From: http://wsucougars.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/092203aab.html

Cougars Open Pacific-10 Conference Play At Oregon

Saturday's match-up will mark the 81st contest between the two long-time conference rivals.

Sept. 22, 2003

WHO: #21/21 WSU Cougars (3-1 overall, 0-0 Pac-10) vs. #10/15 Oregon Ducks (4-0 overall, 1-0 Pac-10)
WHAT: 2003 Pacific-10 Conference Football
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 27; Kickoff 12:30 p.m. PDT
WHERE: Autzen Stadium (54,000, Field Turf), Eugene, Ore.
TV: Live ABC Sports, WSU replay by FOX Sports Northwest Sunday, Sept. 28, 9:30 a.m.

THE COACHES: WSU - Bill Doba (Ball State '62) is in his first season as WSU's head coach (3-1) and in his first season as a college head coach (3-1). OREGON - The Ducks are coached by Mike Bellotti (California-Davis '73), who has a 71-29-0 record in nine years at Oregon and a 92-54-2 career record in 14 years.

WSU VS. OREGON: Saturday's match-up between the WSU Cougars and Oregon Ducks is the 81st contest between the two long-time conference rivals...Oregon has won 37 times, WSU 36, with seven games ending in ties...the series is one of WSU's oldest, starting in 1901 with a 16-0 Cougar victory...Oregon has had the upper hand of late, winning four of the last five games...last year WSU prevailed 32-21 in Pullman...prior to Oregon's four-game win streak WSU took three of four games...Mike Bellotti 5-3 against WSU.

COUGARS RETURN TO THE POLLS: Washington State returned to the national football polls Sept. 21 after a 47-26 win over #17 Colorado...this week the Cougars are 21st in both the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll and the Associated Press media poll...over the course of the 2001 and 2002 seasons, the Cougars were ranked a school record 28 straight weeks...WSU, however, was not ranked in the 2003 pre-season poll or opening two regular season polls.

WSU-OREGON TV: WSU's upcoming football game at Oregon Sept. 27 has been selected by ABC Sports to be shown regionally on the West Coast...WSU graduate Keith Jackson will call the play by play, along with Dan Fouts and Todd Harris.

2003 CAPTAINS: WSU - QB Matt Kegel (4), FS Erik Coleman (27), ST Al Genatone (48). OREGON: TB Terrence Whitehead (24), MLB Jerry Matson (52), OG Nick Steitz (74), DE Devan Long (92).

MISC. GAME NOTES:
In blanking Idaho 25-0, Bill Doba became the first WSU coach since Babe Hollingbery to win his first game by a shutout; WSU's 127 passing yards against Idaho were the least since throwing for 122 against Washington in 2002; WSU averaged 6.8 yards per rushing attempt against Idaho, the most since averaging 7.3 against California in a 63-37 win in 1997; WSU ran off an 18-play drive in the first quarter against Idaho that used 8:59...time consumed was the most found in research back to the 1970's...WSU had two 18-play drives in 2001 against Stanford and Arizona...Idaho had just one possession in that first quarter; Wide receiver Sammy Moore's twisting, one-handed touchdown reception to send WSU into overtime at Notre Dame was selected by ESPN as the "Play of the Day" September 6, and was tabbed No. 4 on Chris Berman's "Plays of the Week" segment Sunday, September 7; Freshman Cody Boyd blocked two field goal kicks by Idaho; Against Notre Dame, quarterback Matt Kegel threw for a career high 274 yards and two touchdowns. It was the first time Kegel has thrown multiple touchdown passes in the same game; WSU had seven sacks against Notre Dame, including three by Will Derting, two by Virgil Williams, one by Josh Shavies and one sack shared by Tai Tupai and D.D. Acholonu; Sammy Moore's 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at Colorado was the #2 Play of the Day feature on ESPN, but this time he didn't make Chris Berman's Plays of the Week; Moore returned three kickoffs 132 yards, the sixth best single game return total by a Cougar; Matt Kegel threw for a career-high 310 yards and three touchdowns at Colorado; WSU had scoring passes of 77 (Matt Kegel to Scott Lunde) and 74 yards (Kegel to Sammy Moore) at Colorado, the first time WSU has had two scoring passes 74 yards or longer in one game; Lunde's reception is the longest for WSU since Kegel and Marcus Williams connected on an 88-yard pass and catch play; Jason David returned the 11th interception of his career for a touchdown at Colorado; he is now sixth on the career list; WSU's 47 points were the most against a ranked opponent since the Cougars beat #25 Oregon 55-44 in 1996; the win also was WSU's first on the road against a ranked team since beating #23 Stanford in 2001; Steve Cook blocked a PAT at Colorado, WSU's third blocked kick of the year; For the second time in three games, the Cougars held an opponent to less than 100 yards rushing, limiting Colorado to 97 yards on the ground. WSU had 433 total offense yards against New Mexico and held the Lobos to 257 yards, including just 22 rushing; Matt Kegel had career highs against UNM with 42 passes, 29 completions and 346 yards; WSU had 204 yards in total offense on its first three possessions against UNM, but settled for three field goals.

Washington State returned to the national football polls Sept. 21 after a 47-26 win over #17 Colorado

DAVID NOW SIXTH IN INTERCEPTIONS: Jason picked off the 11th pass of his career at Colorado and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown...David is now tied for sixth in career interceptions with Don Paul, 1946-49, and Torey Hunter, 1991-94...his 215 return yards is fourth on the list, leaving him 16 yards short of Rick Reed's record of 231 return yards...in addition, David has tied the WSU career record with his two TD returns...Bill Gaskins, 1963-65, Billy Newman, 1998-01, and current teammate Erik Coleman also have two interception returns for scores.

COUGS 23-6 IN LAST THREE SEASONS: Since the start of the 2001 season, WSU has won 23 of 29 games...in the 1929-1930-1931 seasons WSU went 21-3, including 10-2 (1929) and 9-1 (1930) seasons...WSU is currently seventh among D-I teams the past three years: Miami 28-1, Oklahoma 27-4, Ohio State 25-5, Texas 24-5, Georgia 24-6, Marshall 24-6, WSU 23-6, Boise State 22-6, Maryland 23-7, Tennessee 22-7, Oregon 22-7, Iowa 22-7.

