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| Troy Walters had a 77-yard punt return for a TD. (file photo)<!hr> |
Cardinal Fall to No. 13 Cougars
PULLMAN, Wash.--Michael Black rushed for 173 yards and the go-ahead touchdownearly in the fourth quarter, and Ryan Leaf threw for two scoresand ran for another as 13th-ranked Washington State kept itsRose Bowl hopes alive with a 38-28 Pac-10 victory over Stanford.
A 77-yard punt return touchdown by Troy Walters, who caught twofirst-half touchdown passes, gave Stanford a 28-27 lead just 28seconds into the fourth quarter.
Black answered 2:46 later when he scampered four yards into theend zone and Leaf completed the conversion pass to ShawnMcWashington for a 35-28 edge. Rian Lindell tacked on a 29-yardfield goal with 4:23 to play, helping the Cougars (9-1, 6-1Pac-10) snap a five-game losing streak against the Cardinal.
Leaf, who completed 23-of-37 passes for 258 yards, ran for afour-yard touchdown in the first quarter and hooked up withChris Jackson eight times for 108 yards and two touchdowns.Black had 27 carries and moved into seventh place on theschool's all-time yards rushing list.
Washington State remained tied atop the Pac-10 with ArizonaState, which beat Oregon, and UCLA, which defeatedWashington. The Cougars host the state-rival Huskies nextweekend.
Walters finished with eight catches for 118 yards as Stanford(4-6, 2-5) suffered its fifth straight setback, the school'slongest losing streak since 1989. He has 80 receptions thisseason, surpassing Brad Muster for the school's single-seasonrecord. Walters is just 12 yards shy of passing GeneWashington's Stanford single-season receicing yardage record of1,117.
Todd Husak threw both touchdown passes to Walters afterreplacing Chad Hutchinson, who left the game with a bruisedthumb after just two plays. Husak was 12-of-27 for 155 yardsbut was picked off four times.
Anthony Bookman rushed for 115 yards on 11 carries for Stanford,which opened the season at 4-1 and had reached number 16 in thepolls. The Cardinal closes their season at home againstCalifornia next weekend.
Trailing 14-10, the Cougars came back with a touchdown just 68seconds before halftime to take the lead. Leaf found Jacksonfor a five-yard score, but Lindell missed the extra point andWashington State took a 16-14 edge at the half.
Leaf, who threw one interception, opened the third quarter witha nine-yard touchdown pass to Jackson and connected with NianTaylor on the two-point conversion for a 24-14 lead. Lindelladded a 21-yard field goal with 7:26 left in the period.
Leaf needs to throw for 349 yards next weekend to break thesingle-season conference record of 3,627 passing yards, set byformer Cardinal quarterback Steve Stenstrom in 1993.
Damon Dunn rumbled for a nine-yard touchdown on his only carryof the game with 56 seconds left in the third quarter, pullingthe Cardinal within 27-21. After Washington State gained just12 yards on its next possession, Walters posted his second puntreturn for a touchdown this season.
The Cougars raced to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Lindellbooted a 52-yard field goal midway through the period, and Leafdrove the Huskies 78 yards in nine plays and scored on afour-yard run with 1:50 remaining.
Stanford responded with a pair of touchdowns early in the secondquarter. Husak tossed a 59-yard TD bomb to Walters just 1:05into the period, and the duo hooked up for a five-yard scorejust over five minutes later.
Dorian Bose contributed two sacks and Kevin McKenzie made eightreceptions for 77 yards for Washington State, which had lost theprevious two meetings at home against the Cardinal.