Lewiston Tribune Online - 10/08/03

Cougars suspend Derting; Sophomore linebacker cited for DUI over weekend

PULLMAN -- Washington State football coaches have suspended leading tackler Will Derting after the 20-year-old linebacker was cited for driving under the influence Saturday night.

Cougars coach Bill Doba said Derting "is suspended until we get all the facts in."

According to Doba, Derting was adjusting the position of an ill-parked truck for a friend when he bumped a vehicle to the rear. There was no damage reported to either vehicle, but police detained Derting and administered a blood-alcohol test.

"It wasn't like he was driving down the street 80 miles an hour," Doba said.

The incident occurred after the Cougars' 30-7 win Saturday over Arizona, and Doba said Derting informed him of it Sunday. The athlete made a preliminary court appearance in Colfax on Monday and faces a hearing this week.

His suspension will prevent him from participating in team practices or workouts, but the Cougars (5-1) have an open date this week and aren't scheduled to practice until Thursday anyway.

Doba didn't rule out the possibility of Derting being reinstated before the Cougars' next game, at Stanford on Oct. 18, but he will "be on probation until this is settled in the courts.

"No one likes to deal with this, and Will feels worse than anybody," Doba said. "We'll handle that in-house as much as we can and try to do the right thing, both for the program and for Will."

Derting, a sophomore from the Okanogan area in north-central Washington, leads the team with 37 tackles, and is second on the club with 3 1/2 sacks. The strongside linebacker is best-known for intercepting three passes in a game against Nevada last season.

Cougfan.com - Posted Oct 8, 2003

Seen & Heard 10/8
Great authors, great kicks, great moments and more

By PAT MITCHELL
Cougfan.com Associate Editor

NO WORD YET ON the length of the suspension that will be handed to Cougar sophomore linebacker Will Derting who was ticketed over the weekend for parallel parking under the influence, but given the circumstances surrounding his miscue, anything more than sitting out the Stanford game would seem way over the top.

Published reports say Derting simply got behind the wheel of a friends truck to re-park it, because the friend had left the rig's tail sticking out onto Wheatland Drive. While moving the truck, Derting bumped into a parked car. No damage was done to either vehicle, but police happened to be nearby at the time and gave a breathalizer to Derting, who blew higher than the legal limit.

I'm not here to defend intoxication, particularly behind the wheel, but facts are facts: Derting's drive was all of five feet. The public humiliation alone is punishment enough if you ask me.

SPEAKING OF DERTING, his nip-and-tuck battle with free safety Erik Coleman for the Cougar tackling crown continues to go back and forth. Derting, with six stops against Arizona, has 37 for the season and Coleman, with five tackles against the 'Cats, is at 36. Look for this contest to go right down to the wire --- and with the way middle 'backer Don Jackson has been playing of late, I wouldn't be surprised to see him atop the heap at year's end either. He has 34 tackles so far this year.

A HUGE SALUTE to Coug fan Tom Pounds (a.k.a. AlbuCOUGque) for his remarkable efforts last Saturday in Austin where Texas was hosting Kansas State. Tom gave the Cougar Nation huge air time on ESPN's GameDay broadcast by waving a giant Cougar-head flag in the background of Lee Corso & Co. for what seemed like most of the morning. Now that's what I call branding power. Way to go, Tom.

WORD OUT OF Pullman is that Adam Holiday, the kickoff specialist extraordinaire who played no small part in the Cougars' 10-win seasons the last two years, was back in town for a visit last week and offered some pointers to his successor, Graham Siderius. As you may have noticed Saturday against Arizona, Graham's approach and plant were altered slightly, and he boomed all five of his kickoffs into the endzone.

BALLARD HIGH QB Cole Morgan this week became the 11th prep senior to commit verbally to the Cougars. He originally verballed with Montana, but the great season he's putting together apparently convinced the Cougars to make an offer. He joins Ballard teammate J.T. Diederichs in the crimson fold, though Diederichs is considered a soft commit. Another teammate, coveted WR/DB Keauntea Bankhead, is believed to have WSU on his short list. If memory serves, Morgan will be the first Cougar signal caller from Ballard since ol' No. 13, Chuck Peck, was behind center for Jim Sweeney in the early 70s. Of note is that Ballard High's QB coach is none other than Jack Thompson.

A week ago the Cougars landed their first verbal from outside the Pacific Northwest --- Ian Bell, a highly touted running back from Woodland Hills, Calif., with 4.5 speed in the 40 and a great pair of hands to boot. Widely considered one of the top skill position prospects from the Golden State, he chose WSU over Washington.

FORMER COUGAR GREAT Gail Cogdill was a standout receiver with the Detroit Lions back in the 1960s when renowned writer George Plimpton, who passed away last week, participated in the Lions' training camp. Plimpton's experience - -including his ill-fated series as the Detroit quarterback in a preseason game -- were chronicled in the novel "Paper Lion" and it's movie adaptation. Plimpton made a lasting impression with his teammates -- so much so that Cogdill just approached the Lions with the suggestion they retire Plimpton's No. 0 jersey.

THE DEBATE OVER the greatest Cougar victories of all time will no doubt be waged till the end of time, but I must say a hearty endorsement for the 1992 "Snow Bowl" over Washington has come from an unlikely place: The makers of the football video game PlayStation 2. Their recent TV ads have featured some of the most memorable real-life plays from college football history. And guess which game has not one, but two, plays included in the footage? Yep. The 1992 Snow Bowl. There's that unforgettable shot of Phillip Bobo, with C.J. Davis right beside him, sliding into the end zone snow bank with the TD pass from Drew Bledsoe. And there's also the memorable scene of Shaumbe Wright-Fair making like a face-down snow angel in the end zone after ripping off that long TD run late in the game. By the way, did Shaumbe have the greatest name in the history of Cougar football, or just what?

