Interception Stops Cougs In Overtime

Washington State quarterback Jason Gesser said earlier this week he knew he would eventually throw an interception and break his streak of four straight games without one.

The sophomore just didn’t know he would throw one in the third overtime to lose to No.

22 Arizona Saturday night. Gesser, who had six touchdowns and 348 yards passing, was picked off by Antonio Pierce at the 1-yard line giving the Wildcats at 53-47 win in front of 50,350 at Bear Down Field.

The loss ended the Cougars modest two-game win streak and dropped them to 3-3, 1-2. The Wildcats moved to 5-1, 3-0. It was the Cougars’ first overtime game since 1997 when they beat Arizona. It was also the highest-scoring game since 1997. And, remember, it was Arizona that beat the Cougars on the last play of the game last season. In a game that swayed more than a row boat in a hurricane, both teams had 490 yards in offense.

In the first overtime, WSU, the team with all the trick plays, got beat by one. Jenkins threw a lateral to Malosi Leonard. Leonard threw it right back and Jenkins went 34 yards for the score.

The Cougars came right back when Gesser hit Milton Wynn on a 23-yard pass. The second overtime Washington State went in through the air and Arizona went in on the ground.

The action before the overtime was just as furious.

There were two field goals that bounced off the uprights. One was by Arizona’s Sean Keel with :22 left. The kick from 52 yards had plenty of distance but bounced of the right upright.

Washington State’s Anousith Wilaikul, the reigning Pac-10 player of the week, missed a 32-yard field goal earlier. He also missed an extra point.

But neither team missed out on the big offensive plays. Gesser had touchdown passes of 68, 54, 23, 19, 19 and 14 yards. Jenkins didn’t have as any long passes. But he converted on a third-and-19 that led to the game-tying score in the fourth quarter. In overtime he also hit on a third-and-9 pass play that went for 11 and kept the drive alive.

Arizona also came from 12 down to score 19 straight points to take a 26-19 lead into the fourth quarter. The Cougars came back with 14 straight points of their own. This being the Cougars those points did not come by conventional methods.

The Cougars, who had four yards rushing through three quarters, went to the ground game to back into the game. Two tight ends, running backs David Minnich and Deon Burnett turned what was a seven-point deficit into a tie game at 26. After having 4 yards through three quarters, Washington State finished with 112 rushing yards. The drive was capped when Gesser hit Nakoa McElrath with his second of three touchdown passes.

Wilaikul’s missed field goal came on the next possession.

It looked as if the missed field wouldn’t cost the Cougars as Ortege Jenkins threw his second interception of the game. The senior quarterback hadn’t thrown two interceptions in a game since 1997.

His second of this game went right to Chris Martin. Martin went 31 yards right into the end zone and put the Cougars up 33-26 with 9:03 to play.

That was plenty of time for Jenkins to hook up with Bobby Wade. Wade caught a 45-yard pass to take the ball to the Cougars’ 5-yard line. Jenkins hit Mike Detwiler to tie the score at 33 with 5:13 left. Washington State, as it has all year, came right back. Gesser hit Burnett with a 33-yard screen pass to take the ball across the Arizona 40.

The Cougars were in four-down territory, facing a third-and-3. The Cougars called a long pass play to Marcus Williams. Michael Jolivette picked it off at the 4-yard line. It was the first interception Gesser has thrown in 131 attempts.

Those interceptions weren’t the only mistakes that cost WSU. The Cougars had 15 penalties. Nineteen is the school record. They fumbled the first two times they touched the ball. They also gave up a fumble for a touchdown.

But, as usual, Gesser (19 of 36 for 348 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions) provided plenty of excitement.

Against the Wildcats, the sophomore had touchdown passes of 68 and 54 yards. The latter of those two came on a third-and-31 when Gesser, after his customary song-and-dance show in the backfield, found Nakoa McElrath between Jolivette and Clay Hardt. McElrath reached up, the ball hit his hands and he fell into the end zone for the score.