August 31, 1998
FOOTBALL: Defending Pac-10 Champ WSU Faces Illinois
WHO: WSU Cougars (0-0-0, 0-0-0) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (0-0-0, 0-0-0)
WHAT: Non-conference season opener for both WSU and Illinois
WHEN: Saturday, September 5; Kickoff 3:30 p.m. PT; Live on FOX Sports Net
WHERE: Martin Stadium (37,600, Omni Turf), Pullman, Wash.
TV: FOX Sports Net live; Fox Sports Northwest replays the game Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
1998 WSU RESULTS
Record: 0-0-0, 0-0-0 [OPP REC]
9/5 Illinois [0-0-0]
9/12 @ Boise State [0-0-0]
9/19 Idaho [0-0-0]
9/26 @ California [0-0-0]
10/3 @ UCLA [0-0-0]
10/10 Oregon [0-0-0]
10/17 USC [0-0-0]
10/24 Bye [0-0-0]
10/31 Arizona State [0-0-0]
11/7 @ Arizona [0-0-0]
11/14 @ Stanford [0-0-0]
11/21 Washington [0-0-0]
WSU THIS WEEK: ILLINOIS
Record: 0-0-0, 0-0-0
9/5 @ WashingtonState
9/12 Middle Tennessee State
9/19 Louisville
9/26 Iowa
10/3 @ Northwestern
10/10 Ohio State
10/17 Wisconsin
10/24 @ Purdue
10/31 @ Penn State
11/7 Indiana
11/14 Bye
11/21 @ Michigan State
WSU NEXT WEEK: BSU
Record: 0-0-0, 0-0-0
9/5 CS-Northridge
9/12 Washington State
9/19 Portland State
9/26 @ Utah
10/3 @ Louisiana Tech
10/10 North Texas
10/17 Weber State
10/24 Utah State
10/31 @ Nevada
11/7 @ New Mexico State
11/14 Bye
11/21 Idaho
THE COACHES: WSU - Mike Price (Puget Sound '69) has a 53-49-0 (.520) record at WSU in nine years and a career mark of 99-93-0 (.516) in 17 seasons at Weber State (1981-88; 46-44-0) and WSU (1989-present). ILLINOIS - The Fighting Illini are coached by Ron Turner, in his second season at Illinois...he has a 7-15 career record in two seasons as a head coach, including an 0-11 mark last year...Mike Price is 2-0 against Illinois, while Ron Turner is 0-1 against the Cougars.
WSU VS. ILLINOIS: The Cougars hold a 4-2 advantage in the six-game series that started in 1969 when a Jim Sweeney-coached Cougar team opened the year with a 19-18 win at Illinois...Illinois captured the next two games, 21-19 in 1974 and 27-21 in 1975..in 1988 WSU started its current three-game win streak with a 44-7 win...in 1994 the Cougs edged past Illinois 10-9 in Chicago's Soldier Field, while last year the Cougs won 35-22.
FIRST BIG TEN TEAM IN PULLMAN: While Washington State has played every Big Ten team except Purdue, Illinois is the first league foe to play in Pullman...the Cougars are 12-28 against Big Ten teams...Michigan State played at Pullman in 1947, but the Spartans were not a member of the Big Ten until the early 1950's.
WSU-ILLINOIS ON FOX SPORTS NET TV: WSU's season-opening intersectional with Big Ten foe Illinois will be televised live from Martin Stadium by FOX Sports Net...Barry Tompkins will call the action with David Norrie providing commentary and Eric Clemons working the sideline.
FOX SPORTS NORTHWEST TV: WSU's matchup with Illinois will be replayed at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, by Fox Sports Northwest.
