Washington State Cougar Athletic Fund

Chapter 9: Fumble, Then a Recovery

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Reaching the 7-0 mark was territory that the Cougar football program had rarely experienced.   But as the calendar turned to November, the team was entering a territory all too familiar, and unkind.

Since Mike Price’s arrival in 1989, the Cougars were 4-19 in November including a 0-12 mark in road games during the month.

If the Cougars hoped to earn the Pac-10 title, those numbers had to improve, as November offered up four games beginning with a Nov. 1 contest at defending Pac-10 champion Arizona State.

Despite the undefeated mark and a No. 10 ranking for the second consecutive week, the Cougars were three-point underdogs to the 20th-ranked Sun Devils prompting ASU Coach Bruce Snyder to say, “I don’t know where that came from, but it did blow my cover in terms of going to the team and saying, ‘Hey we don’t get any respect.’”

The Cougars’ undefeated record was due in large part to the lack of any significant injuries occurring through the first seven games.

“I think the main reason for success was we started primarily the same group of players all year from the first game to the Rose Bowl,” Price said. “That really is the difference whether you have a successful season or not. It is really kind of simple.”

But the injury bug traveled its way with the team to Tempe and announced itself at a most inopportune time.

“The big thing that happened right before the Arizona State game was where I tore the ligament in my throwing arm right at the elbow where you release,” Leaf said. “It happened Friday night while I was throwing during a walk-through at Sun Devil Stadium. Mark Smaha, our trainer, did a heck of a job building a new ligament out of tape and stuff for that game the next night.”

While that injury was sustained in an empty Sun Devil Stadium, the following evening, Leaf would have to cope with his damaged arm in front of 73,644 fans, the fifth largest attendance figure in the history of the stadium. It would be the largest crowd to witness a WSU game since the 1995 Apple Cup, which had an audience of 74,144, in ironically, Leaf’s first collegiate start.

“At the time it was one of the bigger crowds for that stadium,” Ryan McShane said. “They were out to knock us off. We probably never had that bulls eye on our chest before at Washington State.”

Not only were the Cougars playing before a capacity crowd, but they were playing in weather much different than in their previous game. Unlike the mid-40 temperatures of Pullman, WSU was experiencing nearly 80 degree temperatures at the desert.

“Even though we were playing a night game, it was really, really tough for us, coming from Pullman, where it is 30 degrees cooler, to go into a hot environment and start running like crazy,” Duane Stewart said. “You just feel like there is a bear on your back and you feeling really slow. That really caught us off guard.

“If you look at the beginning portion of that game, that’s what put us on our heels,” Stewart added. “We were really kind of treading water.”

And giving up points, as the Cougars fell behind by the largest deficit they would face all season just 22 minutes into the game.

Ahead 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Sun Devils extended their lead to double-digits on the first play of the second quarter. ASU scored on its following two possessions to take a 24-0 lead with 7:43 left in the half.

While ASU was seemingly scoring at will, the WSU offense was struggling just to make a first down. During ASU’s 24-point scoring blitz, the Cougar offense generated only two first downs while Leaf, who was wearing a black sleeve on his right elbow and had his forearm taped, completed as many passes in 10 attempts.

But just a minute and a half after falling behind 24-0, the WSU offense showed its first signs of life with a Dejaun Gilmore 59-yard run, which set up a Leaf to Chris Jackson 22-yard touchdown pass play.

The Cougars were now down 24-7 and would take that deficit into the half; however, they continued to chip away at it during the third quarter while the Cougar defense, which had given up 303 first-half yards, settled down.

In the third quarter, WSU outscored ASU 10-0 and outgained the Sun Devils 140-18 in total yardage. But in an ominous sign of things to come, Leaf, who had not been sacked in the first half, was sacked twice in the quarter. In addition, the Cougar defense lost the services of Stewart for the rest of the game, and as it turned out, the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury that occurred at the beginning of the quarter.

No matter, WSU had fought its way back to contention, and incredibly took the lead for the first time at the onset of the final quarter.

Less than two minutes in, Leaf connected with Shawn McWashington from 11 yards out to pull the Cougars within one. On the extra point try, the Sun Devils were flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, moving the ball to the one-yard line. Eschewing the possibility of the tie, WSU went for two and was successful on a Leaf quarterback sneak.