WSU WINS WHEN SCORING IN THE THIRD: WSU has captured 21 straight victories when scoring in the third quarter...the last time WSU scored in the third quarter and did not win was the 2000 Apple Cup setback...conversely, the Cougars are 2-6 since the Apple Cup game when they did not score in the third quarter...the string is 17 straight wins when WSU has scored a touchdown in the third quarter.

COUGS RUN 86 PLAYS: WSU ran 86 offensive plays against New Mexico, 44 rushing and 42 passing...the last time WSU ran that many plays was in a 35-34 triple overtime win over Arizona in 1997 (also 86 plays)...the last time WSU had that many plays in a non-overtime game was against Montana in 1995, when the Cougars also had 86 plays.

KEGEL STARTS OFF SHARP: Matt Kegel was especially sharp at the start of WSU's game with New Mexico, connecting on his first 11 passes for 129 yards in the first quarter...during the stretch one pass was ruled incomplete, but UNM was flagged for pass interference on the play...WSU drove to the Lobo 20 on its first possession, with Kegel hitting five passes for 29 yards...on its next possession, WSU drove to the UNM 19 with Kegel hitting six passes for 98 yards before a pair of throws to Sammy Moore fell incomplete, resulting in Drew Dunning's second field goal...in all, Kegel was 12-for-15 for 151 yards in the first quarter of the WSU-UNM game.

SIX GAMES, SIX STADIUMS: WSU will play at Oregon's Autzen Stadium Saturday, the sixth straight game the Cougars have played in a different stadium...last year WSU ended the year playing Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, while this year WSU has already played four games in four different stadiums...Oregon this week will be the sixth straight game in a different stadium.

DOBA TURNS TO COUGARS FOR ASSISTANTS: When Bill Doba began assembling his new staff last December after taking over for Mike Price, he turned to three former Cougar players, a former head coach he worked for, and a Pac-10 offensive coordinator...four of the new coaches Doba brought to WSU have served as coordinators...his staff now includes five former Cougar players, equaling the most graduates on any D-1 staff...here is a quick rundown:

1. Robb Akey, DC/line, joined WSU 1998, Weber State '88, came to WSU from N. Arizona, where he was DC;
2. Leon Burtnett, linebackers, joined WSU 2003, former Purdue head coach (1982-86) and an assistant for Indianapolis Colts, also on WSU staff 1971, DC at Wyoming, Purdue, Fresno State, Northern Louisiana, Arkansas State;
3. Ken Greene, secondary, joined WSU 2003, Washington State '77, came to WSU from Purdue, played professionally with St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Chargers;
4. Mike Levenseller, OC/Receivers, joined WSU in 1992, Washington State '78, played professionally with Oakland, Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Edmonton and Calgary;
5. Robin Pflugrad, tight ends/RC, joined WSU 2001, Portland State '80; came to WSU from N. Arizona, where he was OC;
6. Timm Rosenbach, quarterbacks, joined WSU 2003, Washington State '88; came from E. Washington, where he was OC, played professionally with Phoenix, New Orleans and Hamilton;
7. Kelly Skipper, running backs, joined WSU 2003, Fresno State '89, came to WSU from UCLA, where he was OC;
8. Mike Walker, defensive line, joined WSU 1997, Washington State '82, played professionally with Hamilton and Edmonton;
9. George Yarno, offensive line, joined WSU 2003, Washington State '79, also a WSU assistant 1991-94, OC at Idaho, 19956-97, played professionally with Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Houston and Green Bay.

SUCCESS ON THE ROAD: WSU has won eight of its last nine Pac-10 road games...WSU closed out the end of the 2000 season with a win at USC...in 2001 the Cougars defeated Arizona, Stanford and ASU on the road before a loss at Washington, while in 2002 WSU defeated California, Stanford, Arizona and UCLA in Pac-10 action.

Matt Kegel was especially sharp at the start of WSU's game with New Mexico, connecting on his first 11 passes for 129 yards in the first quarter

TURNER CATCHING ATTENTION: Don Turner, a cornerback out of Spokane's (Wash.) University High, is catching some attention after picking off passes in his first two Cougar games...the redshirt-freshman had an interception against Idaho, then came back with another pick deep in Cougar territory against Notre Dame...at Colorado Turner was credited with three tackles, including one TFL...he was a standout wide receiver and defensive back in high school.

SCORING STREAKS: WSU currently has three significant scoring streaks on the line:

• The Cougars have scored in 211 consecutive Pacific-10 games, the longest active streak for any league team...the last time WSU was shut out in Pac-10 play was at Oregon State in 1975;
• WSU has scored in 218 consecutive games since a 44-0 shutout at Ohio State in 1984...the streak is the fifth longest among D-I schools.
• The Cougars have scored in 174 consecutive Martin Stadium home games since a 21-0 loss to Oregon State in Pullman in 1956.

  COUGS IN THE POLLS: Washington State, during the course of the 2001 and 2002 seasons, was ranked for 28 straight weeks, the longest continous stint in the polls for WSU...after finishing 10th in both polls at the close of the 2002 season, WSU was not ranked at the start of the 2003 campaign.

  COUGS 10-WIN SEASONS AMONG BEST: WSU is the only Pac-10 school with three 10-win seasons in the last 10 years (actually accomplished in the last six years)...WSU was 10-2 in 1997, 10-2 in 2001 and 10-3 in 2002...in the last six years WSU has made appearances in two Rose Bowls, 1998 and 2003...UCLA is the only other Pac-10 team with two Rose Bowl appearances in the last 10 years...WSU and Washington (1981-82-84) are the only Pac-10 teams to ever post three 10-win seasons in a six-year span.

  BACK-TO-BACK 10-WIN SEASONS RARE IN PAC-10: WSU is one of just five Pac-10 teams to post back-to-back 10-win seasons since the 10-team league was formed: WSU 2001-02, Oregon 2000-01, UCLA twice, 1997-98 and 1987-88, Washington twice, 1990-91 and 1981-82, and USC, 1978-79.

  COUG DEFENSE HALTS RUSHING TDs: WSU opponents have not had much success rushing for touchdowns against the Cougars this year...WSU has allowed eight passing scores and only one rushing touchdown...Notre Dame scored the only rushing TD of the season against WSU on a 19-yard run in the fourth quarter.

