Cougars Win Battle of the Backups : Pacific 10: Deeds steps in for Washington State, leads 34-7 victory over Cal.

Shawn Deeds let his play do the talking.

“To be totally honest with you, that first ball I threw, I was really nervous,” the Washington State backup quarterback admitted after leading the Cougars to a 34-7 Pacific 10 Conference upset of No. 21 California on Saturday.

“I was shaking so hard, I could barely even talk,” Deeds said. “After that, I settled down.”

Deeds stepped in after Mike Pattinson was sidelined for the season because of a broken collarbone midway through the first quarter after a hit by Cal linebacker Jerrott Willard.

“I’m like a father, I guess, who lost a son and gained another one,” Washington State Coach Mike Price said.

Deeds, a sophomore, was 13 of 25 for 227 yards and a touchdown. He threw one interception.

The Cougars outgained the Golden Bears, 544 yards to 135, and dominated the battle of backups. California (5-2, 2-2 in Pac-10) played without starting quarterback Dave Barr, who separated his right shoulder and injured his right thumb last week against Washington.

California Coach Keith Gilbertson blamed uncertainty about Barr’s ability to play for throwing off his team.

“We were all kind of held in suspended animation, as was he,” Gilbertson said. “I’m not offering that as an excuse. That’s just the way it was.”

Sophomore Kerry McGonigal started for California, completing 10 of 27 for 107 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted once and sacked twice.

Washington State (5-2, 3-1) built a 24-0 halftime lead with a mixture of Deeds’ passes and the runs of Kevin Hicks, who carried 25 times for 135 yards.

Deeds connected with Deron Pointer three times for 98 yards and a touchdown and Keith Reynolds caught three passes for 91 yards.

The Cougars held the Golden Bears to seven first downs and only 28 yards rushing, and didn’t give up a rushing first down until midway through the fourth quarter.