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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Reason to cheer

Tuel, Forzani team up for record score

WSU’s Dan Spitz (92) and Toby Turpin (90) elevate to try and block the kick of ASU placekicker Bobby Wenzig.  (CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON / The Spokesman-Review)

PULLMAN – No matter what happens from now on, quarterback Jeff Tuel and receiver Johnny Forzani are in the Washington State record book.

The two teamed up on a 99-yard touchdown pass Saturday in the Cougars’ 27-14 loss to Arizona State, the longest offensive play in Washington State history.

Trailing 27-7, the Cougars’ Carl Winston touched a kickoff before it went out of bounds on their 5-yard line. On first down, ASU’s William Sutton broke through and wrestled Logwone Mitz to the ground just outside the end zone.

“Before we went out on that drive, actually we were talking about it,” Tuel said, “because he was telling me, ‘I don’t care what the route is, I can run by these guys. I can get a step on them.’ I thought it was a good time to give him a shot for the ball and he made a great play on it.”

ASU cornerback Josh Jordan had decent coverage on Forzani, a redshirt junior from Calgary, who played last year for the scout team of the Canadian Football League Stampeders. But Forzani was able to adjust quicker, taking the ball away as Jordan tried to get his hands on it.

“The ball was just perfect the way (Tuel) put it,” Forzani said. “That was pretty much it. I just took off with it.”

Jordan was off-balance and, by the time he regained his footing, Forzani had a couple of yards on him.

“We all know he can run,” said Tuel, a true freshman making his second start. “It’s just a matter of giving him the opportunity.”

“I’ve got pretty good wheels,” Forzani said. “I’d be surprised if anyone caught me.”

No one did this time and the duo had replaced Steve Birnbaum and Nian Taylor’s 97-yard pass play against Idaho from the record book.

“I didn’t even think about (the record) until it came up afterward,” Forzani said. “They were like, ‘You set a record, you set a record.’ I was … mad we were still behind. I wanted to get back in the game.”

This record not so good

The Cougars set another record, at least as far back as the school’s books reach.

Since 1957, which is when WSU began keeping the statistic, the Cougars had never had a worse rushing game than the minus-54 yards they accrued against ASU.

Prior to Saturday, the record was listed as minus-38 yards against California in 1976.

Off the canvas

Add ASU coach Dennis Erickson to the game’s injury list – with “questionable” status.

Erickson was in the wrong place late in the third quarter when WSU’s Terrance Hayward pushed receiver Gerell Robinson out of bounds while defending a sweep. Robinson bowled over his coach and sent him to the bench to receive medical attention. Erickson, 62, was still teetering during his postgame interview.

“Knocked me colder than a cucumber,” he said “I was down and out.”

But not out of one liners.

“I’ve been hit before over the years,” Erickson said. “There are a lot of people who would like to hit me, but they didn’t have to put a contract out on me.”

Erickson was reminded that Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis required knee surgery after taking a sideline hit last season.

“Yeah, but he’s not as good an athlete as I am,” Erickson cracked.

Injury list grows

Daniel Simmons, who fought his way into the starting lineup at cornerback against Southern Methodist, fractured the fibula in his right leg in the second half. The redshirt freshman will join defensive backs Le Andre Daniels (broken leg) and Tyree Toomer (pectoral surgery) on the sidelines for the rest of the season.

Offensive lineman Brian Danaher may be there as well after having suffered his second concussion in three weeks.

With a bye next week, the Cougars hope to get back center Kenny Alfred, who suffered a cut on his leg that required stitches and forced him to miss the fourth quarter.

When asked if the bye comes at a good time, Wulff said, “Yeah, it’s at a good time. The guys who are playing who are nicked up need to get healthy, and then our offensive line and defensive line, we need to get a couple guys back.”

Crucial campaign launched

The WSU Athletic Foundation has launched a campaign to increase its donation base by about 4,000 in the next year.

The initiative, labeled 10/10/10, will try to raise the foundation’s donor base to 10,000 by October 2010. A donor is classified as someone who donates $100 or more on a yearly basis.

“The Athletic Foundation has a number of major projects on the table, with none bigger than the Martin Stadium Phase III renovation,” athletic director Jim Sterk said.

However, Sterk said the most important aspect of the foundation’s work is to pay for athletic scholarships. With the increases in tuition, costs have risen above donations.