PULLMAN – Washington State wide receiver Carlos Hernandez will likely miss the first five games of the season with his foot injury.

We scoured the schedule to identify potential upsets based on the timing of big (and small) games.

Confused by the expanded College Football Playoff and conference realignment? Allow us to explain.

PULLMAN – Nick Haberer squinted his eyes and did a double-take. Surely his mom, Raelene, had misspoken.

Exactly how the two athletic departments use the $250 million (roughly) available from the demise of the Pac-12 depends, to an extent, on the funding support they receive from central campus. Also, they don't have immediate access to the entire amount. One last point: Both schools have time.

PULLMAN – Washington State has its man for this season.

PULLMAN – Tre Shackelford likes to say there’s a difference in John Mateer and Zevi Eckhaus’ leadership styles. The two Washington State quarterbacks vying for the job like to point their guys in the right directions in different ways, according to Shackelford.

PULLMAN – Debbie Thornton remembers the rides down the hospital hallways the most. It was early 2015, nearly a decade before her son Kyle blossomed into one of Washington State’s most seasoned linebackers, and as she recovered from a rare disorder called Guillain Barré, she needed a way to distract herself from the painful tests at the rehab hospital in California.

PULLMAN – Month after month, the race for Washington State’s starting running back role was billed as a stalemate. Leo Pulalasi, Djouvensky Schlenbaker, Dylan Paine and true freshman Wayshawn Parker were all squarely in the mix, coach Jake Dickert said, which is why all four received about equal carries during spring ball and the first two weeks of fall camp.

PULLMAN – There’s lots to like about this Washington State offensive line, position coach Jared Kaster will tell you, but the group’s depth and versatility stands out most in his mind.

WSU and OSU are turning over “every stone we know of and (trying) to create some stones we don’t know of.”