BEEN MEANING TO mention this for the last month: How funny was it during the WSU-Idaho TV broadcast that Rick Rizz of Seattle Mariners radio fame kept referring to color commentator Clete Casper as "Red." The real Red, of course, is Rizz's ever-smilin' red-haired Mariners sidekick, Ron Fairly. Said one Cougar fan the Monday after the game, "After a night of calling the Cougars with Clete, do you think Rizz will start referring to Fairly as 'Gray' or "Male Pattern Baldness'." Casper, you may recall, split time at QB with the great Ricky Turner on WSU's 1981 Holiday Bowl team. Clete is better known these days as Rick Neuheisel's apologist-in-chief.

Lewiston Tribune Online - 10/13/03

Idle Cougars rise to No. 6 in both polls; Bevy of upsets allows WSU to climb six spots in bye week

Washington State must have been awfully impressive in its scout-team scrimmage Saturday.

Despite an open date, the Cougars jumped all the way to No. 6 in both major national polls Sunday -- their third-highest ranking ever.

With six undefeated teams losing Saturday, the Cougars (5-1) took a sharp climb from their No. 12 spot last week in the Associated Press media poll and the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll.

Last year, despite the highest preseason ranking ever for the school, the Cougars needed nine games under their belt before climbing to No. 5. They topped out at No. 3 the next week, with a 9-1 record, before losing to Washington on Nov. 23.

Among Pac-10 Conference schools, only fifth-ranked USC (5-1) stands higher than the Cougars, who play the Trojans on Nov. 1 at Los Angeles. Meanwhile, they face Stanford at 2 p.m. Saturday, also in California.

Oklahoma and Miami strengthened their grips on the top two spots.

The Sooners, No. 1 since the preseason, received 61 of the 64 first-place votes in the AP poll after a 65-13 win over rival Texas. The Hurricanes got the other three top votes after beating Florida State 22-14.

Oklahoma received 1,597 points in balloting by the panel of sports writers and broadcasters and the Hurricanes had 1,534.

Virginia Tech, the only other unbeaten team from a major conference, was third, followed by Georgia and Southern California.

The rest of the Top 10 was Washington State, Florida State, Ohio State, Iowa and LSU.

Ohio State fell from No. 3 after its 19-game winning streak was snapped by Wisconsin. The Badgers made the biggest jump, moving nine spots to 14th. LSU fell from sixth after losing 19-7 to Florida.

The only other two unbeaten teams in Division I-A were No. 12 Northern Illinois and No. 16 TCU.

The USA Today/ESPN coaches poll had the same top three teams as the AP.

Nearly half -- 10 of 22 -- of the ranked teams that played this weekend lost, causing lots of movement in the poll.

Two teams that were in the Top 10 last month dropped out of the poll entirely. Kansas State, which peaked at sixth, fell out after its third loss, 38-34 to Oklahoma State. Pittsburgh, which was as high as ninth, dropped after losing 20-14 to Notre Dame for its second loss.

Virginia also dropped out following a 30-27 overtime loss to Clemson.

Auburn, after beating Arkansas 10-3 for its second straight win over a Top 10 team, moved back into the poll. The Tigers, sixth in the preseason, dropped out after losing their first two games. The Razorbacks went from seventh to 11th.

Oklahoma State and Missouri also moved into the Top 25, with the Cowboys tied for 22nd with Oregon State, and the Tigers 24th.

Other teams that had notable falls were Nebraska from No. 10 to 18 after a 41-24 loss to Missouri, Texas from 11th to 20th and Tennessee from No. 13 to 21 after a 41-14 loss to Georgia.

Following Arkansas were Northern Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, TCU, Michigan, Nebraska, Auburn and Texas.

Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Missouri and Minnesota rounded out the poll.

The Big Ten leads all conferences with seven teams in the poll, followed by five apiece from the SEC and Big 12. The Pac-10 had three, the Big East two and Florida State was the only ranked ACC team.

Lewiston Tribune Online - 10/15/03

WSU frosh Davis will start at linebacker for Derting

PULLMAN -- Freshman linebacker Scott Davis will make his first start for Washington State on Saturday when the Cougars play at Stanford, coach Bill Doba said Tuesday.

Davis will take the starting role of Will Derting, who is on team probation after being cited for driving under the influence.

Doba said he has yet to decide whether Derting will play Saturday, but the sophomore is expected to make the trip to Stanford, Calif. He faces an arraignment Thursday at Whitman County District Court.

Davis, a 5-foot-11, 225-pounder from Kennewick, Wash., has impressed coaches all season and has seen considerable playing time as Derting's backup on the strong side.

"Scott Davis never ceases to amaze us," Doba said.

Senior tailback Jermaine Green, who injured a rib in the Cougars' win over Arizona, is a doubtful participant Saturday, as is center Mike Shelford with his bruised nerve.

Quarterback Matt Kegel seems to have recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained in the Arizona game, though coaches have limited his throwing.

The Cougars (5-1) had an open date last week, stressing individual fundamentals in practices Thursday and Friday before staging a scout-team scrimmage Saturday.

