When it rained it poured
PULLMAN – It was only fitting that the Apple Cup basically ended when Washington State quarterback Alex Brink was sacked by the Washington defense.
That gave the Huskies five sacks and a fair share of the multitude of big plays the Huskies used to produce a 35-32 win over the Cougars on Saturday at Martin Stadium to salvage what had become a disappointing Pac-10 football season.
“The last play was a big play in the game, but I think overall as a team we made a lot of big plays and we capitalized,” said UW defensive end Caesar Rayford, who got the final sack. “Everyone came out to play. Big plays on special teams, big plays on offense, big plays on defense. That’s what we needed.”
Once the big plays started, they kept coming and coming and coming:
“Four plays after the Cougars took a 7-0 lead, Cody Eller turned a spectacular catch on a poor throw by Carl Bonnell into a 64-yard touchdown, the Huskies’ longest pass play of the year.
“On the kickoff after the Cougars went up 14-7, Marlon Wood broke the return outside and went 87 yards to the WSU 13. Two runs by Louis Rankin tied the game.
“Just three plays into the third quarter, Marcel Reece caught a short pass on a crossing route and broke it for a 69-yard TD down the right sideline to put the Huskies ahead 21-14.
“With 10 seconds left in the third quarter and the lead cut to 21-17, Chris Stevens broke through the middle against the Cougars’ punt team, blocked Darryl Bunt’s punt and then chased down the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The last time the Huskies scored on a blocked punt was the 1991 Rose Bowl.
“On the first play after the Cougars touchdown and two-point conversion made it 28-25, Rankin bounced a dive play to the outside and raced 77 yards for a touchdown. It was Washington’s longest running play of the season.
“The Cougars closed the gap to three with 6 minutes left and got the ball back on their 20 with 2:18 to play. After one first down, Stevens sacked Brink on second down, drawing an intentional grounding penalty and Rayford added the final indignity on fourth down.
“You get one you feel good, you get two you feel better,” Stevens said. “They do kind of pile up, almost like a domino effect. People get fired up.”
It also left the Cougars shell-shocked.
“They made big plays,” safety Eric Frampton said. “I mean anytime an offense can make big plays like that and make them fast, as fast as they did, that is a heck of a blow. Even our defense, we are resilient most of the time, but it takes a blow and takes something out of the team.”
Even Eller, who hadn’t reached the end zone since the season-opener last season, had a tough time describing his catch and run.
“That ball was thrown a little bit behind me,” he said. “I tried to get a hand on it. Fortunately it got knocked up. I got my left hand on it, turned around and all I saw was green in front of me.”
The kickoff return by Wood was indicative of WSU breakdowns on special teams.
“He has been unbelievably aggressive and so much so that sometimes I want to close my eyes and don’t want to watch it,” Huskies coach Tyrone Willingham said. “It was just one of those nights where we had a lot of big plays and that was one of them.”
Willingham and UW coach Bill Doba thought the blocked punt with the Cougars on their own 22 was a back-breaker.
“I just moved over into my gap, started rushing up,” Stevens said. “The next thing I see is the punter on my side so I stick my hand out and I feel that block and I’m searching for that ball.”
But if that didn’t do the Cougars in, Rankin’s long touchdown surely did.
As Rankin headed straight ahead, the Cougar safety charged up. When he broke outside, Rankin cut between the cornerback and a linebacker and there was nothing to stop him.
“I just saw a clear shot to the end zone,” he said. “It was blocked perfect. As soon as I took the ball I saw how wide open it was.”