Washington St. Rights Itself With 77-7 Win

Ryan Leaf, who proves week in and week out that he can play quarterback as well as anyone, wants to try his hand at defensive end.

“I’m tired of all these guys teeing off on me,” Leaf said. “Maybe I can tee off on them.”

The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Leaf had no trouble with protection on Saturday as he threw for four touchdowns and 305 yards in the first half of the 16th-ranked Cougars’ 77-7 thrashing of Southwestern Louisiana at Pullman, Wash.

The Cougars (8-1) gained 588 yards and the third-highest point total in team history while limiting Southwestern Louisiana (1-9) to 152 yards.

More importantly, Washington State is now tied for first place with Washington and UCLA in the Rose Bowl race after the Huskies were beaten by Oregon, 31-28. UCLA was idle. All three are 5-1 in league play.

The Cougars can win their first Rose Bowl bid since 1931 by beating Stanford and Washington.

“We are in a situation where we control our own destiny,” Leaf said.

Leaf was 13 for 21 for 305 yards without an interception. He also scored on a one-yard run. His 54 career touchdown passes surpassed the record of 53 set by Jack Thompson from 1975-78. Leaf has 3,021 yards and 29 touchdowns this season.

NO. 15 ARIZONA STATE 28, CALIFORNIA 21

J.R. Redmond caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Kealy and ran five yards for another score as the Sun Devils held off a late Golden Bear rally to win at Berkeley.

It was the fourth victory in a row for the Sun Devils (7-2, 5-1), who also scored on a 67-yard pass play from Kealy to Creig Spann. Robert Nycz had two field goals.

Cal (3-6, 1-5) scored on Derrick Gardner’s 72-yard return of Redmond’s fumble early in the third quarter and on an 18-yard run by Tarik Smith and eight-yard pass play from Justin Vedder to Bobby Shaw in the fourth quarter.