The Cougars had battled back to take a 25-24 lead, but it proved to be short-lived as ASU needed only eight plays to drive 80 yards for a touchdown and regain the lead 30-25. The drive was kept alive when Ray Jackson’s interception, which would have given the Cougars the ball at ASU’s 34, was nullified by a defensive holding call.

The Sun Devils still enjoyed a five-point advantage when the Cougars took over the ball at their own eight-yard line with 6:53 remaining. Led by Leaf, who despite the damaged throwing arm, threw for 447 yards in the game, the offense drove to ASU’s 23 where it faced a fourth and three situation.

In what would be the pivotal play of the game, Leaf took the snap and was immediately  smothered by a blitzing Mitch Freedman, who registered the Sun Devils’ fifth sack of the half. Worse yet for WSU, Leaf fumbled, and ASU’s Hamilton Mee recovered and returned it 69 yards for the touchdown.

“I think ASU’s defense was the deciding factor,” Stewart recalled. “They blitzed us like crazy, and they didn’t give Leaf a lot of time to pass the ball.”

Things went from bad to worse on the Cougars’ next possession when Leaf was once again sacked, and once again fumbled. This time, Derrick Ford, who registered ASU’s sixth and final sack of the second half, returned the ball 20 yards for ASU’s second touchdown in the span of 23 seconds, putting the Sun Devils up by an insurmountable 44-25 margin.

The final score was 44-31, and the Cougars’ dreams of a perfect season were over. After the game, Price would describe the loss as “one of the most disappointing moments of my career.”

“That was a tough game for me; I made a couple of calls that didn’t go our way,” Price remembered, specifically citing the play that resulted in Mee’s touchdown return. “I felt so bad after the game that the players consoled me more than I consoled them.”

“We were mature enough to realize it was a loss,” Stewart said. “We had been around for awhile and been through some losing seasons. Comparing those teams to the team that we had that year, it wasn’t hard to come back from that loss at all.

“I think we were more concerned about rankings,” Stewart continued. “We moved back and then it turns out that UCLA is ahead of us and that was a little disheartening.”

In fact, WSU dropped to 15th in the Coaches’ Poll and 16th in the AP Poll while UCLA, improved to 10th and 11th in the AP and Coaches’ Polls, respectively.

“I remember a lot of the coaches and players were pretty emotional afterward thinking the ride was over but we came right back and again figured out what our focus was, and started to move forward,” McShane said.

The process of moving forward began with a welcome respite from the Pac-10 schedule, a 1-8 Southwestern Louisiana team.

Nov. 8 was originally the date for the UCLA game but when that contest was moved to August, it left a void, which Southwestern Louisiana filled. Coming off the ASU loss, the schedule change was fortuitous for WSU.

“To not have to come right back with a conference game gave us time to get the bad taste out of our mouth,” Price said. “We got to come back home and get our feet back on the ground.”

In the days leading up to the game, Southwestern Louisiana Coach Nelson Stokley was quoted as saying, “Would anybody like to be head coach for a week?”

He probably wished that someone had taken him up on his offer as his team fell behind 35-0 at the end of the first quarter and 56-0 at halftime en route to a 77-7 defeat. WSU led 42-0 before the Ragin’ Cajuns registered a first down.

The 77 points were the third most ever by a Cougar team and the most since 1975 when the Cougars scored 84 points against Idaho.

“It’s a huge difference playing ASU at Tempe than to playing Southwestern Louisiana at home,” Stewart said. “Everybody just played half a game. It was funny that the crowd ending up cheering Southwestern Louisiana when they scored.”

The next week, the Cougars would need the crowd’s support and turnout when they returned to Pac-10 play against Stanford, in what would be their final home game of the season.