-- Dale Grummert

Tribune/Kyle Mills
Jeremey Williams swims through traffic during Washington State's win over Arizona. Williams has emerged this season as the leader and prime run-stopper for the Cougars' all-senior defensive line.

A product of his environment; Second-generation Cougar Jeremey Williams brings a cerebral approach to the field

PULLMAN -- The ball had yet to be snapped, but Jeremey Williams sprang from his three-point stance and gave the Arizona offensive guard a whack to the shoulder pads. The crowd murmured, the whistle blew, and Williams explained himself with that standard lineman's gesture -- "The other guy moved first." And then he backed off.

For several moments while officials discussed the issue, the Washington State defensive tackle just stood there and watched, motionless, his arms folded before him. Teammates rustled about, fans squirmed and talked, and Williams struck a pose of Brahman calm.

Finally the confab broke up and, yes, the guard was formally accused of flinching before the snap. False start, Arizona.

It was an incidental play in the Cougars' recent 30-7 victory, but it illustrated the striking combination of traits that Williams brings to football, especially in his senior season. At 6-foot-4 and 288 pounds, he has become the anchor of WSU's all-senior defensive line, a prime run-stopper for a 5-1 team ranked 10th in the country in rush defense and sixth in both major national polls.

Listening to Williams' poised, restrained flow of speech and watching his level gaze, one might wonder if he grew up in, say, a Buddhist temple. But, no, he grew up in the Ferris district of Spokane, the younger of two children in a family that stressed education and common courtesy.

His parents are Wallace Williams, a former offensive lineman for the Cougars and now the principal at Rogers High in Spokane, and his wife of three decades, Adrian Williams, the minority-affairs director at Spokane Falls Community College.

Williams says he learned his cerebral approach to football from his father, as might be expected, since calmness among linemen is generally considered an offensive trait. But the younger Williams has somehow blended this quality with a defensive tenacity.

"Jeremey Williams is a good student, a gentleman -- a quiet guy, you would think," WSU coach Bill Doba says. "But I'll tell you what. If you call a defensive timeout and things aren't going right, he's a different guy. His eyes are dilated and he's ready to play football."

Cougars offensive lineman Billy Knotts, who often plays opposite Williams in practice, says he "plays real calm, real focused. He'll show emotion after he makes a big play. But he's got his game face on. He's at work. He's serious."

Adrian and Wallace Williams met while attending junior college at Bakersfield, Calif., before Wallace signed with the Cougars in 1970. They have lived in Spokane for almost 30 years, and Wallace has been principal at Rogers for 16. He approves of his son's tendency to slide in and out of his football persona.

"When you know how to turn it on and off," he said, "you can balance your life better. So I'm proud people see the two Jeremeys."

Growing up 80 miles from Pullman, the son of a Cougar letterman, Williams naturally rooted for Washington State as a boy. In 1999, he became one of the school's major recruiting coups of recent years, choosing the Cougars over Washington, USC and Michigan.

Now that so many WSU graduates have grativated back to the football program in various roles, Williams' memories of attending Cougar games as a child are forever being refreshed.

When he looks at assistant coach Timm Rosenbach, he sees the Cougars' Aloha Bowl quarterback from 1988. When he looks at the coordinator of football operations, Shawn Deeds, he sees the backup quarterback who led the Cougs to a win over California in 1993. When he attends a communications class taught by Glenn Johnson, the longtime public-address announcer at WSU games, "it still mesmerizes me to hear his voice," he says.

And when he looks at photographs of former WSU player Leon Bender, he remembers the ferocity this defensive tackle brought to football games and the humanity he exuded the rest of the time. While still a student at Ferris High, Williams met Bender at the latter's graduation ceremony at Pullman in 1998, not long before Bender died of a seizure disorder.

"He made you feel important," Williams says of his hero. "He could easily have blown me off -- I was just a wide-eyed high-school kid. But he took time out to talk to me. He had that great big smile and was a person everyone wanted to be around."

Williams is less disputatious than Bender was, and maybe less noticeable. But something in his style does touch off memories.

"Jeremey has come into his own," Washington State defensive-line coach Mike Walker says. "He's gotten more physical. The last two years, he was more of a finesse guy. Now he's starting to hold his own on the double-team."

Walker also calls Williams "the smartest football player I've ever coached, by far."

His academic record bears that out: In May he joined that select class of college athletes who juggle their obligations deftly enough to graduate in four years, in his case with a 3.6 grade-point average in communications. He's now doing graduate work in advertising.

A little surprisingly, he says his childhood wasn't entirely smooth.

For two years of his adolescence, he dealt with a kidney condition, not uncommon at that age, that caused him to retain water and gain weight. Reluctant to be pulled from sports, he concealed the illness from his parents for a time. He cut up T-shirts and wrapped them around his legs, but he still carries scars from where they rubbed together and bled. At night, his face would swell so dramatically that, when he touched it in the morning, dents would linger in his cheeks.

Finally his parents noticed the condition and a doctor prescribed a medication that gradually reduced the swelling. Williams gave up sports and other school activities while he recovered. As he shed the water weight, his legs cramped up and he had trouble sleeping. He remembers his mother, before having to rise early for work, devoting part of the night to massaging his calves.

"I remember looking at her -- at her tired eyes, and even now I get misty-eyed," he says. "People say, well, she's a parent -- that's what they're supposed to do. But that's not necessarily true. There are a lot of parents who aren't there for their kids.

