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Wednesday, November 8
Cougars, Sun Devils fight through tough losses

By Dan Rosen
Special to ESPN.com

Pac-10 teams just love beating each other up. But that doesn't mean everyone enjoys it.

While this past weekend was just another week in the Pac-10 -- five games separated by just 20 points with two overtime games and another two won in the fourth quarter -- it's becoming clear that the unexpected is to be expected.


	Rick Neuheisel and Washington have rallied to win seven games this season.

"If you can put a videotape together of the Pac-10 and the down to the wire finishes, we're blowing away March Madness," Washington coach Rick Neuheisel said. "It has been absolutely wild this season and this past weekend typified it. It's absolutely bizarre."

Neuheisel has reason to be happy about the results, as his Washington Huskies have managed to outscore opponents 130-61 in the fourth quarter after being outscored 154-137 in the first three en route to their 8-1 record.

However, other coaches, namely Washington State's Mike Price and Arizona State's Bruce Snyder, aren't as fortunate.

Both the Cougars and Sun Devils have been on the losing end of multiple overtime games this year -- WSU three of its past four games and ASU its last two, both in double overtime -- and have had to deal with the distressing lows instead of the jovial highs.

"I thought I had the magic touch (after going 3-0 in overtime games before this year)," Snyder said. "But then this year came along."

ASU has lost to Oregon and USC while the Cougars have fallen to Arizona in triple overtime, the Ducks and the Sun Devils. In fact, six of WSU's nine games have been decided by seven points or less, with the Cougars on the losing end of four.

Adding to Price's pain is the loss of sophomore quarterback Jason Gesser for the season's remaining two games to a broken leg. Gesser suffered the injury in the second quarter of this past Saturday's 27-24 loss to Oregon, a game which the Cougars blew a 24-16 fourth quarter lead.

However, despite the hard luck times that have hit Price and his Cougars, the boss in Pullman, Wash. is not hanging his head and asking himself those dreaded "what if?" questions.

"Hey, let's get on with it. We have a chance to go down to the (Los Angeles) Coliseum and play USC on television and that should be fun," he said of this weekend's game against the Trojans. "Then we come back home to play the Apple Cup against our biggest rival (Washington). Those are two things that most kids don't get to experience."

Snyder's squad will attempt to cure their ails at Stanford this week, but that means the Sun Devils have to board a plane again. They haven't flown since the scary incident in which lightning struck their aircraft twice on their flight home after winning the overtime game at WSU, 23-20, on Oct. 21.

"I'm OK, but a handful of players and administrators said it would bother them to get back on the plane," Snyder said.

Nevertheless, the story goes like this for both teams: For ASU, they are one win away from being bowl eligible and have two opportunities to get the job done -- this week at Stanford and Nov. 24 at Arizona. WSU is simply looking to close out the season on a positive note against USC and Washington, but they will have to do it with redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Kegel under center.

"Hell, with what's happened, it's all water under the bridge now and there's nothing we can do about it," Price said, adding that he still doesn't know what to think about Kegel, who was 11-of-23 for 126 yards in replace of Gesser last Saturday, but is curious to find out.

Around the Pac-10

Arizona
The Cats have lost their past three games a total margin of 10 points -- 14-10 at Oregon, 27-24 versus UCLA and 35-32 at Washington. ... Sophomore RB Leo Mills rushed for a career high 185 yards last week at Washington in his first-ever start. It was the second time he topped the century mark this season, the first being at home against Washington State. ... Sophomore LB Lance Briggs has posted double digit tackle numbers in each of the past four games and is averaging 10 tackles per game this season. ... The Cats list junior FS Jarvie Worcester (shoulder) as doubtful for the OSU game and freshman OL Reggie Sampay (ankles), sophomore RB Larry Croom (ankle) and sophomore kickoff returner Gary Love (foot) as questionable.

