COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Punter Fumbles Snap, Enabling Arizona to Tie

First-year Arizona Coach Dick Tomey said Saturday’s 24-24 tie against arch-rival Arizona State was “a moral victory.”

Sun Devil Coach John Cooper had a different view.

“A tie is like kissing your sister only if she’s good-looking,” Cooper said. “They might be celebrating in the other locker room, but I can tell you our players are taking it as a heartbreaking loss. It’s hard to take because we thought we had it won. But the lesson we learned is the game’s not over until it’s over.”

Gary Coston’s third field goal of the game--a 30-yarder with two seconds remaining--gave Arizona the tie in the regular-season finale for both Pacific 10 teams.

The Sun Devils, who haven’t beaten the Wildcats since 1981, took a 24-21 lead on Alan Zendejas’ 40-yard field goal with 2:45 remaining.

Arizona State cornerback Eric Allen appeared to seal the victory with an interception at the Sun Devil 30 with 1:21 left.

But Arizona State punter Mike Schuh, a junior who had flawlessly handled 161 previous snaps in his career, fumbled one with 13 seconds left, and Arizona recovered at the Sun Devil 25-yard line.

The ball was moved half the distance to the goal on a penalty, since Schuh had unsuccessfully tried to kick the ball forward while it was on the ground during the bizarre play.

Coston made his field goal two plays later before a stunned, standing-room-only crowd of 70,839 at Sun Devil Stadium and a national television audience.

Arizona State, finished the regular season 6-4-1 overall and 3-3-1 in the Pac-10. The defending Rose Bowl champions are headed to the Dec. 30 Freedom Bowl to play Air Force at Anaheim Stadium.

Arizona wound up 4-4-3 overall and 2-3-3 in Pac-10 play--avoiding the school’s first losing season since 1980, when the Wildcats went 5-6.

“I don’t like ties, but we’ll take this one. It’s a moral victory if nothing else,” Tomey said. “This is our third tie this year and I wish we could play them all off. But this tie is the best of them.”

It was the first-ever tie in the series, which started in 1899 and is led by Arizona, 34-26-1. It also was the fifth time in the last 10 meetings that a field goal in the last minute had decided the game.

The Wildcats tied the score at 21-21 on Alonzo Washington’s 53-yard touchdown run on the third quarter’s final play plus Art Greathouse’s two-point conversion run.

Channing Williams’ 59-yard touchdown run 1:29 into the third quarter had given the Sun Devils a 21-13 lead.

PACIFIC 10 STANDINGS

Team Conf. Overall W L T W L T PF PA USC 7 1 0 8 3 0 304 209 UCLA 7 1 0 9 2 0 406 179 Washington 4 3 1 6 4 1 271 242 Ariz. St. 3 3 1 6 4 1 301 231 Oregon 4 4 0 6 5 0 226 228 Stanford 4 4 0 5 6 0 262 268 Arizona 2 3 3 4 4 3 263 220 California 2 3 2 3 6 2 239 267 Wash. St. 1 5 1 3 7 1 238 356 Oregon St. 0 7 0 2 9 0 189 433

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Arizona St. 24, Arizona 24

Calfiornia 17, Washington St. 17