THE FRONT ROW with Jason Elliott Dec. 28, 2013

First Gonzaga.

Then Washington State.

Followed by Eastern Washington and of course, the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Talk about taking "Coug-ing it" to another level.

IN THE course of the past week, I've had a few people ask me just if that was the worse weekend in Pacific Northwest sports.

Maybe, but it could have been worse.

Granted that Gonzaga, a ranked team in the Associated Press poll, lost a game to Kansas State, but it was on the road, the week after finals and an afternoon game as well.

Had they lost by more than the 72-62 score, that might have been cause for concern, but considering Sam Dower was out of the game with an injury for Gonzaga.

Losing in the third round of the NCAA tournament last year, as a top-seed, is another story.

Washington State led Colorado State 45-30 with less than four minutes to play in the New Mexico Bowl, but found a way to let the Rams back into the game. Thanks to a fumble late, Colorado State completed the comeback, kicking a game-winning field goal as time expired.

The Cougars are still trying to shed that image of a team that can't quite close the deal.

Unfortunately, they've got to wait until August to prove it.

Likewise, the Eastern Washington Eagles, who got behind 21-0 before a miraculous rally gave them a lead they couldn't hold onto in a 35-31 loss to Towson in Cheney in the FCS semifinals.

The Eagles have a talented team coming back next year, so they'll likely be right back in the playoffs chasing another berth in the national title game.

SOME FANS might have wanted to jump off the bandwagon following the Seattle Seahawks home loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Sure, the San Francisco 49ers are on a roll as of late and could be the best team in the NFC.

But with a win this Sunday, the Seahawks will still clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, meaning that San Francisco will need to come to Seattle, as well as everyone else in the conference.

Stranger things have happened in the northwest, but Seattle had to lose at home at some point, no matter how big of an advantage some want to call playing in front of their home fans.

Now, should Seattle lose this weekend to the St. Louis Rams, it might be a contender to disappointing moment like when the SuperSonics moved to Oklahoma City or the day that 116-game winning Seattle Mariners baseball team was eliminated from the baseball playoffs.

Last weekend was bad - there's no doubt about it.

But it could have been a lot worse.

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at JEPressSports.