A GRIP ON SPORTS • Where were we? Oh, right. Thinking about byes. Odd seedings. Targeting. Missed kicks. Revenge. Sadness. The college football playoffs’ quarterfinal games had all that. And more. What a way to start 2025.
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• Three of the four quarterfinals are over. One, the Sugar Bowl between SEC champion Georgia and Notre Dame, was postponed until Thursday due to a terror attack in the streets of New Orleans. The others shared a common theme.
The teams who did not play a first-round game couldn’t find the accelerator early. All three fell behind by at least 14 points. Only one rallied to make the game close. All lost. Rust? Or something else?
The seeds – yes, that is the right word for the situation – of the losses were sown long ago, when the 12-team format was pounded out in the boardrooms of the then-Power Five schools. The conference champions had to be protected. They were. Even after the Pac-12 dissolved and the Five became Four. Protected no matter how the committee ranked the teams.
Boise State was ranked ninth, but earned the third seed in the 12-team playoff bracket. Arizona State, ranked 12, was the fourth seed. Which meant every other school dropped two spots.
Instead of Oregon facing the winner of No. 8 Indiana vs. No. 9 Boise State in Wednesday’s Rose Bowl, the Ducks had to face a rematch with sixth-ranked Ohio State.
Notre Dame, seeded fifth, would have hosted No. 16 Clemson – in because it won the ACC title game – before facing No. 4 Penn State on New Year’s Eve in Phoenix. Arizona State would have taken its 12th ranking into Columbus last week to face the Buckeyes. If OSU had won, it would have been playing Texas on New Year’s Day in the Peach Bowl. No. 7 Tennessee would have gotten past No. 10 SMU at home and faced second-ranked Georgia in the Sugar.
Better matchups overall. More than likely better games – in both rounds. And, though no one will ever know for sure, the top-seeded Ducks not face-planting in Pasadena.
Funny, Chip Kelly got close but he never won a national title in his four years as head coach at Oregon. He may win one as the Buckeyes’ offensive coordinator. If Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith and the OSU offense can put 500 yards of total offense on the Ducks, they can probably do it to anyone. Though a repeat of its 34-0 lead before halftime – without the benefit of any turnovers – probably isn’t realistic in their Cotton Bowl matchup with Texas a week from Friday.
When Oregon topped the Buckeyes 32-31 in their October Big Ten conference game in Eugene, Kelly’s offense did its part. Wednesday afternoon, in the most-hallowed stadium in the sport, the OSU defense showed up. That wasn’t the only difference in the games. In Eugene, almost every bounce, call and clock tick went Oregon’s way. Yet the Ducks barely held on. Nothing went their way in Pasadena, including the emotional battle. The 41-21 defeat was a result.
• In other face-plant news, we also will never know if Arizona State would have finished off Texas in regulation Wednesday if an obvious – not just to us but to every college football official other than those working the Peach Bowl – late-game targeting penalty on the Longhorns’ Michael Taffe had been flagged.
The Texas safety laid out ASU’s Melquan Stovall on a third-and-15 pass completion with 1 minute, 3 seconds left in regulation of a tied game. The hit was reviewed by the replay official and the referee. It was decided, during their closed conversation, the hit did not merit a flag. ASU would have to punt.
Could a collision earlier in the quarter, during a Sun Devil interception, have played a part? That one, though violent and high, didn’t fit the criteria for targeting, and, after another replay review, was not called. Were words shared about fairness? We’ll never know. The public is not privy to such discussions.
We are also not privy to the outcome if targeting had been assessed. We do know the Sun Devils would have earned a first down at the Texas 37-yard-line. There would have been about a minute left. Any score would have won the game, though a made field goal in this one was less than a 50/50 proposition.
Did the non-call decide the game? Maybe. Maybe not. But it did deny the Sun Devils a chance to win it in regulation. And that’s too bad.
