COUGS WIN! Overtime thriller fells Huskies!

THE COUGARS MANAGED to find enough plays to turn a 18-point deficit entering the fourth quarter into a tie, and then an overtime win as Washington State got its first conference win of the Mike Leach era in a thrilling 31-28 overtime win in the Apple Cup.

Despite a solid effort by senior Jeff Tuel, offensive issues bogged down Washington State's effort and handed the Huskies 18 unanswered points off turnovers, giving little hope of a comeback as the final quarter opened.

But the Cougars didn't go quietly. Slowly but surely, they rattled off 18 unanswered points of their own to take it into overtime after Andrew Furney kicked a 45-yard field goal with 1:59 left -- and the Huskies missed a 35-yarder in the final five seconds.

Play of the game: Logan Mayes darted through on the first play of overtime, wrapping up Keith Price and forcing a nimble interception by Toni Pole who saw 65 yards of open turf in front of him. The third-year sophomore nose tackle nearly ended the game right there, tackled just five yards from paydirt.

Key play: With the Huskies leading by three midway through the fourth quarter, they had possession at their own 29 on third-and-nine, when Pole pressured Price and forced an incompletion.

Key stats: WSU held UW to just 269 yards of total offense. Washington amassed 17 penalties. WSU gave the ball away four times, leading to a disastrous third quarter.

They said it: “It’s good. We’ll have to do it again.” – Mike Leach, on what he thinks of the Apple Cup at the beginning of halftime.

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