  BROWN, ACHOLONU AMONG TFL/SACK LEADERS: WSU's senior defensive ends, Isaac Brown and D.D. Acholonu, both rank among the leaders at WSU in both tackles-for-losses and in sacks, and in yardage lost for both categories...while Brown started throughout the 2002 season, Acholonu started his first game against Idaho earlier this year.

  COUGS RETURN NINE PAC-10 ALL-STARS: WSU and Oregon both return nine members of last year's All-Pacific-10 teams (first/second team and honorable mention), while USC returns eight and UCLA seven...WSU's returnees include first team pick Calvin Armstrong and honorable mention honorees Kyle Basler, Eric Coleman, Isaac Brown, Devard Darling, Jason David, Drew Dunning, Jermaine Green and Jeremey Williams.

  COUGAR SPECIAL TEAMS HOT: College Football News predicted WSU has the fifth best special team units in college football...they base their prediction on the basis of kicker Drew Dunning, punter Kyle Basler and return specialist Sammy Moore...so far this season WSU's special team units have lived up to the billing...Basler is averaging 44.8 yards per punt (13th nationally) and has dumped seven of his 23 kicks inside the 20 yard line...his long this year is a career best 62 yards...Dunning has hit 13 of 14 field goals (1st nationally) and has scored 47 points in four games...Moore is also off to a great start, averaging 33.7 yards per kickoff return (6th nationally) and 6.4 yards on punt returns...he also has a 97-yard kickoff return for a TD to his credit, along with three receiving touchdowns.

  O-LINE AVERAGES 307: The projected starters on WSU's offensive line weigh a combined 1,537 pounds and average 307 pounds...four of the starters weigh in at over 300 pounds...OLG Josh Parrish leads the way at 324 pounds, while ORT Sam Lightbody, at 6-9, is right behind him at 319 pounds...next is ORG Riley Fitt Chappell at 314, followed by OLT Calvin Armstrong at 311...the lightweight on the line is C Mike Shelford at 269.

  WSU STAYING AHEAD: Last year WSU came from behind in 10 of 13 games...this year WSU came from behind to beat New Mexico and tie Notre Dame, losing in overtime.

  PAC-10 HONORS COUGARS: Three Washington State football players have been honored by the Pacific-10 Conference this year with Player-of-the-Week honors:

• PK Drew Dunning Week 1 and 4: honored for his special team play against Idaho when he booted four field goals and one extra point; honored again for his five field goals against New Mexico.
• LB Will Derting Week 2: the defensive POW winner for his 12-tackle performance against Notre Dame that included three sacks and one forced fumble, which led to a touchdown...he won the same honor in 2002 when he picked off three passes against Nevada, returning one 98 yards for a TD.
• QB Matt Kegel Week 3: the league's offensive POW after throwing for 310 yards in WSU's win at Colorado...he had three touchdown passes and was 17-of-33 with one interception.

  CALL THE COUGARS EXPERIENCED: True, the Cougars lost some marquee players off last year's Rose Bowl team, including QB Jason Gesser, CB Marcus Trufant and DL/Outland winner Rien Long...but WSU is anything short of experienced talent this year.

  COUGS COME BACK FROM HALFTIME DEFICIT: Washington State bounced back from a 13-12 halftime deficit against New Mexico last week to pull out a 23-13 win...after giving up 179 yards to UNM in the first half, including 124 in two second quarter drives, the Cougar defense shut down the Lobos, limiting them to 78 yards in the second half...trailing at halftime was new for the Cougars...WSU had not trailed at halftime of a regular season game since Arizona led 10-5 last year...the last time WSU trailed at the intermission during a regular season non-conference game was in 1999 against Utah, when the Cougars were behind 6-0 and eventually lost 27-7...the last time WSU trailed at halftime of a home game was against Oregon 7-3 in 2001.

  DUNNING SETS RECORD: Senior Drew Dunning set a WSU record with five field goals against New Mexico, hitting from 37-36-23-21-49 yards...Dunning set a WSU record for kickers with 101 points in 2001 and then broke his own record with 113 points last year...this year he is really on a tear...he currently is the national leader with 13 field goals in 14 attempts (9.29%)...against Idaho he had four field goals from 46-42-29-35 yards...he had two field goals at Notre Dame and two at Colorado...he now ranks second in career scoring with 269 points...Dunning needs 60 points to pass school record holder Jason Hanson, now a 12-year NFL veteran with Detroit.

   

Lewiston Tribune Online - 09/25/03

Ducking one Long shadow; Younger brother of Cougars' Outland Trophy winner making a name for himself in Eugene

His older brother approached college football with an affable, slightly quizzical look on his face, as if he weren't entirely sure he belonged in the game. And he wound up winning the Outland Trophy.

So imagine the expectations being placed on Devan Long, who at one time seemed a more quintessential football player than his brother Rien.

He has begun to validate those expectations this season as a sophomore defensive end for Oregon. Through four games as a starter, he owns 12 tackles, 4 1/2 sacks and two pass deflections for the 10th-ranked Ducks.

For the first time in four years, then, the talents of the Long brothers of Anacortes, Wash., will work against Washington State on Saturday when the Cougars (0-0, 3-1) open their Pac-10 Conference season at Oregon (1-0, 4-0). Rien Long, after a stellar junior season as a WSU defensive tackle in 2002, left college early to turn professional.

At 6-foot-4 and 261 pounds, Devan Long is 2 inches shorter, 20 pounds lighter and more compactly built than his brother was as a sophomore two years ago.

Like Rien, he speaks frankly and bears an idyllic-sounding given name that belies his tenacious nature. (Their mother, Bailey Cunningham, has published a book on Tibetan religious art.) Devan's name is pronounced with a stress on the first syllable, as in "Devon," though his personality doesn't exactly evoke the English countryside.

"Rien was kind of a laid-back guy," Washington State coach Bill Doba said. "This guy (Devan) has got a fire in his eye, and he had that when we recruited him. We sure wish he had come to Washington State -- I'll put it that way."

The Cougars' recruitment of Devan's brother had been almost accidental. Doba was visiting Anacortes High during Rien's junior year and asked a coach, "Who's that big guy?" The reply was, "He's a basketball player, but he's getting interested in football." He had played only a year of the fall sport, as an offensive lineman.