"I always said I would pay them back," he says. "There's no way financially you can pay your parents back. But I try to give a good impression and do the things they taught me, so people can walk up to them and say, 'I met your son. He's a good person. You did a great job.' "

NOTES -- With WSU's top two tailbacks injured, Chris Bruhn is scheduled to make his starting debut Saturday when the Cougars play at Stanford. Jermaine Green will likely stay in Pullman with his rib injury, and Jonathan Smith is limited by a twisted ankle. .... Doba still isn't sure if he will grant playing time to linebacker Will Derting, who was cited for driving under the influence. In any case, treshman Scott Davis will start in his place.

Lewiston Tribune Online - 10/18/03

Cougars put their fresh cred on line vs. Stanford

Somehow, while they rested, the Washington State Cougars proved their point. They became the sixth-ranked team in the country. Now they begin the arduous process of backing it up, on the field, with no help from their underdog sense of defiance.

"When they picked us 46th or something in the preseason polls, I was kind of glad," Cougars coach Bill Doba admitted this week. "It gave us something to prove. But I really felt we were a much better football team that that. Whether we're the sixth-best team in the country, I'm not sure of that either. I think we're a pretty good team."

The Cougars (5-1) play at Stanford (2-2) today to begin the second half of their season, perhaps feeling a touch of pressure to validate their new prestige. It came when they least expected it, during their open date last week, when six undefeated teams lost and WSU hopped from No. 12 to No. 6 in both major polls.

"We've still got a pretty tough row to hoe," Doba said, alluding to final opponents Stanford, Oregon State, USC, UCLA, Arizona State and Washington. "Any of those teams could beat us, and I think we're capable of beating any of them."

This first test is perhaps the least severe. Stanford has won only four of 15 games since Buddy Teevens became coach last year, and the Cougars seem to have overcome their distaste for the Bay Area, where they have won four straight games. Last year at Stanford, they scored 21 points in their first three possessions and won 36-11.

The main thing they need to prove is offensive consistency, especially inside their opponent's 10-yard line.

They also want to prove their offensive depth, with center Mike Shelford still out with a bruised nerve and their deep tailback corps still taking hits. Junior-college transfer Chris Bruhn will make his first start at running back, and the Cougars hope to get sporadic help from Jonathan Smith and his tender ankle. Quarterback Matt Kegel hopes his shoulder problems don't recur.

Stanford, still looking for its first Pac-10 Conference win, isn't likely to score prolifically against WSU's feisty defense, with or without linebacker Will Derting, who is being held from the starting lineup for disciplinary reasons.

The Cougars have no qualms about replacing Derting with second-year freshman Scott Davis, who "doesn't run a 10.2 and he's not 6-3 -- all the things you look for in a linebacker," Doba said. "But he makes plays, and is an excellent football player."

Stanford's top threats are probably Luke Powell, as a receiver and punt-returner, and Nick Seve, who leads the Pac-10 Conference in kickoff returns.

The Cardinal intend to stick with freshman quarterback Trent Edwards, though senior Chris Lewis relieved him last week in a 44-21 loss at USC. Stanford, like WSU, will test its depth at center, after losing starter Brian Head to a knee injury last week.

Doba, of course, expects Stanford to display its characteristic private-school self-assurance.

"Most of those kids have never failed," he said. "They don't fail in the classroom. They've been successful at darn near everything they do in life. They come in with a winning attitude, and they never quit."

They also have something the Cougars suddenly lack -- that emboldening sense of having nothing to lose.

ESPN - 010/18/03

Moore's punt return sets up TD

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Matt Kegel's teammates admit they had some doubt when he took over as quarterback this season in place of Jason Gesser.

After Kegel's gutsy performance Saturday, those thoughts are all but gone.

Kegel passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns as his non-throwing shoulder throbbed in pain at the end, and Sammy Moore's 64-yard punt return set up another score as No. 6 Washington State defeated Stanford 24-14.

Chris Jordan caught five passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars (6-1, 3-0 Pac-10), who weren't sharp offensively in their first game following a bye week but won their fifth straight since a 29-26 overtime loss to Notre Dame on Sept. 6. They struggled to move the ball against a Stanford team that allowed 413 yards and 41 points in the first half alone against No. 5 Southern California a week earlier.

This was supposed to be the Cougars' easy game before consecutive meetings with Oregon State and USC. But their defense kept them in it, knocking Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards out of the game and pounding backup Chris Lewis until Moore's brilliant return set up Kegel's third TD pass to Cody Boyd with 9:45 to play.

"It was about time Sammy did that," Cougars coach Bill Doba said. "He'd been dancing around back there for a while."

Kegel left the game holding his left shoulder with 13:14 remaining after blitzing linebacker Jared Newberry flattened him from the blind side, but returned two series later. Kegel completed 26 of 47 passes despite constant pressure.

"It doesn't look pretty, but at the end of the game he's thrown for 250 or 300 yards," Cougars offensive lineman Billy Knotts said. "He came up big for us. There was so much doubt at the beginning of the season. He's turned out to be a great quarterback for us."

Kegel thought he'd broken something when he heard the shoulder pop. Trainers iced his shoulder to reduce the swelling and sent him back onto the field.

"Both my shoulders are messed up," he said. "I didn't know what happened."

The Cardinal (2-3, 0-3) played their first home game since their Sept. 6 season opener against San Jose State, and 48,526 came out for the school's homecoming as Stanford played a ranked team for the third straight week.

The Cardinal set up their first touchdown with a 36-yard completion from Edwards to Gerren Crochet that put them on the 3, the team's longest play of the season. It took them five plays once they were inside the 3 to get into the end zone, taking advantage of a defensive holding call on third down before Kenneth Tolon's 1-yard TD run.

