A Grip on Sports: For WSU, Saturday night’s version of Pac-12 After Dark was not even all that entertaining

A GRIP ON SPORTS • We were sluggish yesterday. Slow. Unable to focus at times. Made mistakes, moved without purpose, suffered through some aches and pains. By 8 p.m., we were done. Had to call it a night. And yes, by we, we’re talking about ourself. We are not referring to the Washington State Cougars.

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• We could understand to the misunderstanding – even if we didn’t witness the Cougs’ second-half meltdown in Boise. We saw enough in the first half to get the picture.

Missed tackles. Missed throws. Missed assignments. Many of the things Washington State did so well in the first four games of the season were missing in action.

Oh, and should we mention a couple other misses? Like the wide-open receiver John Mateer missed late in the first half, when the Cougars were playing the same way as they did against San Jose State the week before? And by that, we obviously mean the “let’s-outscore-them” game.

Instead, Mateer threw into triple coverage, was intercepted and WSU went to the locker room trailing by seven. And never got closer.

The reasons Washington State’s undefeated season ended 45-24 on BSU’s blue turf? You mean besides Boise State being pretty darn good (ask Oregon if you don’t believe us)?

Well, there is the tackling, something Greg Woods has pointed out often in hist Cougar coverage. We would love to know how many of Ashton Jeanty’s 259 yards rushing came after he was hit. And hit pretty solidly. The 5-foot-9 (ya, right), 215-pound running back has been doing that to everyone (he is the fourth choice in the Heisman odds this morning), sure, but as Greg points out in his game analysis, the Cougars have been missing tackles against everyone as well.

Flying around on defense is a necessity, sure. But so is form tackling and wrapping up. No, it’s not easy. That’s part of why good defenses are good. They are good at the tough part.

The offensive line did not hold up well against a BSU defense that was willing to attack with more than four if needed but still maintained its integrity while applying pressure. The result? Seven sacks for a minus 71 yards. And, other than an early 52-yard blast (on a designed run), Mateer finished with 47 yards worth of positive yards on the other 12 times he decided to take off.

With his legs mainly corralled, Mateer was tasked with keeping the offense within striking distance with his arm. Against the Broncos’ defense, he couldn’t.

• The Cougars have a bye this week. We have to wonder: How many tackling drills will they run in the next few days? And will they be better at it against Fresno State on Oct. 12?

• One thing about Washington State going through the #Pac12AfterDark experience. We had a chance to watch a lot of college football yesterday. Add in our general lethargy, which made it a chore to do any chores, and we saw a lot of good – and bad – games.

The bad? Anyone else stick with Iowa State at Houston for more than a couple minutes? No? We were enthralled with how awful the teams were offensively in the first half. It was painful. Not at all like the pain we had in our left shoulder and the rest of our muscles. More mental. But it was a diverting sort of pain.

Illinois at Penn State wasn’t much better, nor was the first half of USC’s Big Ten showdown with Wisconsin.

On the better-than-that side, we offer USC’s play in the second half, Colorado’s surprisingly solid defense at UCF and any second of Alabama’s blowout, er, blown lead, er, comeback, er, hold-on 41-34 win against visiting Georgia.

We didn’t get to see Arizona’s physical 23-10 win at Utah – as an aside, will last year repeat itself with the Utes, as Cam Rising’s status will be teased all season and he’ll never play? – because it was concurrent to WSU’s game. The same with Oregon’s eased-up 34-13 win over not-real-good UCLA in the Rose Bowl, the site of many incredible Big Ten games over the years.

When Saturday’s smoke cleared, we were struck by one thing. The Big 12 is crazy (a subject Jon Wilner noticed too). Our one defining take? Texas Tech is 2-0 and tied for the conference lead. Yes, the same Texas Tech that lost in Pullman. That held off an Abilene Christian team, at home, by a point. The same school that lost to Idaho and barely defeated Big Sky also-ran Northern Colorado. Maybe Boise State shouldn’t settle for a CFP berth. A top-four seed, and its bye, could actually be possible.  