WSU RELEASE HIGHLIGHTS:
WSU boasts biggest offensive line ever
Seniors start final season
Price aims for 100th win
SI says WSU best quarterback school
Cougars very young and inexperienced
WSU has won last six home openers
Pac-10 says WSU to finish seventh
USA Today picks WSU 36th in pre-season poll
WSU scoring streak at 155 games
Cougars 30-17 at home under Mike Price
Mike Price third among Pac-10 coaches with 99 wins
WSU's defense among Pac-10's elite
Cougars 40-29-0 in last six years
Cougar "D" usually tough to run against
Steve Gleason heads returning list of 1997 Pac-10 honorees
1997 Review highlights
CAPTAINS: WSU - OT Rob Rainville (79), DT Gary Holmes (95) and LB Steve Gleason (34). ILLINOIS - The Illini selects game captains each week.
ROSTER ADJUSTMENTS: The list of WSU veterans who will NOT participate in football this fall include: LB Greg DuPree (Sacramento, Calif.), TE Brenden Marshall (Longview, Wash.), De Nate Mallory (Kent, Wash.), WR Cory DeSanti (La Puente, Calif.), OT Jon Ottenbreit (Cheney, Wash.), DT Taeao Salausa (Long Beach, Calif.); four members of WSU's recruiting class announced last February are absent this fall: freshman DB David Baker (Tacoma, Wash.), WR Derrick Dillon (Puyallup, Wash.), WR Tim Lemon (LaMirada, Calif.) and junior college transfer DE Saeed Abdul-Malik (Duarte, Calif.).
WSU AND THE BIG TEN: Washington State has played every current member of the Big Ten in football except Purdue...overall WSU is 12-28 against the current Big Ten membership...all but four of those 40 games have been played on Big Ten soil...WSU has never played a member of the Big Ten in Pullman, although the Cougs played MSU in Pullman in 1947 before the Spartans were a league member...WSU also has played Michigan State and Indiana in Spokane (WSU's home games) and played Ohio State in Seattle (1973)...here's WSU's record against 10 Big Ten foes: Illinois 4-2, Indiana 2-1, Iowa 1-3, Michigan 0-4, Michigan State 2-5, Minnesota 3-2, Northwestern 0-1, Ohio State 0-7, Penn State 0-2 (they were not in the Big Ten during those games of 1947 and 1948) and Wisconsin 0-1.
COUG LINE GETS BIGGER: Boasting four starting offensive linemen over 300 pounds, WSU will start its largest offensive line ever...the starters weigh in at a collective 1,538 pounds, an average of 307.6 pounds...Mike Sage is the largest at 323 pounds and Ryan Tujague, at 294, the only one under 300...WSU never before has started an offensive line averaging over 300 pounds...here's the Coug starters:
LT Rob Rainville, 315, senior
LG Ryan Tujague, 294, junior
C Mickey Long, 305, senior
RG Mike Sage, 323, senior
RT Reed Raymond, 302, sophomore
HOW YOUNG ARE THE COUGS?: The Cougar roster this year includes 37 freshmen (15 redshirts), 23 sophomores (18 redshirts), 35 juniors (23 redshirts) and 17 seniors (14 redshirts)...the projected starting lineup includes three freshmen (all redshirt freshmen; two total on defense), three sophomores (two redshirt sophs; two total on defense), nine juniors (five redshirt juniors; five total on defense) and seven seniors (six redshirt seniors; two total on defense).
SENIORS TOTAL 17: WSU's Pac-10 championship team of 1997 played 23 scholarship seniors...this year just 11 members of the 17-player senior class are on scholarship.
USA TODAY POLL LIKES WSU: Seven Pac-10 schools, including Washington State, received votes from the 62 head coaches voting in the 1998 pre-season USA Today poll...WSU was ranked 36th in the opening poll with 41 points...other Pac-10 schools receiving votes were: 7. UCLA, 9. ASU, 17. Washington, 25. Arizona, 27. USC and 50. Oregon...Ohio State topped the poll with 31 first-place votes...they were followed by Florida State (10 first place votes), Nebraska (12), Florida (1), Michigan (4) and Kansas State (1).