Mark Bradford caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Lewis with 6:11 left.

Devard Darling helped the Cougars control the clock in their final drive with a spectacular 31-yard catch, reaching over cornerback Stanley Wilson's shoulders to haul in the pass. Moments later, Drew Dunning made a 37-yard field goal with 3:16 to go.

The Cougars, winners of 10 of their last 11 road games, missed a big opportunity late in the third. Kegel passed up a chance to run for an easy score, instead throwing incomplete to Troy Bienemann. Three downs later, holder Brett Johnson bobbled the snap on a field-goal try and attempted a wobbly pass into the end zone that was picked off by Will Svitek.

Dunning, the nation's leading field-goal kicker, also had an extra point blocked in the third quarter.

Washington State managed only 12 yards in the second quarter and 164 for the half. Stanford had 102 in the half as the teams combined for 13 punts.

"I was pleased with our effort in all aspects," Stanford coach Buddy Teevens said. "It just boiled down to five or six plays. It just came down to the return."

Virgil Williams' interception of Edwards' pass in the third quarter led to Jordan's 22-yard TD catch from Kegel. Washington State has scored 91 points off turnovers.

The Cougars struggled to run the ball. Junior Chris Bruhn made his first career start because Jonathan Smith and Jermaine Green were injured.

Will Derting, the Cougars' leading tackler, was dropped from the starting lineup after being arrested for drunken driving two weeks ago. He pounded Edwards in the third quarter, knocking the freshman out of the game, and finished with seven tackles, six solo.

Teevens has stuck with Edwards despite his struggles and showed impatience with Lewis, giving him only two series in the opener against San Jose State.

He has drawn criticism for it.

"They should never have changed," said former Stanford receiver Teyo Johnson, now a tight end with the Oakland Raiders, who was on hand for the game. "Chris Lewis should be the starter the rest of the year."

Lewiston Tribune Online - 10/19/03

Cougars rely on D to stymie Stanford; WSU weathers offensive struggles to hold lead in race to the Rose Bowl

STANFORD, Calif. -- Washington State may not have looked like the sixth-best team in the country Saturday, but looks don't matter when you're a co-leader in the Rose Bowl race.

Finally taking full command on Drew Dunning's 37-yard field goal with 3:16 left, the Cougars withstood another spotty performance by their offense and another shoulder injury to their quarterback to defeat Stanford 24-14.

The Cougars, who had jumped six spots to No. 6 in both major national polls last week, didn't go out of their way to validate that ranking, but they needed only 2 minutes, 15 seconds to establish a lead they would protect the rest of the way.

They did so with another strong defensive effort, holding the Cardinal to 42 yards rushing and 259 yards of offense.

Washington State, trying to repeat as the Pac-10 Conference's Rose Bowl representative, improved to 6-1 overall and retained a share of the Pac-10 lead at 3-0.

Stanford slipped to 2-3 and 0-3.

Matt Kegel, returning to the field after missing two possessions with a separated left (nonthrowing) shoulder, tossed a 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cody Boyd with 9:45 left, allowing the Cougars to breathe more easily. Kegel followed with a conversion pass to another tight end, Troy Bienemann, to make the score 21-7.

The TD was set up by Sammy Moore's 64-yard punt return to the 3-yard line.

Kegel had suffered a partial dislocation of his throwing shoulder in the Cougars' previous game, and he threw sparingly during the team's subsequent bye week.

But he crafted his best statistical line since becoming WSU's starting quarterback as a senior, with three touchdown passes and no interceptions, completing 26 of 47 for 331 yards.

"It doesn't look pretty, but at the end of the game he's thrown for 250 or 300 yards," Cougars offensive lineman Billy Knotts said. "He came up big for us. There was so much doubt at the beginning of the season. He's turned out to be a great quarterback for us."

Kegel thought he'd broken something when he heard the shoulder pop and left in favor of sophomore Josh Swogger. Trainers iced his shoulder to reduce the swelling and sent Kegel back.

"Both my shoulders are messed up," the quarterback said. "I didn't know what happened."

The Cougars collected four sacks, including 1 1/2 by Jeremey Williams, and brought their season interception total to 16, with safeties Virgil Williams and Erik Coleman each making a theft. Middle linebacker Don Jackson made nine tackles.

Washington State seemed to play a game of keep-away with the lead, twice stretching it to two touchdowns and then growing sloppy. They continued their season-long struggle with penalties, drawing 16 flags for 116 yards.

Kegel needed only six plays to create a 7-0 lead, hitting Moore for 41 yards to set up his 12-yard scoring pass to Chris Jordan.

Jordan, a freshman receiver, enjoyed a breakout game with five receptions for 97 yards and two touchdowns.

Stanford made things tense with Chris Lewis' 12-yard TD pass to Mark Bradford, making it 21-14 with 6:11 to play.

But Kegel then drove the Cougars from their 22-yard line for Dunning's clinching field goal, with Devard Darling making a key 31-yard catch in the march. Darling finished with five catches for 82 yards.

Lewis was a second-half replacement as Stanford quarterback after Trent Edwards was injured on a hit by Will Derting.

"I was pleased with our effort in all aspects," Stanford coach Buddy Teevens said. "It just boiled down to five or six plays. It just came down to the return."

