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SAN DIEGO (AP) - Now, this was an unconventional way to win the
Holiday Bowl. Kansas State needed no last-second heroics, just a long,
grinding drive that quarterback Jonathan Beasley capped with a 1-yard
run with 5:58 left as the Wildcats beat the Washington Huskies 24-20 on
Wednesday (video). And what a drive it was,
going 92 yards in 20 plays and eating 9 minutes, 54 seconds. It was
Beasley's third TD run and the fifth lead change of another entertaining
Holiday Bowl.
''You wouldn't think it would take you 20 plays to go the length of the
field,'' said Beasley, the overlooked quarterback in this matchup. ''But
I'm glad we ate up some clock, because we spent a lot of time fumbling
the ball out here and getting penalties and putting ourselves in harm's
way on more than one occasion. ''We needed one drive somewhere along the
line.'' They got it, thanks to some key third-down conversions by
Beasley, who was 6-of-9 for 63 yards on the drive.
''There were a couple of times it was third and very long,'' Beasley
said. Beasley completed third down throws of 22 yards to Quincy Morgan
and 10 yards to Martez Wesley, then ran a third-down keeper 3 yards to
the Huskies 2. He audibled on the winning play, an option keeper to the
right. The drive was simply long for the Huskies. ''You're telling guys,
'OK, suck it up, it's the last play,' and then he gets the first down,''
linebacker Lester Towns said. ''People are just tired, dead tired out
there. It was just hard, when you're out there for that long.''
The winning drive began after Lamar Chapman stepped in front of receiver
Gerald Harris and intercepted Marques Tuiasosopo's pass at the goal
line, returning it eight yards with 52 seconds left in the third
quarter. ''I thought I might be able to get it over him,'' Tuiasosopo
said. ''I threw a bad ball.''
Kansas State finished 11-1, and seemed to enjoy itself in this
postseason, unlike last year when it lost a shot at reaching the
national championship game and then had a lackluster effort in an Alamo
Bowl loss to Purdue. The loss by Washington (7-5) dropped the
beleaguered Pac-10 to 0-3 in bowls this year. Washington had beaten
K-State four times dating to 1950, all in Seattle, outscoring the
Wildcats 150-13.
Tuiasosopo, who this season became the first major college quarterback
to pass for 300 yards and run for 200 in a same game, was 18-of-27 for
197 yards with one interception and ran 11 times for 30 yards as the
prime target of Kansas State's defense, the second-stingiest in the
country.
Tuiasosopo was tackled by Monty Beisel on an option play on fourth-and-5
from the 50 with 3:37 left, then safety Jon McGraw broke up his long
pass with 2:09 left.
Beasley, who struggled in the second half of the season with a pulled
muscle in his throwing shoulder, also scored on a 1-yard run in the
first quarter and an 11-yarder on the opening drive of the second half,
on which he also audibled, for a 17-13 lead. Washington became the first
team to score on K-State in the third quarter this year, as tailback
Maurice Shaw scored on a 5-yard run with 2:28 left for a 20-17 lead.
Beasley was named the outstanding offensive player of the game while
K-State defensive end Darren Howard was named defensive player of the
game for his 2 1/2 sacks. Kansas State sacked Tuiasosopo four times, all
in the first half.
Huskies first-year coach Rick Neuheisel, hired away from Colorado in
January, fell to 2-3 against Kansas State. ''It was one of the best
defenses I've seen at the collegiate level,'' Neuheisel said. ''If you
threw a grenade out there, you'd get all of them because they are all so
close to the ball.''
Beasley completed 15-of-31 for 216 yards and gained 48 yards on 20
carries. Beasley's first score came one play after Frank Murphy gained
12 yards on fourth-and-1.
Washington's best drive of the night came in the third quarter.
Tuiasosopo helped the Huskies overcome two holding penalties by going
6-of-6 for 68 yards.
John Anderson kicked field goals of 39 and 47 yards, and Pat Conniff
scored on a 3-yard run to help give Washington a 13-10 halftime lead.
With Washington leading 13-10 late in the second quarter, Kansas State's
Jamie Rheem pushed a 22-yard field goal attempt wide left.
The Pac-10 is 1-7 in bowls during the last two seasons, the only win
coming when Arizona beat Nebraska 23-20 in last year's Holiday Bowl. The
Huskies have lost five of their last six bowls.
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Attendance- 57,118
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
UW- FG Anderson 39
KSU- Beasley 1 run (Rheem kick)
UW- FG Anderson 47
Second Quarter
KSU- FG Rheem 41
UW- Conniff 3 run (Anderson kick)
Third Quarter
KSU- Beasley 11 run (Rheem kick)
UW- Shaw 5 run (Anderson kick)
Fourth Quarter
KSU- Beasley 1 run (Rheem kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing
UW- Tuiasosopo 11-30, Arnold 5-27, Shaw 6-18, Conniff 4-15
KSU- Beasley 20-48, Murphy 8-42, Hall 11-40, Allen 2-8
Passing
UW- Tuiasosopo 18-27-197
KSU- J Beasley 15-31-216
Receiving
UW- Looker 4-72, Conniff 4-57, Harris 3-33, Juergens 3-23, Elstrom 3-17
KSU- Morgan 7-75, Murphy 3-67, Wesley 3-54, Lockett 2-20
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