Huskies Say Aloha
The Washington Huskies lost a bid for the national title, then dropped out of the Top Ten and wound up blowing their Rose Bowl chances with three losses to close out the season.
Now they have “a great opportunity to finish the year right” on Christmas Day in the Aloha Bowl, coach Jim Lambright said Sunday.
The 21st-ranked Huskies (7-4, 5-3) accepted a conditional offer to play No. 25 Michigan State a day after the Spartans (7-4, 4-4) made up for their own earlier disappointments by stunning Penn State 49-14, dropping the Nittany Lions from No. 4 to No. 12.
The matchup is the second to be announced in postseason play for teams from the two states. Top-ranked Michigan and No. 8 Washington State meet on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl.
Washington finished fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference and Michigan State tied for sixth in the Big Ten.
Top 3 unchanged; Cougars reach 8th
Michigan, Nebraska and Tennessee remained 1-2-3 in The Associated Press’ Top 25 college football poll, even though the Cornhuskers and Volunteers struggled in winning their weekend games.
Florida State (10-1) moved up to No. 4, followed by No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Florida, No. 7 North Carolina, No. 8 Washington State, No. 9 Ohio State and No. 10 Kansas State.
Washington State (10-1), which plays Michigan in the Rose Bowl Jan. 1, moved up two places to gain the highest ranking in school history. Before this year, the last time the Cougars were ranked 10th was 1958.
In the USA Today/ESPN poll, the top five teams were: Michigan, Nebraska, Tennessee, Florida State and North Carolina. In that poll, Washington State is seventh.
Two Huskies make Walter Camp team
In a tradition dating to 1889, the Walter Camp All-America team was announced Saturday.
The nation’s oldest college all-star squad features Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning and the nation’s leading rusher and scorer, Ricky Williams of Texas.
Two members of the University of Washington offensive line - Benji Olson and Olin Kreutz - were named to the team.
WSU student ticket distribution set
Washington State students with fall and all-season sports passes will be able to purchase their Rose Bowl ticket vouchers Tuesday, the WSU athletic department announced.
The ticket distribution will be held in Beasley Coliseum from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Today, ticket office personnel will begin mailing postcards and telephoning fans who have placed ticket requests. Ticket manager Janet Johnson indicated that, because of the volume of requests, it will be impossible to telephone every applicant.
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