Ot Big Hit With UW
The new overtime rule was a hit with the Huskies, but hey, they won the game.
“That’s gotta be a quarterback’s dream. If it’s not, he’s not a quarterback,” said UW quarterback Brock Huard, who connected on a 3-yard pass to Jerome Pathon to give UW a 31-24 overtime win Saturday at Martin Stadium. “To have the ball in your hands, you gotta make it happen and I’m thankful for having that opportunity.”
The tie-breaking rule also earned the praise of UW coach Jim Lambright. But that was long before Saturday’s first test run for both schools.
“I voted for it,” Lambright said. “I think it’s the best answer. I think the only problem we have with it is that the stats from it should not be used with your regular stats.”
Dillon’s one for the books
Washington running back Corey Dillon watched much of the fourth quarter and the entire overtime period from the sidelines from what he described as “a little cramping” in his leg. But before the injury, Dillon tied or surpassed several Pac-10 and UW records.
Dillon scored 138 points, a single-season record that tied him with USC’s Marcus Allen (1981) and O.J. Simpson (1968). When he scored his third TD of the day a 5-yard run that gave the Huskies a 24-0 lead - it was his 22nd of the year. Only Allen and Simpson scored that many in one season.
After the junior tailback had been out of the game for most of the fourth quarter, he returned for one play with 3:46 remaining in regulation. He carried for 2 yards, but more importantly, it was his 38th carry in the game - breaking the record he set this year against USC.
“I wanted to be in there real bad,” Dillon said. “But I just couldn’t go.”
He’d gone quite enough, finishing the season with a school-record 271 carries and a school-record 1,555 yards.
“When he carries 38 times like that, it’s going to take its toll,” said UW offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. “And he’s become such a security blanket for us, we had to come up with some more answers.”
They came from a variety of sources, from backup fullback Terry Hollimon gaining 29 yards on 6 carries in the fourth quarter, to thirdstring tailback Mike Reed gaining 11 yards on 4 carries and catching a key 16-yard screen pass in overtime.
“Obviously, without Corey out there, we’re not as good, but we had other guys running hard, and we just had to keep going,” said UW center Olin Kreutz.
The Huskies finished with a net 213 yards rushing, which is just six yards shy of their season average.
Wales of an attitude
Washington place-kicker John Wales had a miserable game, but his name will quickly be forgotten by Apple Cup historians. First, he had a 46-yard field-goal try blocked by defensive tackle Leon Bender. Next came a 37-yarder that sailed right.
With 8 seconds left in regulation, Wales sent the game into OT when he missed a 41-yard attempt, wide left.
“I felt good about the way the kick went,” Wales said. “It looked good, it had good rotation. It was just 12 inches to the left. It was a 41-yard kick and it went 40 yards.”
Smith makes the call
No one had a better angle of Ryan Leaf’s last-play pass to Chad Carpenter than UW cornerback Jermaine Smith.
The play, a 23-yard pass into the west end zone, had everyone who was still in the stadium wondering: Coug touchdown or Coug letdown?
“I saw the ball coming and I see him (Carpenter) and we were getting closer and closer to out of bounds,” Smith explained. “I knew he was out of bounds, I’m hoping the ref saw it. I was relieved. I was exhausted.”
The last flag
Penalties have been poison to Washington State all season - and the last one will be rued the most.
Trailing 31-24 in the overtime, the Cougars swept Michael Black right from the 7-yard line and the junior running back got within a yard of the end zone.
But back on the 11-yard line, guard Jason McEndoo had been flagged for holding Husky roverback Nigel Burton. The penalty took the ball back to the 21 - and three incomplete passes and a sack snuffed out WSU’s chances.
“I don’t think it was holding,” said McEndoo. “If I’d pulled him down or something, but I don’t know if he was in the right position to make that call. He was behind.
“I asked him about it. I chewed his butt a little bit. I just couldn’t believe it. Burton was cheerleading pretty good, so I think he gave it to him. He didn’t throw the flag until after he was cheerleading for a while. If I look back on it, I wish I would have cut him right there, but I tried to get an outside shoulder and he’s a little wiry guy. He started falling down and I just went with him.”
The comeback kids
The Cougars didn’t make the only charge Saturday evening.
The student section at Martin Stadium emptied typically at halftime - typical whether the home team leads or trails - and had been depleted dramatically once the score reached 24-0 for Washington.
But as news of the Cougar comeback spread on radio and television, fans were seen streaming back into the stadium in time to witness the overtime.
One player, receiver Shawn McWashington, was not impressed.
“Nobody on our sideline ever gave up,” said McWashington. “All the fans who left and might be listening to this, I hope you guys don’t come back anymore.”
For two or not for two
The designated hitter took some of the strategy out of baseball, and in some respects so has overtime in Division I-A football.
When Washington State scored its final touchdown to pull within 24-23 with 1:18 remaining, coach Mike Price could have tried to win the game then with a 2-point conversion. Such a move seemed even more likely when UW’s Jason Chorak was flagged for a late hit on WSU quarterback Ryan Leaf on the touchdown play. That could have moved the ball to the 1-1/2 yard line on the PAT.
Instead, Price opted to kick the point after and take the markoff on the ensuing kickoff.
“I decided let’s not lose the game,” Price explained. “Let’s give our team a chance to win the game (in overtime). I felt our kicking game was better.”
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