PRICE'S COUGS START FAST: Washington State, since Mike Price took over in 1989, has won seven of nine home openers, including each of the last six...during Price's nine years, WSU is 31-14 through the first five games of each season...his squads are 5-4 in season openers (not home openers), 7-2 in the second game of the year, 7-2 in the third game, 6-3 in the fourth game and 6-3 in the fifth game.
WSU INJURIES: Here is WSU's injury report for Monday, Aug. 31, from Mark Smaha, director of athletic medicine: CB LeJuan Gibbons (arthroscopic surgery Aug. 26; out 3-4 weeks); LB Tupo Tuupo (broken shoulder blade Aug. 24; out two months)...all other players are expected to be ready for the Sept. 5 opener against Illinois.
ROOKIE ROSTER ADDITIONS: WSU has added two scholarship players to the roster of rookies who reported this fall...they are freshman WR Curtis Nettles (Culver City, Calif.) and junior college transfer DB Dante Minners (Bloomington, Calif., Citrus CC).
PAC-10 MEDIA PICK WSU 7TH: Defending Pac-10 champion Washington State has been picked by members of the media to finish seventh in 1998, the same as they were picked a year ago before going 10-2 and finishing the season ranked ninth nationally...UCLA is the top choice of the 30 members of the media voting in this year's poll...the Bruins received 16 first place votes, two more than second place Arizona State received...Washington finished third in the poll, followed in order by USC, Arizona, Oregon, WSU, Stanford, California and Oregon State.
PRICE AT 99 AND COUNTING: Mike Price, who picked up the 99th win of his 17-year career against Washington last fall in the final regular season game, will go after win 100 in the 1998 opener against Illinois.
SI TABS COUGAR QUARTERBACKS: The current issue of Sports Illustrated tabs Washington State as the best college in the nation for quarterbacks...the weekly magazine rated every position for the past 10 years and concluded, on the strength of Cougars Timm Rosenbach, Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf, WSU had done the best job of turning out top-notch quarterbacks.
MOST STARTS: Senior Gary Holmes has the most starts of any Cougar on the 1998 team, 16...he has started eight each of the past two years...Dee Moronkola has 15 starts to his credit, including all 12 last year...Rob Rainville is next with 14 starts, including all 12 last year and two as a sophomore...Rian Lindell, Love Jefferson and Steve Gleason have chalked up 12 starts each, all last year...Lamont Thompson is next with four starts at the end of last season.
QB SUCCESSION: In 1978 when Jack Thompson was a senior, the young freshman sitting in the wings was Clete Casper, who quarterbacked WSU to the 1981 Holiday Bowl...waiting to replace Mark Rypien in 1985 was Timm Rosenbach, who guided WSU to the 1988 Aloha Bowl...waiting then was sophomore Brad Gossen...when Drew Bledsoe left in 1992 Mike Pattinson was waiting his turn...and after Chad Davis quarterbacked WSU to the Alamo Bowl, there was Ryan Leaf.
SCORING STREAK ALIVE AT 155: The Washington State Cougars have scored in a record 155 straight games. The current streak started with a 16-14 win over Ball State in the fourth game of the 1984 season and came on the heels of a 44-0 blanking at the hands of Ohio State. The following is a breakdown of WSU scoring by game since 1980:
YR RECORD 0 1-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50> PT/PPG
1980 4-7-0 1 6 4 287/26.1
1981 8-3-1 5 2 5 297/24.8
1982 3-7-1 1 1 6 2 1 170/15.5
1983 7-4-0 1 5 3 1 1 237/21.5
1984 6-5-0 1 1 5 2 1 1 317/28.8
1985 4-7-0 1 2 2 5 1 313/28.5
1986 3-7-1 1 4 4 2 221/20.1
1987 3-7-1 3 5 3 238/21.6
1988 9-3-0 5 3 3 1 415/34.6
1989 6-5-0 1 1 3 2 3 1 351/31.9
1990 3-8-0 4 3 2 1 1 266/26.0
1991* 4-7-0 1 4 2 1 2 1 280/25.4
1992 9-3-0 1 1 4 4 1 1 337/28.1
1993 5-6-0 3 2 2 1 1 2 271/24.6
1994 8-4-0 3 3 6 192/16.0
1995 3-8-0 1 4 3 2 1 236/21.5
1996 5-6-0 2 6 1 2 314/28.5
1997 10-2-0 1 2 5 1 3 483/40.3
1998 0-0-0
100-99-4 2 17 51 61 41 18 14 5354/26.4
* = TD RECORD: WSU scored at least one touchdown in 82 consecutive games between 1984 and 1991...the streak ended with a 44-3 loss to UCLA in 1991.
