Salutations…Tohail with Old OSU.
The Pac-12 stated as much last year.
Damien Martinez and Jonathan Smith as well.
three-quarters of a women’s basketball squad in the Elite Eight. two of the men’s team’s top scorers.
Even if it all ached and smelled bad, at least Beaver Bereavers had something to unite behind. a typical reason. They wore it like a badge of honor because it was what they had. The alumni were filled with pride.
Now since a northern ally wants to come and seize that too, what are those people to do?
Oh, Cougs, Cougs.
That the Beavers can no longer claim to be the saddest-sack university in the Pacific Northwest is, I guess, a kind of victory.
How do we understand your suffering, Washington State?
You see, misery enjoys company, and during the past year or so, Washington State has partially, but not entirely, shared in the Beavers’ suffering.
Yes, major college athletics told the Cougs to kick rocks as well. Indeed, when Wazzu switched in his Cougar Gold for Husky Purple, Pat Chun caused him a great deal of harm.
Alright, and the standout quarterback for the Cougs went on to become a finalist for the Heisman Award somewhere.
And the basketball coach who led Wazzu to an NCAA Tournament win for the first time since it was still the Pac-10bolted for Stanford.
I say, Crimson Misdemeanors. Palouse some, you win some.
Because, in some way, none of those things added up to as horrible a year as what transpired in Corvallis.
The Cougars salvation, as backwards as it may seem, was that their football team struggled just enough in 2023 that nobody tried to hireJake Dickert, giving WSU the temporary high that comes with short-term continuity.
Now, though?
Dickert has decamped to Wake Forest, of all places. Last week, both coordinators and the quarterbacks coach departed for positions in big conferences. Through the transfer portal, the Cougars are losing players. A million-dollar NIL deal wasn t enough to keep quarterbackJohn Mateerin Pullman.
On College GameDay on Saturday at Notre Dame, Ol Crimson may just fly at half mast.
Dickert s departure, like Smith s escape to Michigan State, is a sobering reminder of how stacked the deck is against the Upper Left Behind.
Beavers fans would say they don t need any more reminders, thank you very much. But Dickert stood in front of a microphone this week and said Mateer moving on and, presumably, moving up proves once again that our process is working.
And that college football is in a little bit of a weird place but as Cougs, I m really proud that we ll continue to adapt.
Willwe, Jake?
At this point, I don t really begrudge a coach for moving on. Players, either. But it s a worrisome trend for Oregon State and Washington State that they are unable to retain talent wherever that talent is. These are two schools clawing for stability in a world that is working against them.
And, yes, I do think Washington State s football predicament is more perilous than what OSU endured last November. The transfer portal opened on Dec. 9. Signing day was five days before that. The Cougs find themselves in a similar position to Marshall, which withdrew from its bowl game after losing its coach and many of its players.
The Cougars have a date with Syracuse in the Holiday Bowl. We think.
At least at Oregon State,Trent Braywas quickly elevated to head coach and had a puncher s chance of retaining players and finding new ones. With the top members of the staff all gone, Washington State will almost certainly have to look outside the program and conduct a search. By the time AD Anne McCoy can identify and hire a replacement, the portal pickings may be slim.
The reality is that both WSU and OSU were difficult places to coach when they had the benefit of playing in the Pac-12 and not just a makeshift conference that bears its name and is still two years away.
It s made even more challenging by the pending arrival of revenue sharing for players, which will only widen the gap further between the haves and the have-nots.
The Cougars and Beavers have quickly been relegated to have-nots, in case that wasn t clear.
What we have learned from coaches and players at both schools over the past year is that the hardship brought on by realignment makes for a convenient rallying cry, but is not actually a fight worth sticking around to fight.
If anything, Oregon State is a year further along in the healing process than the Cougars are. Bray has had a year to install his system and sell his vision. You canquibble with the results in his first year, but the waters have at least calmed ever-so-slightly in Corvallis.
That s mostly because the damage has mostly been done.
There s nothing left that could hurt the Beavers more than they ve already been hurt.
Now, the men s basketball team is stacking up nonconference wins. Olympic gymnast Jade Carey is back for her senior season. Baseball is right around the corner.
Last year, Washington State got a taste of what realignment can do to a school, but is now getting the full experience.
Who knows how weird things can get?
First, they need to hire a football coach. Hey,Nick Rolovichis available.
Just kidding.
Hetook a jobin the ACC, too.
–Bill Oramis the sports columnist at The Oregonian/OregonLive.
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