"He was a little bit of a gamble," Doba said. "We got some early film on him, liked what we saw and we offered him.

"But Devan," he noted, "has been a football player the whole time -- football temperament, football toughness."

The younger Long made a recruiting visit to Washington State, and Pullman failed to charm him. Fog delayed his departure, and he arrived home late.

But he had perhaps already made up his mind.

"I love my brother and all, but I didn't want to be in his shadow," Devan said by phone this week. "I'd always been known as Rien's little brother. People called me Rien sometimes. I just wanted to get away from it all -- go someplace where nobody really knew me, so I could make my own name for myself."

Last winter and spring, both brothers faced a crossroads of sorts.

First, Rien surprisingly won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top collegiate interior lineman, the first major player award in WSU football history. Devan and his friends watched the announcement on television and "I was shocked -- my heart dropped out," he said. "It was probably one of the greatest moments I've had."

In the next several weeks, Rien agonized over the decision of whether to turn pro. He finally did so, then the brothers spent a disappointing day together as Rien went unchosen through the first three rounds of the National Football League draft. His casual personality, together with his precautions over a knee injury, had evidently been interpreted by scouts as an "attitude."

The next day, the Tennessee Titans selected Rien in the fourth round, though they have yet to make use of him through their first three games of the season.

Devan said he felt unqualified to advise his brother during his stay-or-go vacillations last winter.

"I just told him to do what's comfortable -- that if he thought he was ready to go, he should go. Apparently he thought he was ready, and I support him no matter what. I think he made a good decision."

Devan had his own worries during this period -- an altercation in Eugene that left him with a broken jaw. He missed spring football camp and meanwhile appeared to lose 20 pounds: The injury made eating difficult.

"I was basically jumped by a couple of guys," he said. "The police report says one guy, but I've talked to people who said there were at least two or three guys. I got jumped from behind and kicked in the face a couple of times."

The Ducks' other starter at defensive end, Igor Olshansky, was also shelved during spring camp, after undergoing surgery on his back. The two of them commiserated, and tried to make the most of the situation.

Devan, who had played sparingly the previous season, seems to think this spring exile from organized football, while his brother was trying to settle his own future, was a turning point for him.

He and Olshansky "really dedicated ourselves, mentally and physically, to just hitting the weights and watching film," he said. "We took it really seriously, because it's really hard to watch your friends out there practicing while you can't really do anything. You feel real helpless. We did all we could to improve as a defensive line and as a team."

Lewiston Tribune Online - 08/26/03

Tribune/Kyle Mills
Washington State football players have felt the watchful eyes of the officials this season. The Cougars have topped the 100-yard mark in penalties in each of their last three games.

Yielding to signs of yellow; Slew of penalties in last three games suggests Cougars had better proceed with caution

PULLMAN -- It began with Washington State's first play from scrimmage at Notre Dame. Devard Darling caught a 37-yard pass and rose from the turf pointing toward the sky, his signature tribute to his dead brother. Penalty flag. Unsportsmanlike conduct.

Since that moment, the Cougars can't seem to please the whistle-blowing gentlemen who officiate college football games. They have incurred 36 penalties for 344 yards in that span, their highest three-game total since 1993.

Pac-10 Conference coaches were told in their offseason meetings that officials would be taking a stricter stance this year, and the Cougars can attest to their thoroughness.

Washington State's game against Notre Dame, presided over by Pac-10 officials, was especially memorable for the Cougars, not only for their indisputable false-start penalties, but for two or three late-hit flags that seemed to signal a new standard of vigilance.

In their ensuing games against Colorado and New Mexico, the Cougars cut down on those personal-foul penalties but attracted a varied host of others.

Players seem especially perplexed by officials' interpretation of NCAA Rule 9, Section 2, Unsportsmanlike Acts, particularly the prohibition of "any delayed, excessive, prolonged or choreographed act by which a player (or players) attempts to focus attention upon himself (or themselves)."

Also known as the celebration rule.

The confusion began with that call on Darling's variation on the "We're No. 1" signal at Notre Dame. Of course, the official who made the call had no way of knowing that the WSU receiver uses this signal as a memorial for his twin brother Devaughn, a linebacker who died after a workout at Florida State in 2001. But the Cougars don't understand why officials would allow the gesture for an entire season, then suddenly throw a flag.

"The penalties are, sometimes, a little bit excessive," WSU defensive end Isaac Brown said. "They're taking some of the fun out of the game. They're cracking down, and it's slowing down the game, not only for players but for fans. I understand looking out for the quarterbacks and trying to eliminate late hits and things like that. And I understand you don't ever want somebody to taunt the other team."

He mentioned a "phantom penalty" on defensive tackle Jeremey Williams last week against New Mexico. "I didn't even see what he did, and he got a penalty for taunting."

Williams had evidently struck a momentary muscle-flexing pose: Officials are told to discourage poses, such as the John Heisman stiff-arm, and evidently Charles Atlas bravado falls into that category.

"I was a little disappointed -- I didn't think I did anything too flagrant," Williams said. "I did it toward my sideline, not really in anybody's face. The referee didn't see it that way."

Cougars coach Bill Doba included that officiating call in a video he sent to the Pac-10 office for review, and it received the conference's seal of approval. One other celebration penalty didn't. Even Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen agreed it was "a little ticky-tacky," Doba said.

"If you watch football games on the East Coast and the SEC, guys are dancing and strutting and everything else," Doba said, "and it's not being called across the country. But in the Pac-10, they are going to call it."

With Doba's emphasis on aggressiveness and quick reactions, especially on defense, he accepts a certain number of infractions as inevitable. He also noted that penalties tend to be self-perpetuating -- that heavily flagged teams develop a reputation and draw closer scrutiny from officials.

"But we definitely want to eliminate the celebration penalties," he said. "We're going to have to turn around, hand the ball to the official and walk away with our head down, I guess."

The Cougars have no grievance about several of their conduct flags -- for example, the one on Sammy Moore for teasing a Colorado defender by holding the football toward him as Moore streamed into the end zone.

And freshman Chris Jordan simply didn't know it's against the rules to high-five a spectator, as he did after catching a conversion pass last week and seeing a young boy extend his hand over the railing. It was the first score of Jordan's college career.