Arizona State
The Sun Devils set an NCAA record with three consecutive overtime games last Saturday when they lost to USC, 44-38, in double overtime. ... Junior walk-on running back Tom Pace, who was awarded a scholarship last week, leads the team in rushing with 525 yards and four touchdowns on 129 attempts. He has also caught a pair of touchdowns. ... ASU quarterbacks have thrown for 2,595 yards this year, which is sixth- best in school history and just 289 yards short of second-best. If they continue to average their 288.3 yards per game, they would shatter the record of 259.0 ypg set in 1998. ... ASU has caused 26 fumbles this year, 16 more than last year's team. They have recovered 21 of them. The Sun Devils have also intercepted 12 passes, surpassing last year's total of 11.

Cal
Senior DE Andre Carter became the Bears' all-time sack leader last week in their 38-32 loss at Oregon State. Carter had one sack to give him 28.5 for his career, topping Regan Upshaw's (1993-95) old record of 28. ... The Bears passing game has improved over the last four games, as sophomore QB Kyle Boller has averaged 236.3 yards through the air, including a 349-yard effort against the Beavers. However, this week's opponent, conference leader Oregon, is the best pass defense team in the league, allowing just 203.9 yards per game. ... Senior punter Nick Harris broke the NCAA career record for punting yardage last Saturday. He became the first punter to kick for over 13,000 yards (13,161), beating former TCU punter Cameron Young's record of 12,947 yards. Harris needs just 12 punts to break Young's record of 320 career punts. ... Sophomore Jemeel Powell's 22.7-yard average on punt returns leads the nation. The cornerback also leads the Pac-10 with 19 pass deflections.

Oregon
With two more wins, the Ducks will clinch a berth in the Rose Bowl. They are the only Pac-10 team that controls its own destiny. UO still has Cal and Oregon State on the schedule. ... With a win over Cal this Saturday at Autzen Stadium, UO would break the Pac-10 record for consecutive home wins. They are currently tied with USC (1986-89) at 12. ... Oregon's No. 6 Associated Press ranking is their highest ever. ... Senior PK Josh Frankel was named the Pac-10 special teams player of the week after hitting the game winning 47-yard field goal in the Ducks 27-24 win at Washington State. Frankel also connected on a 46-yarder earlier in the game -- both career highs.

Oregon State
This week's No. 10 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll is the highest the Beavers have been ranked since 1968, when OSU was ranked as high as eighth and was the preseason No. 6 team. Their highest regular season ranking came on Nov. 27, 1967 when the Beavers were No. 7. ... OSU's 8-1 start is the best-ever in school history. ... The Beavers lead the league in total offense (424.8 ypg) and total defense (314.3 ypg). ... With their 38-32 win over Cal last week, the Beavers completed their first-ever sweep of the state of California's four Pac-10 teams -- UCLA, USC, Stanford and Cal. And the Beavers added a win against San Diego State in the non-conference schedule. ... Junior running back Ken Simonton moved into sixth place on the Pac-10's career rushing list with 3,802 yards. Former Arizona star Trung Canidate is fifth at 2,824. Simonton is part of the two-back combination with junior Patrick McCall. Both ran for over 100 yards against Cal -- Simonton 125 yards, McCall 116 -- which marked the second time it has happened this season and 11th time in school-history that two backs have gone over the century mark in the same game.

Stanford
Senior LB Riall Johnson's three sacks last week against UCLA gave him 13 for the season. He is just four shy of Stanford's single-season record of 17 held by Duncan McColl. ... Senior WR DeRonnie Pitts is just five receptions short of moving into second place on the Pac-10's all-time list, which is headed up by former Cardinal Troy Walters. Pitts leads the league and is tied for third nationally with 68 catches this year. ... Coach Tyrone Willingham said that senior QB Randy Fasani will start this Saturday at home against ASU. However, he did say that the game and Fasani's health will dictate if redshirt freshman Chris Lewis plays as well. The Cardinal's offense is flourishing under Fasani. In his six starts, they are averaging 28.8 points, 427.8 yards of total offense, 265.0 yards passing and 162.8 yards rushing. In Lewis' three starts, Stanford averages only 7.6 points and has just 320 yards of total offense, 201 passing yards and 119 yards rushing. Lewis, however, has come off the bench to throw two game-winning touchdown passes. ... The Cardinal's effectiveness on the ground continued last week in their 37-35 loss to UCLA as they rushed 40 times for 178 yards and two touchdowns. They had scampered for only one TD in their first six games, but since then have eight in the past three.