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WSU: We don’t have any more to say, other than FS1’s broadcast team was great last night, especially analyst Petros Papadakis. He and his partner Dan Hellie were not in Boise last night – Fox saves money by having them work from the L.A. studios – but the still were on top of the action. The rest of the broadcast was – how can we be kind? – not all that great, from the replays to the sound to a bunch of other little things. … Greg didn’t have to deal with that. He was there. And he has this analysis as well as the recap with highlights. … Theo Lawson was there as well and he focused in on a crucial fourth-down play in the third quarter. The Cougars (4-1) tried to get one yard from their 27 and failed. But only after replay overturned the spot. Our issue? Why wasn’t the third-down spot reviewed? It seemed Wayshawn Parker picked up the needed yard then. Replay is a weird beast. An untrustworthy beast. … Theo also put together the difference makers. … Tyler Tjomsland puts his visual stamp on the game with this photo gallery. … We can pass along coverage from Boise of the Broncos’ crucial win – just think, in two years this will be a Pac-12 matchup – as well as the A.P. story. … Elsewhere in the (new and old) Pac-12, the Mountain West and the nation, we passed along Wilner’s mailbag yesterday but it ran in the S-R today. … He also has his Saturday Night Five column in the Mercury News (we linked it above too). … The Athletic column we linked yesterday about the Pac-12 and Mountain West? It ran in the S-R as well. … Oregon State had a bye this week. … Washington’s loss Friday night at Rutgers seemed familiar to Husky fans this season. (And, we would posit, so did Alabama’s win over Georgia, seeing as it was a one-score game Kalen DeBoer’s team found a way to win.) … Didn’t see a second of Oregon’s win over UCLA. But the Ducks dominated from start to finish. Even with a few injured players missing. The Bruins? They have a ways to go to compete in the Big Ten after their home loss.. … After a long week, Colorado won handily in Florida, with Travis Hunter striking a Heisman pose. A little early, maybe? … Utah just couldn’t overcome the lack of offense or how well Arizona played in the loss in Salt Lake City. … Kyle Whittingham was not pleased. … No. 17 Clemson kept applying pressure and finally wore down Stanford 40-14. … Miller Moss was not perfect. Not in the first half. But his second half was great as he led USC past Wisconsin … In the Mountain West, so much for UNLV missing its starting quarterback. Haji-Malik Williams was exceptional in the Rebels’ 59-14 rout of visiting Fresno State. … Air Force has not won at Wyoming since 2012. The 31-19 loss Saturday was unique it its own way. … Central Michigan hit a field goal with 5 seconds remaining to top visiting San Diego State 22-21. … There was little in the way of defense but New Mexico scored enough to get past host New Mexico State 50-40. … San Jose State’s volleyball team is in the center of a storm concerning gender in sports. … In case you are wondering, UNLV has made it clear it still wants to move up from the Mountain West.

Gonzaga: If you didn’t know, college basketball teams are already practicing. Greg Lee attended GU’s media day for the Zag women this week and has this story on the rebuilt roster. … Recruiting never stops, does it? Ask Gonzaga’s Lisa Fortier.

EWU: Close. This close. But Eastern didn’t upset eighth-ranked Montana on Saturday at Roos Field. Instead, the Eagles fell 52-49 after falling behind by as many as 17 points. Dan Thompson was out in Cheney to witness the Grizzlies’ first win on the red turf. … We also can pass along a game story from Missoula. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Portland State had a great chance for its first win of the season but fell in Chattanooga. … Third-ranked Montana State wore down host Idaho State to earn a 37-17 victory. … Northern Arizona ran and passed over visiting Sacramento State 34-16. … McNeese State went to Ogden and edged mistake-prone Weber State 28-26. … Cal Poly spoiled Northern Colorado’s homecoming festivities with a 28-7 win.

Idaho: Quarterback injuries have finally caught up with the fourth-ranked Vandals. For weeks, their defense has played well enough to overcome their opponents, no matter how well the offense has played. Saturday night in California, it couldn’t. In large part because the offense, down to its third-string quarterback – again – was unable to get over the hump against the 14th-ranked Aggies. UC Davis picked up the 28-26 victory when UI failed on a late game-tying two-point conversion, not long after having to settle for a field goal in the red zone.

Preps: Dave Nichols has a couple items to pass along. First up his summary of Friday night’s football action. … He also has a roundup of Saturday’s contests.

Chiefs: In the evening Dave was in the Arena, covering Spokane’s home opener. The Chiefs handled Tri-City 4-1.

Mariners: The M’s led early, had to rally to tie and then walked-off Oakland in the 10th inning, winning 7-6. … Jerry Dipoto spoke with reporters in the M’s dugout before the game. He said all the right things. Nope, no 54% gaffes or anything. … The franchise handed out minor league awards.

Seahawks: It’s official. Running back Kenneth Walker III will play Monday night. He’s coming back from an injury. … The defensive line, however, will be without three starters, part of a defense decimated by injuries. If the Hawks can stop Jared Goff and the Lions, give Mike Macdonald all the props. … Derrick Hall will do his part. … We don’t pick games. Not like Sam Farmer does. … We linked this Athletic story on the NFL’s undefeated teams earlier in the week.

Storm: The WNBA semifinals begin today. Why on a Sunday during the NFL season, we don’t know. But it’s a tradition.

Kraken: The exhibition season skated on, with Seattle falling to Edmonton after leading by two goals at one point.

Sounders: Seattle is headed back to the MLS playoffs. The Sounders clinched their spot with another shutout, this one of Houston. … Seattle will host FIFA’s Club World Cup matches next year.  

Reign: Seattle plays today at Lumen Field against Bay FC.

Golf: There were eight matches Saturday. The United States, with a late run in the gloaming, ended up taking six of the possible eight points and will enter Sunday’s singles at Royal Montreal with a four-point advantage. The shot-making – and the International’s late shot-missing – was spectacular.

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• We slept about 11 hours last night. And now the vaccine lethargy seems to be behind us. Hopefully, we can avoid a bad flu or Covid attack over the winter. You got to avoid having to read us rant about the FS1 coverage. … By the way, the new A.P. Top 25 poll may have Alabama No.1 and Texas No. 2. Anyone know what those two schools have in common? Who knew the University of Washington is the new cradle of coaches? Until later …