Coaches were more critical of Jordan's holding infraction on a screen pass to Jonathan Smith. More precisely, they disliked how the rookie telegraphed this crime.

Part of the Cougars' problem with penalties this year -- their average of 108.5 punishment yards per game ranks second in the conference behind Oregon State's 108.8 -- is their lack of slyness, which is a bit surprising on a senior-dominated team.

One exception is Brown, who has visibly relished all his 23 career sacks without ever drawing a celebration flag. The senior said he has drawn three or four offsides penalties in his career, maybe two or three late hits. And that's about it.

He pointed out the value of communicating with officials.

"Our coach tells us not to complain and not to yell or cuss at the referee -- just try to talk to him calmly and ask him about it," Brown said. "Sometimes you can tell by his response how he's going to call a game. If you say, 'Excuse me, sir, this guy is holding me,' and you give him the number, and he says, 'You know, son, that's part of the game,' you know just about anything goes. In that game, stop looking for the holding penalties."

Despite their penchant for penalty flags, the Cougars won three of their four nonconference games, and perhaps officials will grow more permissive in the conference season.

Yet the issue is especially relevant for the Cougars as they open Pac-10 play Saturday at Oregon. They know a certain number of procedure flags are unavoidable in a hostile, noisy venue like Autzen Stadium, so they want to keep the celebration penalties to a minimum.

Or else they won't have anything to celebrate.

NOTES -- Offensive lineman Billy Knotts, sidelined all season with a thumb injury, is expected to start in the Oregon game, which begins at 12:30 p.m. and will be televised by ABC. Backup tailback Chris Bruhn is doubtful with his ankle injury and center Mike Shelford is questionable with his bruised nerve.

Lewiston Tribune Online - 08/27/03

Cougs gird for Autzen commotion; WSU must find way to cope with advantage Ducks reap from their boisterous fans

EUGENE, Ore. -- When Washington State has the ball, the offensive tackles will be estranged from the cadence. The quarterback, who has devoted much of his life to learning the art of audibles, will find that knowledge almost useless. Even the long-snapper will ply his trade in an auditory vacuum.

When Oregon has the ball, you'll be able to hear the larks above Autzen Stadium sing.

If Washington State plans to win its Pac-10 Conference opener today before almost 60,000 highly astute Duck fans at Autzen Stadium, it must overcome a distinct disadvantage in the vagaries of offensive execution.

If the Autzen onslaught has lost some of its mojo since the Cougars last played here in 1999, it showed signs of restoration last week in a 31-27 win over highly regarded Michigan. The Ducks have still won 32 of their last 36 home games, including a 23-game winning streak that ended in 2001.

The Cougars can draw upon lessons they learned the past two seasons while playing in huge stadiums in the Midwest, but those are applicable only to a certain degree.

"Notre Dame isn't half as loud as Oregon," WSU coach Bill Doba said. "We were at Ohio State, and that was loud. But Oregon's louder."

What this noise accomplishes, chiefly, is reducing the advantage an offense normally enjoys by knowing the snap count. "Now both the offense and the defense have got to key on the ball," Doba said. "It's an even fight with you and the defense. It's definitely an advantage for the home team."

It will be a relatively new experience for WSU quarterback Matt Kegel, who saw his offense grapple repeatedly with timing problems at Notre Dame, and whose only other road-game starts have come at less noisy USC and Colorado. Which is not to say Kegel has failed to impress Oregon coach Mike Bellotti.

"I won't say he is the biggest surprise of the league," Bellotti said, "but in a league known for great quarterbacks, Matt Kegel is playing as well as anybody, in a very high-profile situation."

The Cougars moved practices this week into their stadium and simulated crowd noise over the public-address system, though "it drives me crazy to do that," Doba said.

The Cougars may be inclined to stress their running game, but the Ducks rank fifth in the nation in rush defense, and WSU's tailbacks are battered to a man. Jermaine Green is likely to resume his starting role.

Washington State's offensive task is especially daunting in contrast to that of Oregon, partly because the Autzen zanies clam up when the Ducks have possession, and partly because UO's two-quarterback system is working astonishingly well, half a decade after such systems went out of vogue in the Pac-10.

The Ducks start sophomore Kellen Clemens and alternate him with senior Jason Fife. Far from seeming disrupted by this rotation, they are completing 64 percent of their passes, with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions. Both mobile, they have been sacked only five times, though their interior linemen each played the entire 60 minutes against Michigan.

"They're very unselfish," Doba said of the quarterbacks. "They throw the ball and don't worry about stats, rather than try to force something in there or get sacked."

So the Cougars will seek marvels from their perhaps marvelous defense, along with further tricks from place-kicker Drew Dunning, punter Kyle Basler and returner Sammy Moore.

The Washington State offense emerged from its 23-13 win over New Mexico last week with overriding concerns about its short-yardage plays. Coaches concluded their multi-tight-end ploys lacked both punch and imagination, and they were mulling the idea of counters and red-zone spread tactics.

Yet the Autzen Stadium noise presents issues more pressing than the Cougars' ability to score from the 5-yard line.

Getting that far downfield in the first place will be hard enough.

NOTES -- WSU slotback Trandon Harvey is recovering from his ankle injury and may see action. ... Offensive lineman Norvell Holmes has returned to practice after his back problems, but didn't make the traveling squad. ... Redshirting quarterback Chris Hurd, who has spent the last few weeks in California rehabilitating his troublesome knee, is meeting the team in Eugene. Despite his original intention to take the semester off, he is enrolled on-line and may therefore participate in team practices and meetings.

