Cougars Blow Out Stanford
Jason Gesser throws for 297 yards, three TDs in 36-11 win.

Oct 12, 2002

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STANFORD, Calif. - Jason Gesser's bruised ribs were as safe as Washington State's winning streak during an easy victory at Stanford.

Gesser passed for 297 yards and threw two of his three touchdown passes to Jonathan Smith as the No. 12 Cougars beat the Cardinal 36-11 Saturday in their biggest win over their Pac-10 Conference rivals in more than four decades.

Jerome Riley had nine receptions for 173 yards and a score as the Cougars (6-1, 3-0) rolled on to their bye week with their fourth straight victory. After completing 17 of 23 passes despite his constantly sore ribs, Gesser sat out most of the fourth quarter to get a head start on some recuperation time.

"I got hit maybe two times all day, and one of them was a late hit," said Gesser, who's one TD pass shy of tying Ryan Leaf's school record of 59. "The true character of our team showed today. We had guys who were hurt, and this was a quiet crowd. We had to make our own noise."



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"The true character of our team showed today. We had guys who were hurt, and this was a quiet crowd. We had to make our own noise."
--Jason Gesser

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Jermaine Green rushed for a 42-yard TD less than four minutes into the game, bowling over Cardinal safety Colin Branch in an appropriate image for Washington State's overwhelming performance.

The Cougars led 23-0 at halftime, and the Cardinal (1-4, 0-2) never threatened in a sparsely attended game at Stanford Stadium. It was Washington State's best performance against Stanford since a 30-0 victory in 1961.

"There wasn't much emotion early on, but we still came out ready to play," Washington State coach Mike Price said. "It was kind of dull out there, but we got off to a great start. That's what we wanted to do: go out there and break their will."

Jason David had two interceptions for the Cougars, whose defense was markedly improved after allowing 93 points in their last three games. Washington State shut down Stanford's aggressive passing offense, and the punt-coverage team got the school's first safety in nearly two years.

Behind an offensive line missing three starters and substituting two freshmen, Gesser couldn't get the ball to star receivers Devard Darling and Mike Bush with any regularity - but the Cougars' lesser-known wideouts filled the void.

Smith, a junior college transfer who had seven catches in his first five games, scored his first two touchdowns for Washington State. Riley, a part-time starter who had just 17 catches, was impressive all afternoon.

"The middle was wide open out there," Riley said. "They were trying to double-team Bush and Devard, but we've got three receivers who can go to the next level."

Kenneth Tolon rushed for 89 yards and a late TD as Stanford lost its third straight under first-year coach Buddy Teevens, whose only victory came four weeks ago against San Jose State.

The Cardinal, who are off to their worst start since 1998, trailed 36-3 before Tolon's 1-yard TD run with 5:50 left.

"We're not questioning the play-calling or the scheme," senior receiver Luke Powell said. "We're questioning ourselves. Why are we doing stupid things? Why is it not working?"

While Gesser and the nation's eighth-ranked passing offense picked apart the Cardinal's inexperienced defensive backs, starting quarterback Chris Lewis sat out a series in the first half as Stanford struggled to move the ball.

Freshman Kyle Matter, who has played well in relief of Lewis this season, had no more success until the closing minutes, when he led an 80-yard scoring drive.

"It's a big frustration," Lewis said. "We kind of feel like nothing's working. It seems like every time we get a drive, we get a setback. Our defense is playing hard, but we have to start putting some points on the board. This is getting ridiculous."

To make matters worse, Stanford took 11 penalties - several resulting from apparent frustration.

"There was a lot of smacking on both sides," said Washington State defensive lineman Rien Long, who was involved in a skirmish. "I think they were frustrated, but you can't really tell because they're a dirty team. ... They've got their ways of doing things that aren't quite legal."

When Jeremy Bohannon tackled Stanford punter Eric Johnson in the end zone early in the second quarter, Washington State took a 23-0 lead that the Cougars held through halftime.

Stanford finally scored on a 28-yard field goal by Michael Sgroi midway through the third quarter.

With the San Francisco Giants' playoff game going on at the same time, a crowd of 30,750 filled the 85,500-seat stadium. Baseball updates were given on the public address system, with news of Barry Bonds' three-run homer drawing as many cheers as anything Stanford did in the first half.

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer



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Cruise Control for Cougars, now 6-1
Standouts numerous as WSU gets victory No. 6

By J.V. Holland
Special to Cougfan.com

PALO ALTO --- It turns out Mike Price was Chicken Little. Sure, his boys were banged up going into The Farm, but it didn't matter. The offense scored TDs on its first three possessions and the defense snuffed out Stanford's passing attack as the Cougars cruised to a 36-11 win over the Card -- WSU's sixth W in seven tries this season.

The Cougars came out swinging on Saturday, taking a 23-0 lead into halftime and holding a 36-3 advantage until late in the fourth quarter.

The stars on this day were numerous for the Cougars.

Receiver Jerome Riley snagged nine balls for 173 yards and a TD, while Jason Gesser fired for three TDs and 297 yards -- putting the Hurlin' Hawaiian just a game or two away from overtaking Jack Thompson was WSU's most prolific passer.

Middle linebacker Mawuli Davis was all over the field, posting 11 total tackles, including two for loss.

