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| Washington State fans tear down the goal posts at Husky Stadium following the Cougars' win in the 1997 Apple Cup. |
The mid-1990s saw a number of Big 10 and Pac 10 teams make unexpected runs to the Rose Bowl.
It all started with the Wisconsin Badgers, who ended a 31-year drought with their Big 10 championship season in 1993, followed by the Oregon Ducks in the Pac 10 who ended a 37-year drought with their Pac-10 championship season in 1994.
1995 saw the biggest shocker of them all when the Northwestern Wildcats, who had not had a winning season since 1971, made it to the Rose Bowl, followed by the Arizona State Sun Devils who won the Pac-10 in 1996 to play in the Grandaddy of Them All after a nine-year postseason absence.
For 1997, it was the Washington State Cougars' turn to shock the college football world as Wazzu entered its regular season finale with the Washington Huskies with a chance to earn a trip to play in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1930
The Cougars were led by head coach Mike Price, who was in his ninth season at Pullman as the Wazzu head coach after led the Cougars to bowl appearances in 1992 and 1994.
Wazzu was not expected to contend for the Pac-10 crown in 1997 as the Cougars were expected to finish seventh in the 10-team league.
But led by eventual Heisman Trophy finalist Ryan Leaf at quarterback, the Cougars jumped out to a 7-0 start as they climbed into the top 10 of the AP and coaches poll until a 44-31loss to Arizona State early in November ended Wazzu's chances of a undefeated season.
The Cougars recovered to win their next two games to improve their record to 9-1 as Leaf threw for 3,279 yards and 31 touchdowns during the first 10 games of the season as the Wazzu offense averaged 42.6 points per game with a wide receiving corps that was nicknamed the Fab Five and running back Michael Black, who needed just 13 yards to cross the 1,000 mark.
If the Cougars could defeat their intrastate rival in the "Apple Cup" and UCLA could beat USC, Washington State would be playing in the "Grandaddy of Them All" for the first time in 67 years.
Standing in the Cougars' way were the Washington Huskies, a team that had accustomed to playing in the Rose Bowl as the Huskies had made six appearances between 1977 and 1992, which included a share of the national title in 1991.
The Huskies made those appearances under head coach Don James, who had resigned prior to the 1993 season as it was revealed several Washington players had received improper benefits which led to the NCAA banning the Huskies from postseason play in 1993 and 1994.
James was replaced by his defensive coordinator, Jim Lambright, who was still the Huskies' head coach as the 1997 season began with many experts predicting that the Huskies would return to the Rose Bowl.
With an offense that featured quarterback Brock Huard, running back Rashaan Shehee, and wide receiver Jerome Pathon, the Huskies were neck + neck with the Cougars at the start of November was Washington stood atop the Pac-10 standings with a 7-1 overall record, their only loss being to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
But injuries, including one to Shehee, led to the Washington's downfall as they dropped their next two games to fall to 7-3 and eliminated from playing in Pasadena on New Year's Day as the Huskies looked to spoil their rivals' chances of playing in the Rose Bowl with a win in the Apple Cup.
Despite the game being played at Husky Stadium in Seattle, the Cougars entered the game confident as evident by wide receiver Chris Jackson, who during the week saying that the Cougars would hang 40 or 50 points on the Huskies.
The Cougars would get the ball to start the game and while going three-and-out was not the end of the world, a much bigger problem was developing as during the drive, Leaf got his throwing thumb stuck in the face mask of linebacker Jason Chorak, leading to a dislocation of Leaf's thumb.
Leaf would hide the injury as he kept his throwing hand in a hand warmer as the game would go along.
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| Cougars quarterback Ryan Leaf would complete 22 of 38 passes for 358 yards and throw two touchdown passes. |
Following the Cougars three-and-out, the Huskies got the ball at their 29-yard-line as they would put together their longest drive of the season in terms of plays(14) and time of possession(7:53) as Huard would fire a 15-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jerome Pathon to cap off the drive and give Washington a 7-0 lead.
The Cougars offense continued their slow start as they went three-and-out again on their next possession, only to get the ball back one play later as Huard threw a deep pass intended for wide receiver JaWarren Hooker, who tore his hamstring while running his route, leading to a easy interception by Cougars cornerback Adesola Moronkola to give Wazzu the ball at its 27-yard-line.
From there, the Cougars would drive 73 yards in 14 plays, which took over six minutes to complete as Leaf completed 4 of 5 passes for 47 yards on the drive with the biggest completion being a 24-yard pass to Shawn Tims on a 3rd & 9 at the Washington 44-yard-line.
All this would lead up to an eight-yard touchdown run by Black that with the extra point tied the game at seven with 12:53 to go in the second quarter.
The Huskies would turn it over again on their next possession as Huard would be intercepted again on another deep pass, this time by Cougars cornerback Ray Jackson, brother of Chris, to give Wazzu the ball at its 30-yard-line.
A 16-yard pass from Leaf to Tims to start the drive would give the Cougars a 1st down at their 46-yard-line as the next two plays lost three yards to set up a 3rd & 13 when Leaf threw a deep pass for Chris Jackson, who made the catch at the Washington 20-yard-line, then ran over Huskies free safety Tony Parrish to complete the 57-yard touchdown and give Wazzu a 14-7 lead with 9:24 left in the second quarter.
The Huskies seemed poised to tie the game as they would drive to the Cougars' 22-yard-line until Huard was picked off for the third time in the first half as Wazzu defensive end Shane Doyle hit Huard's elbow just as he was about to throw, causing a fluttering ball that was intercepted by free safety Lamont Thompson to end the Washington scoring threat.