PAC-10 SCORING STREAK AT 173: In addition to having scored in 155 consecutive games, WSU also has scored in 173 straight Pac-10 Conference games, by far the longest active scoring streak in the league...the last time WSU was shut out in a Pac-10 game was Oregon State's 7-0 win in 1975 at Corvallis.
COUGS STINGY IN FIRST QUARTER: WSU's defense has allowed 206 first quarter points in the last 57 games (3.61/quarter) over the past five years...WSU allowed 41 first-quarter points in 1993, 29 in 1994, 45 in 1995, 43 in 1996 and 48 first quarter points in 1997.
PRICE THIRD IN WINS: WSU coach Mike Price is third among the current Pacific-10 coaches with 99 wins...Arizona's Dick Tomey has 135, followed by ASU's Bruce Snyder, 109...Price, in nine years at WSU, is second in consecutive years at the same school...Tomey has completed 11 years at Arizona.
MIKE PRICE AMONG WSU'S BEST: Only one Washington State football coach with tenure of five years or longer at WSU put together a better record than Mike Price...Price, in his nine seasons at WSU, is 53-49-0 (.520), while his career mark is now 99-93-0...Babe Hollingbery was 93-53-14 (.625) during his 1926-42 (17 years) tenure...Price's record is the best at WSU in the last 50 years for coaches with a tenure of three or more years...Price's 53 wins at WSU ranks second to Hollingbery's 93...Jim Walden is third on the victory list at 44.
NOTHING LIKE HOME: The Washington State Cougars love to play at home and after looking at the team's home and away records during Mike Price's nine-year tenure, it's easy to see why teams don't enjoy their trips to Pullman...Price at home has a 30-17 record, including a 23-8 mark the past six years...on the road, WSU is 23-32...WSU's 6-0 home record in 1997 is the best ever for the Cougars, who previously had never won six home games in one year:
YEAR HOME AWAY OVERALL
1989 3-2 3-3 6-5
1990 1-4 2-4 3-8
1991 2-3 2-4 4-7
1992 5-1 4-2 9-3
1993 4-1 1-5 5-6
1994 3-2 5-2 8-4
1995 3-2 0-6 3-8
1996 3-2 2-4 5-6
1997 6-0 4-2 10-2
TOTALS: 30-17 23-32 53-49
COUGARS VS. RANKED TEAMS: In 1997 WSU defeated No. 22 USC and lost to 21st ranked ASU...unranked at the start of the season when WSU won, UCLA finished the year ranked seventh...in the final game of the year, WSU lost to co-national champion Michigan...WSU, in 1995, suffered losses to three nationally ranked teams: No. 2 Nebraska, at No. 5 USC and at No. 12 Oregon...in 1996 WSU lost at No. 5 Colorado, defeated No. 25 Oregon and No. 19 California and lost to No. 12 Washington.
RED ZONE: Washington State was inside the opponent's 20 yard line 55 times in 1997 and scored 49 times (89.1%, 39 touchdowns, 10 field goals)...WSU's success inside the 15 yard line was 41 scores in 46 opportunities...inside the 10, WSU had 31 attempts and scored 30 times, while inside the five yard line, WSU scored on each of 19 attempts...opponents, meanwhile, scored 23 times (20 touchdowns) in 32 trips inside WSU's 20 yard line...they scored on 23 of 27 attempts inside the 15, 17 of 20 times inside the 10 and 13 of 16 attempts inside the five yard line.
