The folks in Pullman got a good laugh when a 25-foot poster of Heisman hopeful Jason Gesser was plastered on a grain elevator in the town of Dusty, Wash. (pop. 10). It's not that coach Mike Price doesn't think QB Gesser rates with Oregon's studs. NYC skyscrapers are just not WSU's style. The Cougars have other things to think about, like a Pac-10 title and getting to Tempe for the big Fiesta. For the first time ever, the West Coast media have picked WSU to win the conference. Gesser threw for 3,010 yards and 26 TDs last year and led the Pac-10 in total offense (257.5 ypg). He could eclipse every school passing record this season, surpassing marks held by the likes of Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf, Mark Rypien and Jack Thompson. WR Mike Bush, a 6'6" former swingman on the basketball team, will likely improve on his 959 yards and 10 TDs with Florida State transfer Devard Darling and budding star Jerome Riley lining up with him. Derrick Roche leads an offensive line that returns four starters and averages 6'5", 304 pounds, but who'll run behind them is up in the air (most likely juco transfer Jermaine Green). Junior DEs D.D. Acholonu (9.5) and Isaac Brown (8.5) were second and third in the Pac-10 in sacks. Opponents converted a conference-low 27.2% of third downs. "Acholonu is a bigger and better player than a year ago," Price says. "He'll be a superstar for us." Just don't expect to see any billboards.

	WSU's latest poster boy.

HOT WIRE

Senior Marcus Trufant has everything a coach looks for in a corner: size (six feet, 190), speed (4.5), instincts (eight career picks). He missed five games in 2001 with a broken right hand and still made honorable mention All-Pac-10. "He knows when to break on the ball," Price says. "There can't be a better corner in the country." With Trufant healthy, look for Wazzou to top its league-high 22 picks of last season.

TRIP WIRE

Gone is RB Dave Minnich and his 95.5 yards per game. The Cougars' returning tailbacks gained just 489 yards, so juco transfers Green and Jonathan Smith need to hit the ground running to keep defenses off the poster boy. Solid tailback play will be crucial by the time WSU travels to Ohio State.

WIRE TAP

"Their receivers scare me. Bush can beat you deep and Riley can beat you all over the field. I'd play a two-deep zone and not go crazy blitzing Gesser. He may not run 4.5, but he thinks 4.3 and has great feet. I'd make 'em try to beat me running the ball because their juco runners are an unknown, and I'm not impressed with the O-line's ability to run block."

BRISTOL WIRE

Trev Alberts: "A lot of people pick them to win the Pac-10, but I can't. I like the overall talent of their guys, but you just never know what you're going to get with this group."

The ESPN Power 16
1	Oklahoma	9	Colorado
2	Florida State	10	Washington State
3	Miami	11	Washington
4	Texas	12	Oregon
5	Tennessee	13	Nebraska
6	Florida	14	Michigan State
7	Georgia	15	Virginia Tech
8	Ohio State	16	LSU

This article appears in the September 2 issue of ESPN The Magazine.

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