Cougars Flee Snow for Warmer Climes

A day after flying in from Pullman, Wash., and after an evening spent strolling Santa Monica’s popular Promenade, the Washington State Cougars got down to business Sunday at the Coliseum, gearing up for what figures to be anything but a walk in the park.

Asked why his team arrived so early, Coach Mike Price said, matter-of-factly, “It’s 32 degrees and snowing in Pullman.”

Reason enough. But the Cougars also came early so they can practice on grass, which is what they will playing on when they go up against Michigan on Jan. 1 at the Rose Bowl. “And to get used to playing in a big stadium like this,” Price said.

One thing they could not simulate was an actual crowd. The Coliseum was all but deserted as the players went through about two hours of drills, the starting offensive unit lining up against a defense wearing maize and blue slip-over uniforms to make them look like Wolverines.

“We’ve got a Charles Woodson over there and a Charles Woodson over there,” Price said, pointing to two No. 2s, referring to Michigan’s Heisman Trophy-winning defensive back. “It takes two of ours to be as good as one of theirs.”

The Cougars, making their first Rose Bowl appearance since 1931, looked sharp at times, but there were a lot of dropped passes, broken plays and botched assignments and an overall rustiness that is perhaps natural for a team that has been off for much of the past two weeks during final exams, and for one that perhaps partied too hard on the streets of Santa Monica.

Said quarterback Ryan Leaf: “We’ve been focused ever since we got word that we’re playing in the Rose Bowl, but again we’re going to have fun and we’re enjoying ourselves. We understand what we need to get done, but then again this is a once-in-a-lifetime deal and we’re going to take full advantage of it.”

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The Cougars, several of whom are from Southern California, will be off Christmas Eve and Christmas. “On the 26th, that’s when we really turn things up and reemphasize what we’ve got ahead of us,” Price said. . . . Senior defensive back Duane Stewart, sidelined the last three games because of a knee strain, is expected to be back in the starting lineup against Michigan.