RUSHING TOTALS UNDER 100: In the last five years WSU has held 28 of 57 opponents to less than 100 yards rushing...the lows include Montana State's -35 and Pacific's -6 in 1993 and Montana's -6 in 1995...in those 57 games, WSU has held opponents to 50 or less yards 12 times:
1993 - Games WSU Allowed 100 Yards Rushing - 3/11
Michigan 179, USC 104, Washington 302.
1994 - Games WSU Allowed 100 Yards Rushing - 3/12
Tennessee 149, Oregon State 178, Washington 102.
1995 - Games WSU Allowed 100 Yards Rushing - 5/11
UCLA 137, Nebraska 428, California 134, Stanford 131,
Washington 222.
1996 - Games WSU Allowed 100 Yards Rushing - 10/11
Colorado 192, Temple 125, Oregon 118, SJSU 100,
Arizona 145, OSU 141, California 44, Illinois 148,
UCLA 164, Stanford 102, Washington 213.
1997 - Games WSU Allowed 100 Yards Rushing - 8/12
UCLA 209, USC 31, Illinois 173, Boise State 46,
Oregon 154, Cal 109, Arizona 73, ASU 150, USL 75,
Stanford 160, Washington 101, Michigan 128.
WSU DEFENSE HALTS LONG RUSHES: WSU's defense just doesn't allow long runs...in the last five years WSU has allowed just 41 runs of 20 yards or longer in 57 games:
1993 Plays Allowed 20 Yards or Longer - 8
1994 Plays Allowed 20 Yards or Longer - 7
1995 Plays Allowed 20 Yards or Longer - 12
1996 Plays Allowed 20 Yards or Longer - 6
1997 Plays Allowed 20 Yards or Longer - 7
UCLA - Hicks 92; Illinois - Holcombe 48;
Arizona - Northcut 22; ASU - Martin 32, Boyer 29;
Stanford - Bookman 23/30; Michigan - Howard 28.
1994 Plays Allowed 10-19 Yards - 15
1995 Plays Allowed 10-19 Yards - 24
1996 Plays Allowed 10-19 Yards - 33
1997 Plays Allowed 10-19 Yards - 29
WSU SECOND IN PAC-10 DEFENSE: In 1997 WSU's defense ranked second in the Pac-10 (six yards short of first), marking the third time in the last six years the Cougar defense has ranked either first or second...since 1992 WSU has been in the top half of the conference all but once...the Cougs won the defensive title in 1994, allowing 229 yards a game, the best average in the league since 1982 and the second best since 1971...here's how the Pac-10 defenses rank, 1992-97: Arizona 293.6 yards per game (66 games/19,375 yards), WSU 311.8 (66/20,581), Washington 333.8 (66/22,033), ASU 343.8 (66/22,691), USC 354.7 (68/24,120), Oregon 359.1 (67/24,062), UCLA 360.1 (66/23,769), OSU 360.7 (66/23,807), California 375.8 (66/24,806), Stanford 382.3 (67/25,614).