“The Cougars not only silenced the notoriously loud Eugene fans, they chased them out of the stadium. After Erik Coleman's lunging end-zone interception in the second quarter, snuffing an Oregon threat with the score 31-2, yellow-shirted Duck fans began streaming along the stadium ramps like air fizzing from a tire.” Dale Grummert, Lewiston Morning Tribune

“It speaks directly to the talent of the Washington State football team that it could take on the No. 10-ranked team in the nation and turn it into a helpless, bumbling neon-green atrocity on its own field.”  - Dave Boling, Tacoma News Tribune

“Play of the game: Pick any one of about 10.”  - Bud Withers, Seattle Times

“The national magazine cover mocks them now. The lofty No. 10 ranking will only serve to measure how far Oregon plummets. A Saturday of euphoria has been followed by a Saturday of abject embarrassment. ‘Dazzling Ducks,’ Sports Illustrated proclaimed after Oregon's defeat of Michigan last weekend. Dreadful Ducks were the story Saturday.” Ron Bellamy, The Register-Guard

“The Cougars enjoyed listening in as the sound of silence grew right along with the number of empty seats.”  - Don Ruiz, Tacoma News Tribune

“By halftime, thousands of Ducks fans had left when the team retreated to its posh dressing room.”  - Craig Smith, Seattle Times

“It was hard to blame the fans or the Oregon players for not finding the light at the end of the tunnel. In fact it was hard for the Oregon quarterback to find any light anywhere to even throw the ball.”  - Carter Strickland Spokesman Review

 “For the record, WSU's 55 points are the most ever scored against Oregon in a home game. Not just at Autzen, but anywhere the Ducks have played in Eugene. Kincaid Field, Hayward Field, anywhere for the 108 seasons of Oregon football.” Bob Clark, The Register-Guard

“If it has not been clear to this point, it should be clear now: the Cougars have themselves an elite defense -- savvy, skilled and swift.”  - John Blanchette Spokesman Review

“The Cougars might have the quickest defense in the Pac-10. They made one athletic play after another on balls tipped by an alert defensive line.  This against a team that had almost survived September without an interception.”  - Bud Withers, Seattle Times

“Better yet, why do we as college football followers keep getting duped?”  - Stewart Mandel, Sports Illustrated

“We may also ask: Which has less credibility, college football rankings or things you read in Sports Illustrated?”  - Dave Boling Tacoma News Tribune

“Then again, it's not wise to pay much mind to the preseason projections, which, here and elsewhere, foresaw WSU seventh in the Pac-10.  Obviously, those who shortchanged the Cougars for their losses of playmakers Jason Gesser, Rien Long and Marcus Trufant didn't count on the continuity and the talent still in the program.”  - Bud Withers, Seattle Times

“While there was considerable preseason hand-wringing from the outside about all the marquee playmakers the Cougars lost from last year through graduation and defection to the Sunday league, it turns out they have playmakers galore, even if they're never billed in lights.”  - John Blanchette Spokesman Review

“For the past week, WSU coaches looked at Oregon game tapes and they noticed one reason the Ducks' quarterback tandem hadn't thrown an interception all season: No one had pressured them.  They resolved to change that, and it paid off, as the Ducks' quarterbacks duo was rushed and hit and ultimately combined to throw seven interceptions.”  - Don Ruiz, Tacoma News Tribune

“Seven days after Oregon leveled what some people had been tempted to call the best team in the country, Washington State simply savaged the Ducks, 55-16, in one of the most mind-bending afternoons in the 36-year history of this facility.”  - Bud Withers, Seattle Times

“But a defensive effort that was so unsparingly fervent created an argument that the Cougars have the goods to compete for a conference championship.  If not more.”  - Dave Boling, Tacoma News Tribune

“The Cougars dominated in just about every aspect in just about every minute of the game.”  - Carter Strickland Spokesman Review

“The Ducks were the nation's darlings again last week. Sports Illustrated proclaimed them the coolest in the land.  Call them cooled off.”  - Ryan White The Oregonian

“Not only aren't the Cougars gloating, they're barely slowing down for a quick yip-pee.  Cougars coach Bill Doba called it a good win over a good team.  Respectfully muted satisfaction.  But no overt glee.  Players claimed it really wasn't an upset.  Nor were they awed by the magnitude of the scoring differential.  There were no Gatorade baptisms on the sideline, or ceremonial carrying of coaches off the field.  They acted as if 39-point victories over top-10 teams are to be expected.”  - Dave Boling Tacoma News Tribune

“For while the temptation is to downplay the magnitude -- that is to say, the point spread -- of Wazzu's win because of Oregon's inability to take two steps without a turnover, the fact is the Cougars were responsible for creating the bulk of those problems, despite Ducks coach Mike Bellotti's rather dismissive declaration that the Cougs, "had a lot of great bounces today.  We didn't really have a chance to make it the game that I would have like to have seen," he said.  Funny. Could have sworn the scoreboard read 0-0 at kickoff.”  - John Blanchette Spokesman Review

“The only thing that looked worse than the Oregon offense were the Ducks' band uniforms.”  - Carter Strickland Spokesman Review

“Oregon didn't get a first down on its first three possessions, and Washington State started to take control after Acholonu blocked Oregon's third punt. Four plays later, Drew Dunning's field goal put WSU ahead 10-0.  That was the last time Oregon could consider itself in the game.”  - Dave Charbonneau, The Oregonian

"It was pretty embarrassing," Oregon center Dan Weaver offered.

OK, it was that.

"A nightmare," UO quarterback Kellen Clemens suggested.

Yeah, that, too.

And then this, from backup quarterback Jason Fife: "Everything that could go wrong, did."

 

	Jason Hill (on ground) watches the ball tumble away after blocking Paul Martinez's punt, the Cougars' second block of the game. Photo: Chris Pietsch / The Register-Guard

That summed it up rather aptly, in fact, as a way to explain Washington State's 55-16 munching of the 10th-ranked Ducks on Saturday as 57,473 in Autzen Stadium and a regional television audience were left to wonder, what happened to the guys who beat Michigan?

Well, they threw seven interceptions, one returned for a touchdown, and lost two fumbles. They had a couple of punts blocked, one to set up a field goal, another resulting in a Cougar touchdown when the football was recovered in the end zone.

The Oregon offense also couldn't run the football very well, and the Duck defense allowed the Cougars to complete five passes longer than 30 yards.

A week after winning as a team, the Ducks lost as one. Just not a very good one, on this 93-degree afternoon.

"We'll toss this one where it belongs, in the garbage," UO coach Mike Bellotti said. "We'll flush it and maybe not even watch the tape."

For the record, WSU's 55 points are the most ever scored against Oregon in a home game. Not just at Autzen, but anywhere the Ducks have played in Eugene. Kincaid Field, Hayward Field, anywhere for the 108 seasons of Oregon football.