Washington State, winner of 10 of its last 11 road games, missed an opportunity late in the third quarter when Kegel overlooked a chance to run for an easy score and instead threw incomplete to Bienemann. Three downs later, holder Brett Johnson bobbled a low snap on a field-goal try and attempted a wobbly pass into the end zone that was intercepted by Will Svitek.

Dunning, the nation's leading field-goal kicker, also had an extra point blocked in the third quarter.

Derting, the WSU linebacker held from the starting lineup on a disciplinary measure, entered the game on Stanford's second possession of the second quarter.

Washington State played most of the second half without offensive tackle Sam Lightbody, who pinched a nerve and was replaced by freshman Charles Harris.

Washington St.                    7        0        6        11        --24
Stanford                              0        0        7          7        --14

First Quarter
WSt--Jordan 12 pass from Kegel (Dunning kick), 12:45.

Third Quarter
WSt--Jordan 22 pass from Kegel (kick failed), 12:54.
Sta--Tolon 1 run (Sgroi kick), 8:18.

Fourth Quarter
WSt--Boyd 3 pass from Kegel (Bienemann pass from Kegel), 9:45.
Sta--Bradford 12 pass from Lewis (Sgroi kick), 6:11.
WSt--FG Dunning 37, 3:16.

A--48,526.

                                                WSU                    Stanford

First downs                                24                            14
Rushes-yards                            29-70                      34-42
Passing                                      331                           217
Comp-Att-Int                        26-52-1                    20-50-2
Return Yards                            128                             61
Punts-Avg.                             10-43.0                    11-42.0
Fumbles-Lost                            1-0                           0-0
Penalties-Yards                      16-116                       12-95
Time of Possession                    28:32                      31:28

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--Washington St, Smith 13-45, Bruhn 11-15, Kegel 3-14, team 2-(minus-4). Stanford, Lemon 11-51, Tolon 17-22, Powell 1-0, Lewis 3-(minus-13), Edwards 2-(minus-18).

PASSING--Washington St, Kegel 26-47-0-331, Swogger 0-4-0-0, B.Johnson 0-1-1-0. Stanford, Edwards 11-28-1-122, Lewis 9-22-1-95.

RECEIVING--Washington St, Jordan 5-97, Darling 5-82, Bienemann 5-51, Smith 4-2, Moore 2-59, Harvey 2-14, Lunde 1-15, Bruhn 1-8, Boyd 1-3. Stanford, Camarillo 6-64, Powell 5-47, Bradford 4-50, Crochet 3-48, Tolon 1-4, Lemon 1-4.

Cougfan.com - Posted Oct 19, 2003

Cougs do just enough to keep Stanford down
Jordan shines in WSU road win

By JOHN C. WITTER
Cougfan.com Senior Editor

THERE WAS A time, not so many years ago, when a Washington State road win against a conference opponent—any conference opponent—would be cause for great celebration throughout the Cougar Nation. Those days are gone.

Don’t get me wrong. Victories are as cherished on the Palouse as they’ve always been, perhaps more so then ever. But back-to-back top 10 seasons and a current midseason No. 6 ranking have Crimson faithful expecting WSU to dispatch lesser opponents—such as Stanford—in grand fashion. So while Coug fans were pleased WSU advanced their record (6-1, 3-0) with today’s 24-14 road victory over the Cardinal, celebration was tempered with one cautious eye on the schedule.

But there was also a time—again, not so many years ago—when inconsistent offensive play, momentary losses of poise, bye week hangovers, and 16 penalties spelled sure doom for the Cougs. Thankfully, those days, too, seem to be mostly gone.

As has often been the case thus far in the 2003 season, WSU’s defense turned in a near flawless performance against the Cardinal today, recording two interceptions, five quarterback sacks and holding Stanford’s running game to 42 yards on 34 carries. And while the Cougar offense did just enough sputtering and stalling to keep Stanford mathematically alive in this one, they also made enough big plays to keep control of the scoreboard.

“We want to play better than we did today, but it was a win,” WSU head coach Bill Doba said afterward. “It shows the good character of our football team to make plays when they have to.”

Receiver Chris Jordan was involved in two of those big plays, scoring twice on Matt Kegel passes, the first coming just over two minutes into the contest from 12 yards out. It would be the only score of the first half.

Cougar safety Virgil Williams set the table for the Cougars’ second score—another Kegel to Jordan connection—intercepting a Trent Edwards pass early in the third quarter. Edwards would leave the game shortly after following a vicious hit by linebacker Will Derting.

The Cougs responded to Stanford’s first score of the game, a one-yard run by Kenneth Tolon in the third quarter, with another highlight film play by Sammy Moore. Moore took a Cardinal punt 64 yards to the three-yard line. Kegel hit Cody Boyd in the end zone on the next play. His two point conversion pass to Troy Bienemann made it 21-7.

“Sammy just keeps making plays,” Doba said.

Despite temporarily leaving the contest after dislocating his left (non-throwing) shoulder, Kegel connected on 26 of 47 passes for 331 and two touchdowns.

Stanford kept hope alive, on paper anyway, closing the gap to seven when Chris Lewis, in for the injured Edwards, found Mark Bradford with six minutes remaining from 12 yards out.

However, WSU answered with another crucial big play, this one a fantastic over-the-defender catch by Devard Darling that went 31 yards, setting up Drew Dunning’s 37-yard field goal and pushing their lead to a comfortable 10 points.

But like the Cougars’ contest with Arizona two weeks ago, the Cardinal—while appearing to be within striking distance of an upset much of the game—really had no chance against WSU. Such is the confidence and comfort of having one of the country’s toughest defenses and an offense that has the ability to pull out a big play when they must.