WSU AMONG WIN LEADERS SINCE '92: The Washington State Cougars have won 40 games since the start of the 1992 season......the Cougars' 25 conference wins ranks tied for sixth when totaling league victories...here's a look at the records for Pac-10 teams, 1992-98:
OVERALL PACIFIC-10
1992-98 W L T W L T
Washington 47 22 1 33 14 1
USC 43 26 3 30 17 1
Arizona 42 27 1 27 20 1
Oregon 42 29 0 25 23 0
Arizona State 41 27 0 28 20 0
UCLA 41 28 0 27 21 0
Washington State40 29 0 25 24 0
Stanford 36 32 2 23 25 0
California 29 40 0 15 33 0
Oregon State 15 50 1 5 42 1
100-YARD RUSHERS FEW: Only 14 running backs have been able to crack the 100-yard mark in the last five years against WSU's defense...UCLA's Skip Hicks is the only back to have done so in back-to-back seasons and the Bruins are the only team to have a back go over 100 yards in each of the last three seasons:
1993 - Players Gaining 100+ Yards vs. WSU - 2
Tyrone Wheatley, Michigan, 117
Napoleon Kaufman, Washington, 181
1994 - Players Gaining 100+ Yards vs. WSU - 1
J.J. Young, Oregon State, 100
1995 - Players Gaining 100+ Yards vs. WSU - 5
Karim Abdul-Jabar, UCLA, 125
Ahman Green, Nebraska, 176
Reynard Rutherford, California, 124
Anthony Bookman, Stanford, 123,
Rashaan Shehee, Washington, 212
1996 - Players Gaining 100+ Yards vs. WSU - 2
Skip Hicks, UCLA, 116
Corey Dillon, Washington, 155
1997 - Players Gaining 100+ Yards vs. WSU - 4
Skip Hicks, UCLA, 190; Robert Holcombe, Illinois 163;
Michael Martin, ASU, 111; Anthony Bookman,
Stanford, 115
TURNOVERS: WSU finished -1 in turnovers in 1997, +9 in 1994, even in 1995 and -9 in 1996.
------ W S U ----- -- OPPONENTS --
OPP +/- F FL PI TOT F FL PI TOT
ILL
TOTAL
SCHEDULING: Coaches often talk about whom an upcoming opponent faces the week before or the week after the two teams collide...here's a look at WSU opponents and whom they play before and after meeting the Cougars:
DATE BEFORE WSU WSU OPP AFTER WSU
9/5 --- ILLINOIS Middle Tenn.
9/12 CS-Northridge @ BSU Portland State
9/19 @ San Jose St. IDAHO @ LSU
9/26 @ Oklahoma @ CAL @ USC
10/3 @ Arizona @ UCLA @ Arizona
10/10 Stanford OREGON @UCLA
10/17 California USC @ Oregon
10/31 Stanford ASU Cal
11/7 Oregon ARIZONA @ Cal
11/14 USC STANFORD @ Cal
11/21 UCLA @ WASHINGTON ---
THREE COUGS HONORED BY PAC-10: Three members of the 1998 Cougar football team received All-Pac-10 honorable mention recognition last year, linebacker Steve Gleason, cornerback Dee Moronkola and special teams specialist Brad Philley
ACADEMIC HONORS ACCORDED COUGS: Linebacker Steve Gleason, offensive tackle Rob Rainville and offensive guard Mike Sage all received All-Pac-10 academic honorable mention recognition in 1997.
THOMPSON GRABS OPPORTUNITY: At mid-season a year ago true freshman Lamont Thompson was spending most of his time on the bench...then an injury forced the Cougar coaches to look toward the bench and they picked Thompson to get his first start against Southwestern Louisiana...Thompson responded with a solid effort, including six tackles and a pair of interceptions in the WSU win...a week later, starting against Stanford, he again made six tackles, knocked down two passes and picked off two passes...now the big test...with the Rose Bowl opportunity at hand, along with the Pa-10 title, Thompson got the start at Washington...all he did was pick off three passes and make 12 tackles as WSU locked up its first league title in 67 years...in the Rose Bowl against Michigan, Thompson picked off his sixth interception in four games and made six tackles...Thompson's legend grew in the spring when he intercepted the first pass of spring drills...and in fall camp he made a spectacular interception that drew a "that's a Heisman play" from head coach Mike Price.
