Recounting a wacky weekend of football

What…

The…

Hell?

Was that just a deluge of football insanity we just witnessed?

Anybody want to explain?

Things were just plain nuts on the Palouse where — seemingly out of nowhere — underdog Idaho blasted off against old rival Eastern Washington for a 35-27 statement win, and then massive favorite Wazzu…

Well…

It might take some deep breaths to explain how the Cougs managed to waste nine touchdown passes from Anthony Gordon by somehow losing 67-63 to previously winless UCLA.

And then for good measure, while you were digesting all that craziness during Sunday lunch, the Seahawks went out and made a hatful of errors themselves in a 33-27 loss to New Orleans that wasn’t really that close.

Pete Carroll’s adventures maybe summed up the weekend, as he got whacked wickedly in the nose with a ball during pregame warmups, then lost at home for the first time ever in September as Seahawks boss.

It was also nearly just the second double-digit loss at home in the Russell Wilson era.

And did we mention it was the first Saints win without QB Drew Brees since 2005?

The whole weekend felt like a football version of Alice in Wonderland.

WITH ALL due respect to the Saints and their fantastic effort without Brees — and to incredibly gutty Idaho — the most unbelievable event of a couple wild days was the utter collapse by Wazzu.

If you didn’t see it, the whole nightmare might seem impossible.

Maybe even if you DID see it, the loss still hasn’t sunk in.

Consider: Washington State led 49-17 deep into the third quarter when, gasp…

UCLA and young quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson managed to score four TDs in five minutes as the Cougs committed a couple of their six turnovers.

In the midst of that blitz came the first of two vital plays that really determined the outcome.

Yep, despite all those turnovers and allowing both kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns, Wazzu actually can look at just two plays that were truly the daggers.

The initial hint of trouble came when Rodrick Fisher caught a pass from Gordon, gained a few yards and then was held up — for what seemed like ages — by a gang of five Bruins.

Eventually, someone ripped the ball free and after a long review, UCLA got the ball.

It was an awful call, since you could have gone for a cold one while Fisher remained stationary and was mugged from all sides. There should have been a whistle, and even on the review, it appeared Fisher’s elbow was down before the ball came out.

But Wazzu didn’t get either break, and Thompson-Robinson threw a 37-yard touchdown pass on the next play.

That only made the score 49-31, but somehow you could actually feel a sense of weirdness beginning to hang over Martin Stadium.

A FEW scores later by both sides — including a dazzling 65-yard pass and run by Max Borghi to make it 63-60 — the weary Cougs finally got a critical stop, holding UCLA on downs with their backs to the goal line and time running out.

Just one first down probably would have meant survival, and Gordon seemed to get it on a throw to his former junior college teammate Easop Winston Jr., who already had caught four TD passes in a spectacular performance.

Ah, but here came the second shot to the heart.

Winston fumbled when tackled from behind — and after an endless review, the Bruins got the ball and a game-changing reprieve.

UCLA promptly scored, and then Gordon’s fumble when sacked with a mile to go and just a minute left slammed the coffin shut.

Among other awful realizations facing the Cougars (3-1, 0-1 Pac-12) is that the really rough part of their schedule is still to come.

That gauntlet begins next week at Utah, and includes road games at undefeated Cal, Oregon, Arizona State and U-Dub.

Wazzu’s defense and special teams were exposed horribly by UCLA’s youthful but gifted athletes, and that’s a real worry going forward.

Likewise, the Seahawks’ weaknesses showed up in the loss to New Orleans, and you wonder about the schedule ahead for Carroll’s bunch.

Both those teams need to fix some obvious leaks.

It was unpleasant news, and in each case arrived in stunning circumstances.

But…

Hey, how ‘bout them Vandals?

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: [email protected]