NEXT UP FOR THE COUGS: The Oregon State Beavers, 38-17 losers to Washington tonight, visit Pullman on Saturday, October 25, at 3:30 p.m. The game will be telecast live on Fox Sports Northwest.

SCORING SUMMARY

Lewiston Tribune Online - 10/20/03

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK: DALE GRUMMERT ... Kegel throws shoulders to the wind

Matt Kegel has now started nine games for Washington State, and comparisons still bounce off him like slightly misthrown footballs. He isn't quite like any of his predecessors. The vision and quick release of Jason Gesser, the field-shrinking strength of Ryan Leaf, the quick analytical flair of Drew Bledsoe -- these are not sizable aspects of Kegel's inheritance.

But he has their toughness. Beyond question, he has their toughness.

For the final 10 minutes of Washington State's 24-14 win at Stanford on Saturday, the Cougars' senior quarterback from Havre did his best impression of a Montana backroad -- he had no shoulders.

In the previous game against Arizona, he had "subluxed" the right shoulder, if you're familiar with that term. It doesn't mean "given a quick Turtle Wax shine." It means partially dislocated. And now his opposite arm had been clobbered on a fourth-quarter pass-rush by Stanford linebacker Jared Newberry.

Both shoulders yanked awry, Kegel must have felt like a battered puppet. But a team doctor popped the latest errant bone into place, and two possessions later Kegel threw a 3-yard touchdown pass that turned out to be the game-winner.

He doesn't always see open receivers. Sometimes he doesn't see open end zones, even when they glitter before him like Oz.

Furthermore, there is a slight starchiness to a Kegel offense, and a certain disarray. He and his linemen tend to get their wires crossed, not to mention their feet.

But any quarterback of a team with a 6-1 record is doing something right, and one important thing Kegel is doing is surviving.

That is not a feat to be sneezed at, especially when your ground game is sputtering and opponents are blitzing with everyone but the place-kicker. Kegel's pallid Montana skin, by all reports, has turned every shade of blue.

He is resisting comparisons not only to the terrific WSU quarterbacks but to the ill-starred ones as well. His bad passes, unlike theirs, have the good sense to wing beyond the chalk marks rather than into a defender's hands. He has thrown only four interceptions, as opposed to 13 touchdowns.

So he is not Steve Birnbaum or Paul Mencke, and he's not even the Matt Kegel of the 2002 Apple Cup, that poor chap who found coming off the bench such an awkward ordeal.

This guy likes being a starter. He has waited four years to be a starter. He has spent a good deal of that time in the weight room, to judge by the blows he absorbs like a boulder amid white-water rapids.

He isn't Chad Davis, either, to name another unmemorable ex-Cougar. Kegel can throw deep, and does so with all due splendor, two or three times a game, just often enough to keep winning.

In a way, though, he is taking a page out of Davis' 1994 book: He is placing a certain crucial emphasis on not messing up. The Cougars, as they did in their '94 Alamo Bowl season, have a defense that can almost singlehandedly win games, as long as their offense doesn't make a bunch of goofy mistakes. The mistakes of this year's offense are many but small.

In trying to live up to the Copper Bowl breakthrough of Bledsoe's Cougars, and to the Rose Bowl appearances of Leaf and Gesser, Kegel finds he must not only match their toughness but must swallow his ego in a way they rarely did.

He must also learn far more quickly than they did -- I don't mean learn the playbook, which he's been studying with varying degrees of interest for four years, but he must learn the brutal, shoulder-jarring lessons than no quarterback can learn until he gets on the field and stays there a while.

It must be remembered that Bledsoe, Leaf and Gesser all became starters late in their freshman seasons. Kegel started twice as a rookie injury replacement, then waited three years for his next chance.

The Cougars' schedule now gets significantly harsher, and Kegel needs to goad the offense into being more productive.

At the moment, though, he can hang his hat on this: Bledsoe went 2-7 in his first games as a starter. Leaf began 5-7. Gesser was 4-7.

And Matt Kegel is 7-2.

Can't really compare.

NOTES -- Kegel's injuries aren't expected to keep him out of the Cougars' awaited home game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Oregon State. But offensive tackle Sam Lightbody is questionable with a head injury, backup tight end Jesse Taylor is doubtful with a bruised nerve and tailback Jermaine Green has yet to recover from his bruised rib. ... By WSU's count, linebacker Don Jackson made seven hits of Stanford quarterbacks.... The Cougars' punt coverage remains staunch: Stanford returned three punts for a combined 2 yards.... WSU defensive players repeated USC's accusations of the previous week in regard to Stanford's questionable blocking tactics, but WSU coach Bill Doba said "to classify a team as dirty because of a play or two -- I don't see that." The Cougars were especially angry about a block of defensive tackle Jeremey Williams that resulted in a Stanford clipping penalty in the fourth quarter.

Lewiston Tribune Online - 10/21/03

BCS slides Cougs to No. 9 slot; Wazzu's relatively low schedule rating translates to a drop in pecking order

At the start of the season, Washington State's football schedule looked pretty tough.

Yet a low strength-of-schedule rating cost the Cougars a few rungs in the initial Bowl Championship Series rankings released Monday.

Washington State is ranked ninth, three spots below its position in the media and coaches' polls released the previous day.

The BCS standings, which will now be revised weekly, determine which teams will vie for the national championship at the end of the season.

The Cougars' schedule, to this point in the season, was ranked 76th nationally -- the third-worst behind Northern Illinois and Texas Christian among the 15 teams ranked by the BCS.