WASHINGTON STATE           0        7        10       14       31

ARIZONA STATE                    7        17       0        20       44

TEAM     QTR      TIME     SCORING PLAY (Yards/Plays/Drive Time/How Gained Possession)

ASU      1        6:51     Jackson 13 pass from Kealy (Nycz kick) (6/24/1:46/punt)

ASU      2        14:55    Mitchell 8 pass from Kealy (Nycz kick) (8/67/2:40/punt)

ASU      2        10:48    Nycz 31 field goal (7/27/3:21/punt)

ASU      2        7:43     Jackson 22 pass from Kealy (Nycz kick) (6/80/1:53/punt)

WSU      2        6:14     C. Jackson 22 pass from Leaf (Lindell kick) (4/78/1:29/kickoff)

WSU      3        9:51     Lindell 43 field goal (8/66/2:06/punt)

WSU      3        1:17     Gilmore 2 run (Lindell kick) (6/70/2:32/punt)

WSU      4        13:18    McWashington 11 pass from Leaf (Leaf rush) (7/64/2:04/punt)

ASU      4        9:57     McDonald 5 pass from Kealy (Kealy pass intcpt) (7/80/3:21/kickoff)

ASU      4        2:55     Mee 69 fumble recovery (Nycz kick)

ASU      4        2:32     Ford 0 fumble recovery (Nycz kick)

WSU      4        1:13     McKenzie 3 pass from Leaf (Leaf pass failed) (7/80/1:19/kickoff)

TOTAL OFFENSE  -  WSU 78/498/6.4  ASU: 78/395/5.1

RUSHING  -  WSU 29/112/61/51/1/59:  Gilmore 4/63, Black 14/36, Tims 1/4, Leaf 10/9.  ASU 42/200/50/150/32:  Martin 20/116, Redmond 8/35, Boyer 1/29, Spann 1/10, Farlow 3/5, Paulk 3/5, Kealy 6/0.

PASSING  -.WSU 49/24/1/447/3/66:  Leaf 49/24/1/447/3/66.  ASU 36/23/0/245/4/39:  Kealy 36/23/0/245/4/39.

RECEIVING  - WSU : Tims 7/98, McKenzie 6/75, McWashington 5/162, C. Jackson 4/73, Taylor 1/32, Black 1/7.  ASU:  Jackson 9/89, Mitchell 5/85, Redmond 3/36, Bates 1/17, Boyer 1/9, McDonald 1/5, Paulk 1/2, Romero 1/2, Martin 1/0

INTERCEPTIONS  -  WSU: 0/0.  ASU:  Freedman 1/0.

PUNTING  -  WSU: Banks 7/305/43.6/51.  ASU:  Williams 7/375/53.6/66.

PUNT RETURNS  -  WSU: Tims 4/33.  ASU: Boyer 7/60.

KICKOFF RETURNS  -  WSU: McWashington 1/17, Taylor 1/19.  ASU: 0/0.

SCORING  -  WSU: C. Jackson 6, Gilmore 6, McWashington 6, McKenzie 6, Lindell 6, Leaf 2.

FIRST DOWNS  - WSU: 23/2/18/3.  ASU:  20/7/11/2.

FUMBLES/LOST  -  WSU: 4/3.  ASU 1/0.

PENALTIES/YARDS  -  WSU: 8/67.  ASU:  10/93.

POSSESSION TIME  - WSU: 26:00.  ASU 29:59.

THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS  -  WSU: 9/19. ASU 8/18.

ATTENDANCE  - 73,644.

WSU TACKLERS (T-P-A)  -- Moore 20/7/13, R. Jackson 11/6/5, Bender 10/7/3, Gleason 9/7/2, Nelson 7/3/4, Stewart 7/5/2, Doyle 4/4/0, Gibbons 3/3/0, Boose 3/2/1, Hollimon 3/3/0, Meier 2/1/1, Moronkola 2/1/1, Holmes 2/1/1, team 1/1/0, Thompson 1/1/0, Price 1/1/0, C. Jackson 1/0/1, Salausa 1/0/1.

WSU SACKS  -- Moore 2/-17, Boose 1/-8, team 1/-5, Bender 1/-4.

WSU TFL  - Moore 4/-24, Bender 2/-6, Boose 1/-8, team 1/-5, Holmes 1/-4, Doyle 1/-3, Stewart 1/-1, Nelson 1/-1.