UCLA
By beating Stanford on Saturday, the Bruins became bowl eligible for the third time in coach Bob Toledo's tenure. ... Opponents have scored first against UCLA in all nine games this year, but the Bruins have rallied back to boast a 6-3 record. Against Cal, the Bruins stormed back from a fourth-quarter deficit only to lose in triple overtime. ... The Bruins hold a 30-27-2 series record against Washington and have won the past three meetings, including last year's 23-20 overtime win at home. ... UCLA, however, has won just once in their last eight games away from Pasadena, Calif., allowing an average of 35 points per game. They travel to Seattle for Saturday's game.

USC
Despite all their struggles this year and a 1-5 conference mark, with wins in their final three games the Trojans will become bowl eligible. They still have Washington State this week at home, then UCLA in the Rose Bowl and Notre Dame at home to close out the season. ... Sophomore RB Sultan McCullough had his fourth straight 100-yard day against ASU last week, rushing for 176 yards. He has now rushed for exactly 1,000 yards this year. ... Sophomore QB Carson Palmer, despite his struggles in leading the offense this year, is tops in the league with 19.2 completions per game. Palmer is a modest 173-of-317 this year with 2,168 yards, 10 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions. ... The Trojans added to their 2000 turnover mark by committing six against ASU. They now have 28 on the year and have forced only 15. ... USC has had plenty of trouble starting games this season as they have been outscored 76-37 in the first quarter. However, they have come back in the second to outscore opponents 73-42.

Washington
Neuheisel looks for his first win against his alma mater, UCLA, this Saturday when the Huskies host the Bruins. Neuheisel was UCLA's starting QB in 1983 and earned Player of the Game honors for leading the Bruins in a rout of favored Illinois in the 1984 Rose Bowl. He served as an assistant for the Bruins from 1988-93 before becoming the head coach at Colorado. ... Junior RB Willie Hurst and senior LB Darrell Daniels were named offensive and defensive players of the week by the Pac-10. Hurst came off the bench in the fourth quarter and rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries. Daniels led the UW defensive unit with 14 tackles and a fumble recovery. ... The Huskies rushed for 211 yards and four touchdowns against an Arizona defense that led the Pac-10 and was sixth nationally in rushing defense heading into the contest. UA had allowed just four rushing touchdowns prior to the game.

Washington State
Before his leg injury last Saturday, Gesser, who is a captain on this year's WSU squad, had completed 128-of-246 passes for 1,967 yards and threw 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions this season. He also ranked second in the Pac-10 in passing efficiency with a 132.5 rating. ... Gesser's replacement, Kegel, ran for a one-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter in the Cougars 27-24 loss to Oregon. This Saturday's game at USC will be Kegel's first career start. ... Junior WR Milton Wynn's three catches for 78 yards moved him into fifth-place tie on the Cougars single-season receiving list with 882 yards this year. His 47 receptions leave him seven short of a spot on the top 10 list in that category.

ALSO SEE
ACC notebook

Big East notebook

Northwestern still in the running for the Roses

Big 12 notebook

Big West notebook

Mountain West notebook

WAC notebook

AUDIO/VIDEO
video

Arizona's Bobby Wade takes the Washington punt 60 yards for the score.
avi: 1199 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

Washington's Willie Hurst takes the pitch from Marques Tuiasosopo, and goes 65 yards for the touchdown.
avi: 1135 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

Marques Tuiasosopo strings out the Arizona defense and scores on the 1-yard TD run.
avi: 766 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

The Huskies' Greg Carrothers lowers the boom on Arizona's Larry Croom.
avi: 1044 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

Leo Mills scampers 10 yards for the Arizona TD.
avi: 837 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

Mike Detwiler surges ahead 4 yards for the Arizona score.
avi: 764 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1

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