Rose Bowl: A thorny ending for Cougars

PASADENA, Calif. — That sound you heard was Oklahoma's defense shutting the door on Washington State hopes of an historic Rose Bowl victory.

Slam. Blitz. Slam.

Oklahoma trounced the Cougars 34-14 in the final game for Alabama-bound Coach Mike Price and senior quarterback Jason Gesser.

Entering the game with dreams of the first Rose Bowl victory in 87 years, the Cougars instead wound up scrambling just to keep their 213-game scoring streak alive.

"Their defense was incredible," Cougars tackle Calvin Armstrong said. "Everybody can run. They are built on speed and are so fast. You would block a guy and he would just get off the block and run down the field."

The Cougars were held scoreless until the final 6:08, when Jerome Riley caught a 37-yard pass from Gesser and Sammy Moore returned a kickoff 89 yards for a score.

"I have never been shut out, but it was close tonight," Price said. "We never did get them out of their comfort zone."

Riley's touchdown snapped Oklahoma's streak of not allowing a touchdown in a bowl game for 13 quarters — which includes the 13-2 national-title victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl at the end of the 2000 season.

The swarming, stifling Oklahoma defense held WSU to a season-low 243 total yards and only 4 net yards rushing.

The attendance of 86,848 was the lowest since the 1944 wartime game between Washington and USC.

The Cougars had said all week that running back Jermaine Green had to have a big game so that WSU could have a balanced attack. But Green was held to 45 yards on eight carries.

Gesser completed 17 of 34 pass attempts for 239 yards and was intercepted twice and sacked six times. Through three quarters, Gesser had completed only 8 of 20 pass attempts.

"It was difficult out there because we were beating ourselves," Gesser said. "We would get a first down, but then turn around and get penalized on the same play. ... You can't make mistakes against a good defense."

The game was close until the last two minutes of the first half. The Cougars missed a chance to go ahead midway in the second quarter when Sooners cornerback Andre Woolfolk intercepted a pass intended for Devard Darling at the Oklahoma 2.

The Sooners scored the game's first touchdown after a 51-yard field-goal attempt by WSU's Drew Dunning fell short late in the second quarter. The longest kick of Dunning's career is 49. The Cougars almost got inside the 10 on the drive, but an official ruled that Darling's foot was on the sideline when he caught a pass at the 6.

The Sooners got possession and moved downfield quickly. They used a 30-yard pass from Nate Hybl to Antwone Savage and a 19-yarder to James Moses to get to the 11. After a 1-yard loss, Hybl found Savage in the left corner of the end zone three strides ahead of linebacker Al Genatone, who slipped while trying to cover him.

The Sooners scored again almost immediately on a 51-yard punt return by Antonio Perkins. Cougars punter Kyle Basler was forced to punt from the end zone after Jimmy Wilkinson sacked Gesser.

"I did a terrible punt," Basler said. "It was low and (defenders) didn't have time to get down there."

The last time the Cougars allowed a punt to be returned for a touchdown was in 1998 against Oregon.

Oklahoma's Trey DiCarlo made a 30-yard field goal in the third quarter and Hybl, who was named player of the game, put the Sooners up 27-0 with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Fagan with 8:02 left.

Hybl completed 19 of 29 pass attempts for 240 yards without an interception. The Cougars sacked him three times.

Quentin Griffin, Oklahoma's 5-foot-7 running back who led all rushers with 144 yards on 30 carries, scored the Sooners' final TD on a 19-yard burst after Riley had scored for the Cougars. Oklahoma got the ball when Gesser was sacked and fumbled.

To a man, the Cougars denied that Price's announced departure for Alabama was a factor in the game.

"We were talking about that this morning at breakfast," said junior defensive tackle Jeremey Williams. "We said that was over before we even got on the plane (Dec. 23). ... That was hard at first, but I think we got past that. When we came in here, we were mentally ready, but Oklahoma made plays when they had to and that made the difference in the game."

The Cougars finished 10-3 but dropped to 1-3 in Rose Bowl appearances, with the only victory over Brown in 1916.

Washington State's locker room was expected to be an teary one, but the lopsided loss sucked the emotion out of the team's final game together.

Price hugged players and Gesser announced, "Last break on Coach Price."

The players gathered around the coach, raised their right arms, and shouted, "One, two, three, Cougar Pride."