Leaf would then complete passes of 15 yards to Kevin McKenzie, 22 yards to Shawn McWashington, and 29 yards to Tims on a 14-play, 86-yard drive that culminated with a 20-yard field goal by Rian Lindell that increased the Cougars' lead to 17-7 as the first half came to a close.
The Huskies would get the ball to start the second half only for it to end with another interception, this time as an Huard pass bounced off the hands of Pathon and into the hands of Thompson to give Wazzu the ball at the Washington 40-yard-line.
Methodically, the Cougars would drive to the Washington three-yard-line when Black tried to run into in for the touchdown until he was hit by Huskies linebacker Marques Hairston, causing a fumble that bounced into the end zone.
However, Cougars left tackle Rob Rainville was able to fall on the football in the end zone for the unlikely touchdown to cap off the 11-play, 40-yard drive and increase Wazzu's lead to 24-7.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty following the extra point on the Cougars would help give Washington great field position to start its next drive as Pathon returned the ensuing kickoff 26 yards to the Huskies' 54-yard-line.
From there, Huard complete a 23-yard pass to tight end Cam Cleeland, then hit Fred Coleman for a 38-yard touchdown to cut the Cougars' lead to 24-14, only 50 seconds after the Cougars' last touchdown.
The Cougars would begin their ensuing possession at their 24-yard-line but penalties would back them up to the five-yard-line when on a 3rd & 29, Leaf was picked off by Parrish, who would run it back for a 32-yard pick-six to bring the Huskies to within a field goal at 24-21 with 6:04 left in the third quarter.
With the momentum now in favor of the Huskies, the Cougars needed a score as they took over at their 20-yard-line where it took them four plays to get to the 50-yard-line where Leaf threw a pass for Chris Jackson, who made the catch at the Washington 25-yard-line and then outran his defender to get into the end zone and push Wazzu's lead back to 10 points at 31-21 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
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| Wide receiver Chris Jackson backed up his trash talk by catching eight passes for 185 yards and scoring two touchdowns. |
The Huskies would respond with an eight-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Huard to fullback Mike Reed to trim the Washington deficit back to a field goal at 31-28 with only 15 seconds left in the third quarter.
Wazzu would begin its next possession at their 34-yard-line with a 14-yard pass from Leaf to Chris Jackson, followed by a 38-yard run by Black would put the Cougars at the Huskies' 11-yard-line.
Two plays later, the Cougars were faced with a 3rd & 15 when Leaf threw a pass intended for Jackson which fell incomplete but drew a pass interference penalty on the Huskies cornerback Mel Miller to give Wazzu a 1st & goal at the Washington three-yard-line.
Two plays netted two yards to set up 3rd & goal from the one-yard-line where Leaf tried to sneak it in into the end zone as he would recover his own fumble in the end zone to increase the Cougars' lead to 38-28 with 13:14 left in the fourth quarter.
The Huskies looked to respond as they moved to their 49-yard-line where on 3rd & 12, Huard completd a 22-yard pass to Pathon to give Washington a 1st down at the Cougars' 29-yard-line, only for it to be wiped out with a holding penalty which pushed the Huskies back to their 33-yard-line which would lead to a Washington punt.
The Cougars would then put together a 12-play, 62-yard drive that included Leaf completing two passes to Jackson for 28 yards on the drive that ended with a 29-yard field goal by Lindell that increased Wazzu's lead to 41-28 with 4:12 remaining in the game.
Huard would then throw his fifth interception of the game on the Huskies' ensuing drive as once again the ball bounced off the hands of Pathon and into the hands of Thompson, who tied a Pac-10 record for most interceptions by a freshman in one game with three.
Wazzu would punt the ball back to the Huskies who would drive 78 yards in six plays, culminating with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Huard to Pathon that cut the Cougars' lead to 41-35 with just nine seconds to go.
Any chance at a Washington miracle were dashed on the ensuing kickoff as McWashington recovered the onside kick, allowing Leaf to take a knee and run out the clock as the Cougars won the game 41-35 that tied with UCLA's 31-24 over USC, clinched Washington State the Pac-10 title and secured its spot in the Rose Bowl as Wazzu fans would come onto the field and tear down the goal posts at Husky Stadium.
The loss would drop Washington to #21 in the rankings as the Huskies accepted an invitation to play the Michigan State Spartans in the Aloha Bowl in Hawaii where Shehee returned for Washington as he ran for 193 yards and scored two touchdowns to lead the Huskies to a 51-23 victory.
The Huskies would move up to #18 in the final AP and coaches poll as they finished with a 8-4 record as Lambright would be fired the following season after Washington went 6-6.
As for the Cougars, they would meet the Michigan Wolverines in Pasadena on New Year's Day with the Wolverines eyeing at least a piece of the national championship if they won.
Trailing 21-16 with 29 seconds to go, Leaf led the Cougars from their seven-yard-line to the Michigan 26-yard-line where with two seconds left, Leaf would spike the ball to stop the clock, only for the clock to run out as the game came to a close despite Wazzu's pleas that one second was left when the ball was spiked as Michigan came away with the victory to finish #1 in the AP poll while the Nebraska Cornhuskers finished #1 in the coaches poll.
It would not take the Cougars very long to get back to the Rose Bowl as five years after their Cinderella run in 1997, Wazzu returned to the Rose Bowl as they shared the Pac-10 title with USC but earned the right to go to Pasadena based on the Cougars' overtime win over the Trojans during the season.
However, the Cougars would fall to the Oklahoma Sooners 34-14 in what would be Price's final game as Washington State head coach as he left to become the Alabama Crimson Tide head coach, only to resign before coaching a single game following an off the field scandal.
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