WASHINGTON STATE                 35       21       14       7        77

SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA     0        0          7         0         7

TEAM     QTR      TIME     SCORING PLAY (Yards/Plays/Drive Time/How Gained Possession)

WSU      1        11:34    Black 4 run (Lindell kick) (10/74/3:39/kickoff)

WSU      1        11:21    Thomas 15 fumble recovery (Lindell kick)

WSU      1        8:07     C. Jackson 7 pass from Leaf (Lindell kick) (7/72/1:49/punt)

WSU      1        2:33     McKenzie 26 pass from Leaf (Lindell kick) (2/14/0:47/downs)

WSU      1        0:25     Jefferson 18 pass from Leaf (Lindell kick) (3/39/1:02/punt)

WSU      2        12:47    Kincaid 6 pass from Leaf (Lindell kick) (5/48/2:13/punt)

WSU      2        7:12     Black 22 run (Lindell kick) (5/87/1:59/punt)

WSU      2        3:36     Leaf 1 run (Lindell kick) (3/39/1:08/punt)

WSU      3        11:25    Clayton 31 run (Lindell kick) (4/74/1:47/punt)

USL      3        7:32     Lindsey 12 run (Deach kick) (8/83/3:53/kickoff)

WSU      3        3:40     Muir 6 run (Lindell kick) (4/32/1:52/interception)

WSU      4        11:21    Arzu 23 run (Lindell kick) (5/45/2:11/fumble)

TOTAL OFFENSE  -  WSU 64/588/9.2.  USL 60/152/2.5.

RUSHING  -  WSU 38/268/19/249/6/31:  Clayton 4/58, Black 12/69, Hawkins 5/44, Arzu 2/28, Muir 3/18, Leaf 3/17, Taylor 1/15, Mencke 2/7, DeMackas 2/6, Dixon 2/5, Klein 1/1, Gecas 1/0. USL 38/101/26/75/1/12:  Lindsey 24/78, Rogers 9/21, Joseph 3/2, Williams 1/0, Shaw 1,0.

PASSING  -  WSU 26/16/0/339/4/47:  Leaf 21/13/0/305/4/47, Mencke 2/1/0/5/0/5, Muir 2/1/0/5/0/5, Birnbaum 1/1/0/24/0/24.  USL 22/8/1/77/0/25:  Folse 13/7/1/69/0/25, Domec 9/1/8/0/8.

RECEIVING  - WSU:  Taylor 3/72, Jackson 3/59, McKenzie 2/65, Tims 2/55, Kincaid 2/36, Woody 1/24, Jefferson 1/18, LeBlanc 1/5, Shaw 1/5.  USL:  Smith 3/35, Dozier 2/6, Sandusky 1/25, Wilridge 1/8, Freeman 1/3.

INTERCEPTIONS  -  WSU: Gibbons 1/20.  USL:  none.

PUNTING  -  WSU: Banks 1/34/34.0/34.  USL: Shaw 9/435/48.3/55.

PUNT RETURNS  -  WSU: Tims 5/167, Muir 1/19.  USL: none.

KICKOFF RETURNS  -  WSU: Taylor 1/13, Moronkola 1/20.  USL: Wilridge 1/17, Terrell 1/13, Schumack 5/81, Juul 1/24.

SCORING  -  WSU: Black 12, Lindell 11, Thomas 6, C. Jackson 6, McKenzie 6, Jefferson 6, Kincaid 6, Leaf 6, Clayton 6, Muir 6, Arzu 6.

FIRST DOWNS  - WSU: 26/10/12/4.  USL:  12/4/5/3.

FUMBLES/LOST  -  WSU: 3/1.  USL 2/2.

PENALTIES/YARDS  -  WSU: 9/89.  USL: 7/73.

POSSESSION TIME  - WSU: 27:22.  USL 32:38.

THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS  -  WSU: 4/8. 5/15.

ATTENDANCE  - 32,345.

WSU TACKLERS (T-P-A)  --  Gleason 10/9/1, Thompson 6/5/1, Hollimon 6/4/2, Lawson 4/3/1, DeCambra 4/3/1, Nance 4/2/2, Nance 4/2/2, Nelson 4/2/2, Nelson 4/2/2, Emerson 3/3/0, Price 3/3/0, Meier 3/2/1, Salausa 3/2/1, Blash 2/2/0, Morais 2/1/1, Moronkola 2/1/1, Bender 1/1/0, Noble 1/1/0, Schaaf 1/1/0, Matson 1/1/0, R. Jackson 1/1/0, Doyle 1/1/0, Dobbins 1/1/0, Thomas 1/1/0, Wagner 1/1/0, Dixon 1/0/1, Philley 1/0/0.

WSU SACKS  -- None.

WSU TFL  - Hollimon 2/-10, Gleason 2/-9, Bender 1/-4, Lawson 1/-3, Nelson 1/-2.