Today is the day the Cougars find out their bowl fate

Good morning, Cougar fans. Today is the day we get to open up our present, and find out where the Cougar football team, and hopefully many of you, will be headed for the holidays. Hopefully it'll be that really cool Lego set/game console/electronic device we requested (Holiday Bowl) and not that pair of socks from grandma (Sun or Vegas Bowl). What has been a few weeks of waiting and wondering will culminate Sunday, as the College Football Playoff Pairings are announced.

Following that, the the playoff committee will rank the remaining teams and set the matchups for the other four New Year's Six bowl games. In this case, that would be the Rose, Peach, Fiesta and Sugar Bowls. Once that is done, the remaining bowls will make their selections. We should have a pretty good idea of how things will shake out well before the pairings are formally announced, as word often leaks throughout Sunday afternoon.

Saturday's results went according to form, and the CFP is set. The four participants will be Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan State. That means Stanford will head to Pasadena and, in all likelihood, Oregon will play in the Alamo Bowl for the second time in three years. That's where it gets tricky. The Holiday Bowl can pick between several Pac-12 teams. Word is that it will be between WSU and USC. There's also a chance that the Alamo takes USC and throws everything out of whack.

Stanford's convincing 41-22 victory over USC is a big help if you're hoping to see the Cougs get to San Diego. Also in our favor is the fact that USC played in this game last season. About the only things in USC's favor are its brand name and the fact that several alumni live in San Diego. There is also late word in the Twittersphere that the bowl committee likes the thought of a USC-Wisconsin matchup.

Taking USC again doesn't make a lot of sense because the vast majority of their fans won't be eating in restaurants and staying in hotels, which is the whole point of these bowl junkets. WSU fans would do so in droves. Also, the last time Mike Leach was in this bowl, his team hung a two touchdown loss on a Top Five Cal team. The committee will meet at 11 am Sunday to make a decision.

Following that, indications are the the Foster Farms Bowl will select UCLA to face 5-7 Nebraska. When you have a chance to pick a school that won't bring any fans to face a team with a losing record, you have to take it. Also, UCLA and Nebraska have played twice in four years. Those fans are gonna be pumped! If the Cougs don't get the Holiday Bowl invite,  they'll probably head to the Sun Bowl. The life-long Coug in me seems to know how that's gonna go, but we'll see. So here's hoping we head back to Cali and party like it's 2003. Go Cougs

PS - Congratuations to the alma mater of myself and Scott Creswell, the Gonzaga Prep Bullpups. They took down Skyline 34-16 Saturday night to bring home their first state championships since 1986.

Football

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer helped build WSU Cougars’ Palouse Posse defense before moving to NFL | The Seattle Times
Zimmer was the defensive coordinator at WSU from 1989-93 under Mike Price, leaving behind two legacies — the Palouse Posse defense, and the inspiration for what has become the "Cougar Chomp."

WSU's big recruiting weekend pays off early | The Spokesman-Review
Washington State is hosting at least nine football recruits this weekend and at least one of them likes what he sees enough to accept a scholarship offer.

Cougars pick up their second commit of the night | The Spokesman-Review
Hopefully we'll be, ahem, singing Bartley's praises for the next four years! I'll show myself out.

Basketball

Cougars Look to Bounce Back Against Vikings - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
Revenge time! Ok not really, but please don't lose to Portland State again, guys.

Cougars Wrap Up Road Trip at San Diego - Washington State University Official Athletic Site
The Washington State women’s basketball team (6-1) concludes a nine-day road trip Sunday with a 1 p.m. matchup against the San Diego Toreros (7-0). The Cougars and USD will play at Jenny Craig Pavilion with coverage on TheW.tv and the Washington State IMG Sports Network with Steve Grubbs.

Beer

The Cities That Drink The Most Craft Beer [MAP] | VinePair
Way to go Pacific Northwest! The first link is also worth a read.

Non-Sports

The Serial Swatter - The New York Times
Stories like these make me wish I could go back in time and choke out any person who had a hand in the internet's invention.