Oregon State and Washington State have been set adrift together this year, as their Pac-12 conference mates have all preemptively defected to the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12.
However, the Beavers and Cougars have made the most of their sticky situation. First, both teams started 3–0 and cracked the Top 25 ahead of their meeting Saturday. Then, on Thursday, the two schools’ leaders unveiled a joint Zoom background with both institutions’ logos.
The background seemingly nodded to Oregon State and Washington State’s shared predicament as agricultural institutions left behind by their more moneyed, cosmopolitan rivals. More than that, however, it generated a warm, good-humored reception from college football fans battered by three straight realignment-centric summers.