It was the third-worst margin ever for the Ducks in a home game, surpassed only by a 53-0 loss to USC in 1977 and a 54-0 defeat to Washington in 1976. Suffice it to say, those weren't Oregon teams ranked 10th in the nation.

 

	Kellen Clemens passes through the heavy pressure of Washington State's Scott Davis. The Cougars tipped several passes and finished with seven interceptions, returning five of them for 102 yards. Photo: Thomas Boyd / The Register-Guard

Not that this one will be when the new polls come out today.

The 39-point margin also makes it Oregon's worst loss since being routed 63-0 at Nebraska in 1985, and WSU's 38-2 lead at halftime made it the most points scored in a half against the Ducks in Bellotti's nine seasons, and the largest halftime deficit for a Bellotti team.

"We struggled in the first half and didn't do a lot better in the second," Bellotti said. "I don't think I've ever had a team play that poorly in a game."

And to think it was only seven days after the Ducks pulled off probably their biggest victory of his tenure, the 31-27 win over Michigan. What a reversal.

"Yeah, it's a bad loss but it's over," Fife said. "We need to go on to the next game."

It's not very far off, as Oregon plays at Utah on Friday night. Maybe the short week, Bellotti suggested, might be good as a way to forget this performance.

"We don't want to dwell on this," Weaver said.

The Ducks were down 17-0 before they recorded a first down. After not throwing an interception in their first 126 pass attempts of the season, Fife and Clemens combined for five of the interceptions in a span of 20 pass attempts.

The two quarterbacks had passes tipped at the line of scrimmage, and intercepted, and another bobbled in the secondary, and intercepted.

"The tips are acts of God, they can go anywhere," Bellotti said. There were passes batted by blitzers off the corner, and linemen leaping. "One was off a (WSU helmet). There were three or four reasons for the interceptions.

"We even tried to throw a ball away, and didn't get it out of bounds."

Right, that was interception No. 1, and one play later WSU had a 17-0 lead on the first of three Matt Kegel touchdown passes. The Cougars downed one interception in the end zone to stop an Oregon drive, and returned five others for 102 yards, one of them 40 yards for a score by Virgil Williams.

The WSU defensive backs were much more sure-handed than the UO receivers, actually. Demetrius Williams, who had nine receptions for 175 yards, fumbled the football after a 47-yard gain without being hit. Samie Parker had a drop in the end zone ... when the score was still only 17-2.

Then he drew a personal foul penalty, Fife threw an interception, and the Cougars were soon up 24-2. Then it was 31-2 after the interception return for a score, and finally 38-2 on a blocked punt recovered in the end zone, with 21 seconds left in the second quarter.

"Once you get the negative going, it's hard to turn it around and get the positive going," Weaver said.

Six of Oregon's turnovers came in the first two quarters, plus both blocked punts. If the Cougars hadn't lost two fumbles themselves, and had a punt blocked for a safety, it could have been very ugly.

"Give credit to Washington State," Bellotti said. "They played very well. We also played very poorly."

Proving the relative unimportance of some statistics, Oregon had more first downs (23 to 18) and more total yards (414 to 399), though most of it came through the air as the UO quarterbacks attempted 58 passes, and completed 24 of them to teammates. Of the 29 statistical rushing plays, 10 were credited to Clemens, more often than not when he was scrambling to avoid the WSU pass rush.

"We committed so many turnovers we couldn't get the balance we usually like," Bellotti said. "It never became the game we thought it would be."

"Dazzling Ducks," Sports Illustrated proclaimed after Oregon's defeat of Michigan last weekend.

Dreadful Ducks were the story Saturday.

 

	Washington State players sing the school fight song to their crowd after the 55-16 victory over Oregon. Photo: Thomas Boyd / The Register-Guard

From college football glory, into the goo, in all of a week.

Is it too late to recall 3.27 million magazines? Can Borders cancel that order for extra copies? Could ABC cut away fast enough? Anybody still grousing that College GameDay didn't come to Eugene?

Final score: Washington State 55, Oregon 16, before 57,473 shell-shocked fans in Autzen Stadium, many of whom headed for the parking lot at halftime and never looked back.

And if you're an Oregon fan, you want to believe in the SI Cover Jinx now, believe in omens and the fate that tipped several Oregon passes into Cougar hands, because it's more comforting to accept that - or the tepid theory that after all the adulation Oregon somehow wasn't ready to play - than to grapple with a grimmer reality:

Oregon was not only awful on Saturday, Oregon was awful in ways that undermine the credibility this team built starting 4-0 and upsetting the Wolverines.

The two quarterbacks threw seven interceptions, albeit four on passes that were deflected. The receivers dropped the ball. The pass defense gave up big plays. The running game was ineffective when it needed to generate something. The freshman punter had two stuffed.

And not that there's ever a good time for this kind of butt-kicking - for a game that had Oregon statisticians looking up worst-loss-since-when history - but the Ducks couldn't have picked a worse time.

They had the national spotlight after the victory over Michigan. They had the top 10 ranking, the famous magazine cover, the renewed enthusiasm of a community, and the opportunity to defeat the defending Pac-10 champions.

If last weekend was one of the greatest moments in the recent history of Oregon football - one that had folks debating whether it was the most important win since blah, blah, blah, and exulting in the noisy Autzen atmosphere - then it is inescapable that Saturday was among the most grisly.

It was nothing like last weekend. Heck, it was nothing like Oregon football has been in the past decade.

"Over-rated," the WSU fans were singing early in the fourth quarter. Underrated, at No. 21, their team certainly was. Unenviable, the task for Oregon coaches who must pick up the phone and call recruits after this kind of a beating by a team with which Oregon competes fairly directly for talent.

There's a lot of season left, but what does that hold for the Ducks? Was the real Oregon team last weekend, or Saturday? If, in August, you'd forecast Oregon 4-1 at this juncture, you'd have been considered an optimist, but was there anything Saturday to generate optimism for the stretch ahead, three of Oregon's next four games coming on the road, with Pac-10 trips to Arizona State and, on the first day of November, to Washington?

Kellen Clemens, Oregon's sophomore quarterback who was intercepted four times, was asked if he'd ever gone through anything like Saturday. Well, yes he had, Clemens said; when he was a senior in high school, quarterbacking Burns against Scappoose in the state semifinals, he threw three picks in a lopsided loss.

