Six days until Cougar football!

Good news! This time next week you’ll be waking up to recaps of the first football practice of the season. Seems like the spring game was just yesterday.

Coaches and players appear ready to get going:

The Cougs hit the practice field on Aug. 3 in Pullman before heading to Lewiston for their annual middle school field trip.

Throughout the summer, news was hard to come by, but now that the various media days are over, the floodgates are wide open. The news on WSU from Media Day was sufficiently covered, so this post is a smorgasbord of items for you to ponder on this lovely Saturday.

Peyton Pelluer named to Wuerffel Trophy watch list

The Pac-12 has a PR problem

I have a theory: One reason Mike Leach danced with Tennessee was not because he wanted out of WSU but that he wanted out of the Pac-12. That theory could be wrong but can you blame him?

The conference has taken a beating coming out of Media Day, a day that is supposed to be a celebration of sorts for the league and its members. But boy oh boy has the conference looked bad.

From being too boring to the conference’s best player only attending via Skype (due to academics, to be clear), to revenue shortfalls to last year’s bowl record, the news coming out of Media Day wasn’t pretty.

Another Pac 12 Media Day Not In Paradise | TMG College Sports
Pac 12 football is coming off a 1-8 bowl season and there is not enough sugar produced at C&H to coat that. The league reduced its media days this year to “one day” and just for reference, the SEC had four days of festivities.

Pac-12 needs Washington to be savior amid concerns about league's future | USA Today
With a lack of national success in football and revenues falling behind its peers, the Pac-12 needs to regain prominence and Washington is its best hope.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott on TV deals, revenue and more | SI.com
The Pac-12 commissioner discusses the splashy football hires made by member schools and the uncertain rights landscape in 2024.

Why Stanford star Bryce Love's absence from Pac-12 Media Day sets a dangerous precedent - CBSSports.com
Love did make an appearance -- in spirit -- just not in physical form.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott continues to defend conference's poor postseason - CBSSports.com
It's been a tough year for the Pac-12 in bowl games and men's basketball tournament play.

Washington's opener vs. Auburn carries added weight as Pac-12 looks to make a statement - CBSSports.com
Go Auburn.

Miscellaneous

College football national champions of the past 20 years ranked
Somehow, Miami’s 2001 team didn’t crack the top two.

Washington Huskies top Pac-12 Power Rankings | ESPN.com
The Huskies have key veterans back on offense and defense, which should put them a step ahead of their competition.

Jason Witten: How Twitter has become NFL locker room poison
Navigating social media can be tricky in an NFL locker room. Here are the dos and don'ts from MNF's newest analyst.

Big Ten Network sounds alarm: Cord-cutting will have an immense impact on college football
The Big Ten Network has been a financial boon for the conference. Disaster isn’t imminent, but you could consider the comments by Big Ten Network president Mark Silverman Tuesday as a flashing warning light for not just conference-owned cable channels that funneled massive money into college sports,

A Getaway to the ‘Tuscany of America’ - WSJ
The Palouse—a scenic farm region on the Washington-Idaho border—is often compared to Tuscany, but with pie shops and ice-cream socials.