The Great Escape Destiny’s Darlings Prevail Dramatically
Nothing like a little drama to go with one’s destiny.
“I never had a doubt,” Washington State football coach Mike Price said afterward, but no one would believe him.
WSU’s 35-34 victory over Arizona was in doubt until the last play of overtime Saturday, right along with WSU’s undefeated season and Rose Bowl hopes.
The 10th-ranked Cougars were able to celebrate only after strong safety Duane Stewart stopped Arizona quarterback Ortege Jenkins short of the goal line, foiling coach Dick Tomey’s gutsy attempt at the game-winning two-point conversion.
“The only thing in my mind was, we’re not going to let them score,” Stewart said.
Jenkins fumbled into the end zone on the play, at which time he became the only Arizona player eligible to make a recovery. With Jenkins pinned by Stewart, Gary Holmes recovered for WSU.
That was the game, and what a game it was. The disappointing crowd of 31,137 - better than 6,000 short of Martin Stadium’s capacity - was rewarded with more suspense than WSU would have liked.
The Cougars trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and 28-21 in the fourth. They never led until the opening possession of overtime, when Leaf bulled into the end zone on third-and-goal from the 1.
Leaf’s TD culminated a seven-play drive that was sustained by a 13-yard pass to Chris Jackson and two offsides penalties against Arizona.
Undeterred, the Wildcats responded with their own seven-play scoring drive.
Facing fourth-and-14 from the WSU 29, Jenkins threw incomplete to Rodney Williams in the end zone, but the drive continued because WSU cornerback LeJuan Gibbons was whistled for interference.
After two running plays and an incompletion, Arizona faced fourth-and-2 from the 6. This time, the Wildcats didn’t need a penalty.
Williams got behind Gibbons and hauled in a perfect strike from Jenkins, pulling the Wildcats within 35-34. By then, Tomey had already decided not to force another overtime.
“We decided in the fourth quarter we’d go for two,” said Tomey, who took the same gamble in a 56-55 quadruple-overtime loss to Cal last season.
Once again, Tomey had no regrets. But neither did the Cougars.
“We wanted them to go for two,” WSU safety Ray Jackson said. “We felt we could stop them. I’d rather just get the glory and get out of there.”
The victory lifted WSU to 7-0 for the first time since 1930. At 5-0 in the Pacific-10 Conference, the Cougars can now concentrate on next week’s road game against Arizona State.
Arizona (3-5, 1-4), meanwhile, was left wondering what might have been.
“We’re all devastated,” Tomey said, “but I’m proud as hell. Anyone who doesn’t see it that way, I don’t think you’re in touch with reality.”
The game evolved into a duel between Leaf, the Heisman Trophy candidate, and Jenkins, a gifted freshman making just his fourth career start. Neither was particularly sharp, but they combined to make a surplus of big plays.
Leaf completed 23 of 46 passes for a career-high 384 yards and three scores, hitting on touchdown strikes of 27, 37 and 48 yards. His overtime scoring plunge was his third rushing TD of the season.
Jenkins threw for four scores and ran for a fifth. The rest of his numbers seemed modest next to Leaf’s - 20 of 44, 246 yards - but Jenkins repeatedly bailed his team out of third-and-long situations.
“I think you saw a better No. 16 out there in white than you saw in red,” Leaf said. “He is tremendous. Besides talking about myself, he’s probably the best quarterback I’ve seen in the Pac-10 right now.”
Their duel intensified midway through the third quarter. Leaf had a partner in receiver Kevin McKenzie, who finished with eight catches for 157 yards and two scores.
WSU trailed 21-14 when McKenzie came through with two huge plays. The first, on third-and-13 from the WSU 20, netted 46 yards and resuscitated the Cougars’ dying hopes.
Three plays later, McKenzie struck again, this time with an unlikely assist. As McKenzie hauled in a short pass over the middle, Arizona safety David Fipp ran into umpire Jim Coyn, allowing McKenzie to break free for a 48-yard score.
“I didn’t even see him,” McKenzie said. “I was just running for daylight.”
That tied things at 21, but not for long.
Six minutes later, Jenkins found Brad Brennan for a 34-yard score on third-and-1 after Brennan got behind Gibbons.
WSU forced the final tie on DeJuan Gilmore’s 1-yard TD with 11:28 left in regulation. Michael Black made the drive’s critical play, a 17-yard run on second-and-5 from the 18.
Black finished with 116 yards on 29 carries, helping the Cougars to a 159-106 advantage on the ground.
Some of his least spectacular runs were also among of the game’s most significant.
With WSU trailing 14-0 late in the first quarter, Black had gains of 6, 7, 7 and 9 yards during a 69-yard drive that culminated with Leaf finding McKenzie for a 27-yard score.
In the second quarter, with Arizona leading 14-7, Black plowed ahead for 4 yards on third-and-1. Four plays later, Leaf found Nian Taylor for a 37-yard strike.
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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: ON TV Saturday: Washington State at Arizona State, 7 p.m./Fox Sports Northwest