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WSU: New football coach Jimmy Rogers was in Pullman over the holiday. And was working his charm. Quarterback Zevi Eckhaus and receiver Josh Meredith pulled their names out of the transfer portal Wednesday, giving Rogers a couple roster wins to start his tenure. Greg Woods has that story. … Greg also had a story on Rogers adding his old South Dakota State offensive coordinator to his Cougar staff. … Washington State is listed twice – almost three times – in a list of bad losses over the years. … Elsewhere in the (current, old and future) Pac-12 and the nation, Jon Wilner has his West Coast men’s basketball rankings in the S-R and passes along Jeff Metcalfe’s picks for the women in the Mercury News. … There is a lot to pass along from Pasadena, including Wilner’s thoughts in the Mercury News about the Oregon defeat. … John Canzano has his as well, along with a fine Rose Bowl-as-a-core-memory column. … The Ducks’ performance was lamented in Oregon, was dissected nationally and will probably help usher in changes to the playoff format. … Ohio State has woken up, hasn’t it? … The Arizona State loss was greeted with sadness in the Valley of the Sun (and some anger). It also could be a springboard to future Sun Devil success. And Cam Skattebo? What a game. But what happened to having buckets on the sidelines? … Washington didn’t win its bowl game but Demond Williams Jr.’s performance in El Paso sure has the Husky faithful excited about the future. … That’s not the best part of bowl games for coaches. The extra practices are. Colorado has an example. … Arizona didn’t have that opportunity. … Among the future Pac-12 members in the Mountain West, the offensive and defensive lines for Boise State were overpowered by their Penn State counterparts. … Fresno State is filling out its coaching staff. … Colorado State has lost a key player to the portal. … In basketball news, Tommy Lloyd has landed a big name for Arizona in 2025 recruiting, though we watched Bryce James play a lot a few years back in travel basketball and was not blown away, though we are acutely aware players improve at different rates throughout their high school years. … Utah State may not be ranked but it deserves to be. … By the way, here are the records (and NET rankings) of the 2026 Pac-12 schools: Utah State 13-1 (24); Washington State 12-3 (69); Boise State and Oregon State 11-3 (51, 59); No. 19 Gonzaga 10-4 (7); Colorado State 8-6 (104); San Diego State 8-3 (46); Fresno State 4-10 (280).
Gonzaga: The Zags return to West Coast Conference play by returning to the Spokane Memorial Arena tonight. The opponent, Portland, is a tad less-scary than GU’s first Arena opponent this season, Baylor. Jim Meehan has a preview of tonight’s game as well as the key matchup. … Khaliff Battle’s ejection in the UCLA game cost Gonzaga a lot. As Theo Lawson tells us, the Arkansas transfer is the Bulldogs’ security blanket. … Samantha DiMaio has this story on former GU players Jenn and LeAnne Werth, who are making a mark in the wellness industry. … Elsewhere in the WCC, a Santa Clara volleyball player has turned out for the women’s basketball team.
EWU: The Eagle men begin Big Sky play today and Dan Thompson has a preview. … Elsewhere in the Big Sky, Montana State quarterback Tommy Mellott is the Walter Camp Award winner. … The Bobcats will face former coach Jeff Choate and Nevada in 2026. … Idaho State has added Lincoln University to its 2025 schedule. … Sad news out of Missoula as former Montana women’s basketball standout Malia Kipp has died.
Chiefs: Spokane built an early lead and held all of it throughout its New Year’s Eve 4-0 win at Tri-City. Dave Nichols had the story.
Seahawks: Tyler Lockett may play for his final time as a Hawk on Sunday, but expect the second-most productive Seattle receiver ever to continue his NFL career. … The Seahawks best midseason acquisition, linebacker Ernest Jones IV, hopes to stay in Seattle. … The Rams will rest some players, including their quarterback, Sunday.
Kraken: Next up for Seattle is a rematch with Vancouver.
Sounders: Seattle added to its roster with three draft picks and a trade for a young striker.
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• The terror attack in New Orleans that killed at least 15 people and injured many more is just another reminder of the blink-of-an-eye nature of life. And made us grateful once more for all that we’ve been given. Until later …