Talkin' football and, yes, futbol

Yikes!

I’ve let too much mail pile up again, and I’ve got to handle a chunk of it now because…

Football season starts for real this weekend.

So what we’re going to do is take several questions or comments that were similar and lump them together.

Meanwhile, I’m saving some of your intriguing individual emails for replies in another column.

Fair enough?

Right, off we go…

What do you see for Washington and Washington State this year — in the Pac-12 and nationally?

I’d like to say it will be the same as last season, with both teams battling for the Pac-12 North title and then cruising into major postseason bowl games.

However…

Each team has a major problem looming on the horizon.

For the Huskies, it’s the health and assumed talent of QB Jacob Eason. With the transfers of Jake Haener (just last week) and Colson Yankoff, U-Dub suddenly has just three quarterbacks, and two of them have never taken a snap in a college game.

Georgia transfer Eason comes with the size (6-6) and reputation of a potential NFL impact player, so if he’s all of that — and stays upright to take most of the snaps this year — then Washington is an obvious threat to make it a four-peat as North champs and…

Who knows from there?

But if there’s any problem with Eason, things could go off the rails in a hurry.

There’s enough talent hanging around Montlake to support an untested QB, but not at anywhere near the level Eason is supposed to provide.

As for the Cougs, here’s another quarterback question — with Anthony Gordon apparently having beaten out Eastern Washington transfer Gage Gubrud for the starter spot.

Is Gordon good enough to lead a team to double-digit wins?

A bigger problem, though, might be the schedule, as pretty much all of Wazzu’s toughest games are on the road: Houston (No. 23 in ESPN’s preseason poll), Utah (No. 14), Arizona State, Oregon (No. 11) and yes, Cal – which beat both WSU and Washington last year with a rugged defense that returns almost intact.

Even the Apple Cup is in Seattle.

Mike Leach’s teams seem to get better every year, but even if that’s the case, that road schedule presents an absolutely brutal test.

With all the changes the Seahawks have been forced to make this year, is there one player flying under the radar that you suspect might have a serious positive impact?

Well, there had better be several newcomers performing at high levels if the Hawks plan a return to the playoffs.

That’s how many holes they have to fill.

But if you want me to find someone that really hasn’t been mentioned much — in fact, for a long time it was assumed he’d be cut — I’ll go with slot receiver John Ursua.

The seventh-round pick from Hawaii (Seattle traded back into the draft to select him) not only is roughly the same size as the retired Doug Baldwin at 5-9 and 182, but he’s patterned his game after Baldwin’s from high school onward — right down to the hops and skips through a defensive backfield.

Ursua led the nation in TD catches last year at Hawaii, and there’s a good reason. As Russell Wilson put it: “He always seems to find an open space.”

Ursua is also a very tough customer for his size, a useful blocker and a guy who can push someone a few yards for a first down when necessary.

So there you go with my upset pick for a Seahawk surprise.

Don’t you like soccer? This is a real hotbed of the sport, the Sounders draw big crowds in Seattle and plenty of people here follow the English Premier League. Can’t we have some soccer coverage in your column?

Wow, I’m thrilled to get emails like these.

I’m actually a huge soccer fan who has no excuse. Except for the U.S. women’s team winning the World Cup, I’ve screwed up — just not finding the right time or event to do a soccer column.

I lived in Britain for a few years and went from a guy who liked the sport to a junkie who can’t live without it.

And if you want to make fun of me, I’m an Arsenal fan — a Gooner for life.

(Yes, I was around to see Thierry Henry and get goosebumps from the Invincibles!)

Having said all that, I follow MLS and other leagues all over the world.

I’ll also be out to see some local high school soccer sometime soon.

I hope that answers the question and, once again, I apologize for not getting to “The Beautiful Game” a lot sooner.

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once monthly during the offseason.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com