This Week In Cougar Athletics History

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Dec. 25, 1988

Football

Washington State scored 24 second-quarter points and forced a last-second turnover in notching a 24-22 win over the Houston Cougars in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day.

In a close game there are many heroes, but for WSU, none stood out more than senior Victor Wood. He picked up a fumble early in the second quarter and zipped five yards for a touchdown that put WSU ahead 7-3. On WSU's next possession, Wood caught a 15-yard scoring pass from Timm Rosenbach to put WSU up 14-3 and well on its way to a bowl victory viewed by a national ABC-TV audience.

Wood's heroics were catching as WSU added a Jason Hanson 33-yard field goal and another touchdown, this one by Rosenbach, before halftime to put Washington State in command 24-9. WSU limited Houston to just five first half first downs, 46 yards rushing, and 77 yards passing before intermission. The Cougars picked off two Houston passes, one each by Shawn Landrum and Vernon Todd.

In the end, however, it was Tuineau Alipate's hard hit that forced a Houston fumble recovered by Artie Holmes at the WSU five-yard line. James Dixon was the recipient of Alipate's jarring tackle after catching a David Dacus pass over the middle that appeared for a moment to set up a potential game-winning score by Houston. The Cougars then controlled the ball for the final 2:44, with a key six-yard Rosenbach to Tim Stallworth pass giving WSU the much-needed first down just before the game ended.

Dec. 29, 1992

Football

Perhaps no college bowl game following the 1992 gridiron season was more offensive minded than the Copper Bowl matchup between WSU and Utah, but after all the running and passing that accounted for more than 1,100 yards, the deciding play was a 22-yard field goal by WSU's Aaron Price.

The Cougars scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter and one additional score just before halftime for a 28-14 lead. WSU then held on until Price gave them their final lead with 5:08 to play. Even then, they had to watch anxiously as Chris Yergensen's 20-yard chip shot sailed wildly to the left with 3:18 remaining.

Though the 40,000-plus fans left the stadium talking about the offensive plays that stood out, it was WSU's defense in the fourth quarter that made this win possible.

The Utes scored twice in the second quarter and added two more scores to pull even with a quarter to play. Both teams then turned to their defenses. The key play came with 6:29 to play when Utah's Frank Dolce avoided a strong WSU rush and hooked up with Henry Lusk on a short sideline pass. John Rushing then stripped Lusk of the ball and Singor Mobley scooped it up at the Utah 36-yard line. Fifteen yards later, at the Utah 21, Mobley was dragged down, setting up the Cougars with great field position. Drew Bledsoe immediately drove the Cougars to the Utah five-yard line before turning the scoring chores over to Price.

Like he did the closing seconds of WSU's 23-20 win over Arizona in the same stadium early in the season, Price came through with the kick. Bledsoe completed 30 of 46 passes for a school record 476 yards. Phillip Bobo caught TD passes of 87 (equaling a school record) and 48 yards, and Shaumbe Wright- Fair picked up 123 yards rushing and scored on a pair of three-yard line smashes.