COLLEGE FOOTBALL / BOWL NOTES : Tuiasosopo Concerns Snyder

Its season has been over for more than a month, but UCLA is having an impact on preparations for the Holiday Bowl between Washington and No. 7 Kansas State.

The Bruins held Washington quarterback Marques Tuiasosopo to 149 total yards Nov. 13, his second-lowest output this season. Tuiasosopo, who averages 251 total yards, is the biggest concern of Wildcat Coach Bill Snyder.

“We need to try to keep him from beating us,” Snyder said. “Our focus is, that outside of the snap, we keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible.”

So the Kansas State staff has studied plenty of film from the UCLA game.

“UCLA played very well,” Snyder said. “They did a nice job against him. But you have to remember Marques was injured.”

That’s why Washington Coach Rick Neuheisel said Wednesday’s game will feature a different Tuiasosopo.

“Marques was a much different player that afternoon,” Neuheisel said. “He probably shouldn’t have played. He’s 100% now.”

The one thing going for Snyder is that he has seen Tuiasosopo’s style for years. With his ability to run and throw, Tuiasosopo is drawing plenty of comparisons from Kansas reporters to former Wildcat quarterback Michael Bishop, a Heisman Trophy finalist a year ago.

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It was an especially patriotic day for the two teams, who spent the afternoon in Coronado aboard the U.S.S. Constellation, which recently returned from a six-month deployment in the waters off Iraq. After a luncheon, the teams, family and alumni were treated to a tour of the ship.

Fifty-one days ago, the Constellation fired the final missile on behalf of the United Nations at Iraq.

Though the game won’t be played until Wednesday night, the Huskies took the lead in the gift-giving phase of bowl week. Washington presented Capt. James D. Kelly with a helmet encased in glass with a mirrored background. Kansas State gave him a silver plate.