San Diego State’s football coaches. … In basketball news, the Big Ten revealed its schedule yesterday. We pass along stories from the Washington men and women and the Oregon women and men. … Tucson can be a warm place.

Gonzaga: A walk-on at GU, seldom-used Colby Brooks looked the part of a WCC player. And he’ll get a chance to prove that look is correct. Theo Lawson tells us the 6-7 power forward has joined USD’s team. … We have more scheduling news to pass along, and not just Theo’s story on the final nonconference addition, Bucknell. We also have this from Pennsylvania, news on the UMass Lowell game and, in WCC land, San Diego playing another Gonzaga opponent, San Diego State.

EWU: According to Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcell, football teams are what their record says they are. The Eagles, 1-2, would beg to differ. Politely, of course. They know they’ve been close. And now, according to Dan Thompson’s preview of their game Saturday at Nevada, they want to quit being “one little thing away.” … The Wolf Pack faithful are a bit wary of Eastern, who has posted some memorable FBS upsets. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, nonconference scheduling is hard. Still, there are a couple games pitting ranked Big Sky schools against other ranked FCS opponents (see the Idaho section below for one). Ninth-ranked Montana hosts No. 24 Western Carolina for one. … No. 11 Sacramento State is headed to Texas this week. Its future? Still to be determined. … Cal Poly, fresh off its first win, has a bye.

Idaho: The Vandal offensive line, despite some injuries, has risen to the challenges this season. Saturday’s game at 19th-ranked Abilene Christian will present even more. Pete Harriman has this preview of fourth-ranked UI’s last nonconference matchup.

Whitworth: If your Friday is way too packed to spend a lot of time perusing the weekend’s matchups, we get it. But make sure you carve time out to read Greg Lee’s story on Pirates’ linebacker Zach Brooks. It’s not the football part of it that makes it can’t-miss. It’s the life part of it.

Preps: Two 0-2 GSL football teams met last night at ONE Spokane Stadium. One had to earn its first victory of the season. The other left knowing a winless season is possible. Dave Nichols was there as well and he has this coverage of Cheney High’s 44-6 rout of Ferris. The win snapped the Blackhawks’ 13-game losing streak. … Colin Mulvany has this photo gallery as well. … Dave also has a roundup of Thursday’s action in volleyball, soccer, slowpitch as well as a few football games.

Indians: Welcome to Part II of the Dave Nichols’ show. The Northwest League announced its awards yesterday and Dave has this story on the champions’ championship-caliber showing. Kyle Karros was named MVP, Sean Sullivan pitcher of the year and four other players were also recognized.

Chiefs: Part III? Dave has a preview of Spokane’s WHL kickoff weekend, which begins tonight in Prince George. First-year Chiefs’ coach Brad Lauer makes his return to the league as well.

Mariners: The Yankees were probably a little hungover. They spent Wednesday night celebrating another playoff berth. That might have helped some – you think? – as the M’s scored three times in the first, Logan Gilbert and the bullpen made it stand up – what, you expected more runs? – and Seattle won 3-2 to end its homestand. … There is a path to the postseason still. Sure. But it’s not likely. … Even Julio Rodriguez realizes how silly he looked Wednesday night. And how much his base-running blunder cost the Mariners. He apologized. … What Shohei Ohtani has down this season – the first ever to steal at least 50 bases and hit at least 50 home runs – has been impressive. How he got to the magic numbers Thursday in Miami was even more so. Some are calling it the single-best one-game offensive performance ever.

Seahawks: Don’t expect Kenneth Walker III to play Sunday. DK Metcalf? Yep. He is good to go. … Geno Smith will be playing. That’s important for the Hawks. He’s been really good. … A former Dolphin center has his former quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, on his mind. … We linked this Athletic piece on the running game yesterday. It is on the S-R site today.

Kraken: The first training camp for new coach Dan Blysma has something of a frantic feel.

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• We will be back later tonight with our TV Take from the Washington State game. No matter who wins. Well, we sort of figure you folks always win when we write but that just might be our own inflated self-worth talking. “Just might be” is a little understated, right? Until later …