Cornerback Marcus Trufant, squaring off most of the day against Stanford's touted Teyo Johnson, was like a glove on the 6-foot-6 receiver -- so much so that Stanford partisans actually sent some jeers Johnson's way late in the game. Johnson managed only 36 yards in receptions --- a stat made more remarkable by the fact he actually caught five balls.

Trufant's batterymate at corner, Jason David, picked off two passes, the first of which he returned to the Stanford 18 yard line, setting up a 3-yard TD pass from Gesser to Riley that put the Cougars ahead 14-0.

In all, the Cougars D limited Card QBs Chris Lewis and Kyle Matter into a woeful 20 of 41 passing day, with their average completion going for a mere 3.6 yards. The Cougars also registered three sacks.

"It's definitely not supposed to be this way, but what can you do?" pleaded Lewis after the game. "We just have to go back to the drawing board. We have to go back and figure it out if it takes us all year.

And don't forget the Cougar offensive line. Racked with injuries, they started a redshirt freshman (Riley Fitt-Chappell) and alternated true freshman Nick Mihlhauser at left guard with senior Phil Locker, who was seeing his first action in three weeks because of a deep leg bruise. By all acounts, they stepped up nicely, yielding just one sack on the day and springing loose running back Jermaine Green for a nifty 42-yard sprint to paydirt that put the Cougs up 7-0.

Gesser, in fact, remarked afterward that he only remembered even being touched twice -- and one of those was a late hit!

Statistically speaking, the Cougars outgained the Card 410 yards to 308. But, as they've done all season, the Cougars put their points on the board in the most economical of ways. Indeed, Stanford actually ran 19 more offensive plays and had a nine-minute advantage in time of possession.

"Our team did a really good job in preparing for this game. We were ready to go; we weren't taking our opponent lightly. To come down here into enemy territory with two freshmen starting as offensive linemen and to see what they did early was really good," said Mike Price.

The Cougars have a bye next week and then travel to Arizona, which lost to Washington 32-28 this weekend.

BOHANNON SHINES AGAIN: Cougar defensive back Jeremey Bohannon of Richland tackled Stanford punter Eric Johnson for a second-quarter safety after the ball was snapped over Johnson's head. A year ago in Palo Alto, Bohannon also hit second-quarter paydirt, scooping up a blocked punt by Josh Moen and taking it to the house.

DOUBLE TEAMS GALORE: With Stanford spending much of the day double-teaming Mike Bush (one catch) and Devard Darling (two catches), Gesser and Matt Kegel (7 of11) looked early and often to Riley as well as senior scrapper Collin Henderson (five catches)

THE WONDER OF LUNDE: For a guy who wasn't even expected to be on the team, Cougar junior receiver Scott Lunde has continually impressed this season. He came into the Stanford contest with 22 catches for 245 yards and left with three more grabs for 78 yards --- one catch covered 44 yards and another 28.

STICK OF THE DAY: On the kickoff following Jonathan Smith's 10-yard TD pass from Gesser at the start of the fourth quarter, back up Cougar defensive back Aaron Joseph of Tacoma delivered a picture-perfect, bone-jarring tackle of Stanford return man Ryan Wells. It may not have rivaled the stick Phillip Glover put on that Montana return man back in '95, but it definitely was a crimson hit to remember.

INJURIES: Starting Cougar linebacker Al Genatone left the game early with a high ankle sprain that could jeopardize him for the Arizona contest in two weeks. He was replaced by Pat Bennett, who did a bang up job, posting six tackles.

I'm glad we have a bye week to get ready for the Arizona Wildcats just for the simple fact that we have a few guys banged us. This time off should allow for people to heal and concentrate on school and football. 6-1 sound so good right now. I hope we move up in the polls!

<small>[ October 13, 2002, 04:26 AM: Message edited by: CougarReggie ]</small>

6-1 does sound better than 5-2. And Arizona will provide a test for the defense because they love to throw the ball a lot.

JoltinJacket Wrote:6-1 does sound better than 5-2. And Arizona will provide a test for the defense because they love to throw the ball a lot.

they will provide a match for the defensive because of them liking to throw a lot but I think WSU will be ready for that as well..

Congrats on the win, I bet your hoping the Devs knock of UO that would bolster the chance of Wazzu getting a conf championship, I think the Ducks are still the team to beat with Wazzu and SC the runners up. It is still at this point a wide open race as there are many tough matchups ahead.This new board will take some getting used to, what happened to the pac ten mascot icons.

SDSundevil Wrote:Congrats on the win, I bet your hoping the Devs knock of UO that would bolster the chance of Wazzu getting a conf championship, I think the Ducks are still the team to beat with Wazzu and SC the runners up. It is still at this point a wide open race as there are many tough matchups ahead.This new board will take some getting used to, what happened to the pac ten mascot icons.

This board will take some time to get use too. I think they are working on getting the conference icons and stuff. I am excited for Wazzu being in the position that they are in with the bye weeks and stuff. The game with Washington is already sold out but there may be tickets left depending on how many UW students buy tickets.

I think Oregon is still the team to beat followed by Wazzu and USC. ASU has a great chance to upset Oregon this weekend at home like Stanford did last year.

I just want WSU players to get healthy while we have a bye week..