REVIEWING WSU'S 1997 SEASON
- WSU won its first Pacific-10 Conference title since 1931;
- WSU earned its first Rose Bowl appearance since 1931 and third overall;
- WSU won all six home games;
- WSU finished ninth in the final AP and USA Today polls, the best finish ever for the Cougars;
- Ryan Leaf set several WSU single season records, including: total offense (3,968),
- Ryan Leaf set five Pac-10 single season records, TD passes (33), TDRs (39), total offense (3,583), total offense per game (325.7) and passing yards (3,637);
- Ryan Leaf was the second player taken in the 1998 NFL draft;
- Ryan Leaf won All-American first team honors (TSN), was the offensive MVP of the Pac-10, finished third in the Heisman Trophy balloting and was the Sammy Baugh College Passer of the Year; he also was a finalist for the Davey O'Brien Quarterback award and the Maxwell Trophy;
- Ryan Leaf, leaving school after his junior year, finished his WSU career second in passing (7,433 yards) and second in total offense (7,262), plus the WSU record for career touchdown passes (59);
- Leon Bender was named to the Associated Press All-America third team;
- Jason McEndoo was picked by Football News as an honorable mention All-American;
- Shawn Tims set WSU records for punt return yards in a game (167 vs. USL) and return yards in a season (405).
- WSU set 13 single season records, included total offense (5,922), scoring (483 points) and passing yards (4,120);
- WSU set Pac-10 total records with 5,524 yards in total offense and 3,789 passing yards;
- WSU swept USC and UCLA in the same season for the first time and beat all four California schools for the first time;
- WSU's 10 wins were the most ever against collegiate competition in a season and equaled the school win total for one year;
- WSU was second in the nation in total offense and scoring offense and let the Pac-10 in passing offense, total offense, scoring offense and punt returns;
- Mike Price was the Pac-10 Conference coach-of-the-year winner and was a national winner by The Sporting News, Football News, Football Writers of America (Eddie Robinson Award) and the Bobby Dodd Foundation;
- WSU set a total attendance record with 199,678 fans in six games, 591,111 fans in all 12 games, and 40,306 for a home game at Martin Stadium (Stanford).
- Four Cougars were drafted by NFL clubs and nine others signed free agent contracts.
MIKE PRICE TV SHOWS: The "Mike Price TV Show" airs Sunday evenings at 11:30 p.m. PT on KXLY, KAPP and KVEW television stations....KXLY's Rick Lukens hosts the shows...FOX Sports Northwest's nightly (7:00 p.m.) Northwest Tonight show also gives extensive coverage to Price and Cougar football.
RICK DICKSON RADIO SHOW: "Cougar Chat with Rick Dickson" is aired each Sunday 60 minutes before the Seattle Seahawk pre-game show on Spokane's KXLY Radio (920)... veteran Cougar broadcaster Paul Sorensen hosts the weekly show with the WSU athletic director.
WEEKLY WSU PRESS CONFERENCES: WSU hosts a weekly press conference each Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the Media Information Conference Room, Bohler Addition 195. All in-season head coaches and selected players (when available) will be available for the phone conference and in-person interviews. Contact the WSU Media Information Office for more information. Members of the media may attend in person or participate by use of the telephone.
LISTEN TO COUGAR GAMES ANYWHERE: Cougar football fans can listen to the Voice of the Cougars Bob Robertson's broadcasts, even if a network station is not in your locale. TRZ Sports Service Inc.'s "Teamline" provides the hookup directly into the Cougar Sports Network. Call 1-800-846-4700 and punch in the Cougar access code 5938. The cost is charged to your VISA or Mastercard.
LIVE TELEVISION: Sept. 5 FOX Sports Net will televise live nationally WSU's home game with Illinois at 3:30 p.m. PT...FSN will also show the Washington at ASU game live nationally at 7:15 p.m. PT...ABC will air the Michigan State at Oregon game live at 12:30 p.m. PT on a regional basis.
FSNW-TV: Fox Sports Northwest will replay Washington State's game against Illinois Sept. 6 at 1:30 p.m.
TICKETS: Tickets for all Cougar home and away games are available through the WSU Ticket Office, North 225 Grand, Pullman, Wash. 99164-1910, or by calling 800-GO-COUGS (available toll free from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).
WSU RADIO: Bob Robertson, Paul Sorensen, Jeff Aaron, and Bud Nameck will combine talents on the 24-station Crimson and Gray Sports Network. Robertson is in his 32nd year of broadcasting Cougar sports and Sorensen is in his 13th season with WSU. Broadcast time is 60 minutes prior to kickoff. The "Mike Price Show," produced and distributed by Broadcast Ink, airs weekly throughout the network, with Robertson as the show's host.
