Cougs gut one out at Arizona: Swogger steps up in win
The sophomore quarterback, ignoring a partially torn tendon in his knee, rallied Washington State twice with fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Jason Hill and the Cougars opened Pac-10 play with a 20-19 win over Arizona on Saturday.
``We played the full 60 minutes today,`` Swogger said. ``That`s how you have to play every game in the Pac-10.``
The Wildcats (1-3) forced five fumbles and recovered four to nearly make up for their weak offense, but gave the game away when Gilbert Harris fumbled with 1:15 left while they were trying to protect a 19-14 lead.
The play before, Harris ran 6 yards for a first down.
``I did think we were done when Arizona got the first down,`` Washington State coach Bill Doba said. ``I knew we only one time out left, and I was trying to figure out if we had a chance. While I was trying to figure it out, we got the ball back.``
Little-used freshman safety Husain Abdullah recovered on the Arizona 28, and Swogger covered the distance in three plays, connecting with Hill for a 15-yard TD with 53 seconds to go. Swogger`s pass for a two-point conversion was knocked down, but time ran out with the Wildcats deep in their own territory.
``It`s seriously like a killer instinct,`` Swogger said. ``We knew we had to score a touchdown, and the defense had given us another opportunity.``
Jerome Harrison scored the first TD for Washington State (3-1) on a 2-yard run.
Kris Heavner threw 47- and 23-yard scoring passes for Arizona, the second lifting the Wildcats to a 19-14 lead with 3:52 to play.
Swogger, who had four TD passes last week before tearing his right posterior cruciate ligament in the third quarter, played with a brace but still got a first down on a sneak in the first quarter.
He had a 43-yard scoring toss to Hill with 13:22 left in the fourth for a 14-13 lead.
Arizona took a 13-7 lead into the final quarter thanks mostly to strong defense. Linebacker Sean Jones recovered two fumbles and caused another, leading to one of Nick Folk`s two field goals.
``We just have to keep our heads up,`` Jones said. ``It`s almost like we are jinxed at home or something. Hopefully the football gods will help us out next time.``
The Cougars had the ball for 11:14 of the first quarter, holding Arizona to three three-and-outs while eating up time with Swogger`s accurate passing and runs by Harrison, who had 40 yards in the first quarter and minus-5 the rest of the game.
But they only led 7-0, and their lead vanished on Heavner`s bomb to Steptoe after three possession-changing fumbles in a 20-second span early in the second quarter.
Nose tackle Carlos Williams caused and controlled Arizona`s second fumble recovery, taking the ball from Chris Bruhn on the WSU 47.
Heavner, under pressure, threw a low-percentage pass for Steptoe, fronted by 6-foot cornerback Karl Paymah. The 5-9 Steptoe somehow caught the ball over Paymah at the 6 and stumbled into the end zone to tie it with 12:28 left in the second.
It was the first TD scored by a Washington State opponent in the first half this year, but the Cougars recovered to beat Arizona for the fourth straight time and third in a row in Tucson.
``This was obviously a tough loss,`` Arizona coach Mike Stoops said. ``We came up with a couple of great plays, but we couldn`t finish it.``
The Cougars` Kyle Basler set a school record with an 87-yard punt that rolled into the opposite end zone in the fourth quarter, topping the 83-yarder Gavin Hedrick unleashed in 1975 against California.
``It was kind of one of those things like a baseball player when you hit a home run,`` Basler said. ``You don`t really feel it.``
The punt appeared to be a game-winner with 7:00 left to play, but Arizona went the distance thanks mostly to Heavner`s 38-yard completion to Ricky Williams.
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