"You can ask Derek about it," Clemens said, referring to Derek Anderson, the Oregon State quarterback whose team prevailed that day. "He remembers it."

Alas, a lot of people will remember Saturday, and the storyline now is how the Ducks bounce back, and whether Saturday was just a bad day at the office, or something more untreatable.

"It depends on how high you got last week, and how low you let yourself get this week," Clemens said. "They're not going to cancel our season because we won last week and were No. 10, and they're not going to cancel it this week because we got thumped."

Thumped the Ducks were, though not by a team without some weapons.

"Washington State, we knew they were going to be a great team," safety Keith Lewis said. "Washington State, hands down, is the toughest team we were going to play."

The Ducks have to hope there's no one better. They have to figure they couldn't have been worse.

For a while, Autzen Stadium was as loud as Washington State coach Bill Doba warned his team it would be.

"The first quarter was miserable," quarterback Matt Kegel said following WSU's 55-16 win over Oregon on Saturday. "We couldn't communicate with anyone."

None of the Cougars was on the team during WSU's last visit to Eugene in 1999, so all they had heard about Autzen were the words of Doba, the longtime assistant coach and first-year head coach.

 

	Washington State defensive tackle Josh Shavies celebrates with some Cougar assistant coaches after one of WSU's seven interceptions. Photos: Chris Pietsch / The Register-Guard

"During our first couple of series, this place was unbelievably loud," WSU offensive lineman Billy Knotts said. "We had to go with a silent count on everything, and that is a huge advantage for Oregon."

Then Kegel threw a 41-yard scoring pass to Sammy Moore. Special teams got into the act with a blocked punt that led to a field goal, and the defense followed with an interception by Jeremy Bohannon that led to a 38-yard touchdown pass from Kegel to Devard Darling to put WSU ahead 17-0 in the first quarter.

The crowd of 57,473, most still celebrating Oregon's win over Michigan last week, was suddenly stunned.

"Luckily we made some big plays early on and got the crowd out of it," Kegel said. "When we jumped up on top of them quickly, that took the momentum out of their crowd."

The Cougars added three touchdowns in the second quarter - one each by the offense, defense and special teams - to take a 38-2 lead at halftime. WSU forced seven turnovers in the opening half and nine in the game, which was the most in a game for the Cougars since 1976.

"The ball bounced our way a lot," Doba said.

"I've never had nine turnovers before. It was one of those days, it was our day, we were flying around and hustling."

Oregon quarterbacks Kellen Clemens and Jason Fife did not throw an interception in Oregon's first four games, but WSU set a school record with seven interceptions on Saturday.

Seven interceptions, two fumble recoveries and two blocked punts allowed the Cougars to dominate the Ducks on a day when Oregon had 414 yards of offense, 15 more than WSU.

Oregon was the story of college football last week after the 31-27 win over Michigan that moved the Ducks up to No. 10 in the Associated Press poll. The Ducks were plastered on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which drew the attention and respect of Washington State.

"We knew they had a good team, but today was the Cougars' day," said Kegel, who was 13-of-33 for 242 yards and three touchdowns. "But I think we have one heck of a team and a coaching staff. I couldn't be prouder."

Doba had similar feelings, although he admitted he did not know exactly what to expect from his team in the Pac-10 Conference opener.

"Any time you start conference play, you better be fired up," Doba said.

"They were real quiet at the pregame meal and during warmups. It goes to show that I can't read them. They came out and played well."

And the Cougars muzzled the crowd by delivering Oregon its worst home loss since a 54-0 defeat to Washington in 1977.

It was still a game, with Washington State's lead at 17-2 in the second quarter.

It was a sure Oregon touchdown, with Samie Parker racing behind the Cougar secondary to the end zone.

Jason Fife put the football on the mark, in Parker's arms ... and then it was out.

"It was basically just lack of focus, that's why I dropped the pass," Parker said. "I was so open I just took my eye off it for a second and in that second, it bounced off me."

One play certainly wouldn't have changed the outcome, which became a 55-16 victory for the Cougars on Saturday at Autzen Stadium, but Oregon had to wonder about the possible impact of that one dropped pass.

"There were a few plays like that," Fife said. "Where if one thing could have gone our way, it might have changed the flow of the game."

That one was potentially the most crucial. The momentum had, at least momentarily, swung to the Ducks with Junior Siavii's fumble recovery at the WSU 40-yard line. The 15-point deficit could have been trimmed by a score, and there were still 13 1/2 minutes until halftime.

Fife couldn't have made a better pass to Parker.

"As soon as it left my hand," Fife said, "I knew it was in."

But it wasn't, which was among the things WSU defensive back Jason David mentioned to Parker as the two traded jibes in the end zone, before Parker was flagged for a personal foul.

"I just kind of shoved him away," Parker said. "He was talking to me, I was disappointed in myself but you can't let that kind of thing happen."

The Ducks were marched back to their 45-yard line and Fife's next pass was intercepted, setting in motion the WSU drive to a 24-2 lead.

Hands in the air

Four of Oregon's seven pass interceptions came on footballs tipped by a Cougar. Numerous other Duck attempts fell to the artificial turf after going off the hand of a WSU defender.

What's up?

"As a quarterback, you see hands flying up around you all the time," Fife said. "I never let it affect me. ... (Saturday) was maybe just the time they got some tips."

The Cougars don't make it easy on a quarterback. They lead the Pac-10 in sacks, and they added four Saturday.

"Their defensive ends are very fast, and it's tough to get guys on them, and their inside guys are giants," Weaver said. "They're a very good defense."

On the tipped passes, Weaver said, "it just seemed like they were always in the right place at the right time. A couple of times, I had my guy stymied and he jumped up and got it. You do everything right, and they still get it."

Ready, or not?

Were the Ducks not quite emotionally prepared for the Cougars?

"I thought we were ready," UO quarterback Kellen Clemens said.

Parker didn't, and said "you could really tell. I don't think we were really ready to play."

He said playing Michigan the previous week "got us real fired up."

Against WSU, the Ducks "weren't quite to that level," Parker said.

Oregon linebacker Kevin Mitchell didn't question the emotional preparation of the Ducks, but said "being ready to play and playing are two different things. We were looking for a spark that just wasn't there."