Resiliency pays off for Cowan

PULLMAN – It was a crucial game. The Pac-10 lead was on the line. A rivalry was at stake.

And UCLA didn’t have a truly healthy experienced quarterback.

So Pat Cowan played.

His left hamstring hurt. His right knee was braced. His lungs burned. Yet still he played. And he won the game.

By doing so, he also won the admiration of his older brother.

“It was good to see him play like that, to go out there and play for the team,” said senior split end Joe Cowan, who caught seven of his brother’s passes for 39 yards in the 30-21 win over Cal last Saturday. “Yeah, I’m proud.”

Injured during the preseason (the hamstring), then again (the knee) against Washington in his first start of the season, Pat Cowan defied the odds and returned from a partial medial collateral ligament tear in three weeks to lead the Bruins past California at the Rose Bowl.

The win vaulted the Bruins into a first-place tie in the Pac-10 (they are 4-0, same as Arizona State).

They’ll bring a 5-2 overall mark into Martin Stadium on Saturday for their battle with Washington State, which has won five of the past six meetings between the two.

But they may not have Pat. After the Cal game, he said: “I feel good, I feel able to play. I have to give a lot of (credit) to the training room (staff). They’ve helped me out tremendously.”

But this week’s been different.

“I guess not having practiced for two months caught up with me,” Pat said Tuesday after hobbling down to meet with reporters. “As much as I’d like to think I wasn’t really injured, I still am and I have to keep up with the rehabilitation.”

The redshirt junior has yet to practice this week. Head coach Karl Dorell said Wednesday that the rest was a coaching decision and that Pat would start against the Cougars, which would play in perfectly with his persona.

Though not blessed with the physical attributes (read: strong arm) of presumptive starter Ben Olson (out with a knee injury), Pat Cowan has built a reputation on competitiveness, resiliency and hard-nosed play.

“That’s just the way we’ve been raised,” Joe said, “just play hard and you don’t give up, that’s just what we’ve been doing.”

“My hat’s off to Pat, coming back from two injuries, one his hamstring then his knee, and battling back (from those),” UCLA junior tailback Kahlil Bell said following the Cal game. “He keeps himself prepared, he keeps himself ready and then going out there and fighting as the leader of our team and the leader of our offense. He goes out there and does what he does and gets us a win.”

Pat, who did not throw a pass in 2005, started the final eight UCLA games last season after Olson was hurt, throwing for 1,782 yards and leading the Bruins in their major upset over USC. He also was at the helm for the Bruins’ game against the Cougars last year, a 37-15 WSU win in Pasadena. Brother Joe didn’t play that game – or any others in 2006. A knee injury cost him what would have been his senior year. He’s battled back and has 22 catches for 289 yards – both second on the Bruins – this season. Joe has played against the Cougars before, though, having a career day (six catches for 73 yards) in the Bruins’ remarkable 44-41 2005 overtime triumph in Pullman.

“Our last trip we had a good time, we came out with a victory,” Joe said. “You always have a good time when you come out with a win.”

The Cowan brothers, who attended St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, Calif., know a little bit about WSU. Their dad, Tim, was a Husky quarterback in the early 1980s, scoring a game-clinching touchdown in UW’s 1982 Rose Bowl win over Iowa. Though Tim Cowan doesn’t talk much about his college days, he did tell the boys about the Apple Cup rivalry.

“I’ve heard about it plenty of times,” Joe said, sounding like a typical son who has heard Dad’s tales too often.

But the past is immaterial to the Cowan brothers. Though UCLA is in first place in the Pac-10, the Bruins have lost two non-conference games (44-6 at Utah and 20-6 against Notre Dame) that have their fans scratching their heads. What can they do to avoid another mystifying upset Saturday?

“Come out and play with a high amount of energy and focus,” Joe answered. “Then you bring it for 60 minutes.”

Cougar notes

The Cougars will probably have to play Saturday without center Kenny Alfred, a two-year starter. Alfred was light-headed Monday, underwent testing this week and did not practice, making his status for Saturday doubtful. With Micah Hannam’s return from a leg injury, true freshman Andrew Roxas is available and would move into Alfred’s center spot if Alfred can’t play. “He has good tenacity and good balance,” head coach Bill Doba said of Roxas. “His biggest problem is upper-body strength … and then just knowing the assignments. If we can flank him with Dan Rowlands on one side and Bobby Byrd on the other, two experienced kids. … (they can) help with some of the calls and the decisions.” Roxas was almost a grayshirt recruit, and would have entered WSU in January, but a couple of spots opened up and Roxas started school this fall. Now he’ll probably start against UCLA, the closest Pac-10 school to his home in Sun Valley, Calif. … In other injury news, Jeshua Anderson, who was in street clothes Wednesday, is expected to play Saturday, though safety Alfonso Jackson, out with a concussion, has not practiced and probably won’t play. Xavier Hicks would take his strong safety spot. … Backup linebacker Brady Emmons, who missed practice earlier this week, is back. Emmons suffered what may have been the strangest injury of the year. According to Doba, Emmons was helping clean a deer during the bye week, went to cut off the animal’s tail, the knife slipped and Emmons stabbed himself in the leg. The injury has healed enough for Emmons to be available this week. … Doba feels the injuries are piling up around the country and part of the problem might be the new kickoff rule, which means there are more violent collisions than in the past. Plus, the timing rules from last year, which shortened games and limited plays, were rescinded. Against Oregon, the Cougar defensive players were on the field for about 90 plays. … Quarterback Alex Brink was named one of 15 finalists for the Draddy Award Thursday, which recognizes academic success, football performance and community leadership. The finalist designation comes with an $18,000 post-graduate scholarship. The National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame sponsors the award. The winner will be announced Dec. 4 in New York.