THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: One team has it, the other still seeking it

Hey, Gonzaga could be for real.

Hubba, hubba.

Mark Few has somehow found a campus full of dudes.

Point guards, even. 

That's the good news from Monday night.

Unfortunately, the Seahawks played at just about the same time, and well ... that march to a second straight Super Bowl tumbled into a ditch.

The Hawks got slapped upside the head by Chicago, pushed around to the tune of 34-17.

So, I guess it's pick your game.

The customers at Lumen Field definitely had an opinion, roundly booing the offense — more precisely, play-caller Brian Fleury — as the Hawks kept running the ball with little success when they were two scores down in the fourth quarter.

Sam Darnold again was victim of a goofy play, getting a pass tipped by the only lineman on that side of the field — and returned for a touchdown by some anonymous 350-pounder.

Every time Darnold looks like the answer, he comes up with a gaffe that makes you scratch your head.

And boo.

But.

But.

The guy won a Super Bowl.

He really did.

ONE MORE thing before we put the Hawks aside for a moment.

If Jaxon Smith-Njigba had missed this game with the flu or something, Seattle might STILL be trying to move the ball.

Maybe that's unfair to Cooper Kupp, who's still a pro and caught a touchdown pass — but JSN now has 64 catches for 985 yards and nine TDs in just eight games.

That booing in the fourth quarter was mostly about him, and why Fleury didn't try to get him the ball on almost every play.

Jaxon had all the Bears defenders on roller skates, but Darnold rarely had time to see him.

Or maybe they were running some smash play for two yards.

Hell, I wanted to see Zach Charbonnet and Jadarian Price, too, but at some point you say: "It ain't working."

Seattle's retooled offensive line was all at sea, which you'd expect with Charles Cross out and Grey Zabel playing a new position for the first time as a pro.

It's odd to say this, but the Hawks were physically pushed around and still had a chance to win the game.

The touchdown that could have made this a fourth-quarter shootout never happened because JSN, of all people, was called for offensive pass interference after catching a bullet on the Chicago 2-yard line.

It was REAL flimsy call, and the first interference flag JSN has endured in his entire career — high school, Ohio State and now in the NFL.

Watching the Hawks dominate Kansas City a week earlier, then get punished by Caleb Williams on Monday, it makes you wonder.

Are there really any great teams wandering around this season?

If you can pick the Super Bowl teams now, I'd say you're using a Ouija board.

INDOORS, the Zags looked very sharp while dismissing a good Purdue team 78-72 in Las Vegas — interestingly, the first time Few has beaten the Boilers in six tries.

Remember when the Zags couldn't find an eligible point guard?

Now they have three — and Xaivian Lee, Javon Bennett and Nathan de Sousa all looked pretty good, thank you.

Lee has taken over as the starter, but Few ran the guards in and out, and they all pushed the ball up the floor.

That hurry-up more or less bypassed Purdue's press (and reminded us of Few's very best teams), but Gonzaga couldn't really shake off the Boilers until midway through the second half.

Lee and forward Izan Almansa combined on a 15-6 run that got the Zags up 10, and here's something you'll like — if it continues.

Gonzaga made 26 of 34 free throws, including 8 of 10 in the final two minutes. 

Davis Fogle, who led all scorers with 22 points, hit 9 of 10 from the foul line.

Even more surprising if you've suffered with Zags shooters the past few years, this group made 6 of 16 from behind the arc.

If they can keep Lee and Bennett eligible (we THINK there's one last court ruling to come) and perhaps get 6-11 sharpshooter Chauncey Wiggins approved to play, this could be a dangerous postseason team.

It's early, sure, but these Zags showed a tough streak when Purdue made a late run that cut the margin to a single bucket.

They got big rebounds and loose balls.

They acted like winners, and even like they're comfortable together.

That's more important that you think.

“You’ve got to play with poise, you’ve got to take care of the ball, you’ve got to get shots on your terms and then just get stops,” Few said. 

“Mission accomplished.”

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Longtime journalist Steve Cameron writes "The Cheap Seats" for The Press three times each week.