Four-Way Race to Smell Roses

“Shake out” Saturday in the Pacific 10 Conference spilled into Sunday morning and set up an exciting, four-school November drag race to the Rose Bowl finish line and beyond.

Beyond? Arizona State’s Midnight Madness, 44-31 victory over Washington State in the weekend’s wee hours kept the Sun Devils in the chase to defend their Pac-10 title, but more realistically put them in line for an at-large pick in an $8-million alliance bowl.

Fiesta Bowl officials are salivating over the prospects of pitting Arizona State and Ohio State in a rematch of January’s dramatic Rose Bowl in which the Buckeyes’ last-minute victory ultimately cost the Sun Devils the national championship.

“Do you want your bid now?” Fiesta Bowl Executive Director John Junker joked to an Arizona State official during halftime of Saturday’s game.

Arizona State and Ohio State can still make that rematch happen in the Rose Bowl, of course, but are more likely to be available as the Pac-10 and Big Ten runners-up.

The conferences’ champions are bound to the Rose Bowl, but the alliance can pluck any remaining school for one of its three showcase games: Sugar, Orange, Fiesta. The Fiesta has the fourth and sixth selections this year.

Arizona State (6-2) is one of the hottest team’s in the country, having scored 110 points in successive conference victories against USC, Stanford and Washington State.

Because of an early conference loss to Washington, and the fact they don’t play UCLA, the Sun Devils still need to win their last three conference games, plus two Washington losses and a UCLA defeat to go to the Rose Bowl.

The Pac-10 race is on.

Washington is the only school that controls its own fate. But Saturday’s knee injury to star tailback Rashaan Shehee in a 27-0 victory over USC muddles the picture.

Who said the Trojans wouldn’t be a factor in the Pac-10 race?

Arizona State stayed in contention, but it also did a huge favor for UCLA, which needs Washington State to falter.

It’s this simple for the blue-hot Bruins, who are 5-1 in Pac-10 play and 7-2 overall: They go to the Rose Bowl if they beat Washington on Nov. 15 and USC a week later provided Washington State loses to either Stanford or Washington.

Despite its first loss, Washington State still figures in the Rose Bowl equation. The Cougars hold the tie-breaker over UCLA and the Nov. 22 Apple Cup showdown against Washington might be for the Rose Bowl.

But the team to watch is Arizona State.

The Sun Devils weren’t supposed to be in the hunt this year. Eight players from last year’s 11-1 team are on NFL rosters.

Coach Bruce Snyder said something clicked with his team during the week before a 26-14 loss at Washington on Oct. 4.

“It’s like losing a set of keys, it’s not always the first place you look to find it,” Snyder said Sunday in his office, when asked about his team’s turnaround. “You rummage through the closet, you rummage through the car, then ‘boom’ you find it.”

Arizona State figures to finish 9-2, with upcoming games against California, Oregon and Arizona, schools with a combined 3-12 conference record.

The Sun Devils played a near-perfect first half against Washington State, jumping to a 24-0 lead before holding off a furious Cougar comeback.

“I stood on the sideline and said, ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever had a team play better,’ ” Snyder said.

The key to victory was a relentless inside pass rush by Arizona State’s defense, which sacked quarterback Ryan Leaf six times, two of which led to fumble returns for touchdowns in the final 2:55.

If Arizona State at 9-2 doesn’t qualify for the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl is ready to snatch the Sun Devils in a Tempe minute and pit them against the Big Ten runner-up.

Ohio State is preferred, but the loser of next week’s Penn State-Michigan game wouldn’t be bad, either.

Here’s a look at the schools in the Rose Bowl race in order of their chances:

1. WASHINGTON (7-1, 5-0)

The Huskies are the only school that controls its fate, but Shehee’s injury means they’re not a cinch.

Remaining games: Saturday versus Oregon at home, at UCLA on Nov. 15 and home to Washington State on Nov. 22.

Comment: Watch out for Oregon next week. The Ducks hate the Huskies (it’s a border-war thing) and would like nothing better than to knock Washington out of the Rose Bowl.

2. WASHINGTON STATE (7-1, 5-1)

Saturday’s loss isn’t as bad as it seems, although it kills any chance of a Rose Bowl matchup of unbeatens.

Remaining games: Southwest Louisiana at home next week, Stanford at home Nov. 15 and at Washington on Nov. 22.

Comment: Next week’s game against SW Louisiana is important because nonconference victories can be a determining factor in Rose Bowl tiebreaker formulas.

3. UCLA (7-2, 5-1)

Perhaps no team in the country is playing better than the Bruins, but that Aug. 30 loss to Washington State could turn out to be a Rose Bowl buster.

Remaining games: Home to Washington on Nov. 15; at USC on Nov. 22.

Comment: Why wouldn’t UCLA at 9-2 be considered for an at-large alliance pick? The Bruins might be a great team, but as they say in the bowl business, “they don’t travel well.” Teams such as overrated Kansas State, which can guarantee 40,000 fans, or a school with a local tie-in--Arizona State and the Fiesta Bowl--are more appealing.

4. ARIZONA STATE (6-2,4-1)

The Sun Devils remain Rose Bowl longshots but have won three in a row after a 3-2 start and figure to make it six.

Remaining games: Oregon State and California at home the next two weeks, then at Arizona on Nov. 28.

Comment: The Sun Devils will be national title contenders again next season.