By Craig Hill
The News Tribune
PULLMAN – As some of the 33,462 frenzied fans in Martin Stadium on Saturday night flooded the field and the emotions washed over the Washington State University football team, Lamont Thompson couldn’t help but think he’d been there before. The spectacle reminded the WSU safety of the Cougars’ 1997 Apple Cup victory.
“That game was probably a little better because it got us into the Rose Bowl,” said Thompson, who sealed both triumphs with interceptions. “But this is pretty close.”
In fact, the 16th-ranked Cougars’ 20-14 victory over No. 9 UCLA on Saturday is easily their biggest triumph since that Apple Cup. Not only did the Cougars (8-1 overall, 5-1 Pacific-10 Conference), playing without three starters, survive the latest round of cuts in the conference title race and continue to set the stage for what could be a whopper of an Apple Cup in two weeks, but they salvaged their pride.
After allowing 446 rushing yards to Oregon last week, the Cougars revamped their defense for UCLA running back DeShaun Foster and all but ruined his Heisman Trophy hopes by holding him to 102 yards.
WSU defensive coordinator Bill Doba added a fifth defensive lineman to help shut down the run and the plan worked to perfection. UCLA (6-2, 3-2) rushed for 85 yards and had 225 total yards.
“We knew if we could force them to pass we could win,” Doba said.
And that’s precisely what happened. Cory Paus, who had thrown UCLA’s only interception this season, was picked off three times and backup Ryan McCann was intercepted twice. Thompson tied Pac-10 records with four interceptions for the game and 21 for his career. Thompson’s four picks were also a school record.
Marcus Trufant, who was making his first start since missing five games with a broken right thumb, also intercepted a pass.
But it was the bulked up defensive front that set the table for everybody else.
“We were pretty angry and embarrassed after the Oregon game,” defensive tackle Rien Long said. “We wanted to get our swagger back and that’s exactly what we did.”
The defensive line was so charged up for the game, Long said he saw some of the linemen foaming at the mouth.
“What we did last week,” Long said, “that wasn’t good. We wanted to make up for it.”
They couldn’t have picked a better day to do so.
The offense needed every bit of help it could get. WSU quarterback Jason Gesser said he deserved a grade of “D” for his performance, then he changed his mind.
“Not even a passing grade,” Gesser said.
The offense failed to convert on three fourth-and-1 plays. Gesser, who was battered and bloody after the game, threw three interceptions and had a handful of other bad plays.
But his nimble feet were good for a few third-down conversion that kept drives alive.
“The defense did it for us today,” Gesser said. “They were awesome. Really, they didn’t give up anything.
UCLA’s two scores came with big assists from the WSU offense. The first came when a bad series and a short punt gave the Bruins the ball at the WSU 35. The other score came when Ben Emanuel, who picked off two passes in his first start, returned an interception for a touchdown.
In fact, the WSU defense played a big role in all of the Cougars’ points. Thompson’s first interception set up a 27-yard touchdown pass from Gesser to tight end Mark Baldwin. Trufant’s interception set up a 30-yard field goal by Drew Dunning
Then the defense stripped Foster for a score of its own. Fred Shavies spun Foster around and slapped the ball out of his hand. Linebacker Al Genatone returned the ball 73 yards for a touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
Thompson’s second interception set up WSU’s final scoring drive.
While the defense led the way, the Cougars’ offense still managed to set a standard for offense on the Palouse by breaking the 13-year-old record of 4,081 yards. The Cougars gained 276 yards Saturday – by far their worst total of the season – but that gave them 4,117 yards for the season.
And when it came time to put the game away, WSU came up big. With a 17-14 lead early in the fourth quarter, the Cougars took advantage of a Thompson interception by driving 50 yards on 16 plays. The drive ran 7:43 off the clock and allowed the Cougars to pad their lead with a 25-yard field goal by Dunning.
The Cougars left enough time for the Bruins to get two more chances at the win, but Thompson ended both of those drives with interceptions.
“It was just a huge one for us,” Long said. “We are back on track.”
So what will the Cougars be thinking about this week? The Fiesta Bowl, an outside shot at the Rose Bowl? Their trip to Arizona State where they haven’t won since 1994?
Sure, but they’ll do some dreaming, too.
“After a game like this I wish we had a Pac-10 championship game,” Long said, “so we could beat Oregon.”
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