Washington State's schedule rating has been hurt by the mediocrity of three teams the Cougars defeated handily. Despite high preseason expectations, Notre Dame has a 2-4 record, Oregon is 4-3 and Colorado 3-4.

As the Cougars head into the harshest segment of their Pac-10 schedule, beginning Saturday with a home game against Oregon State, their strength-of-schedule rating will rise.

The Cougars' BCS credentials were also damaged by their relatively low profile in cyberspace. In light of their consensus No. 13 spot in the seven computer rankings used in the BCS formula, the Cougars' No. 9 overall rating doesn't look bad. It was based partly on their No. 6 position in the media and coaches' polls.

"It is nice to see our name up there in the BCS poll, but they don't count until the regular season is over," WSU coach Bill Doba said. "I am more concerned with where we are in the final BCS poll than I am where we are now."

The BCS standings can be found on Page 2B.

Oklahoma is No. 1 in the initial rankings for the third straight year, matching the spot it has held in the two major polls all season.

"It's a positive indicator that we've played awfully well for seven games," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said Monday. "We've earned that position and have played well through this part of the season. Now, it's our job to continue it, finish it and keep it."

Cougfan.com - Posted Oct 22, 2003

Seen & Heard 10/22
Flags, fine company, super seasons and more

By PAT MITCHELL
Cougfan.com Associate Editor

IF THE PAST IS prologue, one thing is certain this Saturday when Washington State and Oregon State square off in front of a national Fox Sports televison audience: Whistles will be blowing and flags flying. This clash of Northwest rivals features the two most penalized teams not just in the Pac-10, but the entire country.

The Cougars are No. 1 for most infractions -- 87 to OSU's 81 -- while the Beavers are tops in penalty yards -- 812 to WSU's 734.

Extrapolating those numbers to Saturday's tiff and it means we're on track to see a parade of yellow hankies on the order of a collective 24 for 220 yards. Better plan on a late dinner.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 PT. The No. 6-ranked Cougars are 6-1 and the Beavs 5-2. WSU is favored by 7 1/2.

THE SERIES: WSU leads 45-39-3, and has captured 18 of the last 23 games. The Cougars won the last meeting, in 2001, 34-27. Led by Dave Minnich, who rushed for 195 yards, scored one TD and passed for another, WSU jumped to a 31-0 lead in that one.

SUPER SAMMY: Sammy Moore is averaging 132 all-purpose yards per game this season, which puts him on pace to finish the year with 1,584 yards. That would place him fourth on WSU's single season list behind Bernard Jackson (2,118 in 1971), Steve Broussard (1,790 in 1989), Rueben Mayes (1,768 in 1984) and Broussard again (1,533 in 1988). Moore has 430 receiving yards, 216 punt return yards and 279 kickoff return yards for 925 total.

Another Cougar who deserves some props these days is middle linebacker Don Jackson, who had nine unassisted tackles and two assisted in the win at Stanford. The former JC All-American now has 43 stops on the season, just one shy of team leader Will Derting. Erik Coleman, last year's tackling king, is close behind at 40.

SPEAKING OF GREAT performances so far this season, how about Matt Kegel? Presuming the big guy can keep his shoulders healthy, it looks like he and USC's Matt Leinart will be the the front-runners for first-team All-Pac-10 quarterbacking honors. Their TD-to-INT ratios are outstanding (Kegel 13 and 4, Leinart 17 and 7). They both have a load of air yards (Kegel 1,926, Leinart 1,824) and their both highly accurate, with Leinart completing just over 60 percent of his tosses and Kegel connecting on just less than 60 percent of his.

What's most impressive to me about Kegel is that he spreads the ball around. At least seven players have caught passes in every game this year. In all, six wide receivers, two tight ends and three running backs have catches this season.

NO WORD YET on the health status of offensive tackle Sam Lightbody, who left the Stanford game with a neck stinger. Latest word sounded like he'd be iffy at best for OSU. But rest assured it's not considered anywhere near as serious as the stinger that has shelved senior center Mike Shelford. When Lightbody left at Stanford, I made a point to focus for several snaps on his replacement, untested Charles Harris of Spokane. And I have to say the kid did pretty darn well, validating the flyer the Cougars took on him in the

A HUGE SALUTE to Coug fan Brent Schwartz who drove from Minneapolis to Madison last weekend for the Wisconsin-Purdue game. He made the trek for one reason: To hoist the Cougar-head flag behind the heads of Chris Fowler & Gang on ESPN's GameDay. Despite being pelted by who knows what all by Badger fans, he succeeded magnificiently -- the Cougar logo was broadcast prominently from coast to coast. And yes, it was the very same flag that was hoisted during GameDay's coverage in Austin, Texas, two weeks ago when Tom Pounds (a.k.a. AlbuCOUGque) let 'er fly before the UT-Kansas State game. Tom, who crafted the pole and whose wife made the flag, FedExed it all to Brent following an entertaining thread on the CF.C message board trying to get someone to do the honors in Madison.

Look for the amazing tradition to (hopefully) continue this weekend when GameDay takes its show to Ohio for the Bowling Green-Northern Illinois game. ONWARD!

FINE COMPANY: Since the start of the 2001 season, WSU is 25-6 -- the sixth-best record in the nation in that span behind Miami, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Texas and Georgia. In WSU history, it ranks up there with the storied Babe Hollingbery years of 1929, '30 and '31 when the Cougars went 21-3.

Next up ... Oregon State