Apple Cup a kick for Grasu
Reinstated as starter, kicker delivers
PULLMAN – Trotting off the field at halftime, Washington State special teams coordinator Steve Broussard and kicker Nico Grasu saw each other in the tunnel leading out of Martin Stadium to the Cougar locker room.
WSU trailed 10-0 and had only crossed into Washington territory three times. Two of those possessions resulted in punts and the other ended with an interception.
Nevertheless, Broussard offered a bold prediction. “He said, ‘You’re going to win this for us,’ ” Grasu recalled. “We’re down 10-0. Pretty funny thing.”
Pretty accurate thing, too.
Grasu, who was replaced in the last two games by Wade Penner before winning the job back earlier this week, made three crucial field goals to help the Cougars edge rival Washington 16-13 in double overtime Saturday.
Grasu’s first kick, a 28-yarder that was set up by Jared Karstetter’s 48-yard reception, evened the score at 10 on the final play of regulation. His second field goal gave WSU a 13-10 lead in the first overtime, but it was matched by UW’s Ryan Perkins’ 22-yarder.
After Perkins missed wide right from 37 yards in the second overtime, Grasu was called on, also from 37 yards. Cougar quarterback Kevin Lopina, exiting the field, and Grasu, entering from the sidelines, crossed paths.
“Be calm. You do this every day,” Lopina told Grasu. “That’s what you do at practice – you kick.”
Following a Husky timeout, Grasu booted the game-winner, triggering a wild celebration of students, fans and players near.
“Every kicker dreams about it,” Grasu said. “It’s just a dream come true.”
Grasu had a stutter-step on his approach on his first two field goals, but not on the last one.
“I kind of flinched a little bit,” the sophomore from Encino, Calif., said. “These guys (snapper Zach Enyeart and holder Reid Forrest) do such a good job as long as I get a foot on it, that’s pretty much it. Of course (the stutter) affects my rhythm, but with the adrenaline and everything, it’s OK.”
Grasu never lost his confidence, even after losing the job to Penner.
“That’s what makes you a good kicker – your confidence,” Grasu said. He amplified his point when he noted, “I don’t know if Coach (Paul) Wulff wants to hear me say this, but I wish every drive ended with a kick.”
Grasu made a game-deciding field goal as a junior at Crespi High in Southern California, but that one takes a backseat to Saturday’s kick.
“That was to win league; this was to win the Apple Cup,” Grasu said. “It’s the greatest feeling ever.”