SATELLITE: WSU uplinks football video twice each week...each Sunday at 6:15 p.m. PDT WSU uplinks a 30-minute package (C-Band, Telstar 4, Transponder 1) of highlights from the previous game and an interview with head coach Mike Price...each Tuesday a 15-minute pack (C-Band, Telestar 5, Transponder 7) is uplinked at 4:15 p.m. with coach and player interviews recorded at practice that afternoon...the service is provided by Northwest Public Television on the WSU campus (if trouble, call 509-335-5177). A test program is sent out for 15 minutes prior to each uplink time. The Pacific-10 office transmits a weekly highlight package each Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. PDT on Telstar 4, Transponder 20, C-Band (if trouble, call 310-543-1835 or the Pac-10 office).
PRICE AND PLAYERS AVAILABLE: WSU head football coach Mike Price is available for individual media interviews Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (expect prior to road games), 11:00-Noon. Arrangements for Price interviews must be made through his office, 509-335-0250. WSU players are available for interviews before and after practice each Tuesday and Wednesday and before practice each Thursday. Contact Erin Rowley at the WSU Media Information Office.
PRICE PHONE CONFERENCES: Mike Price is available for media interviews three times weekly via a conference phone hookup, Sunday at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday at 1:15 p.m. and Thursday at 6:00 p.m. For access information contact the WSU Media Information Office.
COUGAR INFOCONNECTION: Members of the media may access WSU press releases, game statistics and other sports specific information through InfoConnection. For information on how to access information from all 10 Pac-10 schools and the Pac-10 office, contact the league office or any of the Pac-10 sports information offices. All Pac-10 schools made the move to InfoConnection from Faxback at the start of the 1998-99 school year.
AUDIO ON INTERNET: WSU's football broadcasts are now available on the Internet through Broadcast.com...the address is: http://www.broadcast.com/schools/wsu
INTERNET: WSU releases, statistics, notes and depth chart information are loaded weekly on the WSU Home Page. The address is: http://www.wsu.edu/athletics/
1998 RANKINGS FOR THE COUGARS
PLAYER CATEGORY AVG PAC-10
RETURNEES FROM 1997
LeJuan Gibbons-
Interceptions .20 *12
DeJuan Gilmore-
Rushing 27.60 16
Rian Lindell-
Field Goals 1.00 *3
Scoring Offense 7.80 3
Nian Taylor-
Rec. Yards 52.40 20
All-Purpose 73.20 20
Lamont Thompson-
Interceptions .56 1
Steve Gleason
Tackles 8.3 5
* = Tie
FINAL 1997 TEAM STATISTICAL RANKINGS
(Top 50)
WSU WSU WSU
TEAM CATEGORY AVG PAC-10 NCAA
Rushing Offense 157.7 5 48
Passing Offense 344.5 1 4
Total Offense 502.2 1 2
Scoring Offense 42.5 1 2
Rushing Defense 116.5 5 27
Pass Efficiency Defense 104.1 2 17
Total Defense 330.4 2 30
Scoring Defense 25.0 5
Net Punting 37.8 4 27
Punt Returns 14.6 1 6
KO Returns 16.2 10
Turnover Margin- -0.09 8
ILL ILL ILL
TEAM CATEGORY AVG BIG TEN NCAA
Rushing Offense 124.5 10
Passing Offense 161.8 9
Total Offense 286.4 11
Scoring Offense 10.8 11
Rushing Defense 210.5 11
Pass Efficiency Defense 146.7 11
Total Defense 417.7 11
Scoring Defense 33.5 11
Net Punting 34.6 9
Punt Returns 6.5 10
KO Returns 20.6 *6
Turnover Margin -0.91 11
* = Tie
NATIONAL LEADERS
Lamont Thompson Interceptions .56 9
Rian Lindell Scoring Offense 8.10 27
Rian Lindell Field Goals 1.00 44
