Top Five Memorable Moments in Cougar Football History
By Evan Baron
With the season just more than 2 weeks away, its time to get you even more excited about Wazzu football with my top five moments/plays in Cougar Football history. There have been so many great moments in Cougar football history, from Leaf and Bledsoe throwing touchdown passes, to Jerome Harrison breaking not only tackles but records. Many of these moments are what I have experienced in my life, but some I had to throw in just because they are legendary plays that will go down in Cougar football history FOREVER. Here is my list.
1. Bledsoe to Bobo
Probably one of the most memorable plays in Cougar Football History; Quarterback Drew Bledsoe heaves a 45 yard pass in the snow to wide receiver Phillip Bobo. What makes this play so great, is Bobo runs a post route, and his teammate Davis runs a post route from the other side of the field. The two receivers meet in the middle and collide, but Bobo still makes the catch in the back of the end zone. I wasn’t born when this play happened so I didn’t get to experience this in real life, but I still love to watch this play and never get tired of watching it. What a pass from Bledsoe and what a catch by Bobo.
2. Alex Brink’s late game heroics help the Cougs win the 2007 Apple Cup
Tie game (35-35) with thirty-seven seconds left in the 4th Quarter, Alex Brink launches a forty yard touchdown pass to Brandon Gibson which puts the Cougars on top (42-35), which results in the 2007 Apple Cup victory for the Cougs. This is my second favorite moment because of how much was on the line, and the pressure Brink was able to overcome. Pretty amazing how he was able to put that ball on the money while he was being tackled by a Husky defender. The play is at 5:37 in the video.
3. Nico Grasu sends the Dawgs home win less
One of the worst Apple Cups in history on paper turned out to be one of the most exciting ones in history. The Huskies came into this game with a winless record and in double-overtime, kicker Nico Grasu hit a 37 yard field goal to give the Cougs a win and the 2008 Apple Cup. Even better, hated rival UW finished the season with an 0-11 record and was the only team in the COUNTRY without a win. I put this as my third favorite moment because of how meaningful of a win this was for the Cougs to not only win the Apple Cup but to give UW its first winless season ever.
4. Trandon Harvey sprints to victory for the Cougs
Trailing by three points in the 2005 Apple Cup at Husky Stadium with 1:29 left in the game, Alex Brink throws a screen-pass to Trandon Harvey, who sprints forty yards down the sideline and into the UW end zone to put the Cougs up 26-22 with a minute 1:20 left in the game. Wazzu holds on and takes the 2005 Apple Cup. I picked this as my forth favorite moment because winning the Apple Cup is always great and to do it in the final stages of the game always makes it exciting and non-forgetting. Play begins at 1:03 in the video.
5. Drew Dunning ends the Trojans’ Reign
The battle for the Rose Bowl in 2002 with the 4-1 Cougars facing the 3-1 No. 18 ranked USC Trojans. The game would go back and forth and eventually go into overtime. That’s when Drew Dunning hit a 37 yard field goal to give WSU the win and keep their Rose Bowl dreams alive. I consider this my fifth favorite moment because of how dominate of a football program USC has now and especially back then and to take them down is thrilling. That USC team had quarterback Carson Palmer (Heisman Winner), wide receiver Mike Williams (Former Seahawk) and Troy Polamalu (Pro-Bowl Safety for the Steelers). Plus that kick not only won the Cougars the game but knocked USC out of the Rose Bowl. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a video for this moment.
Go Cougs!
–Evan Baron (Follow me on twitter @BaselineBaron09)